the nome NuaaeT
AN INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER.
PUBLISHED WEEKLY—EVERY SATURDAY AFTERNOON.
GEO. S. MAYNARD,.Sole Owner and Publisher.
Entered as Sscond Class Matter, at the postoffice at Name, Alaska,
Under the Act of March 3, 1879.
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THE PERSISTENT KNOCK
In a hriJf column editorial with triple head lines, ibe San Francisco
Chronicle, one of the largest and most influential mwspapars on the Pacific
Coast, published on November 7. wtia* Is undoubtedly the worst of all the
numerous and pers.stent knocks Nome has received jdncvj the- city c/une into
exSstenee twenty ik1<1 years ago. The article in question declares Nome is on
tho write of tinai* dissolution and will soon become no more than :i memory in
the sux-hives of Time. Nay. it presages even deeper oblivion by assert in/;
that the city will n>*t only van.-fh from the ken of mankind hut "when <trvdg:ng
no longer pays it will not he long h (for the inuniner passing tills deserted
shore will find meat for argument in conjectures as to where the city- stood.”
Tin* Journal’s observations are apparently last'd ui"u> a false
nnd wholly misleading news item sent out from Seattle November 2 to the
effect that nearly two thirds .if the “remaining population” of Nome “left for
good” on the last steamer, coupled with a sad lack of information on the part
of the Chronicle’s writer of dismal prop hides concerning things he or she. as
the case may be. knows nothing at all about and betrays his or her dense ig
norance in almost •■very line.
"The. beach.” tli • <’%rorucle’s wise old editorial owl avers, "contained
the sole element that could make anyone go to Nome or stay there five min
utes. Besides the gold lietween high and low water mark there Is liotkiug
else at Nome " Nome was once a city, of teeming kife and activi.y. the writer
goes on to say nnd was populated by.thoumndM, gold diggers, gambler* and
ndventurers drawn from far and wide by the hue of gold. But now the gold
is nearly gone and the “now empty city” will soon disappear. "So long as
the dredg.-s continue then-** will be human ltife at Nome.’’ 'but the little gold
which the Chronicle .uimin still remains might just as well >>e gone "so far as
Nome, the city, is concerned,” for he says, “only a few score human In-ings still
remain on this once hectic b ach.” Adding still further to the doleful picture,
the journal presents wcitil examples of Oaliffonva’s deserted mining camps
to show tisit the obliteration -to which kt ignorantry consigns Nome in the
luture is the natural and .inevitable end of any town founded wholly upegt
gold, with no other resources upon which to draw when the gold has l>een ex
(he ('"hronicJtVs article is
mind :i moving picture c
iple in dlevw depbcmon and smart wotvl juggling,
n<ly. TJi^ writer’s fa«ih- pen firings before the
■ deradance and ultimate desolation beyond < vim -
pare. One can almost see the Arctic blizzards tearing down “the gaudy
■palaces. whe:'e fh-‘ mUmeini once scattered their gold by the handful.” One
need not even close thoir eyes to envision the “Airrtic waves battering them to
wreckage, which mill l>e turned (inrtx> firewood by the "few human bding- who
r'mg to lha‘ desohrte beach." A'-1 a literary effort, it is superb. But as a
statement of Nome’s present situation or fuitur-* outlook it is wholly without
; he ihcts and dfscfos*;* a mental vactfity r g irding Name most .tmaasin* in the
cHk* omele of a greed journal Kike the Chronicle. However, the Chron-cle
is root to l»e wholly blam'd for Its grossly m ^representative article. In the
first -place Its lofty brawed and High salaried tJhinkster knows nothing about
Nome's situation 'beyond what he hears, and Ip the second place the tying
article <«i which kh cone; ptv>n is based Is really responsible fpr the editorial.
'Che Chronicle editor A-toald ru«t rightfully be damned for not knowing, despite
the fhet that editor* are' popularly supposed to know everything. His ut
terly unfounded and deplorably mi*•cprwwnta.tive article admittedly hurts rind
-w« of Name cast hardly be bhuiw-d for feeling like giving hton a cussing. His
-fanciful tale mill do Nome fcrrepn ruble ckirosige, heovuse it will tif-nd to keen
people away from hew. IVhat the country needs to asrfLst the development
.of its resources' other than gold, la more people—settlers. .Also it will in
jure us by tlierourag -ng the .-rttberetian of capital wffiCCh might 1>e attracted this
■way* We assuredly have a p^fec* right to feel decidedly “sore’’ at that edl
tor for the hard whallope lie gfives our fair city. But facts are fagts and
if we wish -to-get ait the real author of the Chronicle knock we must seek for
him In the news article upon which it is undoutitwlly based. For It tis through
-these apparently deliberately lying talcs sent out every- fall that Nome sus
tains -the worst of her injuries arising from misrepresentation. A similar
‘tale of Nome’s aftieged decadence waj* also sent broadcast through the medium
4jf the Assnchited tl*ress in the fall of 1919. In that instance the author had
the bold effrontery to place the lying article under a Nome date line, ‘here
by making it aippeat .-is emanating from Nome. The Nugget is and has been
the Associated Pres* Nome correspondenit for jvats past, and If the mes
sage referred to was sent from btre. itfcvas without the knowledge of this paper
or anyone connected therewith. Stones of .the snlrne character also appeared
at hvtervnIs fHiring the prec?fling three or four yeans, each one of which
painted a progressively biacker picture of Nome’s situation, depicting the city
as almost deserted and on me verge i< dissolution. As this paper has pointed
out in the jiasit. tlvese Tories all bear the earmarks of having been issued for
n specific yairpose. namely to prevent development, discouiiige Industry and *
investment and ult’bnately drive a.'wa.v most of the people here. Not only our
selves but others are convinced that they are part .and parcel of an deliberately
conceived prai**gM.nda Initiated with the view of permitting certain int:rests
to Obtain control of this ^section. .Vane who have pad the slightest heed to
(he recurrent utorle* but ore more- or Jess convinced that a studied and pe •
►■intent effort jb being made to "knock” the town and district.
Nome Is admittedly- not. as hugely populated or so prosperou-- as H
was a few years ago. But the same may b; guid of nearly every town In
Alaska. Few indeed are the towns whose population has not dwindled forty
per cent or more during the past flv? years. .Many formerly well populated
••amps are reduced to four or five dozen 1 nimbitantb'. In this resneet Nome
is no worse off than the rest .-of .Mrs
ratio with that <
last census returns of the’Territory. The figure* of the oenpus bureau j
I’ome a wtfniter population of S54 last year. This year It is practically
same or g eater, judging by the vote cast in th-r> November elections,
ilecrea^a in population hero since 1913 is in no degree rtispiwxj: rion.nb
the pdfiputlon r'duetiorr developing in every town n the territory since
year. ' This shows conclusively that the falling off here has been
< a uses which have opented in the same degree throughout the terrll
is not to be attributed to local condfr.’ons. save perhaps in a minor d e-re.
Regarding the reduction in th-e volume of mining, jt is univers ity con
ceded that it fa due nlmot-C ent'relf to the Increased costs of operations In
cidant to hgh priots nnd is In no degree chargeable to depletion of the gold
f titan-the rest .of th'-m. as her population decrease is in exact
t of the oth»* large centers. .This fact fs amply proven by the
due ^
• esourre* of the district.
hi the Judgment of all who know the true facts, then* is far r
ml wealth Xu the district rlgh* now than hns bben extracted Ln all the years j
of Nfxirc's existence. Nome <a not “worked out" nor w®l not be for a great
many yean* to come. lost year wttneeeed the smallest volume of minim;
Nome hits known since the days of the geld rush. Y«x. despite the handicaps
under which the gold mhdng Industry labors, by reason of Inordinate costs
.ind decreased value of product, the gold productHpn was $1,216,935 very Mttle
!.»»«• than that of 1919 and something; over odxty three thousand mono than tho
production of 1918, according; to the United States customs service figures.
And this wtith mining costa so prohibitive thtit mining the lower grade areas
which contain'the greater punt of the gold resource* of this district was ren
dered impossible, save in specially favored Localities. Assuredly the Nome
placers have no*, been so greatly depleted as«the badly misinformed Chronlclo
editor so boldly assi^tves! And the gold <niantz, tin, tlllver. copper, lion, lead,
graphite and antimony, all of which are here In commercial quantities, have not
been touched In an industrial sense! These alone will keep Nome on the map
for many decodes to come, while the "barren sea” and the equally “barren
tundra" so remarkably envisioned by our Frisco editorial friend will in a very
few years Is* Included among the world's greatest food supply areas through
the fl«h and reindeer they will unquestionably yield.
Within a dfeesude Nome will l*e sen*Ling millions of pounds of reindeer
jnwtt to S*.tittle to help HU the maw of the hungry outside world tftid when
Nome's fcime as a producer of vast sums in virgin gold has l>een long forgotten,
her name will he even more widely renowned as a producer of fish products.
Keinde**-r propagation is hardly move than started as an industry, yet the an
nual shipments of dressed deer are already reaching wclj into the hundreds of
•hon sands of pounds. while the Pacific Coast public willingly pays a higher
prit-e for Nome fish than for the fninPd fish products of Scotland and Norway.
The reindeer shipments are more than doubling each year and the fish packing
industry is increasing in volume steadily.
When ihe Chronicle's “mariners" came sidling hitherward in the future
i* will not he to find “meat for conjectures” as to where Nome was, but to pick
up great loads of juicy, tender reindeer and fish meat to feed the world's inil
Ih stead of the "Arctic blizzardK’ tearirt^ the roof off the Chronicle's
Imaginary “gilded palaces” whore tho miners once scattered gold by the hand
ful. while the “Arctic waves" butter thorn into kindling wood to warm shivering
lingerers on the desolate beach, the winds will in all human probability sweep
their v:igrant way over and among great warehouses and •storages and the
"barren" beach 4^11 be covered with the <]<>ckf» and quays of a thriving eom
Nome is indeed liuilded ui>on the sands but the Chronicle ed-Mor is very
much in error when he assumes the. it own is moribund or that it will ere long
join the ghostly train >.f mining camps which have in the past flourished
mightly and fell into the dust of oblivion.
Nome need not and does not depend upon gold a® the mainstay of her
future. No camp in the territory is overly prosperous at present but we
are a I mg way front the Chronicle’s prophesied dissolution. Nome will still
\vhen all the placer gold is extracted. It will likely he some time
before ven this will happen, as no lo«s an authority than Dr. Alfred K.
J-frooks of the United States Geological Survey has estimated that by using all
of the. :i callable water resources it will require approximately fifty years to
exhaust the placer pold hearing areas. And wWen the placer gold is gone,
there will remain a dozen other varieties of mineral to fall hack on. beside the
fish and reindeer, the last two of which will alone sust/uin No»n« in a state of
prosperity for a far longer time than either the Chronicle editor or ourselves
win, i»« l kely to stick around this mundane sphere.
Nome will live, but it 1s up to her to make some efTort to overcome the
injuJfou.- effects that wfill certainly result fn«ui the Chronicle story. She
should also take definite steps to counteract such stories in the future by
wide end direct dissemination of the true facts regarding her#sltuatlon, ac
tivities and prospects. This should have i»een done long ago, but now it is
imperative. At least every editor in America should he kt pt informed, for
:p t.hi« way and this only can the ilnslduous propaganda aimed at Injuring this
section in the eyes of the world be avoided.
Voice of the Alaska Press
(ARTICLES UNDER THIS CAPTION REPRESENT THE EXPRESSION
or VIEW OF THE ALASKA PRESS ON CURRENT TOPICS)
ALASKA WANTS NO TRUSTEE
H«T«rtary liayne 3s quoted ns say:ns
thnl ‘Tie govem,np nt will make Seat
tle the •'trustee for Alaska.'* That
probably was not meant to be taken
UtcraJIy. It was metaphor rather
than jfloin san-tlment. At any rate
Alawkci. -wants no “trustee." What
the tsnnMScwy. wants is opportunity to
develop. And it is fair to say here,
notw.thsrtsinclitt* the presence In Seat
tle tracsrt off the time of a lot of poll
(tir'ir.r'.e- w2vA would deHsht In serving
| ns trustee for the people of .this) terH
.fory. the real Seattle does not want
to he “trustee“ to Alaska.
Whnt Alaska neods of "Senttle. and
what the real Seattle is trying: to do
tor iA lesion. is for that city to serve
Jti the enjpnrity of a biff brother rather
jrfan' :■* r. trustee of a guardian. We
war* Pea.ttle to help us fight our'bat
tles with CVmgneSK and for reoojrr’
flora in t*h^ world of trade and indus.
try ; T7d finance. We want Sea.ttle*’s
aid in p-.arinff capital to use In de
velopment. and we promise her all,
who cfve such ample protection and.
Sren^-orur returns.—Cordova Times.
ASSISTANT SECRETARY
OF THE INTERIOR
An-jon cithe matters 1t is known ■
Deh gsito-eteot Dan Sutherland will \
pre.» v while in Washington attending
the rv&n.ter session of eongress will1
be the naming cxf in assistant sect*
tafy of the interior, who will be located
-n Alaska and act as a direct in*«*.••
tree diary between ilie d-.wartment and
the territory.
Tho logic for mic-h an office is found
in th>^ ftict that Alaska is the last
frontier of the nation and demands
crtrvgfdedition if its develop,
meret Is to be insured .
<>wing to distance to Washington,
and the resultant T*jd tape incumbent
»tpor handing Ahufltan matters by
corny«prjrd«Tiice, much valuable time
is consumed in an effort., to meet the
exigences that artvp. from day to day .
TOs Has been ope of the most ser
ious dmw^'ck* to tea Tutorial develop
ment, and .•ddftlio th«gpoltcy of stag
nation practiced hereto tone, has ser
v«J to aoceui’.tat* the conditions which
hatv mitigated to ret,:* rd progress and
drive popuia ion. ft*on the north,
Tbet* is. money, and population
nsr.'j.tfng the unlocking of,the ter 'tory
to proper exploitation, but until the
key is provided there will be lit le for
wnrd movement..
Ala?ka fipcs not desire paternalism
ar alms. Ic desires the opportunity to
wor kout its own salvation unhampered
by a -mass of red tape. By naming
an assistant secretary of the intenior,
operateng under a Pacific Coast man
sis secretary oftthe interior, we may
look for a solution of every problem
with which we are confronted.
Alaska would prefer a secretary of
the IntctUor from a -state like Wash
ington. bomuAi onfly a far western
train familiar with the northwest and
Its problems is eapoMe of meeting the
(problems offered. At the same time
the court of conference, n‘8 it were,
should be centered In men closest in
touch with the. subject matter to bo
dealt with. By segregating Alaskan
problems under the secretary of the
interior, umcotningled and interlocked
with the department of agriculture,
full functioning of the department may
1k> secured and motivation given to re
forms necessary to bring the territory
into full fruition.—Juneau Capital.
DON’T KID YOURSELF
A prominent citizen, talking to the
edl’or of the Cat own y. said that the
| item in a rocent issue of the Gateway
regarding the building of coal bunkers
In Sewjird and ajso the prospect of .1
pulp mill in this section, was more in
the nature of a “possibility” than a
"probability. ”
You’ire right, that wits the impres
The quicker Sewurd people stoi>
kidding themselves, the better. There
is no <iity in Alaska nor no class of
citiaen-s In the teoinitory having so
mueff to expect, and they will realize
It. if they go after it. But it is nod
done. Cltizdns sit down and wait for
Pur three years, every fall, look
for a lietter spring, and in the spring
<-omes the t:Jk, therei s a fine fall
The milroad construction has gnnr
beyond, nothing ran row he expected
frofrn the commission until the railroad
-Ls complete*!, when through traffic is
offered, and Seward will be the real
terminus, on the ocean.
Forget ali-out the commission.
As to the navy, the building ol
coal bunkers on lU.sunrert.ion is prac
tically decided. But ivhat of it—there
will be a couple of hundred men en
gaged In the construction of the bun
kos, then they will go Then the
bunkers will be operate! by machin
ery with perhaps a crew of from ter
to fifteen men. These inen may m tk<
theiir homes at Sowiird espx*ial!/ 11
they are .to bo engaged for the yeai
around. C’olliens will come, load vvrh
In n day or '•*> and go. The crews w,i:
purchase tobacco, magazines, and
other like articles. Perhaps they wil'
purchase clortihing. But by the con
struction of coni bunkers at Sewarl, II
does not mx-aasarlly mean a popula
tion of 500 more or so.
What is needed is another cannery,
another* cold .storage plant, because
Seward Is the center of the fishing
(industry in southwestern Alaska,
with the San Juan plaint here and
other fishing (industry here. Seward
wtiil grow. It will mean that the
cnows of the fishing ‘boats w’Jl bring
their families to Seward for they will
he employed here for perhaps nine
months of the year bringing !n fish
for the. cold storage plants and for
•the canneries. during the canning eea
skm. These crews will outfit here, etc.
as it wai be their base.
Now regarding flhe pulp m il—
everyone wants a pulp mill her? and
one may he. built, (but whep is not
known. It takes mone,v to build a
pulp mill, several million dollars. The
one at# Spell rfv«r, in Southeastern
Alaska will cost when completed
$2*000,000, If Hart Thane and asso
rfate^ erect a pulp mill at Thane on
Gastinea-u channel, $2,000,000 will be
spent. There is more timber in
SopthceiMettn Alaska for pulp wood
than to the westward. There is also
Plenty of water power and bath will
be utilized before the westward Js en
tered, jiccordting to (true -reasoning.
Freight rates -to the staffs from
Southeastern Ala«ica will be cheaper
than from Southwestern Alaska and
tih:s is a big them to bike ' to con
sideration, i,n competition.
T*on’,t strain at n camel and swat,
low a no-see-em.
But Seward can go after and got
a storage plant, or two and perhaps
another cannery. Of course there Is
a great future for Seward but it !s
1921 JANUARY 1921
23 24j25i26l27i28T29
aai a<i. ir - r i ii i
MI
not going to be realized within the
next tew months.
We have itthe coal dn the Matanusku
fields, but It ii» going to take time to
pot that coal out of old Mother Earth.
If there was coni there now for Jhe
navy, over 300 tons of British Colum
bia coal would not have arrived In the
freighter Skagwny, for the navy radio
station at the buy.
Don’t klid. trot down .to brass tucks
and go after* the fishing plants and
then something definite will be real
ize! and soon. —Seward Gateway.
THE DOER
Mjke l!he beat .of the worst of
.things, is tlie atrtfttudo of he who would
he wise. The optimist insists on
cheonfulness. He needs \ it mentally
ns the system needs oxygen. A fake
optimist js a bubble, bright and brill
iant in reshim*, but when touched
with rough stuff bursts. The real
hard-rock optiniiist is a tonic and a
.jewel. Ho on expander. Tho
world is too small for him. Inciden
tally, he is the man with the pick and
shovel who smarts the movement *o
new locations. The Yukoners knew
him well. Many a time they hr<v
seen hiirn strike out for the hills with
his pr.ck and dog rnd gun. a i i”..le
per dent fellow, rttrnest, a bit of fa
ta lixt, adapting himself readily to cir
eumwtanoes. He wfM tackle a raging
river on a few logs bound together
with willows. If he goes pnder, on one
may never know the how of when of It.
'f be wins, thinking nothing of it. ho
follows his course. If Ihe lis out for
placer gold, he-has an eye for rfmroc :
end gravel banks in creeks a.ml gul
ches: if a quartz man, b° looks for
"float” along the bars and fringes of
the waterway. Pniitorrtly he will dog
a Mkedy prospect to ilts liar in the
virgin rock. When the "float” is in
creasing he knows that ho is drawing
nearer the source.
He .may find no* more than a Minn IT
piece of two in a whole day’s tramp,
but he lis experienced ns well as hope,
ful. A change in the water course,
an eddy, a current, has its effect. He
studies nsiture .instinctively. The
good prospector Is a born naturalist
and observer. He'knows his rock a«f
thoroughly as Faber does his spider
of the blind wood l*>or. When the
"float” ends Abruptly, there the pros
pector <sunps. The glow of his dr'i
lights the darkness, the cmckle of
.burning 1<W» break? the stiiin- «s. A
bit of c©nva» a couple of poles, a
blanket spread on spruce boughs, a
piece of bacon in tihe pen, a biscuit- a
pot of tea, a pipe end your optimist
feels like a lord. If he has luck, a
Keno Hill or Mayo boom may result.
And who knows ? Look over the
history of mining throughout the
world. In tho glow of his camp-fire
or river or mountain did the prospect
or see a railway reaching acro-vn • the
wikis? Old lh« see towns, cities?
Hear the hamnVer of the worker, feel,
the thik* of industry? No, likely not.
But ho made ail these, things*.
Hi# name may never be known out
side Jhis own small cfrcle of cronii^.
but hla works ring around, the world.
4 a dd *tM. bring the Weekly
Nugget to
NOMC^EOUkC
PREVENT APPENDICITIS
Many Nome people are uaing simple
glycerine, buckthorn bark, etc., is
mixed in Adler-i-ka. This flushes
BOTH upper apd lower bowel so com
pletely It removes mil foul, accumulated
poisons from alimentary. canal and
prevents appendicitis. Ad'ler-l-ka re^
lleves ANY CASE gas on stomach or
sour stomach. Often CURES consti
pation. In one case of chronic stom
ach trouble ONE bottle produced won
derful results. T.omen Brothers,, drug
kfot**_Advertisement
NOTICE OF MARSHAL’8 8ALE
PWBLJC NOTICE IS HEREBY
GIVEN That under and by virtue of
a Writ of Execution issued out of the
District Court for the Territory of
Alaska, Second Division, upon a cer
tain Judgment rendered on the 17tl»
day of April, 1920, and entered in'
favor of Calvin G. Brinker, plaintiff,
and against Alfrej Anderson, defend
ant. being Cause No. 2827, T will on
tlhe 9th day of February. 1921, at
twelve o’clock noon of said day. at the
front door of the United States Court
House at Nome. Alaska, as command
ed In said Writ, offer for sale at pub
lic Auction, and sell to the highest
and best bidder for cash, all the right,
titl? And tnterost which the defendant
jhrd on the 17th day. of April, 1920, or
ia* any time .since. In and to those'
[certain placer mining claims known
n#« No. 3 Bench aid No. 4 Bench on
the right limit of Bourbon Creek,
known as Mineral Survey No. 1190. In
‘he Cap^ Nome Recording Precinct.
Territory of .Alaska. Second Division.
E, It. JORDAN.
United Statee Marshal. Second
Dfvlaion, Territory of Alaska.
Publiafc-^Igg. 29. Feb. t, 1921