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EDITORIAL I
iiavi: vui" n>K(;oTTKX ANY
THING
The government is holding JSS,
i .m'.ihio in interest past due on lib
-ty bonds a-gregating ill face value
more than a billion dollars The
money has not been paid became tiie
holders of tin- temporary bonds have
t presented the bonds and secured
their permanent bonds. Thore may
!>e two explanations for the failure
to collect the interest. Some people,
i i> not need it he money and prefer
to let the government keep it for
them. O; hers may not understand
the nature of the bonds they hold
and d<> not know that they are en
titled to exchange the bonds and pet
securities with interest coupons at
tached. As a matter of fact, the
manner in which some of the securi
ties were issued and sold was very
confusing—almost as difficult to
und-rstand as the income tax re
quirements. It would he amazing
ii' a lot of people of small business
. rience did not fail to collect not
only the interest but the principle
of the bonds. They were called upon
to "subscribe until it hurts." and
they did so. The Wilson-McAdoo
holders of a billion dollars worth of
bonds are now suffering the disuse
of money due tin .. possibly through
the complicated methods by which
the bonds were sold in the first
place.
That new -Irv npl, - .au:ed con
siderable f>-i Mftit.
General Wratu'el is a tolerably good
escaper. at any rate.
The only perfect tax is one which
the other f«l!ou pays.
Kveryhing on the Adriatic Is set
tle-! except i>*Annunzio.
Open winters are all right In their
way, bu: open summers are better.
Th"s». with barren coslblns have a
b :riii:.» opin-on of the cool barons.
Next to n substitute for coal a num.
I er will be wishing for a hoplesa
process.
France want* Germany to pay her
tray in. objecting to any compliment
arv tickets.
About the only thing left for those
without c"al to do is to pray tor an
early spring.
Spain i< to recognize MexV-o. The
former country has certainly seen the
hitter before.
Russia may soon be able to buy In
the markets of :he world, but not with
paper rubles.
A dispatch says whole Polish towns
ure habjicxs; perhaps the people are
all livins in Slats.
It is a lo:i •. b-ns way. apparently,
from the ch< ap barrel uf ilour to the
Cheap Uuf of bre-d. _
Literature of the World War
J !
A writer once aptly said that literature is the only history of tho
human soul. We study the history of the nation for a record of its deeds
and achievements, but bacV. of these deeds there is always the soul of a
nation, in order that we may understand those ideals which lie at the heart
of all history.
During any period of great national stress, comparatively little en
during literature is produced. When a nation is passing through a crisis,
whether it be political, economic, or military, it has little time for auglit
but action, and we must await the period of calm and peace after the
storm, for the cartful recording of the motives and emotions which in
spired the people the crisis. This is especially true of any period during
which a nation Is involved in war. However, one who will study that lit
tle which is produced, will And it intensely siguilicant in that it ex
presses the spirit of the people in the midst of the conflict as it cannot
possibly be expressed in later records.
In the literature of the Revolutionary War, we find nothing that we
might call a finished product, but the crude verse which was written is
aflame with the dautless spirit of liberty which more than compensates
for its imperfections. We lind, too that unswerving loyalty of the col
onists to their English blood, even while they were breaking the political
ties which bound theni to the Mother country. Expression of this senti
ment is recorded in the parody on the English "Hearts of Oak:"
On our brow, while we laurel-crowned liberty wear.
What Eulishmen ought, we Americans dare;
Tho tempest and terrors around us we see,
Bribes nor fears can prevail over hearts that are
Hearts of Oak are we still.
For we're sons of those men
Who always are ready
Steady, boys, steady,
To fight for their freedom, again and again.
There are a few songs, such as "Hail Columbia," written In 179S.
which have lived and shall live as long as we are a nation and which stir
hearts now as they did when iirst written. Our national anthem, the "Star
Spangled Banner," is another example of war poetry, which the nation
treasures, composed as it was, during the turmoil and conflict of the War
of 1S12.
The poems and songs of the Civil War show less of tho fierce flaming
spirit of men battling for eternal rights of freedom and more of sorrow
and sadness. This period was the most tragic in the history of our nation.
Men were fighting for ideals, rather than for freedom. Never before had
there been such a tearing asunder of all those ties which are must sacred.
There was nothing of the exaltation which comes to a people joined in
spirit, battling for freedom against a foreign foe. In this war family was
arrayed against family, brother against brother, father against son. So
we do not wonder at the strain of sadness which we find in such verse as
"Just Before the Battle Mother." "Tenting Tonight." "The Vacant Chair,"
"The Blue and the Gray," and "The Conquered Banner." The martial
spirit of the age is reflected in only a few ringing war songs, such as
"Maryland. My Maryland." and the inspiring "Battle Hymn of the Kt
public."
More than half a century had elapsed since the Civil War period, but
not until the last few years has it been possible to judge with any decree
of accuracy what of the Civil War verse will live. 15e<-aus? much of the
poetry produced during a war appeals to the generations who have shared
with the writers the emotions which inspired this verse, it by no means
follows that the same poemts will carry a like appeal to the generations
to come. So, with the present period, although we know that time alore
can determine we find ourselves wondering what will be the decision of
the future, what literary treasures will be found among the productions
of this epoch whose beginning is marked by ihe monnientus days of 1914.
The songs of the present day differ from those of tho Civil War in
that they express a spirit of optimism, even of cheerfulness, which could
not be lacking during the bitterness of that earlier struggle. This opti
mism was not recorded in "The Vacant Chair" and "Just Before the Battle
Mother" as it is in "Tipperarv." "Over There" and 'Tack ur your Troubles
in your Old Kit B:ig and Smile, Smile. Smile."
When we turn to the more serious verse o:' the .vir we linj much the
(same spirit, but the breezy optimism which cheered a nation at war is re
j placed by a deeper feeling, a steady faith and courage which does not
shrink from the thought of death, but l'eels that death, in such a cause, is
I infinitely more to be desired than life gained through a cowardly refusal
to respond to the bugle call of Honor and Duty. We ,'ind this sentiment ex
pressed again and again in the poetry of the war. In the "Peaceful war
rior" Henry Van Dyke give voice to the spirit of the whole American na
tion. when he says in the closing lines:
Stand up. my soul, nnl strive.
For the things most dear to thee!
Why should we care to be alive.
I'nless the world is free.
In another verse of the war. we find the same idea, but this time ex
pressed by a private in the ranks, who but for these lines, might always
have remained unknown:
w net! I nettoia me muse ana tragic mgni
Shrouding the earth in vague, symbolic gloom:
And when I think that, ere my fancy's flight.
» Has reached the portals of the inner room:
Where knightly ghosts, guarding the sacred arc
Of brave romance, thru me shall sing again.
Death may ingulf me in eternal dark.
Still I have no regret, nor poignant pain:
For. better, in one ecstatic, epic day,
To strike a blow for Glory and for Truth:
With ardent singing heart to toss away
In Freedom's holy cause my eager youth.
Than, bear as weary years pass one by one,
The knowledge of a sacred task undone.
Another poem of the present day. contains in the following lines, a
beautiful tribute to the men who did lay down their lives in "Freedom's
holy cause:
A song for the heroes gone on ahead.
To join the hosts of the marching dead,
A song for the souls that could lightly tling
Sweet life away, as a little thing.
For the sake of the mighty need of earth;
The need of the ages coming to birth.
All praise to the daring God. who gave
Heroic souls that could dare the grave.
Praise for the power he laid on youth.
To challenge disaster and die for truth:
What greater gift can the High God give.
Than the power to die that the truth may live?
Glory to the Lord, the Hero of Heaven.
He whose wounds in his side are seven.
Glory that he gathers the Heroes home.
Out of the red fields, out of the foam:
Gathers them out of the everywhere.
Into the Camp that is Over There.
From another otherwise unknown writer came a timely warning to
the American nation, which in the first hour of victory was too prone to
overlook the years that our Allies held the line before our troops crossed
the ocean to their aid:
Be humble. 0 America! Our dead
Lie proudly side by side, with those who bled.
That Liberty might live. Be it our pride;
We came, not quite too late, but turned the tide,
And led the way to victory! Thank God
That in that bloody path, we too have trod,
That in Gethsemane we too have stood;
That of that consecrated crimson flood.
That spread beneath the shrapnels blighting showers.
One splendid, brave redeeming drop was ours.
It is safe, even at the present day, to say that among the poets of the
World War, Joyce Kilmer stands out as one of the leading figures. Before
1914 his work had attracted nation wide attention, and had he lived, he
would, unquestionably, have heen one of the foremost in the American
ranks of twentieth century poets. He wrote little war verse. Even those
poems written after he had joined the great conflict, dealt more often with
subjects of home, and peace than with any phase of war. His exquisite
appreciation of nature is shown in one of his last poems, written in July
191S. The poem bears the simple title,"Trees" and the closing couplet
summarizes his views of the insignificance of man's efforts In comparison
with the works of nature:
"Poems are made by fools like me
But only God can make a tree."
Judging the present by the past, we must acknowledge that the great
est literature concerning the World War is yet to be written. The times
are still too disturbed for the attention of the great minds of the age to be
directed toward literature, but whatever judgment the future may pass on
the works of the present day, we know that there was one bit of verse pro
duced during thut terrible conflict, that will endure as long as a nation
honors it's heroes. Lieutenant Colonel John McRae, touched the heart of
the English speaking world when he gave to it that little poem which al
ready holds a sacred place in our literature. The recent harsh comment
by the Literary Digest 011 this "Immortal poem" as the critic himself ac
knowledges it, will And no responsive echo from the hearts of those whose
loved ones rest among the poppy blooms. Whatever may tie rejected, cast
aside, and forgotten by the coming generations, we feel certain that in these
lines will live the spirit of those of our own day who are left to keep faith
with those who sleep in Flander's Fields:
In Flanders Fields the poppies grow,
Between the crosses, row on row;
That mark our place, and in the sky,
The larks, still bravely singing, fly;
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago,
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow;
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.
Take on our quarrel with the foe!
To you, from falling hands, we throw
The torch. Be yours to hold it high!
If ye break faith with us who die;
We shall not sleep, tho popples blow
In Flanders Fields.
FINIS.
GASTINEAU MINE VVIDL CON
TINUE OPERATIONS AGAIN
The Alaska Gastineau Gold Min
ing Company will continue to op
erate throughout the month of June
at the employment capacity at which
the plant Is now working, according
to cabled instructions received by
General Manager G. T. Jackson this
morning.
To Retain All Employes.
When questioned as to whether
the present working force of the
mine would be increased during the
mouth of June, the Dally Capital
was told, that the mine and mill
would continue to function with its
present force of employes.
This announcement comes as a
hopeful surprise, since Mr. Jackson
had been instructed soma time ago
to order cessation of work by the
end of May, and many families at
Thane had already planned to leave
for the south on the next boat-out.
—Ex.
EGG# FOB HATCHING
S.C.R.R. McKinzie Strain 15—$2.00
S.C.W.L. Tancrtd Strain 16-^*2.6#
Peking Ducks 11 for $1.50
Baby Chicks and Ducklings aft«r
May llth.
A. J. Achlson
Box 224 Skagway
Subscribe for th# Alaskan and
get all the news while it is news.
Stikme Opens
for Navigation
Twenty-Five Passengers Hnil Twen
ty Ions of Freight Will l>c tak
en on First Voyage
Harrington Transport a'ion Company
W ell Prepared (o Take Care of
the Coming Season's Business.
The opening of the Siikine river
season, an event of great impor
tance to this region, and especially
to the residents of Telegraph Creek
anil vicinity, will tune place Satur
day when about 25 passengers will
leave Wrangel! on the Hazel B 111
and llazel B IV. The freight in the j
warehouse, awaiting shipment up tho
river, amounts to about 40 tons but
only about half of it will be carried
up on the initial trip. Five horses
that came up on the Mary will form
part of the cargo.—Ex.
Makes Progress
on Haines Road
Rehabilitation of the Haines-Wells
road is progressing satisfactorily, ac
cording to a statement made today
by Col. Jamos G. Steece, president of
1 the Alaska Road Commission. This
t work is being done by Foreman Mc
Kenzie with a small force of men.
Col. Steese returned from a short
I trip to Haines this morning on the
I Alma. While there he inspected as
far as Fish Point the road out of
I Haines leading to the International
I Boundary. While there he employed
It. J. Shopard, Haines engineer, to
make location surveys on the road
■ from Fish Point on to the border.
' While it will be impossible, said
j Colonel Steese, to complete the proj
| ect this season, considerable work
will be done. The worst spots will
be made passable, bridges will be
strengthened and the road put in
shape to accommodate all possible
traffic. Next season, he said, it Is
hoped to complete the work.
Two new men for the commission's
staff will arrive 011 the Spokane, said
Colonel Steese. These are 0. A.
Hall, bridge engineer and a former
member of the commission prior to
the war, and Ike Taylor, formerly
assistant chief engineer under F. D.
Browne on the Interior Division of
the Alaska Engineering Commission.
Mr. Taylor will be stationed at Fair
banks for the present in charge of
the finances.
Capt. C. S. Ward, disbursing officer
of the commission, and Mr. Taylor
will leave on the Alameda for Fair
banks going by the way of Chitina
and the Richardson Highway. Mr.
Hall, immediately upon his arrival
will begin preparing plans for the
bridge to be erected across the Ni
zina River on the McCarthy-Nizina
road. Colonel Steese will leave on
the Ambassador on her first trip
from Juneau to Chichagof, going to
Lisianski Peninsula to investigate
the possibility of opening up a road
from the beach to the property of
Capt. J. H. Cann and associates.
Sonny bays
"A drug store that can give me
just what I want in tablets, pencils,
pens and other school things is
the store that will get my trade."
But that is just one part of the
modern service of our store. Not
only all sorts of school supplies out
the many home needs of the
school boy will be satisfactorily
answered here.
Handy for Stationery
Buy it by the box, by the pound or
in tablets. The very best grade
that you can secure for the price
you wish to invest can be purchased
here at a saving in time and trouble.
We can show an array of tinw and tex
tures large enough to include your favorite.
J?or I —1
Tablets Pens - Pencils etc
Keller Bros., Skagway, Alaska
Solomon's Ttrr.pfe.
It Is believed today by ninny sa
vants that the Old Testament descrip
tion of Solomon's temple was written
by the .lews after their return from
the captivity, with the memory of the
real splendors of Babylon fresh In
fheir winds, says Anstrulher MacUay.
writing in the Atlantic Monthly. It
Is possible that the actual temple was
a simple place of worship. If It had
been otherwise, It Is hardly possible
that no remains of it would be visible
today, seeing tliat Hie temples of
Kgypt. which are so much older, re
nviin, in some cases, almost in toto.
Autos are traversing the Sahara
and the camel, the "ship of the desert"
—is fast getting out of commission.
What scientific progress Is bringing
the world in the way of comfort and
utility, It is losing It in plcturesque
ness and tradition. Going across the
desert in a motorcar Is too prosaic
a thing to brng about at home.
HrHSSKBT J::: ft ST Jf3T
No shortage of water In the oceun
has been reported, but another Ameri
can cruiser has ico'jt»acro'ind.
Old and Young Presidents.
The honor of the presidency ?»uie
to William Henry Harrison later in
life than to any other incumbent of
office, Mr. Harrison being sixty-eight
years of age when inaugurated in
1841. When Theodore Roosevelt suc
ceeded President McKlnley In 1901, he
was but forty-two years of age, being
younger than any other president of
the United States at the time of at
taining the office.
A Slow Voyage to the Sea.
A block of wood was cast into the
Yellowstone river 11 years ago by a
citizen of Glendlve, Mont. It is slow
ly drifting to the sea. The inscription
made upon it by the man who started
it bus heen added to by two other
persons, who picked it up and started
It again on its way. It was last seen
at Washburn. N. D.
SBBBIBBS&aSBRISiaBBB&iaBaaa&nBH
White Fass & Yukon Route
TIME TABLE No. 40
Tuesday and Frlflny
No i, N. Bound
1st Class.
8:30 a.m. Leaves
11:00 a.m. "
12:40 p. m. "
2:10 p. m. "
4:30 p
Leaves
SICAGWAY
WHITE TASS
BENNETT
CARCROSS
WHITEHORSE
Passengers must b« at the depot In time to liava Baggage in
spected, and checked. Inspection is stopped thirty minutes before
leaving time of trains.
ISO pounds of Baggage "will be checked free with each full fare
ticket, and 75 pounds with each half fare ticket.
Arrive
No. 2, S. Board
1st .Class
Arrives 3:45 p.m.
2:10 p. m.
12:45 p. m.
10:65 a. m.
8:30 a. m.