The Daily Alaska empire Newspaper, February 8, 1939, Page 1

THE DAILY ALASKA EMPIRE VOL. LIIL., NO. 8021. “ 'ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME” JUNEAU, ALASKA, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 8, 1939. MEMBER ASSOCIATED PRESS P ————— PRICE TEN CENT3 FIRE GUTS GOLDSTEIN BUILDING » * * » * * - *® * - * * * * * * * * * * - - * * * * $250,000 LOSS IN EARLY MORNING BLAZE WORLDSEES PEACE NEAR FOR SPAIN Conference Switched from.Truce Reported Having‘ San Francisco fo | Been Taken Into Con- | Seattle : sideration by Franco NEGOTIATIONS WILL BRITISH, FRENCH, i BERESUMED SHORTLY WATCH (AREFULLY, Licensed Mt_an—WiII Be Ask- Huge Loans@ported 0f-| ed fo Return fo Work | fered Insurgents by SHIP STRIKE SETTLEMENT IS N_E_ARING‘ | | | { 1 | Nelson Eddy, Wife at Home ‘.:AL:;:“L KINY, located on the “mflConservnnon Corps office. | | INSURANCE 1S | OPERATIVE ON FIRE DAMAGE Personal Losses Are Not' Covered - Building, Has 90 Per Cent Insurance companies estimate the | fire loss to the Goldstein building | and surrounding structures will run in the neighborhood of $155.000. This figure leaves an estimated | $100,000 which rgnains as a dead | loss to various individuals. The building itself carried ap- proximately 90 percent coverage. All stored supplies of the United Food Company in the building were in- | sured and also protected is the radio Value of the furs in the Charles Pending Agreement SAN FRANCISCO, Cal, Feb. 8. — Jack Bryan, American Shipowners Association, d parleys have “laid the ground- work for a return to work” in a set- tlement of the strike of the licensed officers of the Alaska ship lines. head of the Pacific| London and Paris (By Associated Press) France and Great Britain are ap- parently assuming a Spanish Insur-. gent victory inevitable and so today | took action designed to eliminate Italian and German influence from | Spain once peace is restored. | \ . | Goldstein shop is undetermined and | it could not be ascertained what in- | | surance existed on them. Furs stored | | by private individuals are protected | by poligies to a certain extent. | ¢ Insurance Carried | Buildings adjoining the fire site jand actoss the streets all carried | Bryan said the Association has! Diplomatic circles in Paris said | notified the Masters, Mates and the two democracies had offered Pilots of America no further nego- Franco huge rehabilitation loans in | tiations could be held unless the men return for promises to oust Italian: returned to work. and German troops. i Union spckesmen intimated they| Premier Negrin is still on record will return to Seattle and try and as determined to resist the Insur- iade the men to resume their |gent advance to the bitter end. | positions. | Meanwhile, Negrin has set up new Capt. C. K. May, head of the Mas- | Government headquarters at the, ters, Mates and Pilots, on the West | “last house of Spain,” at Leperthus, | Coast, said conference will begin in directly on the French frontier. | Seattle with the Alaska Steamship| British officials acknowledged a" Company, Northland Transportation | truce had been proposed to Franco, | Company, Alaska Transportation but if any reply has been received, | Company and Santa Ana Steamship | it has remained secret. | Company, probably early next week.{ The arrival of the cruiser Devon- | Capt. May did not forecast an im- | shire at Minorca, gave substance to| mediate end to the dispute calling |reports of British and French fears| for a raise in wages of $25 a month, | for their empire life lines that might | guarantee of eleven months employ-|be severed by the occupation of the | ment each year and separate rooms |jslands by Italian and German| for officers. troops. i o Only one of the islands, Balearice, | lis still in Spanish Government - — | hands. | Reports from London said the !Cabinet is contemplating a large loan to Franco to counterbalance the | foothold gained by totalitarian pow- | |ers in Spain in military support to | Franco. [ o i 2 JEW HAVEN | /ALASKA JUNEAU of Terrifory Madeby | JANUARY DROP Quakers ; G g s {More Ore Is Handled-But PERMANENT COLONY Recovery Averages REFUGEES FAVORED Lower Now Plan WouIqufiire Act of| i Congress, Says Professor SAN FRANCISCO, Cal., Feb. 8.— The Alaska Juneau Gold Mining | Company reported today it made $123,300 profit, before fixed charges, for the month of January. This com- Mrs. Isabel Eddy, Nelson and wife Here i3 a new picture of Nelson Eddy, singer of radio and screen, and his recent bride, the former Ann Franklin, right, and Nelson’s mother, Mrs. Isabel K. Eddy, taken in Los Angeles. SOLID PROBLEM IS BACK OF HELPING BUSINESS TO RETURN T0 NORMAL LEVEL By PRESTON GROVER WASHINGTON, Feb. 8. — Back Two Apartments Burn Gul IED Also AS | is one solid problem—how to trans- fer from the shoulders of the Gov- FI_AMES SPREAD | ness the task of supporting the na-| | tional economy. | 1 when it generates private buy-| |ing of a truly sustaining nature. |mg level, but competent trade Ianaly:x(s since has discovered. WILLIAMS BLDG. | of the flurry about helping business |ernment to the shoulders of busi- A | “Priming the pump” is success- i | In 1936-37 it broug! S - Umon Ha" ls Badly n 1936-37 it brought up the spend- | 1. The buying increase was Water Damaged mainly in the field of consumer The building ocupied by the AFL goods (groceries, clothes). hall and two apartments, on Second| 2. Purchases of capital good Street between Seward and Main,! (those intended for plant expan- owned by J. M. Williams, was badly sions) were one-fourth below the| gutted by flames started from sparks level which sustained the prosperity flying from the Goldstein Building.!of the happy twenties. Fire damage was confined to the| 3. Much of the buying of capi- two apartments upstairs, while water |tal goods actually reported in 1936 damage downstairs was considerable. jand 1937 was merely for replace- Little was saved from the apart- ments long deferred, and did not ments. | represent new capital invested in' J. M. Williams and his wife occu-, the hope of profit. pied one apartment, and P. C. Raines | and wife, the other. Raines is a petty STUDY “INDIGESTION” CAUSES officer on the Haida. Prof. Sumner H. Slichter of the| {'Shop,#dffered glass and front dam- | stairs of the same structure. | insurance to a certain degree. | The Winn building, containing the ’ S and N store, the White Spot | Liquor ‘Store and the Ideal Paint | age caused by excessive heat, smoke and water. | Damage in the Old First Nation-| al Bank Building was unestimated this afternoon but underwriters here state the property is completely cov- | ered as is also the equipment in; | Kann's store. Pioneer rooms were reduced to a shambles in the up-| Smoke damage to photographlc‘ equipment in Ted Cowling’s studio and to records in the law office of | Faulkner and Banfleld is reported held to @ minimum. All records and (Continued on Page Five) | CONFLAGRATION HAS ELEMENTS OF DIME NOVEL Thrilled H u_n—&reds See| Drama of Third Alarm Reenacted Here Today’s Golstein Building fire had all the elements of a dime novel and movie Third Alarm, with smoke, flame, bitter cold weather, ice and despair. Evacuation of the building was orderly, but the smoke that filled the structure was so thick, tenants groped their way to safety. Most tenants dressed hurriedly and incompletely, then stumbled down dark halls, skinning knickles | and barking shins. Firemen wore pajamas under ice- coated duck clothing. Raw whiskey from nearby liquor stores chased Williams said insurance coverage, approximated $3,000, but damage is believed considerably greater. Harvard business school, and other | economists, have been digging into the chill from near-frozen bodies and pot after pot of steaming cof- treasury figures, bank reports, in- | fee went to the fire lines from near- PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 8. — An American Friends Quaker Service Committee spokesman said today the organization is making a “se- rious study” of a section of Alaska as a possible site for a permanent colony of Jewish refugees from Ger- many. The announcement was made by pared with $140,500 estimated profit in December and $156,800 in Janu- ary, 1938. The company mined 415,390 tons |of ore compared with 396,140 in| January last year. Ore recovery av- eraged 98 cents a ton compared with $1.03 a year ago and $1.30 two | years ago. CLINIC OFFICES MOVE TWO PLACES Offices of the Juneau Medical Clinie, burned out in the Goldstein | Building fire today with a loss of dustrial tables and other p]acrs‘by restaurants. where symptoms of business indi- gestion show up. They found that it wasn’t gov- ernment alone, nor labor, nor un-| steady dollars, nor war scares, nor | consumer revolt, that caused the| 1937-1838 slump. Instead it was a combination of all these. Dr. Rufus M. Jones, Haverford Col- e about $25,000 in equipment, have| While many big corporations re- Rope restraining lines were strung | completely around the block to keep | the curious out of danger and give | weary and cold firemen a chance to battle the inferno. All Join in Service Coast Guardsmen, police, regular Juneau firemen, volunteer firemen lege professor, who headed the Am- erican Quaker delegation which re- turned from Germany two months ago with a report the Nazi govern- ment approved a plan to speed emigration. | Jones pointed out the establish-| ment of a colony in Alaska would require an act of Congress but added | l Valuable Collection of Books Lost One of the most valuable collec- i{been moved to the Community| | Health Center “we have found no more favorable | tions in the Territory of books about | place for Jews and Non-Aryans of Alaska was destroyed in the Gold- Germany to start their civilization | stein Building fire today. anew.” | Three large boxes of volumes,| S e many of them out-of-print, collected Dr. W. A. Petzoldt, widely known | by B. F. Heintzleman, Regional For- missionary, has completed 35 years ester, over a period of years, were of work with the Crow Indians of stored in the basement of the build- southern Montana 1ing, in the Territorial Building and to St. Ann’s Hospital, according to Dr. W. W. Council. Telephone number of the new of- fices is 466. MRS. SCHRAMM SLIPS, FRACTURES THREE RIBS Mrs, Charles Schramm, wife of| the Douglas City Marshal, slipped and fell outside of her home this| morning when seeking a place of and firemen from Douglas jolned the ported profits, the 400,000 smaller | fire brigades, gond corporations important to industrial America were making thin profits The Coast Guard cutter Haida | pulled into the Alaska Steamship or none at all. | wharf, hitched up enough hose to| So the transfer from government | reach the south side of Front Street spending to private spending fell| and stood ready to combat any blaze short of success. Last year it was|tpat might leap the street. started all over again. | The Alaska Juneau Mining Com- C ! pany boat Trojan hitched its pow- HAS IDEAS L,-rul pumps chlzy mains and sent FOR IMPROVEMENT | hundreds of gallons of salt water Slichter, although often critical of | surging to firemen'’s hoses. the policies of the present adminis-| Everywhere were piles of bedding, | tration, says the task of transferring | furniture and other possessions has- | vantage to view the fire in Juneau and sustained three fracfured ribs. She is under medical attention at her home. primarily one for private busin (Continued on Page Seven) J the prosperity to a private basis is|tjly taken from burning or endan- €55 | gered apartments and fes offives. | (Continued on Page Five) Tenants of Goldstein Building Below is a list of tenants occupy- ing offices and apartments in the Goldstein Building: Main Floor Juneau Insurance Agency, Stanley V. Grummett, Agent. Charles Goldstein and Co, Fur- rier. . United Food Company. ' Second Floor Juneau Medical and Dental Clinic. | Apartment of Dr. W. W. Counecil. | Apartment of Dr. R. H. Willlams, Apartment of Dr, C. C. Carter. Third Floor Alaska General Insurance Com- pany. Dr. John Geyer, dental office. U. 8. War Department, Civilian | Sterling's Modiste Shop. J. C. Cooper, Certified Public Ac- countant Office. Dr. Sidney S. Steves, Chiropodist. Harold Foss, Architectural office. Gil Rich, salesman sample room. Oscar Hart, salesman sample room. J. 8. Jefferies, salesman sample room. Apartment of Cash Cole. Apartment of Alfred Taylor. Fourth ¥ioor Allamae Scott Beauty Shop. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Westfall. M. Bocatch. Helvie Paulson. Alice Clark Beauty Shop. Nellie Grant. Al Kessler. Bernice Butler. Mr. and Mrs. William Paul and two children. Lillian Hendrickson and mother. Mrs, Katherine Hooker. Mrs. Addie McKinnon. Mr. and Mrs. Robert Kanvidan. H. J. Engel. Mr. and Mrs. Melvin Brenno. Ed Jones. Harvey McKowan. Alechy Guber. Dr. Sandfort Taylor. Rudy Hallazan. Fifth Floor George Grigby law office. KINY radio station and studio. Fred Cameron. Mr. and Mrs. G. Fienved. C. Bettinger. Mr. and Mrs. W. Collen. Mr. and Mrs. Ward McAlister and son. Elsie Waldol and two children. H. Polson. Mrs. John Marshall. Mr .and Mrs. Thomas Taylor. Ben Taylor. Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Bergstrom. Mrs. Vena Crone. Mrs. De Roux. Mrs. Verne Saylor. Mrs. Armstrong. Jack Stephens. Mrs. May Jernberg. A. J. Koski. Mr. and Mrs. Jacobsen. WILL SAFES Bt " INTACT OR NOT Office renters in the razed Gold- stein Building are wondering what will be salvaged in the way of safes when the embers have cooled and the smoke cleared enough for in- vestigation. One safe, very important to its owner, is that belonging to James C. Cooper, accountant, who will be saved hours and hours of work if he can find many bookkeeping re- cords intact within the safe that is now somewhere in the ruins. Prize Duck Dogs Meef Death In Fire Two dogs met their deaths in the Goldstein Building fire today, suc- cumbing in their pens in the base- ment of the building. Both were blue blood Labrador retrivers belonging to Ed Jones and Charles Goldstein, both animals considered among the best duck dogs in the Territory. FLAMES STARTING FROM BASEMENT SPREAD T0 ALL PARTS;TENANTS AROUSED, MAKE WAY OUT SAFELY Confents of Store, Office, Apartment Building Burned; Firemen Have Four-Hour Battle; Inferno Pracfical- ‘ly Kept Within Concrete Walls; Estimated that 18,- 000 Feet of Hose Used; in Saving Surrounding Roof Bucket Brigades Aid Frame Buildings Fire, which broke out at 5:30 o’clock this morning, in the Charles Goldstein Building, Second and Seward, in the heart of Juneau's business section, caused Ju- neau’s greatest single fire in the history of this city. Starting from a burning mattress in the basement of the five-story building, the flame expanded into one of major proportions, gutting completely the structure and reducing to ashes all of the contents. Loss is tentatively estimated at $250,000. With the exception of a few personal records nothing in the building was saved. - All property of .| the Juneau Clinic, amounting to $25,000, is a complete loss and not covered by insurance. > A force estimated at approximately 1256 men, com- posed of the entire Fire Departments from Juneau and Douglas, augmented by various members of the United States Coast Guard cutter Haida crew and civilian vol- unteers battled the inferno for four hours before bring- ing it under control. There were no injuries resulting from the fire as all apartment residents in the structure were evacuated safely during the early stage of the fire. A fortunate calming of a violent Taku wind an hour before the fire assumed real proportions prevented what may have been’ a city wide conflagration. Insurance Coverage The building itself and valuable contents in the Charles Goldstein fur shop and the United Food Store, both located on the ground floor were completely covered by insurances This includes furs privately owned which were stored in the furrier shop. Approximately 60 residents in the building suffered complete loss of all personal goods, and clothing. Several are homeless and destitute as effects, including household of the tenants with families, a result of the fire. Owner of the building, Charles Goldstein, is now en- route to Juneau on the Princess Norah. FLAMES DAMAG PIONEER ROOMS AS BLAZE LEAPS Kann's Store Wafer Dam- aged-Many Roomers Smoke Smelled Pirst indication of fire came at 8§ o'clock this morning when the wife of Tom Taylor on the fourth floo smelled smoke. Rousing her husband to investigate he in turn sought his brother, Dr. R. 8. Taylor,and the two men awakened Ward McAlister, employee in the building. The three men located smoke is« suing from beneath the door of room 405, occupied by Mike Bocatch. Un~ able to open it or arouse the sleeper they summoned Ed. Jones, manager of the building, who likewise failed in obtaining entrance. The door was Lose Heavily Largest danger of the fire this morning hecame felt when the flames spread to the Pioneer Rooms, | adjolning the Goldstein Building, and threatened the whole block. Before firemen got the rampant blaze under control, Rooms had been badly burned out| the Pioneer | then broken down and the room was discovered to be filled with smoke caused by a buming mattress pre= sumably started by a cigarette. Bocatch was evidently overcome to a certain degree by the heavy fumes and was semi-conscious. He was, however quickly aroused and the mattress was removed. The thick cotton padding in the upstairs, Kann's ten-cent store had | mattress was smoking actively and been heavily water damaged, and | the men applied the full gallon con= also Heller’s barber shop. Fire also started on the old First National Bank Building roof and adjacent buildings, but did small damage. The First National Bank owns all the property from the Goldstein Building to the corner of Seward and Front, including the Pioneer | Rooms, the Kann’s store, Heller's Barber Shop, and the old First Na- tional Bank Building housing num- erous offices and Irving's Market. Damage to the Pioneer Rooms and | tents of a fire extinguisher om the *‘smoldermg material. They then tore | off the covering and set the mattress | beneath a shower. | Satisfied that it was extinguished | the mattress was removed to the | basement. { Smoke Again Detected. | At 5:30 Ward McAlister was again awakened by Ed Jones when smoke 1 was detected. Going to the basement to investigate they discovered that the doors opening into the cellar were hot to the touch. When they “(Continued on Page Seven) “Continued on Page Eight)