‘vVOL 'IX NO 40
TAKOl'NA ALASKA, SATURDAY.* Ff.CESJBER 26, 1929.
PRICK 25 CEKIS
Executive Offices of White
aHouse Burned to Ground
' WASHINGTON, Dec. 24-rFixe last
»: njg*it»irrecked the executive offiees of
the White House in the most spectac
ular blaze from a national viewpoint
sincS.'the War of 1912.
. Thet blaze broke out while Presi
..<d®rttv*nd 'Mrs. Hoover were entertain
• ing. a*, party of children. The whole
» house, staff of the executive wing of
the building were separated by 1,000
1.feet from the Irving quarters of Mr.
. and Mrs. Hoover, but the only dan
ger to the chief executive was the
.possibility, that he might have been
. -struck by an unruly fire hose, and he
i escaped this.
.Water flooded the offices as the
firemen tried to bent -down the
tiamas, and attaches waded through
water above their boot tops as they
worked at the task of rescuing papers
and valuable possessions from the
blazing structure. George Akerson
and Lawrence Itichey, two of the
President’s secretaies, with Allan
Hoover, carried the drawers of the
President’s desk from the smoke
filied building, while White House at
taches fought frantically to reach
other important documents, but only
firemen with masks could penetrate
■ e dense smoke, and hope was aban
doned for some most important
records.
1 RESIDENCE OF ALASKA ROAD
• COMMISSION DEMOLISHED BY
FIRE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING
*The Alaska Road Commission resi-!
c dence, on the hill on the opposite side
fuatfiJCliBw creek, was entirely demol
ished .by fire shortly after 5 o’clock
C Christmas morning.
'Details regarding the origin of the
• fire, are lacking. Milton Rice, in
charge .of- Alaska Road Commission
♦. affairs (during the absence of Super
i intendent 'Carl Lottsfeldt, was in oc
v cupancy of the cabin at the time.
Fallowing the Christmas festivi
- ties at the Larsen House, Mr. Rice
. returned home about :30. The night
v was. a bitter cold one, the thermome
ter hovering around the 4$ below
- mark,. and for this reason he was
) more-than careful in his attention to
’—the heating stove, seeing that draft
.. and damper were held down. He had
> been in bed perhaps an hour or so
'•■when he was awakened. Getting out
of bed, he again went to examine the 1
t stove, the fire in which was burning
■. very slowly. Then, taking a look up
\ ward, he saw a slight spark and
i heard dirt dropping from the roof
* upon the plaster biard ceiling. With
several buckets of water he did what
he could to quench the flames. He
ried to get help through telephoning,
from which there was no answer. By
i this time the fire was getting a good
; start and he could do nothing to hold
it in check. He then gave every ef
; fort to save as much from the build
ing as possible, and was successful in
5 saving the documents, records and
papers of the Road Commission, en
t closed in a large filing case, awkward
to handle and weighing about 300
, pounds. And late onlookers marveled
i as to how he ever got it out and
1 placed it out of danger many feet up
the hillside—what ordinarily would
> have been a two-man job.
« GOVERNOR PATTERSON, OF
OREGON, DEAD, PNEUMONIA
SALEM, Dec. 23.—E. N. Patterson,
l governor of Oregon, died Saturday
night, death being caused by pneu
- ononia. .
A. W. Norblad, president of the
• SState Senate, was sworn in Sunday
- as governor.
The radio station at Nome burned
' to the ground on the morning of the
26th, according to a report received
- here. A later, report states that a
new set has been installed in the as
' say office of the Miners & Merchants
Bank and that the station is again
functioning.
Mike Blanusha, from Flat, passed
tthrough a couple of days agi, on his
t o Medfra.
JUDGE SAYS SEARCH OF PRI
VATE DWELLINGS WITHOUT
WAR ANTS IS AN OUTRAGE
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.—Presi
dent Hoover was in conference today
with Senator Harris of Georgia, who
lias demanded the removal froom the
law enforcement commission of Fed
eral Judge Paul W. McCormack.
Harris objected to statements of
McCormack made in Los Angeles
about prohibition enforcement, in
which McCormack said that scare of
r vate dwellings without i •
was an outrage. Harris <. icd
cat McCormack’s statemen. w .d i
. ncourage law-breaking.
DEM. LEADERS PREPARING
TO UT CHECK ON HOOVER
WASHINGTON, Dec. .26.—Demo
cratic leaders in the House are pre
paring to make a stand after the
holiday recess of Congress against
what they call President Hoover's
“commission form of government.”
The President and numerous commis
sioners, they believe, are usurping
the functions of both the legislative
and administrative branches of gov
ernment and should be checked.
SING SING CONVICT STABBED
DEATH BY FELLOW PRISONER
OSSINING, N. Y.—Four inmates
of Sing Sing prison are held in soli
tary confinement while authorities
seek the slayer of a young convict
who was stabbed to death as he stood
with 1,729 of his fellows.
| Rubbi N. Kamineskey, 17 years old,
of Brooklyn, who was serving a sen
tence of from seven and one-half to
fifteen years for robbery, fell from
four s tab wounds near his heart yes
terday.
The inmates were lined up in the
old prison yard at the end of a recre
ation period and were about to be
marched to the new prison to watch
a performance of the.annual Sing
Sing play, “Good New* ”
A dozen guards ran to Kamineskey
when he fell. Two carnied him to the
hospital, where he died soon after.
The others questioned - the prisoners
who were standing netr him. All
professed they had seen nothing.
Jacob Burakeff, >17, and three
others were placed in solitary con
finement by order, of the warden.
Burakoff was convicted of partici
pating in the sam«k holdup as Kami
neskey on the iimei’s testimony.
Mrs. George” \V.' Clyde, after a
visit here of a couple of days, left
yesterday for her home in McGrath.
Eric Hard left Friday for a brief
»isit~at«JflcG*ath.
DIRIGIBLE GRAF ZEPPELIN
MAY NOT MAKE FLIGHT TO
POLE, SAYS DR. H. ECKNER
j FKIKERICESHAFEN, Dec. 23.—
j Dr. Eckner, commander of <the dirigi
' b’e Graf Z"ppdin, announced today
at hj no donger expected the pro
posed polar, flight to take .place -in
*930, as neither the Zeppelin company
nor the Aeronautic Scciety had been
advised regarding insurance.
FORMER ALASKA STR. SANTa
ANA HAS NARROW ESCAPE
SEATTLE, Dec.-,23.—the former
Alaska steamer Santa Ana, Captain
Walter H. Milner, which was dost in
the Caribbean Sea, was towed to
rand Cayman, British Isles, south
* C*ba. The vessel, which carried
several wives of officers of .the ship,
came near going to the bottow in. a
ierrilc storm.
Telegraphic Ticks.
SEATTLE, Dec. 24.—The engage
ment of Miss Helen Byran, daughter
of Harry E. Byran, chairman of the
board of directors of the Chicago,
Milwaukee & St. Paul railroad, to
Don Burdict, prominent LJniversitty
' of 'v\ ashington graduate, now a cus
toms official and sportsman of Shang
a , was announced today.
V SH1NGTQN, Dec. 24.—Presi
.-„:.d Mrs. Hoover were enter
la-t night hy Secretary of
j Stimson at the first dinner
iuoh the Cabinet has given in their
i iipnor. f
SEATTLE, Dec. 23.—Julius C.
I Lang, president of the National Gro
cery Company, one of Seattle’s pro
! gressive busines men, died today from
heart failure, after an illness of only
four hours.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23.—Comp
troller of Currency Pope, in his an
nual statement today, urged the erec
! tion of a branch bank at New York
as an aid to rural communities.
WASHINGTON,. Dec. 24.—Repre
resentative Elmer O. Leatherwood,
representing the Second district of
j Utah, died at his apartments here to
day.
EERKELEY, Calif., Dec. 23.—Miss
Helen Wills, noted tennis player,-be
came the bride of Frederick Moody,
Jr,, at noon today.
MONT ELIMAR, France, Dec...'21.
—Former President Emile Coubet
died last night at his home here.
EX-COWBOY.jaiLEP lNUOB -
EERY OF TRAINBS IN WEST
PAWNEE", Okla.—Tom Vernon, 43
year-old erstwhile cowboy, rodeo
rider and fireman, .awaited in jail out
come of efforts of Wyoming and Cal
ifornia authorities to claim him for
interrogation about the wrecking and
robbing of two passenger trains.
Officers in both states declared pas
1 sengers on the Portland limited of
j the Union Pacific, derailed and
robbed near Cheyenne, and the Pacific
! Coast limited of the Southern Pacific,
similarly derailed and plundered near
Sauguas, California, identiled Ver
non's photograph as that of the man
who single-handed lined them up and
took their money.
Thomas J. Higgins, deputy sheriff
of Los Angeles, picked up Vernon’s
trail, having known him for almost a
decade and believing he was the man
responsible for the wrecks. Vernon
was a. locomotive fireman at one time. (
First Time
In History
UA K .PRESIDENT CALLS UPON
MFJL PRESIDENT-ELECT VIS
ITING IN WASHINGTON.
WASHINGTON, Dec. .26.—Pasqual
Oritz Rubio, president-elect of Mex
ico, arrived in Washington at noon
today for four days of ceremonies in
his honor .-by the United States gov
ernment.
WASHINGTON, Dec. 26.—Presi
dent Hoover today received Oritz
Rubio, president-elect of Mexico, at
the White House
I Shortly afterwards President and
Mrs. Hoover left the White House to
pay- their respoctsta-to the Mexican
president-elect and-4ii# wife. It was
the first time in history that s Presi
dent of the United States had called
upon a pesident-elect
TAX REFUNDS TO VARIOUS
INDIVIDUALS, CORPORATIONS |
WASHINGTON, Dec. 27.—'Tax re- J
funds of $1,901,643.59, to individuals
and companies, was made public by |
Secretary of Treasury Mellon in a
report to the House expenditures
committee today. These taxes, he
said, were illegal or erroneously col-1
lected by the government.
The Carnegie Steel Corpoation re-1
; ceived the largest
j $258,572.59.
rebate, totalini,
MORE PLANS FOR PROHI
BITION ENFORCEMENT
I ' < . ■ i; ■
WASHINGTON, Dec. 24.;—Plans
for prohibition enfocement that in
cluded a united border pattrol and or-1
ganization of a number of ports of i
entry from .Canada, to be submitted i
'' by treaty to Congress, were an-1
| rounced by Secretary Mellon today.
—
RICHARD E. BYRI) ELEVATED
TO RANK OF REAR ADMIRAL
i _
| WASHINGTON, Dec. 2K,-Presi
dent HHoover Saturday sic add - the
bill elevating Commander. Richard E.
.'•.rd to the rank of admiral in
recognition of his explorations- in the
| Antarctic regions
WAGE INCREASE *TO FORD
EMPLOYES TOTALS $20,00»,000
DETROIT.—Wage increases that
will add approximately $20,000,001)
annually to the payrol of the Ford
Motor Company were announced by;
Edsel Ford, president qf the com-!
I pany.
The minimum wage of $6 a day
has been increased to $7, and in
j creases graduating on the basis of 5
; cents an hour are gipen employes
who are already receiving between $7
and $10 a day. The increase is ef
fective from December 1 and is con
i fined to Ford employes within the
United States.
The formal announcement was
made by Edsel Ford, who said: “We
; are able to make the wage increase
partly because of anticipated econo
mies and the great volume of produc
tion we have had over a period of
! months, and partly because of our
I excellent outlook for next year. |
“The wage increase cannot be col
lected from the public nor taken out
; of the quality of the product. They
will have to be made up by better
management and work. In that way
^we intend to justify the increase.” i
Ben Eielson,
E.W. Borland
SOVIET GOVT. DISPATCHES ONE
PLANE, ORDERS TWO MORE
TO JOIN IN SEARCH.
SEATTLE, Dec. 26.—Ten airplanes
and sixteen uiers from three nations
are today in the air or preparing te
take o in search of Eielson and Bor
land. Dispatches from Moscow said
the Soviet government had despatch
ed one plane and ordered two more
to join in the undertaking and that
S. A. Shestakov, who commanded the
flight of the Russian plane Land of
the Soviets, would head the Russian
expedition.
Aboard a combination passenger
and freight train over the Alaska
Railroad are six Canadian aviators,
who left Seattle Satuday on the
Coast Guard cutter Chelan, with their
three Fairchild planes, which were
:*3hipped dfrom- Seward to Fairbanks
; The pavtty.lefi Seward laat night.
SEATTLE, ®<c, 24.—^Developments
in Eielson rescue ■opetatiOns. today
were:
First. Pilot Dorbandt was unable
to cross "Bering Straits on account of
rod weather, and turned his attcntior
to search for another lost plane pilot
ed by the Northern Transportation
Company and carrying W. B. MilleT
of the biological survey of the rein
deer service, and N. B. .Julian of the
Lumen rem<W)->ci rpuretion, whi> set
out a week ago for Elephant Point.
-Second. Senator Borah asked the
Government to, aid in. the search for
Eielson and Borland.
Third. Ralph Lomen pointed oot
the possibility that Eie^on and Bor
land never r cached the Siberian coast
and may be down on an island be
tween Alaska, an/1 Siberia or afloat-or
ice as .far south as St. Lawrence
Island.
WASHINGTON, Dec...24.—P.ermis
•81011 has been granted by the State
Department to Governor Parks of
Alaska, who. .has appealed to Moscow
And Soviet ships to aid in the search
for Eielson and Borland, missing
! Arctic fliers, who arc supposed to be
down'Somewhere on the Arctic coast
Also, ^Secretary Wilbur has mgde *
pathetic appeal to StefFansson.
BANDITS SHOOT BA"NK MES
SENGER AND GRAB $31,00*
PHILADELPHIA.—Cameron Cook,
bank messenger for the Philadelphia
Trust Company, was s hot to death
by three men who seized his bank
bag, containing approximately $34,
000 in cash and checks.
The bandits escaped. Coojc, whc
was about 50 years old, stepped out
of the branch .postoffice in the north
ern part of the citty, when a mat
leaped from an automobile and
pressed a pistol against him.
He seized the bag while the toher
men remained in the car. The rob
ber, who held the pistool, threw the
bag in the rear of the car and as he
started to climb in Cook tried • to
seize him.
The robber backed away and fired
one shot. Cook fell with a bullet
throough his head.
The scene of the shooting was
across the street from a public
school. Hundreds of children hefcrct
the shot.
t ic bandit jumped in the car and
the men drove away and were-AlPtt
lost in the taffic.