J
ri rt
Official Paper of Dox Butte Count
TWICE A WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY
Official Taper of the City of Alliance
VOLUME XXVIII.
(Twelve Tag. V ALLIANCE, DOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBHASKa, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 1921.
No. 103
A CHANGE OF
SENTIMENT IS
NOW APPARENT
3I0RRILL COUNTY BOARD NOT SO
STRONG FOR TRACK ROAD.
Indications Are That the Bridgeport
Alliance North Star Road Will
Go North From Bonner.
A small delegation of Alliance citi
zens, comprising J. S. lihein, W. E.
Spencer and Charles Brittan, attended
the meeting of the Morrill county
commissioners at Bridgeport on Tues
day of this week, and on their return
.say there is perceptible a change of
sentiment on the part of that hoard,
which, a few weeks ago, was apparent
ly strongly in favor of - building the
JNorth Star highway between Brid-je-port
and Alliance alongside the Bur
lington tracks. Just what is respon
sible for the change of sentiment is not
known, but the impression gained r-y
the Alliance men was that it had
-taken place. , .
The Morrill county commissioners
took no official action of the matter.
There were but two of the three com
missioners present, Commissioner De
fault of Bayard, who succeeded Com
missioner Osborne, and Commissioner
"Garvey of Bridgeport doing the honors.
Neither of these men had been out
over the proposed road, and decided
that before taking any action in the
a.a. u... nniilil Vtavtt in viaw the
Tnanei nicy : -
various routes. Next Monday, provi
dence and the weather permitting, was
tentatively set as the date for the in
spection trip. The Alliance men were
assured that they would be notified of
any future meeting at which the ques
tion would be discussed.
What Alliance Wants.
Alliance, it will be recalled, was a
strong factor in getting the Mrorill
county commissioners together on any
road. There were three of them, one
from Broadwater, another from
Bridgeport and the third from Bayard.
All three of them wanted the North
Star route to pass through their home
towns. Alliance road boosters, follow
ing a natural course, succeeded after a
series of meetings in getting the three
commissioners to try to get together
and a compromise was affected by
which the North Star route was to go
through Bridgeport and the Broad
water load, on the rival G-l -C high
way, was listed as second for con-ctr-iwtim
and state aid. . "
Rridirenort men interested them
selves in getting the most direct route
from Bridgeport to Alliance. There
was a second struggle here. There
was no question as to the route of the
road so far as Angora, but from An
.,..o Allien was the rub. Ine
"farmers west of the Burlington track
favored a route that would go almost
tro;o-ht north from Angora. It was
urged that this road would serve more
farmers than the other suggested
route, on the east side of the track.
The Bridgeport boosters, acting with
Alliance men, secured a right-of-way
following the Burlington tracks to the
county line, thus saving several miles
and making an ideal location for a
transcontinental road. The Morrill
county commissioners, it was under
stood, favored the track road, and the
Box Butte commissioners agreed to
meet it at the county line.
The Wires Get Crossed.
In some manner, however, the wires
jrot tangled up, and the road as now
projected doesn't follow any of the
suggested lines. It isn't the road fav
ored by those east or west of the
track. Instead it follows the Burling
ton as far as Bonner, and then breaks
out straight north through the sand
Tiills. If Box Butte county connects
it at the county line it will
strike that line at a point nine miles
west of Alliance. As a road between
Bridgeport and Alliance it is a joke,
x i v,;o Rnv Riitte county with prac
tically a straight shoot to Hemingford.
It's the Bonner road that will be
v;h annnrentlv. ludirine by the sen
timent they discovered at Bridgeport.
The road boosters of that city are
apparently satisfied with the situation,
having won their point and secured
the North Star road for their city.
Some of tbem were considerably sur
prised when told that the road was
being planned to go north from Bon
ner. They had understood, they point
ed out, that it was all settled that it
.-oc n tret 11 n the track. None of them
emed to be fretting about it their
worry being apparently to get the
. main route, and the least of their
troubles being the route that it took
between Angora and Alliance.
TVi rnmmissioners. which letting it
1 known that they rather favored the
lionner route, explained that this was
to be only a "temporary" rout and
-v,of tutor on. when funds permitted,
they would work for the cut-off along
uJ k. The Alliance boosters,
vonr make no secret of their
.ifcta that the cutoff will ever be built
if the temporary road is ever com
pleted. . .
Gaddis Position.
The Bonner route, it is understood,
is favored by Division Engineer dad
dis. In a statement made recently to
County Highway Engineer R. E.
Knisrht. he is quoted aa saying that
the track road is too expensive, and
that he will so report to the state de
THE WEA
Forecast for Nebraska Partly
cloudy and colder tonight ami Satur
day. Cold wave east portion tonight
with temperature ten above zero.
partment.
In the opinion of pome local men,
Gaddis' report will settle the matter,
in the oninion of others, the whole
question will le settled by the federal
government. J. hey point out that the
Sheridan county commissioners were
for a time loth to build the Potash
highway, but that they changed their
mind when they discovered that the
federal authorities wouldn't approve
any of their roads until they had first
agreed to build the one desired by
them. The Bridgeport-Alliance road
these men say, is a part of a route
desired to complete the plans of the
federal government, and it will have to
be built according to their desires. It
is hinted that the federal government
doesn't worry particularly if a route
happens to be a trine more expensive
than some other which doesn't lie the
"way they want it to. The outcome re-
mams to be seen. It may lie that the
Bridgeport road boosters will sudden-
ly awaken and decide to stand by Alli
ance. Their support, thrown strongly
into the scales, may be sufficient to
make Mr. Gaddis and theu commis
sioners have another change of heart.
TO OBSERVE
MUSIC WEEK
IN ALLIANCE
WEEK OF NOVEMBER 20 TO 27
HAS BEEN SET ASIDE.
Co-operation of Choirs, Clubs, Teach
ers, Theaters, Orchestras and
Citizens la Requested.
The National Musician's convention
adopted the slogan: "Make America
Musical," and to that end theweek of
November 20 to 27 inclusive has been
set aside as Music Week, with the aim
to make Nebraska, for that week, a
singing state.
In order that ours may be one city
to line up with a movement of so
splendid a character, the work of
carrying out the program is being
headed by Mrs. Inice Dunning, direc
tor of music in the public schools.
The co-operation of all the music
teachers, . church choirs, clubs, thea
ters, orchestras and individual citizens
is earnestly solicited.
The following schedule of songs has
been made for each day:
Sunday. Nov. 20 "Onward Chris-
the Sundays include:1. Leo Dindig, the
Monday, Nov. 21. "Old Folks at
Hoaie."
Tusdav. Nov. 22. "Pack ud Your
Troubles."
Wednesday, Kov. 'ii. xong, Long
Trail."
Thursday, Nov. 24. Thanksgiving
Day, "America."
Friday, Nov. 25 "When You and I
Were Young, Maggie."
Saturday, Nov. 26. "Home Sweet
Home."
Sunday, Nov. 27. "America the
Beautiful."
Already several choir leaders have
expressed a willingness to carry out
their part on Thanksgiving day and
best loved hymns, national melodic,
organist at the Imperial has shown his
interest' in better music for Alliance
by agreeing to play the selections as
outlined in the program, as a feature
number, while the management gen
erously offers a slide.
Teachers in the private studios en
dorse the program and will give it due
attention. ,
Music is coming into its own in
America, and an effort on the part of
all our musical organizations will
make this week a bginning of better
music for our city, and more of it.
The program includes one of our
cheerings songs of the trenches, "Over
the singing of which should give us a
thrill of patriotic pride, our own
Stephen U. r oster folic songs, and tne
until in 1875 when they moved to Coal-
There." .
Alliance Team Is
Battling Today
With Broken Bow
At the beginning of the third quar
ter the score being 12 to 0, in favor of
Alliance. -r
The Alliance high school football
team is tangling on the local gridiron
today with the huskies from Broken
Bow in what may be the last game or
the season. The locals expect to romp
home with an easy victory, but there
may be some surprises.
Ihe team is ang.ing for a turkey
day game with some team or any
team. Arrangements made previously
went flooey, and the management
hopes to get hold of some other team
for a Thanksgiving game.
The domestic science girls rf the
high school are staging a tag day to
day, and are selling candy and refresh
ments at the game this afternoon to
raise funds to give a banquet for the
team. This evening the Alliance
DeMolay chapter will entertain the
Jobs Daughters, high school students
and Broken Bow team at the high
scnooi gy m.
PROSPECTS AT
LAKESIDE ARE
LOOKING BETTER
DRILLERS ENCOUNTER A FAIR
SIZED GAS POCKET.
Not Positive Indication of Oil, But
Considerably Better Than
No Sign at All.
Happenings in the western Nebras
ka oil world has been looking better
than ever the past three or four dayp.
The good news began with the strik
ing of oil bearing sands at the Big
Chief well, north of Kushville, just
over the South Dakota line. Due to
the fact that no casing had been put
down for the last 135 feet, the driller
were unable to get down any farther
than six inches into the sand when a
cavein resulted, which will materially
delay proceedings. This leaves the
Rushville syndicate, consisting of 425
stockholders, up in the air as to the
value of their find, as it was impossi
ble to accurately estimate the yield of
the well.
Shortly after the good news from
Rushville, word reached Alliance from
Lakeside that the drillers at the Lake
side Development company's project
had struck a gas pocket late Thursday.
Alliance stockholders of the company
this morning verified the report that
gas had been struck, but declare that
there was only fair-sized pocket. The
pressure of the gas was sufficient to
force it way through two thousand
ft if mud wfcen the tools were haul
ed up. , ' '
iuj striking of the gas pockets is
regarded as a distinctly favorable in
dication, although it is by no means
proof positive that oil will be found
lower down. The drillers .are now
working in which i3 known as the
Pierce shale, which is also found in
Wyoming. They are down a trifle
more than 2,000 feet, and are three
hundred or more feet into the Pierce
formation, which is estimated to be
about a thousand feet in thickness.
The Rushville drillers found oil at
1,19G feet in the Lakota sandstone.
Some of the more enthusiastic are
oviwHtut the discovery of oil at al
most anv minute, but this attitude of
expectation is not general. There, arel
those who recall how the Wawloru on aa subjects of inquiry- "is own ad
well gassed foe several days and filled L ministration has been somewhat scath
the breasts of. - the .promoters wihiu,giy criticised because, of a large in
u;m hnno. nnlv to ft iwer. .At an
other Nebraska project, gas pockets
were struck on several occasions, and
ha Anal result was a snlendid artesian
...cii vWh dished forth rations of!
pure, cold water. The old , proverb
of counting chickens goes well with
the oil game. ."' . . .
The Herald has at no time printed
information concerning the Lakeside
project without giving the source and
dependability of its information. Sev
eral times it has published exclusive
stories- that told of definite progress.
Fact has always been plainly stated,
and rumor with equal frankness.
There is a tremendous interest on the
part of all western Nebraska in the
Lakeside well. This newspaper has at
no time desired to create any false
hrno nr enthusiasm, and has particu
larly careful to publish nothing that
would lead to any wild-eyed actions
bn the part of men who read only two
or three words or a neaaune ana k
the rest of the article in accordance
with their desires.
St. Agnes Academy
Making Plans to
Build in Spring
St. Ames Academy of this city is
makinsr Dlans to build a S50.000 addi
tion to its .plant in Alliance early the
coming spring. For the past two or
three years, the institution has been
badly crowded for room for its out-of-town
students, and has been compelled
to refuse from twenty-five to fifty ap-
nlicants each vear.
There are now about one hundred
boarding students, largely from four
states. Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado
and South Dakota, as well as some two
hundred day students, who live in Alli
ance and board at home.' Alliance peo-
nle who have been interested in the
effect of the schools on taxes have, for
the most oart. failed to take into ac
count what would happen if the acad
emy did not accommodate these pupils.
The original plans for the academy
provided for a main building and two
wings. The main building and one of
the wings has been constructed and it
is Dlanned to comDlete the structure as
soon as possible. A recent bazaar for
the benefit of the school realized be
tween 12.500 and $3,000. and it if
probable that a campaign for funds
will be made when building operation
are in prospect.
POSTPONE DISTRICT COURT.
The attorneys of Alliance have reti
tioned District Judge Westover to
Dostnone the December term of dis
trict court until some time after the
first of the year. The request was
made because certain prominent mem
bers of the Alliance bar had cases be
fore the federal court of appeals at
St Louis at the same time. Judge
Westover has not yet notified the bar
of his decision, but it is expected that
he will accede to the request.
PLAN STATEWIDE
INVESTIGATION
OF HIGH PRICES
GOVERNOR ARRANGES FOR
OFFICIAL INQUIRY.
AN
Hearings Will Be Held in Prinripa
Cities of the State Beginning
at Once.
' To find out whether rrire of com
modities, rents, wages, interest rates,
freight rates, and other things which
enter into the cost of living are being
artificially held up, while prices that
the farmer receives for his products
are at their lowest level in years, is
the announced purpose of an inquiry
which Governor McKelvie has arrang
ed for to be made, beginning next
Monday, by three of his code secretar
ies in conjunction with Attorney Gen
eral Davis and Dean J. E. LeRossignol
of the college of business administra
tion in the University of Nebraska,
says the Lincoln Star.
( This investigation will be a more
extensive one, the governor says, than
that undertaken two years ago into
profiteering and the high cost of liv
ing, which was conducted by Secre
tary L. B. Stuhr of the agriculture
department, and which brought no
tangible results.
Witnesses are to be subpoenaed and
examined under oath, the same as if
they were called on to testify in court.
The board of inquiry, comprising Ag
ritulture Secretary Stuhr, Trade and
'Commerce Secretary J. E. Hart, Labor
Secretary F. A. Kennedy, Attorney
General Davis, and Professor LeRos
gnol, will proceed under authority of
the code law, which authorizes the de
partment of agriculture to make such
investigation.
Publicity Chief Remedy.
Disavowing any intention to pre
judge matters which will come within
the scoie of the official probe, Gov
ernor McKelvie says that the princi
pal benefit accruing from it will be to
inform the people as to what the farts
are. He relies on public opinion as the
most potent force through which
wrong conditions ean be righted.
High taxes are included among the
things enumerated by the governor
crease in state taxes.
If the investigation should develop
knowledge of the laws being violated it
will then develop upon prosecuting
officials and, perhaps, the coming
grand jury in Lancaster county to
take such action -as the facts may
justify.
The initial inouiry will be held in
incoln. probably at the house or
senate chamber in the capital, starting
next Monday, v olunteer witnesses will
be heard and the sitting board will call
in representatives of various lines of
business and industry. Any phase of
ronteerinir or other interference with
the natural course of trade will be
looked into, if brought to the attention
f the state officials, Governor McKel
vie says.
After the hearings in Lincoln are
finished the investigating body will
go to Omaha for further sittings. It
may visit other cities of the state
and inquire into local conditions at
each place. All sessions will be open
to the public.
Governor Explains Undertaking,
The following statement was given
out by Governor McKelvie announcing
ihe investigation and outlining what it
s expected to accomplish:
"Any intelligent study that is made
of present-day economic conditions
reveals the wide disparity that ex-
sts in prices between the raw pro
lurts of the land and finished products
of the factory. The normal and equit
able values of exchange that existed
before the war have not been restored
-yiA the burdens of readjustment are
failing with uneven weight upon the
leople. The question that agitates the
ut)uc mind now is whether mis con
dition is merely an aftermath of the
war or whether it is being maintained
by arbitrary and unjust means.
"The simple truth is that the facts
shou'd be known, for the situation is
a serious one and practical remedies
must be found. With the prices for
certain staple agricultural products
at the lowest ebb they have been in
years, and with the purchasing power
of these products reduced to an even
lower level, It is apparent that there
must be a readjustment of values. I he
one who arbitrarily stands in the way
of readjustment defeats his own best
interests, for every one must ultimate
ly bear his share of the losses result
ing from the world war.
"Judged by retail prices, rreignt
ates, wages, taxes, rent and other
items that enter into the cost of living,
one would scarcely know that the war
is over, and while this condition exists,
agriculture, an industry that is of the
most vital importance to the national
Diospenty. is prostrated by me tre
mendous burdens of readjustment tha
it is obliged to bear.
Wants Facts Shown
"It is not my purpose to pa3a hasty
judgment upon this question, nor to
indict anyone without cause, but I am
determined that if there is any way to
accomplish it, the facta shall he known.
I do not believe that remedies of per
manent value can be effected through '
the making of ill-founded charges or
the apolication of artificial methods,
but I do believe that the full rays of
publicity will have a most salutary ef
fect. "Farmers, merchants, bankers, lab
orers, landlords, commission men and
others who are able to throw any light
upon this subject will be called before
this board of inquiry and every prac
tical effort will be made to deduce the
facts.
'Therefore, I have decided that
through the power given the state
vnder certain sections of the civil ad
ministrative code, an investigation
will be made to ascertain the essential
facts regarding the causes for the
present economic conditions. This in
vestigation will be conducted by the
departments of agriculture, trade and
commerce, and labor, in co-operation
with the attorney general and aided by
the department of business administra
tion of the state university.
"The inquiry will be started in Lin
coln Monday, November 21, and will
be carried on in several of the other
principal cities in the state. It is not
our purpose to embarrass anyone un
duly, but it is our intention to turn on
the light so that the people will know
who. if any. are contributing to the
delay of the orderly processes of re
adjustment.
ALL SET FOR
RUSH QF BUYERS
FOR NEXT WEEK
ALLIANCE MERCHANTS MAKE
ATTRACTIVE OFFERINGS.
Free Theatrical Performance Monday,
Tuesday and Wednesday
Afternoons.
Evervthinir is in readiness in Alli
ance for the buyers', carnival on Mon
day, Tuesday and Wednesday of next
week. The merchants have sliced big
chunks off the prices and the profits,
and every visitor who brings his pock
etbook to the city on those three dajs
Will feel good over his savings for the
fest of the winter.
in addition to the low prices there
will be other attractions. The n:er-
chants are now giving away a number
of free prizes, .praticulars concerning
which will be found In another part of
this paper. With every purchase chan
ces art given ori the various articles
of merchandise and tne lucny purcn.is
er may receive in addition to his brr-
gains some handsome gut.
Ijist. not bv no means least, t 'ere
will be a free performance at Ihe Im
perial during the three days, a be
witching chorus and some other actors
will stage an entertainment that vll
just naturally draw the men down to
the front rows, if their wives aren't
along. It will be a good entertain
ment, and the merchants are giving it
awav.
Better arrange to visit Alliance rll
three days of the carnival and help
yourself to the bargains and enjoy tne
free entertainment.
John Dill Given
Parole by State
Board of Pardons
After a number of appeals to the
state nardon board, John A. Dill, tent
to the penitentiary fiom Box Butte
county in February. PJ20, has been
grantd a parole. County Attorney
Basye approved the application.
Dill was convicted on a charge o
forsrinir a check for $20 on M. Nolan.
This was cashed at the Allhince Na
t'onrl bank and Dill had spent only
of the money when he was arretted.
,.e was a htranger in Alliance mid
had been a sailor, but had received
his discarge. The authorities believed
he has received sufficient punishment
Midnight Belles
To Play Alliance
Next Friday Eve
The "Midnight Bells of Gering" with
cast of sixty, forty of which are
pretty girls and stately matrons, will
hhow'in Alliance next Friday evening
at the Imperial theater, under the aus
pices of the Alliance Volunteer fire de
partment, ihe show is an entirely
home talent production, trained by
Frisco Harry nart, and was staged in
Gering Monday and Tuesday evenings
of this week.
Arrangements for the production in
Alliance were made by Mayor A. D.
Baker of Gering, J. C Pedersen, pres
ident and Otto J. Prohs, secretary of
the Gering Fire department, which
sponsored the show in that city.
The "Midnight Belles" is a musical
comedy in two acts, with two good
hours of the best of fun. There are
soecial comedy characters, including a
souse act which is so well put on that
it is possible that the actor may
have had Drevious experience.
The troupe comprises the leading
lights in Gering, who are coming to
Alliance to pay a friendly call and
have some fun out of it. At the
orices. $1.00. 75 and 50 cents, the
house ought to be packed.
TAXPAYERS ARE
BESIEGING THE
COUNTY BOARD
HEART-BREAKING APPEALS
THE COMMISSIONERS.
TO
Several Complaints About High Taxes,
But Commissioners Hold
Out No Hope.
The Box Butte county commission
ers, after establishing a speed record
at the Octqber session, when they fin
ished all business and were off home
within a single day, thies month suf
fered n relapse. The board started
sitting Tuesday and expects to b
through some time today. AH thre
nembers are on deck and if it weren t
for the fact that there are so many
complaints from taxpayers, migh
have equalled last month s record. .
Outside of the regular grist of
claims, there was little out of the or
dinary. A number of taxpayer., in
cluding representatives of two Alliance
banks, dropped in to register com
plaints about the size of the taxes
charged up against them, but the com
missioners told them their Kcle hop
was the county assessor. "If we start
ed at this late hour making changes,
said one of them, "thera no telling
when it would stop. The taxes ar
high, all right too high, but there's
nothing that can be done about it this
year. We made the levien as low ts
possible, and the new method of valua
tion and increases on the pare of th
state and city helped to swell th
total."
There are some cases, this commis
sioner said, where there v.'.is undoubt
edly an error in the assessment. On
farmer had a two-year-old Uodge car
assessed at $1,400, when a new on
sells for less money. There are other
instances of inequalities, but these, it
was pointed out, should have been
placed before the hoard while it was
sitting as a board of equalization. It's
now too late to expect relief at th
hands of the commissioners. "Ths
only remedy is to put such cases up to
the county aspessor for correction,
was the . word which went out front
the county board.
' . One Bright SjoL (
Ttiere was but one bright spot to en
liven the proceedings, and it concerned
roads. Talking roads to the commis
sioners the past two or three months
has had a result something like pour
ing gasoline on a coal pile. Thero. ia
a flare-un.
Commissioner Carrell of Heming
ford. it appears, suggested that th
board adopt a resolution in which tbejr
would agree to meet the xnorrtu coun
ty commissioners, who are building a
road to the Box Butte county line, at
any place where they happened Uk
strike the line. The other two mem
bers of the board at one time signed1
an agreement to meet such a road if!
it struck Box Butte county at the sama
place where the Burlington tracks
strike it, and these two say they still
favor the track road
Commissioner Duncan objected ta
adopting any more resolutions onj
roads, especially on a south road, upon,
which a resolution had already been,
adopted. The commissioner from,
Hemingford nought to argue him into
t, but after some minutes gave up th
task.
Funeral Services for
Mrs. John Lawrence
Were Held Thursday
Funeral rervices for Mrs. John
Lawrence, of the Fairview neighbor
hood, who died suddenly Monday
morning, were held Thursday after
noon from the Fairview church at I
o'clock, with Rev. Stephen J. Epler of
the Alliance Christian church in
charge.
Mary Ann Davis was born at Tred
egar, Wales, November 15, 1845, and
died at her home near Alliance on her
seventy-sixth birthday. She came to
America in 18G3 and settled at-Massi-Ion,
O., where a brother lived. Later
she came to Johnstown, t a., wnere sn
was married to John Lawrence, July
27, 1867. Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence mov
ed to Terra Haute, Ind., and lived thera
until in 1875 when the moved to CoaU
field, la., coming to Nebraska 14
1888. They homesteaded in Box Butta
county and lived their homestead
for twenty-seven years. For the past
two years they have been living in
bouse built on their son 10ms larm.
Tn Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence eleven
children were born, tfix daughters and
five sons. Only three sons are living,
John R.t Tom J., and Dan R. Lawrence,
In the old country Mrs. Lawrence was
affiliated with the Welsh Baptist
Baptist church but in 1907 she and
her husband united with the Fairview
M. E. church which is built on tha
Lawrence property.
Mrs. Lawrence was a kind and lov
ing wife and mother and was faithful
to her Lord until the last. She leaves
to mourn her death, her husband with
whom she has been a loving compan-
. .il J Ami t
Attnf i Af4Ama T Paaira f a 4
1