The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1900-07-29
Oscar Doering Returns 10 -. Louis
TO Tell How Thousands Have
Been Fleeced.
NO GOLD FOR PROSECUTORS.
Precious Metal Confined to Two
Creeks. Owned by Millionaires
Transportation Com
panies' Reports.

Oscar Boering of No. $50 Michigan ave-
nue. returned to St. Louis last Thursday
from Cape Nome. Alaska. where he spent
two weeks prospecting for gold. He. Hike
thousands IF Others who have been lured
to that region. found no gold, but he Wit
messed want, suffering and misery which
words are hardly adequate 10 describe.
TO begin with" said Mr.. DoerirS 10 a
Republic reporter, tire whole business was
a huge transportation scheme by which the
owners of steamship lines should reap thou
sands and thousands of dollars. | went by
way of Seattle, where took passage on
the Robert Dallas. I paid si25 Some paid
as high as slH while the cheapest rate was
So II was regular extortion. There
We're ia passengers on the vessel, and you
can readily sec what a harvest they would
reap. Let $50 be the average fare. and
they would take in more than $1,000 fer
the one TRIP and one vessel could make
fifty trips.
when got there We found that the
Cape Nome beach was a gigantic fake.
There is some little gold in Anvil and DeX-
ter creeks. which are owned by million
aires. but nowhere else Is it to he found
For weeks. and months. | might say. word
WAS sent out over the world that such Il
gold region was discovered as had never
before been seen. Despite the fact that no
gold was found and hundreds Of prospect
ors died for want. the report was still sent
out. II seems that the transportation COM
pauies had some way of su1pr"ssinS the
news until newspaper correspondents final
iy arrived on the scene.
Il suppose such suffering as Is going on
there is hardly parallelcd. Thous3nds or
men. lured by the thought OF becoming
rich at single bound. rushed 10 the cape.
with hardly enough money TO pay their
expenses which they found tn he eS0rhi-
tant Many landed In the district without
money TO buy food and with no way 10 get
back home. There was nothing ut which
they could work and food Is sky hIgh-
There Is small change in the district.
for nothing sells for less than . cents. \
ham sandwich costs 30 cents and ham and
eggs 81. 4 cup of coffee costs a quarter. y
shave costs a quarter. and SO prices go
Suicides common and shooting
scrapes are more frequent. While l was
there poor fellow was found dead with 81
cents in his pocket. Food is 50 scarce
and so dear that every one guards over his
property with gun. There is very little
law in the town. A man shoots another
down. and there ii generally ends. shoot
inSs are common that people don't 90
out In the streets TO see them.
There is no claim office in the district
where man can enter a claim. There Is
a sham of a Recorders office. hut forty
men can record the same piece of property.
This leads to frequent fights.
Millions of dollars have been lost in min
ing machinery, not to speak of the loss OF
life For miles the beach is lined with *
pensive mining machinery, which stands
there 70 rust. The waves wash over & and
hasten its ruin. Some OF II belongs TO cor
pOrations which shipped Il there TO sell.
part to mining companies which failed. and
some OF It, which is not valuable, To
private persons who spent probably their
last cent for It. Finding use for II there.
having the money to ship ii back. II is
valueless where it is. Freight IS $40 a ton