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vo, s " SKWAKD. ALASKA, WKhNKSDA \ I:VKN1N(1, DKCKMItlOK :i, N°‘^° •J Washington, D. C., December 2, 1913. Seward Commercial Club, Seward, Alaska, via Sitka Radio Station: President Wilson has just read his message before a joint meeting of congress. He strongly urges the pas sage of a bill authorizing government construction of rail ways in Alaska. My bill was favorably reported in the house Friday and has right of way on the calendar. Hurrah for Wilson and the opening to development of Alaska! James Wickersham, Delegate. CONFUSION MAY RESULT United Suites District Attorney Kodey, of Nome, a while before his ressgnation was called for, gave out the following opinion of the laws pas sed uy t he territorial legislature: “The organic acts by which Alaska was given its legislature provides that no “ne holding a commission as office holder from the United States in Alaska should hold any offiiee under the terri tory, yet the legislature lias passed several laws imposing additional duties of clerks of courts, commissioners and others, and the question arises, is such a law valid or should the territory create officials for itself. I he organic act also restricts the local legislature from meddling with certain national license laws, etc., now in force in Al aska and among them the laws provid ing for taxes on business and trade, hut it also states that this proviso shall not operate to prevent the legislature from imposing other or additional taxes or licenses. The legislature went on and imposed many new taxes and additional taxts and sometimes on the same things on which congress had already irapos ed taxes without sa\ing whether they are separate or include the congress ional ones, and provides that the clerks of the court shall collect them as they collect other licenses. All this has resulted in grave doubt as to the validity of some of ihe iocai laws and is puzzling not only the local district attorneys but the department of jus tice itself and the latter will have to advise the customs officials about the tonnage tax and other matters.” The high school and grammar grade pupils are rehearsing a playlet, under the direction of their teacher, Miss Peterson, to be rendered at Christ mastide. See the beautiful Xmas Cards at Oordon’a. _ Pabsts blue ribbon beer at The Branch. ______ Budweiser beer at the Branch. NO FAITH IN DIVINING ROD The use of the divining rod in locat ing water and metal deposits is due to a superstitious delusion and will grad ually be abandoned in the opinion of Dean Mil nor Roberts of the university of Washington school of mines. Bea ton officials have recently taken up the use of the V-shaped twig to locate water and seem to be firm in the belief that the theory of the divining rod is si'll firm. “I have no faith in the di vining rod,* said Dean Roberts. “A man will obtain a V-shaped branch of hazel wood or willow and grip the two ends with his thumbs down. When the terminal ends dip they swear that it is because the water is below, and that these water loving woods have a natural affinity for it, consequently they dive down. I think the real cause for the stick to dip is purely a muscular action, and that when you grip the wood hard you unconsciously cause it to vibrate up or down. There is no question that a divining rod will point. The idea is that it is not the water that is attracting the stick, but simply the unconscious muscular movement of your arm." C. W. DeHotT plead guilty to the 1 charge of hunting without a license before Commissioner Conroy yesterday afternoon, and was sentenced to pay a tine of $25. W. A. McNeiley, voluntary U. S. i weather observer, says the barometer fell lower than ever before recorded in Seward Monday. It got below' 28. James Woodaman, who has been spending several days in town, de - parted for Hone this morning. 11 . S. E. Casler of Kodiak will carry the mail on the Cold Bay Nushagak route this wincer. The M. E. Sunday school is prepar ing special Christmas exercises. Meet me at the Branch * Field glasses at J. L. Graef >9. 'WORLD IS ! NOT SO BIG The smallness of the world can be brought home to mind by the thought of the extent of the country which 1 i nearest to tins part of Alaska-—Russia. From Bering straits one need travel just through that one land and reach China, Persia, AustriaandScandinavia. That one country connects, one might say, our own famed Kotzebue sound, or, anvway, the* Diomede islands, and their walrus hunting Capsenicks and Peluks, with the land of Omar, the dominion of Conlucius, the home of the Goths and Huns, and the race that discovered Anvil creek. Around that one country are the civilizations of the Orient and the Occident. Across a strip of water to the south may be seen the glimmer of the lights of the mosques of Con stantinople and the Sublime Porte and the Turkish gunboats in the Dardan* elles, while nereis a strip of water to North can be seen the igloos of Teller city and Shismareff and the lights of Mary Sachs that went through more vicissitudes than any old Turkish gun boat, by the way.—Nome Nugget. The governor’s office requests in formation concerning the whereabouts of James Scofield, formerly of JefTer- 1 son, Ohio. Last heard of five or six i years ago, when around Peavey and Fairbanks. He lias also spent some time at Nome, Tanana and Circle City. ; Described as beingsix feet, four inches I tall, rather slender, smooth face and j dark brown hair. Relatives are anx-j ious to hear from him. President Evans, of the local igloo j of Pioneers of Alaska, announces an important meeting at the usual place this evening and urges all memoers to attend. _ Col. Revelle, as usual, will carry the Seward-Hope-Sunrise mail this winter, service to begin on the 11th of this month._ Community silver, Sheriton.La Rose and De Luxe patterns. George the Jeweler. San Francisco, Nov. '20. --Correspond ence Four t h«»us;md men are at work on file 1 ’anamu-l\ncilic International , Kxposirion grounds.. Croat piles of lumber, huge beams ar d girders, and hundreds of teams are spread over tin* three mile expanse at Harbor View. ( A lleet of thirty-two steamers is de livering timber at thegfrounds. Thirty million feet of lumber have already been unloaded on the site and are in piles or in place in the budding's. Al together 7(1,000,000 feet of lumber will be used in the liugre exhibit section covering two hundred and thirteen acres. One year ago President. Charles C. | Moore of the exposition made the1 definite promise on behalf of the ex* j position management that all exhibit! places would lx* completed by .Tidy 2;>, j 1914, eight months before tbe opening | nay of the exposition on February 20, 1915. “The work," said President Moore, “will lx* undertaken on a deli-' nite schedule with time contracts for each main exhibit palace, and the schedule will he followed so that at no time will the work be lax nor will there be any undue congestion.” Today, so closely has tins schedule I been folh wed tb it Director of WorKs llari is H II. ConnicK bus announced that the building coinracts are eleven ! per cent ahead of the schedule called for, and not only will lx* buildings be completed eight month.- in advance of the opening day, but there is every • prospect that the main exhibit palaces will Ik ready to receive exhibits in May, 1914. or nine months before the formal opening. 'Tins arrangement will be of tremendous advantage to i exhibitors and will assure a fully com ! pleted and perfected spectacle when | the exposition swings its gates open to t he world. ; Ten huge main exhioit palaces are now under construction as follows: Palace of Fine Arts, 149,000 square feet: Palace of Education, 208.000 square feet: Palace of Liberal Arts, 242,000 square feet: Palace of Manu factures, 225,000 square feet: Machin j erv Hall, 340,000 square feet: Mines land Metallurgy, 254,000 square feet: Transportation. 314,000 square feet: Agriculture, 328.000 square feet; Food Products, 230,000 square feet. The contract for the construction of the 1 Palace of Horticulture has been let. This building will cover 207,000 square feet, almost live acres, and will be built largely of glass. Practicalh all the Mooring of the exhibit palaces is in place and in many eases the towering walls of some of them are being raised to towering heights, from eighty to one hundred and thirty feet from the ground level. Progress is so far advanced on the Palace of Machinery, which is morel than 80 per cent completed, that the j outer cornices are already decorated with the imitation Traverine stone which is used to cover all the palace walls. The Palace of Machinery is the largest wooden frame bnilding in the world and it has taken 7,500,(XX) feet in its construction. More than 1,070,000 f»*et were raised in the passed month. The timber that remains to be put in place in thss palace consists of stud ding, sheathing and light flooring with, here and there a few patches on the immense roof, which, in three transepts crossed by three higher ones, reaches to a height of one hundred and thirty-live feet. During the passed month 25,000 square feet of Travertine stone surfacing has been set, which is a fair indication of the rapidity with which the work is being executed. Ice creepers and ice skates at J. L. Graef’s. __ For reliable informal on write Can * non, Pioneer hotel, Knik, Alaska, f Paris, Dec. 2. The action of the Pniied States in ordering naval ves sels to Mexican \n iters finds hearty ap proval at the hards of the Krench gov ernment, which hold* that America is well within if* rights in seeking to give American !if»* and property in Mexico adequate protection. Nearly all of tie* powers have en dorsed the attitude assumed by the Wilson administ rat ion. EIGHT-HOUR LAW VALID San Francisco. Dec. 2.—- The woman s eight-hour law. passed by the state legislature, i> upheld hy a decision ot the state supreme court.. Similar progress has been made with the plumbing, high pressure and sprinkler systems in the building. Next in order of completion is the | palace of Educat ion, which is about half completed, all the lumber to he used in its construction having been ! received. Since August ’iiNt when the erection of the frame of tint palace ot I Edwertion was started. .'*7->.(H)0 feet ot lumber have been placed in position. | Bolh the pal ace of Horticulture and ! the palace of Fine Arts are It) be of j steel struct! tv. The pile driving for 11he later has been completed and the ! erection of the steel frame will be be gun shortly. The foundation for the million dol j las auditorium, whico is to be erected 1 In the Exposition on a site presented hy the city in the new Civic (’enter, has been laid and the great building will he fully completed hy the begin ing of the Expesition year. The audit* orinm will be used in 1915for the meet ings of conventions and congresses, eeld under the auspices of the Exposi tion. Festival Hall is another large halt to be built for the same purpose in the Exposition groundi adjacent to the palace of Horticulture. Vet another distinctive building will be the California Building, plans for which have been approved. Built in the old mission style of architecture, ! the California Building will be one of the most imposing of all the structures in the central portion of the Exposi tion. Preparations are already being mace for the gardens that are to sur round the building. Inside the court yards hedges of clipped cypresses will be left standing and great care is being taken of Ihese remnants of the davs when the Harbor View baths, the site of the California Building, was a favorite resort Henry Dohrman, Grit i'oltnan and Krank Whitney will leave tomorrow morning, bound for the Nelchina dig gings. __ J. C. To 1 man expects to spend the winter traveling in the eastern states and will depart on an early steamer. The steamer Northwestern, enroutt here, has on board an accumulation of thirteen days’ mail matter. Meet meat the Brancn The Seward News company is dis playing some nifty Christmas and New Year decorations. Twenty-gauge, 1913 model shot guns at J. L. Graef’s. J Sleds for boys and girls; sleds for men. At J. L. Graef’s. * Long distance telephone booth at the Branch. *