*
®he JJailtj Jtla^han
sfvknteenth year Mv auway, alaska. Tuesday, dboembek i. nm price 10 cents
w. b. Close, head of the great
English financial house of Close
Bros., and majority stockholder 'n
the W. 1'. ii Y. R., and its subsid
iary companies, while on his re
turn home to England recently after
a visit to Seattle on business in
connection with their management,
wrote the Daily Alaskan the follow
ing letter, just before his embarka
tion at New Yor\, in which he gives
his ooinion of the causes which led
to the present European war.
The communication fiom Mr.
Close is especially interesting for
;he reason that he is personally
known to mosi of our readers, hav
ing frequently visited this section
Alaska a'tring the past 16
I \ ears.
New York, Nov. 13, 1914.
1 arrived here from Eng
land on October 20th, and
have been to the Pacific
•'oast on a matter of business,
md am sailing back for Eugland
tomorrow by the St. Paul. 1 am
•iskci" how people in England are
taking this terrible war. I am
.-lad to answer In a way that makes
■lie immensely proud of my coun
'ry. At first on the declaration of
war. for a few days things were iu
• onfuMon and some silly people
rushed off and bought all the pro
visions they could lay their hands
i>n under some delusion that the
German fleet might stop food com
ing in: further, as bank holiday was
prolonged for several days, it was
•lifficult to get money even for cur
rent expenses. But all this soon
passed away. People saw the wis
dom of the advice given by our
loaders to all those unable to take
an active part in the preparation
for war, to endeavor to live as
nearly as possible in the way they
had lived before the war broke out
-that any economy that put peo
ple cut of work, such as needless
ly and under panic dismissing ser
vants and employes, was an act
directly contrary to the interests
cf the country, and harmful to the
community generally. _ When the
VrmVs opened again and with Credit
.restored, we all soon settled down
to something like normal conditions,
except for the fact that nearly all
the 'vomen are working hard at
making shirts, woolen comforters
and cumber-bands, knitting socks
and making bandages, etc., and
that whereas, before the war a
soldier was a comparatively rare
sight, now men In khaki are
seen by the thousand, and that the
London streets are darkened at
night because of tha threatened
Zeppelin raid, and except that you
tee everywhere in Loudon aud the
provinces, batches of Belgium re
fugees being conducted to the vari
ous centers formed to receive and
take care of them. These poor
Belgians are a sight that would
melt the hardest of hearts—ail
showing signs of the terrible suf
fering they have undergone, and
all with the same hopeless expres
sion indicative of what is in their
minds, that all that Is dear to
them in Mfe Is lost, that their be
loved fertile Belgium has been rav
aged from end to end, their cities |
and homes destroyed—their sw- i
i"gs gone and their relatives aud j
friends by the thousands, raassacr- j
ed or killed in unequal battle. Not j
a smile amongst them, and they pa- j
tiently go where they are led and !
do what they are told without ques- J
tlon.
The heart of England ha« gone
out to these people. There is !
a sort of feeling amongst us that, j
but for the "silver streak!' and out |
strong navy, our own fair England
would perhaps have been going!
through all the horrors that poor !
Belgium has undergone, and which j
she might have perhaps avoided;
only at the price of her honor and |
independence. We feel, moreover,
that It is not somhow quite fuir ;
that -while both nations are fighting:
the common enemy, one nation
should have to bear the burden so j
much the more heavily than t'io J
other. All that we can do to miti-u
gate the suffering of the population ■
of this outraged and stricken na
tion Is beind done; but we cannot :
do everything. We can t.iUe care of
those who come to on? shores
and seek refuge, but we can do i
little for those who, unable to
get away, are starving in their ©wu j
country under the domination of
their and our common enemy. There
fore, we all rejoice to learn that*
the plight of this brave but unfor- J
tunate people has touched the
hearts of the American people, and
that relief is being organized for
them In all parts of this country, !
and It Is needed immediately. Ex
cept, therefore, for the events
I have described, and that of
course the war is freely discussed
amongst us, we are living as far
The Best Always the Cheapet *
We Keep the Best.
AMERICAN GENTLEMAN
and CROSSETX SHOES tor
men. ■».
AMERICAN LADY Shoes for
Ladies and Ml"ses.
PLA-MATE, SECURITY and
PLA-DAY ShON for the
Kiddles.
•MAKES UFES WALK EASY'
~~ THAfeE. MARK. 7
H. J. LYNCH
- we can very much asje were
before the war. But, aIas- '
of u3 mourn the loss of relatives
and friends, only wo try a* much
as possible to console ourselves
and each other by the thought tha
those killed in war gave tl.elr lives
not only for t^eir country, but also
l'Or humanity In general.
There Is no bombast or boastings
iu England, but there U a Quite
grim determination that now we are
lu j»t we shall JU3t see the thing
through at all costs and to the
verv end, and get rid one© f°r *
of the ulghttnare of militarism that
has been shattering the nerves of
Europe.for forty-two years.
I am also asked for my opinion
as to the real cause of the war.
Briefly, In my opinion, it is the
last stand of all that Is implied In
Prussian Juukerism and militarism
against democracy and the liberty of
the subject and' this In turn m*
lilie* the determination of the mili
tary clr.ss in Germany to ierce the
entire world to acknowledge German
brut* force supremacy. . "Deutche
uber 'alles" is their motto.
Since the Franco-German war of
1370-1, the German people liave
been governed so methodically and
so scientifically by their rulers,
that they have since that time made
Germany, In her manufactures and
in her '-trade, one of the greatest
nations of the world. For cen
turies before Germany was united
in 1ST1, that country has been
the scene of countless wars, and
was divided literally Into hundreds
of independent principalities "nd
most of them with only a fe^
thousand Inhabitants, and each
principality -with its own system of
coinage and weights and measures;
therefore even inter-trade and man
ufacture was impossible under such
conditions. But these principalities
xv ere - radii ally consolidated into
the ltliidonia of Pru.-sla, ii.'.nover.
S Bavavla, wnrtemburg, and
the (: ■ ad Dncliy of Baden-Badeu;
moreover, ••rlula towns, like Frank
fort Haml urg, etc„ remained free
rc,rn- Strt all, in 1371. were eon.
solidat«.j i.'.o the great and migh )
and aow arrogant German Empire,
which tod;.y is causing so much dis
comfort to Its peacefully disposed
neighbors".
People who belong to a nation
tint l as prospered so wonderful
ly as Germany has, r.re uot Ufcely
to work or"c°mplaln to the form j
of government they live unuer so
long as thoy participate in that'
prosperity, and thus we have ie J
anomaly of the people of the "at)°n •
that- claims to be tbe most highly
educated in the world, allowing
themselves to be ruled by a govern
ing class, who treat all but those
of their-own class aa inferiors, and
the people are therefore ty long
usage", content for instance, to see
their womankind swept off the pave
ment into the gutter by that class
which Is the quintessence of Prus
sian Junkorism, the military* of
ficers of all grades, and the people
are also content to allow these
military officers to force tliem to
give up their table at public res
taurants it all tables are occupied.
On the plea that an officer must
not be kept waiting, and thero are
many other ways by which the peo
ple are content to acknowledge that
they are in an inferior position so
cially or otherwise to the ruling
class.
There have, however, been some
signs that the German democracy
was chafing under the rule of the
German Junker class. For while
German trade, and German manu
facture and German shipping has
grown to such vast proportions, this
growth is not altogether on a sol
id foundation. it has been the
custom of German banks and fin
ancial Institutions to subscribe mon
ey towards enterprises of all sorts,
in all parts of the world, often of
a speculative nature, and the fail
ure of any of these enterprises
weakens the condition of these
banks and institutions, and all en
terprises cannot always be success
ful. Further, we all know how
heavily subsidized by the govern
ment is the German mercantile ma
rine, and how heavily the subsidies
pressed on the Imperial treasury.
We also know that the German gov
Brnment, shortly before the war
broke out, wae In such neeed of
money to pay for th© Increased ar
maments it had ordered as a result
of the Balkan wars (whereby her
xrmy was iucreasod in the propor
tion of 8 to 5), that the govern
ment imposed a direct tax on capi
tal, which was calculated to bring
In $250,000,000. We ars told
(■hat this tax was not altogether
successful. All other sources of
taxation had long been imposed and
:here were no new sources of rev
enue. In fact, Germany had reacla
sd the zenith of her taxable pow
ers. It was plain Bhe could not
70 on sustaining her enormous
irniy and her powerful fleet and
subsiding her mercantile marine and
Bolstering up unsuccessful colonies
ivithont becoming bankrupt More
over, there has been for some years
i period of great depression in her
rrade and manufacturers and the
[>rice of food is rising rapidly
This is the time that democracy
:omes into its own and the socialist
fote, at the last election, showed an
ilarming increase. Something had
to be done, and, on the principle
»f "when in doubt play trumps," so
Jo nations, when unable to pay any
longer for their excessive arma
ment, when in doubt play war and
wage it on some usually inoffensive
aeighbor, and thug was it that Ger
many made for war.
I have heaTd It said in well in
formed circles in England, that
Germany chose this year to make
war for three reasons;
First; That Russia had worked
out a new mobilization scheme
which was to come into force next
year, and which Involved the mobili
zation of a much more powerful ar
m^ on the Vistula ready at short
notice for war. Secondly; That
France had the secret of a new au
tomatic rifle that would stand the
(Continued on Page 3.)
U. S. CONGRESSMEN' ARE
FLOCKING TO WASHINGTON
Washington, D. C., Dec. 1—
Members of congress who have
been spending their time at home
since the recent adjournment of
the special session, are now flock
ing back to tn& capital to be in
readiness for the opening of the
coming session.
ASKs FOR APPROPRIATION
OF A VERY LARGE SCM
Washington, D. C., Dec. 1—
Secretary of War L. M. Garrison
will ask for an appropriation at the
approaching session of congress of
$250,000,000 for the army and na
vy for next year.
KIPPERED SALMON
Just received a fine lot of
this delicious fish. It is King
Salmon, mild smoked and sugar cured
Put up in choice cuts—25c per lb.
Equally good served cold or hot.
P. fi. GANTY, GROCER
TWELVE 8RITISH WARSHIPS Oil
GUARD IN SOUTH ATLANTIC
New Sork, Dec. 1—Twelve lii-it
ish war vessels are reported to i>e
guarding shipping between this city
and the Panama canal,
BIG BATTLE NOW GOING ON
BETWEEN YPRES AND liVS I
London, Deo. 1—The allies ate
now advancing in Flanders, and a
big battle is raging between Ypres
and Lys.
AVIATORS AKE LOST WHEN
their machines drop
Copenhagen, Dec. J—Two Ger
man aviators when they lost control
of their machines near Jutland to
day dropped into the sea, and were
lost.
COLD WEATHER in AI STRIA
CAUSES MICH SUFFERING
Vienna, Dec. 1—Unusual and bit
terly cold weather in conjunction
with the exorbitant price or all
food stuffs, is causing intense suf
fering and misery among the in
habitants of this city.
IS ARRANGING FOR AN
EXCHANGE OP PRISONERS
Beme, Dec. 1—Guslav Ador, thief
of the agency for the exchange of
prisoners between the belligerent
countries in the European ,var, is j
arranging to exchange all (hose oil
each side, who are seriously M ound
ed or crippled.
KAISER RUSHING TROOPS
TO FIRING LINE IN BELGIUM
Paris, Dec. 1—Every able-bod ied
German that the Kaiser can spare
from the Belgian garrisons is on
the firing line to«lii,y battHng be
tween Vpres and the sea.
THE GERMANS AT 1/ODZ
FIGHTING WITH FUR*
London, Dec. I—The Germans art*
fighting with fury to eftc.ipe from
the Russians at Lodz, where they
are reported to be almost, entirely
surronnded and in extreme danger
ofv annihilation.
KING OF ENGLAND HAS
DEPARTED FOIt FRANCE
London, Dec. 1—King George of
England left here today for a vW
to the British headquarters in
France. ,
BELIEVER GERMANS HAVE
SUPPLY BASE ON COAST
London, Dec. 1—It is believed
here that the Germans have a
base of supplies on the Scottish
coast. i
DANISH STEAMER SUNK
TODAY IN NORTH 8EA
London, Dec. 1—The Danish
steamship Ebsjarg struck a float
ing mine today in the North sea
and was sunk.
OFFICIALS CHARGED WITH
BRIBERY AND CORRUPTION
pekiu, Dec. 1—Several high of
f'cjals of the Chinese government
have recently been executed be
cause of alleged bribery and corrup
tion.
FOUR HUNDRED JAPANESE
LOST IN MINE DISASTER
London, Dec. 1—Over four hun
dred lives are said to lhave beea
lost recently In a mine disaster that
occurred at Hokkaido, Japan.
THE WEATHER IN 8KAGWAV
AS WELL AS THE INTERIOR
December was ushered in this
morning with a strong north wind
blowing, and the thermometer hov
ering around S above, the coldest
weather the people of Skagway have
yet experienced this winter. There
not much enow on the ground,
but it Is crisp, and the sidewalks
slippery with ice.
Carcross, Cloudy, n. w. 1 below
Whltehorse, Clear, calm, river full
of ice, zero. **■
Lower LeBarge, Cl^r n. w. 12 -
b»low, <
Hootalinqua, Clear, calm, 20 be
low, river full of >ce.
Big salmon. Clear, calm, 21 fce
Icw, river full of ice. \
Carmacks, Clfca-r, calm, river full \
of ice. f
Yukon Crossing, Clear, calm, 22
below, river full of ice.
Selkirk, Clear calm, 25 below.
Coffee Creek, Cloudy, a. w. 12
below. ' i
Stewart River, Clear, s. w. 20 b«
low. *•,
Ogilvie,Clear, calm 2's below.
Dawson, Clear, calm, 17 below
OUR HOLIDAY STOCK
For This Season Is The
Most Attractive It Has
Ever Been Our Good
Fortune to Offer
NOTE THE FOLLOWING:
Silk Shirts Silk Pajamas
Silk Neckwear _Sllk Handkerchiefs
Silk and Wool Underwear
Silk Hosiery Bath Robes
Wool Blankets
Hart SchafFner & Marx Clothing
O'Donnell Shoes Utz & Dunn Shoes
See Window Display
LADIES' FUR SETS
WILL CLAYSON—Clothier