The Nenana daily news. (Nenana, Alaska) 1918-1921, 1918-04-03
OLDT|MER SAYS
MUCH FAITH PUT
IN AtROP[ANES
Northerner Returns From the Spirit
City; Says Town Experiencing
War Boom.

Axel johnson, well-known miner
of Interior Alaska, arrived in Ne
mana Monday, after trip along the
Pacific coast. Mr.. Johnson spent
much time in Seattle and Tacoma
and took in all the sights around
the training camps and shipyards.
In speaking of the shipbuilding
industry in Seattle at the present,
Mr.. johnson says that there is a big
boom in that particular line. The
government has let several big con-
tracts to Seattle firms, and thous-
ands of men are being employed to
fulfill them. Common labor is a
drug on the market, the town being
full of laborers and no use for them.
The price paid for common labor
at this time is $500 per day. The
men that are needed are mechanics,
says, Mr.. johnson, and men who
have knowledge of shipbuilding and
iron working. Strict discipline is
maintained in and around the yards,
armed guards patrolling everywhere
and the utmost secrecy is kept in
the matter of plans.
! Mr.. johnson was through Camp
Lewis on his trip from Tacoma to
Seattle, and stated that it was a
grand spectacle to see the small city
and the thousands of men that are
being whipped into shape daily. The
soldiers seem to favor Seattle as d
place Of recreation,as on every Sat
urday night boat, the soldiers come
up to Seattle and spend the week
end, very few comparatively, going
to Tacoma. t...
! Mr.. johnson was in Seattle at
the time the primaries were held
on the Hanson election, and stated
that the present mayor was an easy
winner. Popular will being with
him and one could not get a bet
on him, no matter what odds were
offered.
The city of Seattle, says Mr..
johnson, is crowded to the extreme,
thousands of people having come
there from various places in the
States, and on some nights, when
the soldiers are in town, it is almost
impossible to get room or a bed.
Despite the fact that the people are
enjoying good times, there seems to
be an undercurrent of feeling that
the boom is not stable, and will not
last. For that reason hotels and
other businesses that are booming
now, are changing hands every day,
the owners wishing to sell while the
stock is up in the air and get out
from under when the break comes.
You can buy house cheaply enough
says Mr.. johnson, but when you
attempt to rent one, it is different
story. Rents are sky high.
The food conservation is as strict
on the coast as in the East, and the
restaurants are very sparing in their
menus. The order in effect that
a person could buy 20 pounds of
flour was changed to 20 pounds Of
substitutes, and no butter or sugar
is served unless asked for.
When asked what the general
trend of opinion seemed to be on
the coast as to the war, and the du-
ration of hostilities, Mr. johnson
stated that the people pin their faith
entirely on the aeroplanes which are
being manufactured by the United
States now. He stated that is the
general feeling that if the Allies
can hold the superior numbers of
Germans back for one year more,
or until the airplanes are in France,
that everyone is confident that the
struggle will cease to be a struggle
after that Mr.. Johnson will be in
Nenana for while land is registered
at the Southern.