latlg Prospprtnr
VOL. 8.
VALDEZ, ALASKA, SATURDAY, MAY 4, 1912.
NO. 171
WAR DEPARTMENT ORDERS
TROOPS HELD IN READINESS
OFFICER8 ARE NOTIFIED TO HAVE COMMANDS READY TO QO
TO TEXAS ON 8HORT NOTICE—DEPARTMENT IS GIV
ING OUT NO INFORMATION
v
Washington, D. C., May i.—
Troops in nearly every pari of
the country have been notified by
the War department lo hold
themselves in readiness for duty
at a moment's notice. A1) oUl
cers absent from their com
mands on leave of absence have
been notified by wire to join lheiis
regiments. The department will
give no information as t<> fin- ac
tivity.
Lawton, Ok la., May i.—Official
instructions have been received
here from the War department lo
have the troops held in readiness
to move to I lie border of Texas
in a moment's notice.
Monteray, May 4.—The I2tli in
fantry has received notice to pre
pare to embark on short notice.
All oflicers and men have joined
their regiment and arc awaiting
the arrival of the transport.
Meelinfr of the board «»f <11
reclors of the church «»f I lie
Epiphany and of Ihe llospilal of
the (4ood Samai'ilan will be held
Monday evening al H o'clock at
I lie rectory.
The regular Moose dance will
lake place tonight.
TITANIC HAD
BEEN WARNED
Other Steamers Had Reported Ice
and Lower Tempera
ture Noticed
London. .May i.--The wreck
commission, winch is investi
gating the Titanic disaster, is
trying to liml why the speed «»J
the vessel was not reduced when
the change in tin' teniperal lire
was noticed.
One i»f I tie oll'icers wln» was on
duly at the time testified that he
had noticed tin- change and
thought the others had done so,
too. The Titanic had also heen
warned hy other, steamers that,
ice had heen seen in the path ol
I lie American bound boats.
PANAMA HA8 CONFIDENCE
IN U. 8. GOVERNMENT
Panama, May 4.—The govern
ment of Panama has expressed a
desire that the American gov
ernment should oversee the elec
tion for president in Panam^a.
BOTH CANDIDATES WILL
ASK FOR A RECOUNT
Boston; Mass., May i.—Both
President Taft and Roosevelt will
ask for a recount of the votes
polled in the recent primary.
Mr. Parker Smith wil| leave
this evening for the Mountain
King claims at the head of Min
eral creek to commence develop
ment on those claims, the men
having established a camp there.
WAPPY IS CLOTHED
IN PRISON SUIT
Seal lie, May i.— Former Chief
of Police Wappensleiu was tak
en lo Hie penitentiary last night.
Scores of Ins former friends
were clown lo see him oil". lie
believes he will lie pardoned.
LAYS 6LMIIE
ONJUM
Colonel Says President's Friend
Was Responsible for Tying
Up Coal Lands
Ihillimore. May i--llooseve|| in
his speech before a big crowd
lierc lasl night referred lo the
coaj lands of Alaska and said he
favored Iheir being opened to de
velopment at once.
He said it was not the wish of
the majority of the American
people that the coal lands of
Alaska should remain tied up,hut
rather that of the minority, con
sisting chiefly of one man to
whom President Taft refers as a
great patriotic leader.
QENERAL OROZOO'8 ARMY
NUMBERS 7,000 MEN
Jiminez, May 4.—General Oro
zco, al the head of a victorious
army of 7,000 rebels, has begun
a siege of Torreon. The garri
son is poorly equipped and it is
believed the federal troops will
soon surrender.
A large boom of logM have been
lowed to the slip of the Copper
River Lumber company's mill,
'eady for I be sawyer.
CHICAGO PRESSMEN QUIT
WHEN DEMANDS REFUSED
STEREOTYPER8 JOIN STRIKERS AND NEWSBOYS R£FU8E TO
HANDLE THE GREATLY REDUOED EDITIONS WHICH ARE
BEING ISSUED—PRINTERS MAY BE INVOLVED
Ghieago, May I.—The nows
papers of Ih in city an* being is
sued in greatly curtailed editions.
The pressmen quit, when their
demands for an increase was de
nied and they were joined by the
Merotypers. The newsboys re
fuse to handle the papers and the
news dealers who attempt, to Roll
the papers are being boycotted.
Many of the morning papers
4
came oul with only half of their
regular edition. The pressmen
say I hoy will win Iheir point bnt
Iho proprietors claim fhey will
have no trobulo in Ailing their
press rooms front N»'W York. It is
possible (ho printer* may be in
volved in the nlrike wilh (he st<«r
eotypers.
Subscribe for Ihe Prospector.
BOATS BEING
WELL EQUIPPED
Mariposa Sailed From Seattle
Last Night With Few Val
dez Passengers
Seattle, May i.—The Maripo
sa sailed lor Alaska last night
with the following cabin passen
gers for Valdez: Mrs. W. Meals,
A. A. Abase, J. C. Martin, J. Bra
ba/.on, John a. Price and seven
steerage passengers. Tile steam
er also carries a number of pas
sengers for the westward.
All lln- steamers of the Alas
ka Steamship Co. are placing
more lifeboats and rafls on board.
WILL DISCUSS
COAL STRIKE
Miners Willing to Accept Increase
Offered for Term of
One Year
* Now York, May 4.—The offi
cials of the Mine Workers will
meet in this city on May ii to
discuss the tentative agreement
to settle the coal strike.
A vote has been taken among
the local unions and a majority
of the miners have voted to ac
cept the increase offered hy the
operators hut do not want to en
ter into an agreement longer than
one year.
RAILROAD LOBBY MAKING
LOSING FIGHT ON VALOEZ
INTERESTING LETTER FROM NATIONAL CAPITOL WHICH
SHOWS THAT SECRETARY FISHER HAS LITTLE CHANCE
OF WORKING SCHEME THROUGH CONGRESS
|
Washington, I >. ("1.. April 20,
Il)l2.--Kd. Prospectitr: 'J.* 11«• csip
iI«11 has been ami is full of Alas
ka schemes ami Alaska legisla
limi, of course all centering
around I In* railroad bills, of
which I lien- haw been a 1111111 -
her. all leading Id I In* purchase
• if I In* Seward mail, as recom
11M* 11 < lei I hy Secretary Fisher, with
IIh* exception of tin* l*"l«>«•«! hill,
which was reported hy I lie house
c< 1111111 iI Ice mi territories. They
have ccrlainly k«*|>l me busy, hul
iiiic nf the opposil imi • I i<1 mc the
hiimir to say recentl.v—when lie
was a little Ihc worse for "New
Willard" wines ami lienors—that
I hail done more for Valdez than
all I lie expensive lobby I he other
side had maintained. As they all
stop at the New Willard, and
generally have from live to ten
on the surface, ami I assume at
least a few underground men, the
expenses of this lobby must run
into the hundreds per day and
thousand* per week. As I have
no one here to divide watch with
ine, the opportunity to sit down
does not occur often, and I have
to do my own clerical work as
far as I possibly can; I did have
to emjploy a draftsman lo re
construct my charts and illum
inate them so as to make the
proposition stand out decisively.
However, it was worth the price,
and what I paid the artist, and he
is an artist, was well expended.
These charts are simply an elab
oration ami extension of the or
iginal ones. They are on sep
arate card boards about M by 18
inches, and I have a lawyer's case
large enough to put them in. It
makes it very convenient to car
ry, and in case I also carry the
documents |o sustain my claims
for I he Valdez route. These charts
are m|ore convincing than any
talk. The short line is doing its
work; and, having an excellent
engineer's report on the line to
Copper Center, which, by reason
of the reputation of the engineer,
they dare not assail, I have the
opposition at a disadvantage. I
also have a speciaT chart of Val
dez bay, executed by the "artist,"
on which I have placed the en
lire U. H. navy, giving the ships
turning room.
These things make a lasting
impression, and as each chart is
made lo scale from the latest
government charts ami maps, it
does not leave an opening for at
lark. The engineer's report re
moves the "bugaboo" 011 the Val
dez route—that is, Thompson
Pass. The report clearly estab
lishes the fact that Ihe pass can
be taken at less thftn a two per
cent. yrade. which is less llian
they have • iii the Seward route mi
liolh tlir in ami out haul. Our
ease is invulnerable ami the
committee no longer consider the
Sewanl route as available for the
trunk line to Fairbanks, ami lain
snlislicil that a majority of the
committee <|o not consider the
('.onlovn-C'liitina rwule available
for either Fairbanks or the Mat
anuska coal. As it is the Mata
nuska coal the navy wants for its
use, it seems to me they ciimiot
Uro by Vahle/.. I have shown tlieni
that both Sewanl ami (lurdova are
open to altack from the rear, ami
thai a fortification at either point
would not protect the coal fields,
wliic.il would be the objective
point of any hostile navy. In
contrast, I show that the enemy
could not ko behind Yaldez, and
that the expense of fortifying
Yaldez bay would lie a trifle as
compared to the necessary ex
pense at either of the other
points.
This proposition cannot be as
sailed, and the only thing they
can say is that Yaldez bay is too
deep for anchorage. Rut as
Resurrection bay is equally deep,
this Is an objection that the Sew
ard people dare not urge. As Cor
dova harbor is too far from the
I Matanuska coal, the contest is re
stricted to Yaldez and Seward. It
is a pretly fight, with from five
to leu men on the one hand, with
plenty of money, and one man on
the other side with a limited
bank account, but with a case
that a deaf and dumb man could
argue with Ms index finger.
Finding lhal the Sulzer bill was
no longer being considered by
the committees of either the
house or the senate, the next ex
pedient was to get up a new hill,
designated a bill In construct a
thousand miles of railroad in
Alaska. This was to sidetrack
the Flood bill, which bill was ac
ceptable «n the committee of ter
ritories of the house. The parlies
engineering the "one thousand
mile hill" attempted to break in
to the house committee with it,
hut the committee saw it was
simply taking them by another
route to the same point the Sul
zcr hill was headed for—that. is.
the sale of the Alaska Northern
to the United Slates. Secretary
Fisher would ho the controlling
factor under the "one thousand
/iiile" bill, although, it provides
lhal the president shall appoint
the railway commission by and
with the advice and consent of
the senate.
They succeeded in getting this
(CDrttinued on page 3).
THOUSANDS IN DANGER
IN MISSISSIPPI VALLEY
MORE THAN 200,000 PEOPLE ARE DRIVEN FROM THEIR HOMES
BY THE FLOODS—SECOND LEVEE BREAKING DE8PITE
EFFORTS OF WORKERS —MANY ARE DROWNED
New Orleans, May —Last
nif?ht was one <»f terror for the
people living along the lower Mis
sissippi river. The water is slow
ly rising and is now standing four
feet, deep on much of the sub
merged country.
The second levee is reported to
be breaking despite the efforts of
hundreds of men who are using
every effort to strengthen it.
against the ravages of the Hood.
All night long the populace were
aroused by rumors that tin* dikes
had broken and the water was
pouring over the country. II is
estimated that fully 200,000 peo
ple have been made homeless and
are in want.
Refugees an; arriving 011 every
conceivable kind of craft, having
been driven from their homes in
th«* lowlands. The slate auth
orities have asked for federal aid.
Relief is being sent from all sec
tions of th«' country to the desti
tute.
Memphis, May —The lives of5*
thousands of people along the
Mississippi river are in danger.
It. is known that many were
drowned when the leveo broke al
lowing the water to rush over the
country. Heavy rains continue to
add to the gravity of the situa
tion at lower river points.
j MRS. RUSSELL SAGE
18 DANGEROUSLY ILL
.W\? York, May — Mrs. Ilus
srll Sage, tin* widow of lh»« finan
cier, is seriously ill. Physicians
report thai she has lit t h» chain***
of recovering as her health has
been impaired for a long lime.
ANOTHER COPPER
| MINE TO SHIP
*
j W. A. Dickey Will Shortly In
crease Crew and Begin Reg
I
ular Shipments
j
! '
'I'll** >li*nin launch .turn* lliis
morning' I•• fI in low of a lai'io*
harge containing 20.000 f«»«»| of
building 1 iiiiilx'i* for \V. A. I»ick
'ay, purchased from the (Jopper
River Lumber company. Mr.
Dickey will ♦■reel buildings fur
tin* Three Man Mining company
•preparatory to placing a full crew
'to work the properties.
' The property repre»ented l>y
Mr. Dickey, with the completion
of the buildings, will be ready to
ship ore to the full capacity of
the wharves erected last year.
\
NEW YORK SUFFRAGETTES
ARE ORDERLY OROWD
New York, May t.—Twenty
thousand women organized a suf
fragette parade last night and
marched through the streets. Un
like the London women no effort
was made to destroy property.
Fir planking was brought up by
tin* Seward for the repairing of
the Yaldez dock.
COURT TERMS
ARE ARRANGED
Judge Lyons Will Hold Term at
Nome and Floating
Court
Ai*rant;ciiM*uls an* heinfi made
by which .fudge Lyons. of'lhc
First .judicial division, will tso lo
Nome lo hold a f«• i*111 of courl in
place of Judge Moiane. who will
uii |o ih<* I'oiiilh division. Later,
a revenue culler will lake on
hoard I In* olVicials for I lie lloal
j 111;_r courl going direct lo Nome,
for .liaise Lyons, who will pre
side o\i»r llie "floating court'*
whilr Judge r.ushuian is trying
I lie Fairbanks hank cast's and
laler * presiding over Judge Ly
ons' district.
SAMPSON HAD PLEA8ANT
TRIP DOWN COAST
Seal lie. May L--The Admiral
Sampson arrived from Alaska
this forenoon. The officer* re
port a pleasant trip down the
coast. Large ice Hoes were seen
in the straits.
WILL VISIT OLD
HOME IN NORWAY
Helms. Skofland, who has been
on Nugget creek in the interior
for some time, will leave shortly
for a visit to his old home in
Norway, lie will return to Alas
ka as he .has interests here.
The hesl evidence of spring is
lo he seen about the court house,
w here I he., prisoners are prepar
ing I lie garden beds for sowing.
MEXICAN ARMIES WOULD
UNITE TO FIGHT AMERICA
PRIVATE ADVICES FROM MEXICO SAYS FEDERALS AND REB
ELS WILL JOIN FOROES IF AMERIOA INTERVENES.
REBELS WIN BATTLE AT TORREON
Washington, May i.^-Adviros
have horn received by I ho Htato
depart.men I. to the olTocl Hint 1 In*
federals worn bndl.v dofoalod in
tho engagement between the Mox
i«nn troops and tho mhol* nndor
Oenoral Orozco in a big battlo
near Torroon. Tho federal troops
toft tho garrison to moot I ho rob
ots in opon battle. The federals
are in full flight to tho south.
Washington, May l.--l*rivalo
ocJvicoM from Mexico from official
(•oii-ccs, slate (hnl if America in
timne* in Mexico that both the
ffil«»rn' troops and f li<* rebels will
join in mnkiiiK war on the Unit
ed Mates. The advices stale thai.
I he two armies now contending
wmtlri form a gigantic army
which would tight to the last
ditch.