Search America's historic newspaper pages from 1756-1963 or use the U.S. Newspaper Directory to find information about American newspapers published between 1690-present. Chronicling America is sponsored jointly by the National Endowment for the Humanities external link and the Library of Congress. Learn more
Image provided by: Alaska State Library Historical Collections
Newspaper Page Text
ONLY A SPOT ■ IN WIDE SEA » #' But Grave Questions Surround the Little Island of Yap. Washington.—When it was asked, after the world war, what tfie United States got out of it. the cynical reply was made that “We got the island of Yap.’ It seems we didn't. At no time did we claim Yap for ourselves. President Wilson and the other American peace : envoys at Paris insisted only that Yap ^ slu old not go to the exclusive owner- | ship or control of any nation, but ■ , i should be “internationalized.’' That : is. it should be kept for the use of all natious. That was the general understanding at the time. But it seems that the American envoys reste 1 satisfied with the general consent that appeared to have been obtained, and did not file a written reservation as to this island. And now Japan claims Yap for its own, and very stubbornly resists the claim that the isiand is to be international ized. * The little island, which few people had ever heard of before the war, has become very important. It is the only spot. m a wine «ea woere cauie lines between America and Asia can be landed. If any one nation can control Yap, it can come pretty near control ling the transmission of intelligence by cable across the Pacific. Yap is, in short, of value in time of peace, and a vital point in case of war between an American and an Asiatic power. Foreseeing this, President Wilson and the other American peace envoys at Paris early in 1919 made a positive stand in favor of treating Yap as inter national property which no nation could monopolize. This was the only bit of territory which the United States—the final factor in the winning of the war—asked at the peace table: and this it asked not for itself alone, but for all nations. Japan demurred a NORTHERN COMMERCIAL COMPANY Ball Band— Rubber Boots and Shoes. Slicker Coats, knee. “ J“ lonjr. Slicker Hats. Mosquito Head Nets. Mosquito Bed Nets, single. Mosquito Bed Nets, double. Buhach. Mosquito Cake. Michigan Dope. Oil of Citronilla. Garden Seeds Flower Seeds little, but in the end there seemed to be no opposition to the Ainet i<-i' wish. The minutes of the proceedings at Pam showed that there had been dis cussion of reservations made hv Presi dent Wilson against Japan’s claim, but no proof could be found that our claim bad been made in writing and by for mal documents Bled. Japan now takes advantage of this apparent omission to insist that her right to the island is absolute. Japan’s claim, unknown to us, was approved by the League of Nations at its meeting in Geneva—a meeting in which the United States was not rep resented and had no voice! When Japan entered the world war it was on condition that in case of vic t iry she should have all the German islands in the Pacific north of the equator. France, Great Britaiu and i ie other countries then at war with Germany agreed. On this the claim of Jap in to Yap is based. The Uuited States never consented. Professors Wrong, Says Voliva; Earth Is Flat, Not Round Zion City, 111.—“I will give $1,000 to any of these smart professors or any body else who cao prove to me that the earth is round.” Overseer Glenn Wilbur Voliva, high priest of Zion, so declared here Sunday from the.pulpitof his tabernacle. “But,” he added, “don’t let anybody send in that old chestnut About ships disappearing at eea, or that old theory about sailing around the ‘globe.’ You can sail around a pie tin.” Voliva also declared the laws of gravitation are ‘‘the bunk.” “The only law of gravitation is the inevitable movement of two sweet hearts sittiog on the opposite ends of a park bench,” he said., “Can any of these wise professors tell me why there is vegetation at the North pole and none at the South pole?” be added, “or why the water is shallow’ at the North pole and deeper at the South pole? The earth is Hat. The British parliament passed a law forbidding surveyors of canals to make any allowance for the curvature of the earth. If it were round, the Mississipi river w’ould be running uphill. “The laws of gravitation are the bunk. If you throw a brickbat into the air, physical force sends it up. If you throw a feather it goes up because it is lighter than air. The brickbat comes down, but the feather stays up. “God says the sun goes around the earth, but he never said anything about the earth going around . the sun. Don’t you believe these smart profes s >rs. On a clear day vou can stand on the Halsted street bridge and see across Bake Michigan. Could you do that if the earth were round? You could not.” Five Indian girls were brought to Dawson recently by Bishop Stringer, 'from their homes in the upper reaches of the Porcupine river. They are to be placed in the mission school at Car cross. At Dawson the girls were treat ed to their first sight of electric lights, telephones, bicycles and automobiles. The Alaska Bureau of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce is being Hooded with letters from all parts of the United States, asking for information concerning Alaska. Some of the in quiries come from South America and the Canal zone. I ! CENTER OF POPULATION ——— 1920 Census Shows That ! It Is Still Moving* Westward. < _ Washington.—The Census Bureau announces that the center of popula tion, as fixed b\ the census of 1920, is where the parallel of latitude at 39 de- , grees 10 minutes and 21 seconds north crosses the meridian of 86 degrees 43 minutes and lf> seconds west. This is a point in the southeast cor ner of Owen county. Indiana, about fifty miles southwest of Indianapolis. There isn’t aoy population there to speak of, but there is the hub of the wheel of population—just as many peo ple west of it. just as many north as south. i Ten years ago the center of popula tion was at Bloomington, lud., and for manv more years it has been in-that State. It has now- moved 9.8 miles west of that point, almost a mile a year. It has also moved about 1100 feet Dorth. If the westward movement continues at its present rate Indiana will have the center of population for half a cen tury to come. The westward movement of the cen ter would not have been very notice able this time-had it not been.for Cali fornia’s increase bf more than 1,000,000 in population since 1910. In the last decade a good manv of the Eastern States have grown faster than the Western. _ To the best of our knowledge and be lief, Walter Stephens was the last man to cross the Tacoma ice this season, ! which be did Tuesday evening, when he returned to Candle. _ A report from the Outside states that Dutch Blaukfield, of Nenana, held a night conference with a bandit while in Los Angeles recently and had to.gei help from a friend to get to ’Frisco. *' - J. A. Slippern, well known North : 1 erner, who is now in Los Angeles, is' very anxious to learn the present whereabouts of -Joban Rumahe, said to have been located in the Koyukuk dis trict at one time. The Harriman National Bank, at - Sewai d, has changed its name to the First National Bank of Seward. rhis Fellow Says He Has Squared the Circle A Wheeling architect nam«l Joseph ^einer claims thatxfter forty years of >ff-and-on study of the problem he has woeceded intgquaring the circle, ai.d se wants a Nobe< pv./,e for it the news •eports-say. He is submitting his net.hod to some eminent matbemat' dans for approval. The problem of squaring the circle-, aas been for centuries the despair of nathematiciair^ and has generally been jiveu up as impossible. The real fire-It em is to find the exact relation be tween the diameter of a circle and its breumference. Apparently there is 10 suoh exact relation, and a circle is 'eally what an aucient Greek philoso iher called it, “A polygon with an in ioite number of sides.” For any practical use the cirenmfer ;nce of a circle may be Luken ;ts 1.141,59 times its diameter. t this is iot absolutely exact; there is---a very small “plus” to the decimal. Matbe naticians have carried the problem iut to more than 700 decimal * places places without getting rid -of a remaio ier. Nor does any sequence occur like 1X5 or 666, or any other combination hat would show the uselessness of car rying the division further. Max Simel The Pioneer Trader Furs Bought and Sold! Miners’, Prospectors’ and Trappers’ Supplies Steamer Service On the Inoka -Rivet s_ji Ask the People of Ophir about us. * STATION fairviwv, tnnoko River THE KUSKO TIMES Twice a Week :: Wednesday and Saturday Two Dollars Per Month The Thor Freight and Passengers Operating On Kusfctkwim and Tributaries. ~ THE SALMON RIVER FLYER A Fast Boat for Quick Trips. 12-horsepower For Rates and Reservations see Frank Fox Owner