Douglas Island news., 1914-09-09

In case it is necessary to get extra dition papers for w. R. Rogers, the Alaska miner held in Chicago charged with the murder of fellow miner in Alaska, J. r. Warren, the United States extradition agent located at present in this city, will have to leave for the East Monday to get the papers from the governor of Illinois and to return with the prisoner to Alaska. In case the United States court in Illinois grants an order of removal, the United States marshal for the Illinois district will be instructed to take the prisoner North and Warren's connection with the case will be ended, according to information given by the extradition officer last night, says the Seattle P.-I. According to a dispatch from Chicago yesterday, day, Rogers was arraigued before Louis F. Mason. the United States commis- sioner in Chicago, and entered plea of self defense. The dispatch says further that there will be a hearing on September 4. The charge against Rogers is that he murdered N.W.Wixon at Christmas creek, in the Porcupine district, Alaska, on May g, 1913. He was arrested in Libertyville, a town about B miles from Chicago. In answer to the charges filed against him he stated that Wixon had assaulted him and that he shot in self defense, afterwards being exonerated by cor oner's jury on that ground. He said that be was willing to return to Alaska for trial. Wixon's body, it was said, was found in the snow, high in the hills, where he and Rogers had been prospecting. He had been hit on the head with a hammer aud then shot with a rife.
 A resolution was introduced at a meeting of the Seattle Commercial Club last month insisting upon the im- mediate opening of the Boring river coal fields in Alaska to prevent indus trial paralysis and great hardship in the North and injury to the Pacific coast in case a war crisis should prevent the importation of coal from Canada. The club referred the measure to the national affairs committee for immedi ate action. The resolution, in addition to pointing out that Alaska mining operations were already suffering as a result of an insufficient amount of cool, recited that as coal used by the navy on the Pacific was brought from the Atlantic seaboard for the most part in foreign vessels, shortage will soon exist at the government stations be- cause foreign bottoms are pot available to transport fuel to this side of the continent. "Coal from the Boring river field is suitable for navy use," the res olution stated. "This was indicated by tests made by Brooks and Martin, of the geological survey. There should be hO further delay in opening up Alaska coal fields on some basis, operated either by the government or private capital, so that physical suffering and financial loss may be prevented. Food stuffs have very largely increased in price in Alaska since the war began. The decrease in the value of copper in connection with the increase in prices of supplies may force copper mines as well as other enterprises to shut down. In fact, mines have already shut down in Juneau because of this." The Cor. dOva Commercial Club is in communi- cation with the Seattle organization urging that the Northwest arouse sent iment for the opening of the coal fields, as coal famine threatens Alaska.