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The Terminus of Alaska’s Thirty-five Million Dollar Government Owned Railroad System - jhe Gateway The Gateway to the *° u1J Kenai, Knik, Broad Pass Great Coal Fields o' Gold pjc|ds Matanuska L PUBLISHED DAILY EXCEPT SUNDAY _LARGEST ALASKAN CIRCULATION V,.l 9. No. 136 SEWARD, THE GATEWAY TO ALASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 15. 1915. ____fen C«ntn tin ( opr MINI I writs COMING IIP TONIGHT Old knik W ill Be Headquart ers for the Railroad Commission SEATTLE, April 15.—The com mencement of the work of building the Alaska government railroad may be said to commence tonight when ten employees of the engineering commis sion will leave on the Admiral Evans to begin the preliminaries. It is pos sible that Lieutenant Mears, a mem ber of the commission, may leave on the Esans also but this is not yet sure. With the men going tonight is a large shipment of supplies for the railroad work but the heavy machinery and the great bulk of the supplies will not be bought until next week. Forty five employees of the commission will leave on the Mariposa Sunday night and from this time forward the move ment of the people connected with the construction work will continue. 'Ihe BRITISH HAVE i LOST 140,000 LIST OF TOTAL CASUALTIES UP TO APRIL 11 IS PUBLISHED. LONDON, April 15.—The total British losses in men during the war up to April 11 is one hundred and forty thousand, according to the of- j ficial announcement made by the war office today. This number includes killed, wounded and taken prisoners. About half the total number of com missioned officers who were in active service with the regular army at the beginning of the war have been kill ed, wounded or captured. The num ber of British soldiers captured by the Germans is about thirty, thousand and it is said that about an equal number have been killed. The remainder are the wounded. The country has now come to receive the lists of killed and wounded much more calmly. After the first great battle in which the British troops were engaged in the present war the news that 3,000 had ben lost caused a thrill that amounted almost to horror. The regular army of great Britain had a peace strength of only two hundred and sixty-two thousand men so that over half the total peace strength has been lost al ready. The losses are particularly regrettable because they include a vast majority of the welt trained troops and officers. BRITISH GOV’T CHANGES MIND WILL NOT ATTEMPT TO REGU LATE BRITAIN’S LIQ UOR TRAFFIC. LONDON, April 15.—It is now al most made certain that the British government will not attempt to regu late the liquor traffic in these islands as a most formidable opposition to the plan has developed in all four coun tries. The government is now furn ishing beer to the soldiers on the fir ing line and it has been decided to con tinue the practise in spite of the ob-; ections made by the opponents of the idea. Parliament is expected to be engaged this week on the prohibition question but so much division of opin ion is apparent that the result of the proposal cannot yet be guesked. The matter continues to be the chief sub ject of discussion, next to the war, in this country now and whether prohibi tion becomes general or not at present the agitation has given root to a controversy which will last until long after the conclusion of the war itself. WANTED. Smart boy at the Gateway office. information given out today semi officially is that the headquarters of the commission will be at Old Knik. A post office will be opened there im mediately and the whole work for this year will be done at both sides of that place, south to Seward and north to wards Matanuska. The commission seems to be determined to give all the work to residents of Alaska and. the men being sent north are those who are skilled in particular lines or ; are employed for the handling of the : supplies going with them. It was re ported today that Commissioners Edes and Riggs have left Washington but no telegraphic information of their leaving was received here. It is virtu ally certain that the work will be in full swing by the first of June. •> *5* •> *•* ♦ *C* | ❖ THREE WEEKS TO * ❖ REPAIR CRUISER. ❖ .> _ <• NEWPORT NEWS, April 14.—’The captain of the German converted cruiser Prinz Wilhelm says that three weeks will be required for making the necessary repairs to his vessel and he will probably be given that period to perform the work. He still insists on the intention to sail w’hen he is ready. STEAMER SPOKANE SMASHES LAUNCH. SEATTLE, April 15.—The steamer Spokane, northbound, ran into a laun ch yesterday and cut it in two, drowning the occupant of the smaller vessel. The accident occurred near Anaeortes. The identity of the man ! lost has not been ascertained. __ NEWS NOTES Thomas Goldman has arrived direct from New Orleans for the purpose of investing money here. He says that two or three other business men have come with a similar object but that they have not been able to secure lots at the price they are willing to pay. Sport Smith and Arthur Jett left today over the trail for the SeilTert ground. C. A. Calame is also going and will be foreman for the summer. Sport’s name is M. L. V. but when it came telegraphed in the passenger list it appeared as Mrs. L. V. Smith. The flags are at half mast today as an observance of the fiftieth annivers ary of the death of Lincoln. The Bertha, Captain C. A. Glass cock, has the outfit for Gus Seiffcrt’s mining operations aboard. She also has dynamite and another part of her cargo is lumber for Port Graham. District Attorney Spence and As sistant Attorney Munley purchased lots in the Bay View addition while here. The sled trail is said to be still in fair condition, beginning about Mile Four. Beyond that in spots it is in poor shape, but on the whole it is not bad, according to mushers. ——— i ii ■ i • REINDEER HERDS BECOME IMMENSE. The following is a summary of the statistics of the reindeer industry maintained by the Bureau of Educa tion in the Northwest district, which covers the region from Norton Bay to Barrows, says the Nome Nugget. In this district there are 37 herds, 24 of which are on the Seward Pen-j insula. . | The total number of reindeer in the Northwest district number 32,326, of which 17,000 are on the Seward pen insula. These are distributed as fol lows: Seven hundred and twenty two natives own 25,900 reindeer, and the government, missions and Lapps own 6.426. The number of marketable male deer now number 4,200. The year’s bearing fawns, is 72 per cent - Visiting cards, invitations, anything pretty i. done by the Gateway just as well as outside. ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ❖ LOOT WORTH FIFTY * ❖ THOUSAND DOLLARS. ♦ ❖ - ♦ BUFFALO, April 15.—It has been learned since the holdup of the New York Central freight train that the loot secured by the robbers was far more valuable than was believed at first. The amount of goods stolen has been estimated after an investigation at fifty million dollars. The robbers were evidently aware of the richness of the shipment and had made their plans carefully. CRUISER EXAMINED TO FIND INJURY. WASHINGTON, April 15.—Secre tary of War Daniels has ordered a survey of the Prinz Wilhelm to as certain what repairs she really needs and how much time she ought to be given to have them attended to. If the repairs will not require three weeks that time will not be granted. CATCHING TROUT CAUSED MAN'S DEATH. TACOMA, April 15.—James Bailey, fifty-eight years of age, dropped dead suddenly of heart failure yesterday near this city because of excitement due to catching a twelve inch trout. The man was never known to be suf fering from heart trouble CAN DIVE 240 FEET FOR SUBMARINE F-4. New Diving Apparatus Proves to be of Immense \ralue for Purpose. HONOLULU, April 14.—A test made of the new diving apparatus shows that it will enable divers to de scend two hundred and forty feet to work on the submarine F-4 which sank here some time ago. The ves sel is expected to be a total loss and men, of course, have been dead long ago but a careful investigation will be made to find the explanation for the disaster. NEW PAY FOUND IN TOLOVANA. FAIRBANKS, April 1.—Upon his return from Tolovana camp where he has been looking after his interests, Dave Lowry said this morning that the paystreak on Livengood creek had been opened in two more places last week. DIVERS MAKE RECORD DIVE FIND TOP OF LOST SUBMARINE F-4 CRUSHED IN. HONOLULU, April 15.—The divers working on the wreck of the submar ine F-4 made a record dive yesterday afternoon when they descended two hundred and ninety feet with the aid of the new’ diving apparatus and made a short survey of the wreck. They found the top of the submarine crush ed in, but from what cause has not been ascertained. The sunken vessel was located with out much difficulty and the divers will, go down again and make an incom plete survey of the hull before an at tempt is made to raise the ill-fated vessel. The government is taking every’ possible step to find the cause of the disaster. BRITISH BUY GREAT QUANITY OF WHEAT. One Hundred Million Dollars Worth Purchased from Argentina v In Two Weeks. LONDON, April 15.—The British government is now’ buying up all the w’heat it can obtain in all parts of the w’orld. Within the last fortnight it has purchased one hundred million dollars worth from Argentina alone. Particular care will be taken of the shipments to guard them from Ger man submarines. lostT Purse containing $220.00, 3 travel lers checks, balance paper. Liberal rew’ard by returning to W. J. South, The Fairbanks. See us before sending outside hi your lob printing. i DEFEAT FRENCH BERLIN SAYS ALL ATTACKS REPULSED AND GERMANS ATTACK IN THE EAST. BERLIN, April 15.—‘The official news this morning is that the French have been defeated everywhere. The enemy have tried s veral offensive movements during the past couple of days and these movements are be lieved to have been the much heralded general attempt to drive us out of French territory but all have failed completely. The chief attacks deliver ed against our troops were near Reims, northwest of Verdun, south and southwest of St. Mihiel and north east of Thann. In all places the enemy was repulsed. No changes are reported in the west or east today. The Germans have renewed their at tacks around Ossowetz and other places near the East Prussian frontier but the result of the new offensive will not be known for a few days at least. ♦ ♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ❖ THIRTEEN KILLED ♦ ❖ AT CAR CROSSING. * > - ♦ DETROIT, April 15.—Ten women and three men were killed today when the street car in which they were riding ran into a freight train at a grade crossing. The car was smash ed to pieces and everyone aboard re ceived more or less injuries. The cause of the mistake on the part of the car has not yet been made clear. TAFT IS HONORED. NEW YORK, April 15.—Former President William Howard Taft has been made a member ,of the advisory board of the American Legion. UNITED STATES GETS GERMAN DYESTUFFS. — 1 Arrangements Made That Will Keep Two Million People Em ployed. WASHINGTON, April 14.—Ar rangements have been made by which the United States will secure two car goes of German dye stuffs which had been purchased before March. This means that twfo million people who were threatened with being thrown out of employment will continue at w'ork. Ow’ing to the tremendous feel ing w'hich the failure to obtain the dyestuffs w’ould have caused in the U. S. against the allies the British govern ment permitted the shipment to take place. Germany has had a monopoly of the dyestuffs trade both for Brit ain and the United States but both countries are now taking steps to try to manufacture their owfn dyes. MOOSE WILL CELEBRATE TERMINAL TRIUMPH. Informal Dance to Members and Their Families Tomorrow Evening. The Sev'ard Lodge Loyal Order of Moose will celebrate the selection of this city as the terminal of the gov ernment railroad by an informal dance for members of the lodge and their families tomorrow, Friday, night. The entertainment will take place in the Moose, or A. B., hall and a very pleasant time is expected. The order is the largest in the district and the members came to the conclusion that to show its satisfaction with the great success of Sew’ard. WHAT POLL TAX BRINGS. The probabilities that the present session of the Territorial Legislature will pass another poll tax bill leads to the question as to what the amounts collected two years ago, be for the law then in effect was declared defective. Herewith are the figures: Juneau .$7,367.80 Ketchikan. 1,363.40 Fairbanks. 1,346.60 Nome. 1,077.80 Sitka .. 869.00 Seward. 286.45 Sulzer. 421.60 Valdez. 1,265.00 Skagway . 302.00 Chatanika. 887.40 Cordova. 773.30 Chitina. 647.20 Wrangell . 580.75 RAN INTO THE ! DARDANELLES ' DESTROYER AND CRUISER MAKE A DARING JOURNEY. LONDON, April 15.—A British de stroyer accompanied by a British cruiser yesterday ran up the Dardan elles to the furthest point bombarded by the allied fleets. Both of them were hit and slightly damaged by the fire of the forts but neither was put out of action. The result of the ef fort was to show that many of the forts have probably been silenced and that the guns of the warships are find ing their targets most surely. The bombardment continues with favor able results although the task of forc ing the channel is greater than had been looked for. The attack by the fleet has, at least, the effect of keep ing large Turkish land forces around that region and preventing a Turkish offensive in other quarters. LOCOMOTIVE HERE IS NEARLY READY TO WORK. Could Be Fixed Up In a Week For Service on the Railroad by Government. Should the government decide to run trains out the Alaska Northern line this summer it can be done with out bringing in new rolling stock, it was learned today. One of the loco motives is in such condition that it could be placed in commission within a week and the cars could also be made available. Some of the ties will need replacing and other superficial improvements would have to be made but there is nothing that would pre vent the operation to Mile Forty-five in a very short time. NO MORE APPLICATIONS. Contrary to expectations no more formal applications have been made for jobs under the city council. Only two have been received altogether but, most likely, candidates for other positions are quietly working on the matter. The new officials may be, and likely will be, appointed Monday night. RUSSIANS ARE STILL GOING PETROGRAD REPORTS THAT ADVANCE IS MAIN TAINED. PETROGRAD, April 15.—The nows from the front this morning shows that the Russian armies in the Car pathians are still advancing and pene trating further and further into Aus trian territory. The Russian positions around Bartfield have been strength ened tb prevent any offensive move ment on the part of the enemy. It is known that the Austrians and Ger mans are rushing reinforcements to that field with a view to making a tremendous effort to sove the heart of Hungary from the avalanche of Muscovites that is now rolling down the Hungarian sides of the great mountain range. The fall of Przemysl has removed the danger to the Russian rear as the main body drives forward towards Buda Pest. It is expected here that any moment news will come that the enemy forces guarding the road to Cracow and their forces in Bukowina will be compelled to retire to save their communica tions. On the whole the next few days are sure to bring forth stupend ous results one way or the other. The following throws more light on the Hume affair: PORTLAND, Ore., April 7.—Wil liam T. Hume, a prominent Portland attorney, and former practicing law yer at Nome, was shot and probably fatally wounded at noon today by S. A. Constantino, an Italian, who fir ed three shots, one of which entered Hume’s back. Constantino’s grievance against Hume was because the latter defend ed A. M. Brunswick, another attorney who was charged with having retain ed money belonging to the Italian. ♦ *♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦♦ ❖ DAM BREAKS AND * ❖ DROWNS TWELVE. ❖ ❖ - ♦ HOLBROOK, April 15.—The big reservoir twelve miles south of this town burst its banks this morning and twelve people were carried away by the flood and drowned. The town itself was endangered for a time but it is believed that this danger is now past. ❖ HAMLIN SAYS BETTER * | •» TIMES ARE COMING. * !❖ — ♦ SEATTLE, April 15.—Charles Sum-! ( nor Hamlin, governor of the federal reserve board, is now in Seattle and j states in an interview that everything ' now points to the coming of better; times. In most of the states, he says, j an extraordinay business awakening is taking place. BIG REAL ESTATE DEALS ARE PENDING. One of Them Involves a Sum Ap proximating Thirty Thou sand Dollars. Some big real estate deals are pend ing today here in Seward but as they have not been consummated the publi cation of the details is not permitted. One of those deals involves a sum of money approximating thirty thousand dollars and all the deals involve sums exceding forty-five thousand dollars. Local real estate men declare that money is now coming for the purchase of local property from all parts of the United States and more is expected when sufficient time has elapsed from the date of the announcement that Seward would be the terminal. STEAMER BERTHA COMES WITH LOAD. Has Large Cargo For New Cannery at Goose Bay. The steamer Bertha arrived this morning with six hundred tons of freight for Knik and Ship creek. Most of the cargo is for the new can nery at Goose bay. She had only a ton or two of stuff for Seward. On the way from the sound she encount ered very rough weather and was compelled to go in to harbor a few times. She will leave again for the outside after unloading at her destina tion. WENT ON SANTA ANA. The following passengers went west on the Santa Ana yesterday: H. J. Christopher, Emanuel West berg, Jennie McCable, J. R. .Nichols, Anna Palmer, Mrs. J. P. Donovan, Mr. Pierce, Chas. G. Thielvike, Edward Saindou, Miss Mary Jacobson, John Jacobson, A. F. Sprague, Arthur Mur phy, Mr. Gerhadi, F. A. Johnson, J. Palmer, Mrs. Gardner and child, Geo. Carlson, Ganka Kazakoff, R. W. Daw son, C. E. Shea, Robert Jacobson, Harry Brown, C. B. Peterson, R. Brown, Geo. W. Palmer, J. P. Donovan Mrs. Pierce, Geo. Englehart, T. B. Judson, Mrs. Irene Jacobson, N. Jac obson and 2 steerage. PROPOSAL TO GRADE AND MAKE SIDEWALKS. Petition Circulated to Find Opinion of Fourth St. People For Concrete Walks. The suggestion has been made to have Fourth Avenue graded and sup plied with concrete sidewalks and a petition was circulated today asking the opinion of property holders on that street The council will go through with the matter if the neces sary majority of the ground owners is secured for the proposal. It is also the intention to circulate petitions with a view to having the streets cleared in other neighborhoods. FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF LINCOLN’S DEATH. Observed in the States Today and Even Cable Offices Have Holiday. Today is the fiftiesth anniversary of the death of Abraham Lincoln who died on the 15th of this month, 1865, from the effects of the wounds re ceived the day before. The occasion is being observed as a holiday and the cable offices will be open today only for the Sunday hours of business. ZEPPELIN SHIP RAIDSENGLAND DROPS SCORES OF BOMBS AROUND NEW CASTLE. LONDON, April 15.— Zeppelin air ships made a raid yesterday on sever al towns in the north of Er gland and dropped scores of bombs but failed in the evident intention to inflict much damage on the Tyne ship building yards. Some of the bombs were drop ped on the city of Newcastle and on Tyneside and other places but as far as can be learned the damage in any of those towns was very slight. It is almost certain that the Tyne ship yards was the real object of attack but if this is so the raid was a failure. SEWARD WILL SOON HAVE BRASS BAND. Instruments and Music Sent For and a Fine Aggregation of Play ers Are Here. The Seward band has now sent out for the instruments required to make up the full number. It has also sent out for music so that within a few' w'eeks the organization will be in full swing and supplying music. It is the intention of the bandsmen to take part in the welcomes to Secretary Lane when he comes in July and also to we! come other prominent officials who may arrive. The Fourth of July cele brations will be especially prepared for. As a result of fisheries legislation which has been stirred up in congress with a large sized spoon, Dr. E. Lester Jones has been removed from office of deputy fish commissioner, and Ward T. Bower has been transferred from the luxury of the Seattle office, to the barren shores of St. Paul isl and, where the famous Alaska seal rookeries are located. In a letter to the president, Dele gate Wickersham roasted the admin istration of the Alaska Isheries in bitter language.—(Ex.) WANT SIDEWALKS ON THIRD ALSO. City About to Undergo Some Big Improvements All Over If Signs Count. Another petition is being circulated today to secure the opinion of the property holders on Third avenue as to the advisability of putting in side walks on that street. Several other improvements are also under consid eration in different parts of the city. A. B’S MEET TONIGHT. The Arctic Brotherhood will meet this evening at 8 o’clock and a good attendance is requested. wholfsalen. y. TRAINROBBERY TEN MASKED MEN MAKE BIG HAUL NEAR BUFFALO. BUFFALO, April 15.—Ten masked men held up a New York Central freight train yesterday and got away with tne truck loads of goods near this city. The goods taken were val uable and are valued at thousands of dollars. The holdup is regarded as one of the boldest in tie history of railroad crimes as the neighborhood where it occurred is net far from thickly settled communities. This fact leads to the belief on the part of the authorities that the robbers can not succeed in hiding so much booty. Posses are now out hunting in every corner and if necessary hundreds of men will be engaged in the search. Juneau Dispatch, April 7.—The at tempt to indefinitely postpone Senate memorial creating a committee to draft a statehood constitution and authorizing a ratification vote by the people of the territory on July 4,1915, was defeated fti the Semite yesterday. Senator Sulzer made the motion to indefinitely postpone, and the same was defeated by the vot>e of Hubbard, Sutherland, Gaustad and McGann.