Mb
Official Paper of Box Butte County
TWICE A WEEK TUESDAV AND FRIDAY
Official Paper of the City of Allianca
VOLUME XXIX
(Eight Pages) ALLIANCE, BOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1922.
No. 20
summary oft;;c
POTATO CROP K
PRESENT SEASOu
AN INCREASED ACREAGE, BUT
SLIGHTLY LOWER YIELD.
Cheaper Farm Labor and Somewhat
Better Prices During Digging
Time Than in 1920.
"Olin D. Miller, special representa
tive of the federal bureau of markets
and marketing, who was stationed in
Alliance, at the beginning of the potato
shipping season and sent out a daily
-market report to the growers, and is
iavr in the office of the state bureau
of markets, where he is continuing
this Renrice, has. issued a summary of
the western Nebraska .white potato
roi for the season. Mr. Miller says:
The planting in western Nebraska In
1921 were considerably' larger than in
1920. The average in the important
counties raising potatoes on a com
mercial scale was reported by asses
mors as follows! In the dry-land area,
"Box Butte 17,774, Sheridan 11.Z66,
Dawes 3.763. Brown 8.797, Kimball
1.453: in the irrigated area, Scotta
Bluff 6,520, Sioux 5,135, Morrill 3,299.
The Increase in the dry-land area
amounted to 65 per cent over that re
ported for 1920, and was almost all in
Box Butte and Sheridan counties. In
irrigated land it was more than 40 per
eent and showed mostly in Sioux and
Morrill counties. Although at the be
ginning of the digging ft was the gen
ral opinion of growers that the large
acreage increase in the dry-land dis
tricts would be c on ter balanced by the
poor stand resulting' from unfavorable
conditions at planting time and the
of cull stock as seed, it developed
. -that the average yield was nearly up
to normal. Yields on dry lana rangea
from 20 to 175 bushels an acre and
averaged slightly better than 80 bush
els, compared with 90 for the previous
.season. On irrigated land they ranged
from 50 to 450 bushels an acre and
averaged about 155, compared with 150
-for 1920. . -
The quality of the 1921 crop was
somewhat below normal. The extremely-hot
summer" weather, together
-with considerable rain, caused' an un
usual amount of fusarium wilt (de
veloping as "stem-end rot"), and this
"disease disqualified for seed much of
the stock raised for that use. The per
centage of growth cracks and second
STowth in all districts, and scab as
well, in the central and northern dis
tricts, was too high for much of the
stock to meet No. 1 requirements. Of
the shipments to November 15 (tabu
lated by grade on page 4), shipping
point inspection showed 16 per cent of
the dry-land stock to have rolled as
No. 2 grade. This does not mean that
all the potatoes in the cars so graded
were necessarily No. 2's. Since the
state grading law requires that all
carlot shipments of potatoes meet the
rreauirements of at least the No. 2
srade and must be so designated un
less they make the No. 1 grade, a car
of No. 2 potatoes may contain stock
which is anywhere between the No. 2
and the No. 1 requirements. Because
size was rarely a disqualifying item in
(Continued on page o)
Local Men Are
Chosen Inspectors
for Federal Loans
Three new insilnctors have been ap
pointed to see that security offered for
war nnance loans is as represent!.
Thev are Oscar Biaman and E. A. Hall
of Alliance and Ode Black of Lakeside,
The board in charge of the loan3, of
which Dr. H. A. Copsey is president, is
at present engaged in inspecting the
security for former loans and it is not
taking any new paper. About $110,000
V alreadv been loaned. Before the
appointment of the new inspectors it
was necessary to bring inspectors
from other towns to do any business.
The inspectors for this district are all
cattlemen and land dealers of wide ex
perience and are wen aoie w iw
after the board's interests.
Methodist Church to
Have Special Musical
Program Sunday Eve
K special musical program will be
printed at the Methodist church
Sunday evening, when the choir of
thirty voices, in oriental costumes, will
tell the "Story of the Orient." The
following numbers will be included:
Musicul prelude, "Birds and Flow-
Chorus, "The Rose of Sharon."
Quartette, "At Eventide."
.Solo, "Living Water."
Chorus, "Disciple's Song."
rhnrus. "Beatitude."
Ladies' two-part chorus, "Scatter the
Seed."
Chorus, "The Tempest."
Duet, "Peace Be Still."
Chorus, "Bread of Life."
Full chorus, "Ready to Serve."
Alton Slaten of Hemmgford was
operated on for appendicitis last Fri
day. '.. -
THE WEATHER
For Alliance ami vicinity: Fair to
night. Somewhat warmed.
irles Pcltz Draws
Tine of $200 for
Illegal Possession
Charles Peltz was fined $200 and
costs in county court this afternoon
on the charge of illegally having in
nis possession and transporting liquor.
The witnesses in the case, Thomas R.
Alanion, John J. Watson and Max
Mucker all agreed perfectly on their
story which was that they had at
tended a dance at the home of Watson
and that some of the guests seemed to
be intoxicated. On deciding to stop
this the three witnesses searched
Peltt's car and found in it two quarts
of what they took to be high test
moonshine. This they took to the
house and locked up in spite of the
protests of the defendant who was in
the ear tft.the time. Thfc next day
there" men brought the liquor to town
ana turned it over to tne sfterm. --
Pelt, who acted as his own attor
ney,' svered that he had found the fire
water In Watson's milkhouse and had
decided to take it away and throw It in
a gulch and had earned out hia inten
tion only so far as putting it in his
car when the other men had taken it
away from him.
Judge Tash ruled, however, that
which ever story was true that Felts
had had In his posssesion and trans
ported the liquor and assessed a fine of
two hundred dollars and costs.
Charity Ball to Be
Held Saturday EVe
at the Roof Garden
The ball for the benefit of the local
charity council will be held'at the roof
garden on Saturday night of this week.
First plans were to hold the dance at
the armory, but so many tickets were
sold that this was found to be im
practicable. There will be a huge at
tendance, and it will be a great even
ing's entertainment.:
FRIENDS HOPING
TO ARRANGE FOR'
GRAYTRELEASE
RUMOR THAT PROBLEM WILL BE
PUT UP TO WESTOVER.
Say They Can Raise $500, and Want
Balance of Fine Remitted
Failure Forecasted.
Friends of Tom Gray, self-confessed
bootlegger, who was arrested Novem
ber 4 in the act of operating a moon
shine still in a cave thirteen miles
southeast of Alliance, and who was
sentenced three days later to a month
in the county jail and a fine of $1,000
has visions of liberty. Some weeks
ago the county commissioners were
apuroaclwnl by. an attorney, who
wanted them to pass a resolution re
questing District Judge W. H. West
over to reduce the fine to $500. The
commissioners refused to take this ne
tion, but Tom and his friends have not
given up hope.
According to fairly reliable rumors
the friends of the prisoner are plan
ninjr another similar attempt. J hi
time, it is said, they will make their
appeal direct to the district judge
Judge Westover didn t impose the sen
tence, as he had traded benches with
Judge Harry Stuffer of the Omaha dis
tnct at the time.
Gray started immediately serving
his fine out. at the rate of $3 a day
with the prospect of spending at least
a year in the county bastile. He has
steadfastly kept a stiff upper lip, and
has refused to implicate any of hi
friends in the moonshine traffic, but
the last week or two he is said to
have intimated to the officers that he
believed his friends had forgotten him.
This, the county authorities believe,
will result eventually in inonris
spilling the beans unless his friends
come to the rescue. The fact that they
have not been Kile is looked upon as
evidence either that they are most
loyal friends, or else they are getting
a trifle worried.
Tom has told the officers that "some
of his friends were standing by him,"
and he is apparently cognizant of the
fact that some efforts are being made
in his behalf. The rumor has it that
they can still raise the $500 they had
n mind at the time tne county com
missioners were asked to intercede, to
save the county a big board bill, lorn
has served just three months, and
there are nine months ahead of him
unless the court relent:, or his friends
dig down deeper into their jeans.
It is fairly probably, however, that
Tom and his few loyal friends are
doomed to disappointment Attorneys
sav that Judge Westover will in all
probability not look kindly upon the
application. In the case of a similar
application made while he was holding
court in Chadron, Judge Westover
ruled that his hands were tied, and the
matter of release of reduction of fine
was wholly up to the board of pardons.
READY TO FIGHT
INEQUALITIES IN
LIVESTOCK RATE
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE ATTOR
NEY COLLECTS DATA.
Dale P. Slough May Meet With In
terested Ranchers and Busi
ness Men Saturday.
Dale P. Stough, Grand Island attor
ney, who has been retained by the
transportation committee of the Alli
ance chamber of commerce and other
commercial organisations' in western
Nebraska, plans to stoo over in Alli
ance the latter end of the week, and
if possible, a meeting will be arranged
for av the chamber- of commerce
rooms, at which Alliance business men
and interested stockmen and ranchers
may learn of the evidence he plans to
present.
Some weeks ago. a Washington dis
patch brought the news that a special
representative of tne interstate com
merce commission would visit Omaha
to hear evidence in connection with al
leged discriminatory rates on live
stock charged by the Burlington rail
road between various Nebraska points
and umaha.
Through an order of hte federal
commission, rates on livestock in JNe
braska were nominally reduced 20 per
cent. The order, as relating to the
Burlington, covered only towns 500
miles distant from Omaha, and there
is but one town in the state Henry,
on the Wyoming line which benefited
from the cut. The Union Pacific and
Northwestern roads, however, reduced
rates 20 per cent over the entire state.
The result has been that shippers have
been trailing their cattle overland in
order to ship on the Union Pacific or
Northwestern, to the detriment of the
Burlington towns. Several of these
united and have employed Attorney
Stough to present their case to the
commission's representative. -
Hearing Postponed.
According to a letter received from
Mr. Stough by Airs. 1,1, 1 nomas, sec
retary of the chamber of commerce,
the hearing, has been postponed, but
Mr, Stough plans to pass through Al
liance and talk over the cose with in
terested parties. The chamber of com
merce has requested Mr. Stough to at
tempt to be in Alliance Saturday, and
has invited interested parties to talk
with him.
The following letter received from
Mr. Stough, outlines the result of some
of his investigations:
"After the live stock rate case was
postponed beyond today. I came to
North Platte for a term of court an
probably will be here until I go to
Hyannis for court on February 6. If
I get through here with proper time
that I can make Alliance in the day
time, 1 may stop there a few hours,
even if it should be on Sunday, the 5,
and might get an hour or so for an
interview with Mr. Lunn and Mr.
Hampton and a chance to show them
some of the interesting evidence and
data already gathered.
"I will outline briefly some of the
data 1 have at hand. A comparison of
live stock rates from the point of
origin on the Burlington to Omaha,
with rates of equal distant points to
Kansas City and St. Joseph. This
comparison includes, say, the rate from
Anselmo to Ashby, ranging from 401
to 4!2 miles from Kansas City and
St. Joseph (taking a halfway point as
the average) with Antioch, 397, to
Marsland, 4;)2, to Omaha. For in
stance Natick to the lower river mar
kets, Kansas City and St. Joseph, on
cattle .385 per cwtj Alliance to South
Omaha, 413 miles .415 per cwt, show
ing the present discrepancy in favor of
the Missouri markets and against Al
liance. "My data also includes different
tables showing earnings in eents per
car miles, covering Angora to Craw
ford and down to Scottsbluff and Mor
rill, comparing the Omaha and Mis
souri markets, with Union Pacific sta
tions for comparisons. There are sev
eral hundred tabulations in this col
lection of data and only by going over
it thoroughly personally, if 1 can pet
to Alliance in the daytime, could 1 give
a real idea or it.
The Rotary Club
Held Interesting
Session Wednesday
The Rotary club met Wednesday
evening at the Alliance hotel with
Arthur Melville as a visitor. Mr,
Melville recently purchased the Fowler
l.umocr company and he stated in a
short talk that he considered Alliance
one of the best business towns in the
state. He nlo said that the people of
Alliance did not realize this as well as
people in other places. Jlr. Melville is
a memlier of the Rotary club of Broken
How. Hrown's Saxophone Six, wl.ich
appeared later in the evening at the
Imperial theatre, gave a concert which
was greatly enjoyed bv all. F. C,
Irince. principal of the hiirh school and
former army officer, was to have leen
present to demonstrate some setting
up exercises, but was detained.
J. P. Jensen of Hemingford was in
Alliance lor a lew hours Thursday.
Irvrnn orooinu
CAIIiH 0L00IUIY
OF LEGISLATURE
COMES TO END
ADJOURNED THURSDAY AFTER
NINE DAYS' WORK.
Appropriations Cut $2,051,755, Or
$21,000 More Than the Gov
ernor Suggested.
The special session of the legisla
ture ended Thursday afternoon, after
working nine days. Appropriations
were reduced $2,051,755, a total of
$21,000 more than the cuts recom
mended by the governor. The expenses
of the session were 917,710.
It was the sentiment of the special
session that road construction with
federal aid ' shall ' be -continued this
v.or in umnliiiH with tlut nlwlr tit
fthe state for a five-year program of
road work, but both houses passed a
resolution as a sort of an aside saying
that in the future the policy of match
ing dollars with Uncle Sam shall I e
frowned upon and the Nebraska repre
sentatives in congress are asked to do
their blamedest to stop the flood of
federal money into the state, says the
State Journal.
Any number 6f members of the leg
islature insist that Governor McKelvie
didn't have the gasoline tax in the
front of his mind at all when he made
the call for the extra session. Their
theory is that he put this forward to
be shot at while he- secured other
things that he wanted a good deal
more. They give the governor credit
for being a deep political strategi.it,
when those closest to him think that
he is as transparent as plate glass.
, Bills Passed. . -
Eleven bills were passed by the spe
cial session, including two appropriat
ing a total of $19,040 for the expenses
of the session. Five bills introduced
in the house and six in the senate be
came laws. It was announced that
Governor McKelvie would sign those
sent to him late Thursday afternoon.
These include the general appropria
tion bill, II. R. 1, reducing appropria
tlons.
1 H. R.'.s 5 and 6 were duplicates of
bills passed by the senate and weie
therefore indefinitely postponed.
H. R. 7 was the ill fated gasoline
tax bill.
Senate file No. 1 by Warner of Lan
caster, relating to proof of publication
of legal notices was indefinitely post
pone I at the request of the introducer
to make way for the passage or b. r .
7, a bill on the same subject.
Senate file No. 3 was indefinitely
postponed in the house. It was one .of
the bills authorized by the governor to
correct the Omaha charter relative to
Davment of assessments for -benefits
accruing to property from widening of
Ftreets. It was found impossible to
correct another section of the charter
which provided for the payment of
damages accruing from the same
cause, so it was sidetracked.
The following are the bills passed
and signed by the governor:
H. R. 1, the general appronations
bill carrying a reduction for the cur
rent year, in appropriations, or
Of. 1,755. Emergency.
H. R. 2, appropriating $,uuu or so
(Continued on Page 8.)
R. M. Hampton Talks
to Alliance Lions on
Business Conditions
R. M. Hampton was the principal
peaker at the Thursday dinner of the
Alliance Lions club. He discussed the
nresent business outlook, largely fol
lowing the same line of thought as in
an address to the Rotary club last
week.
Future tro3Penty. Mr. Hampton
said, is not a matter of law, but oi
iiiv,-i,lnnl pffnrt. Whenever the coun-
trv as a whole, turns seriously towurd
conservation and economy, the effect
will be instantaneous. The same rem
edy will apply to foreign nations, he
declared, for as soon as the c'tizens
in.iifwiuuilir turn toward v Droduction
pnd economy, exchange values will
"if-e. .. .
Normal business conditions are
headed this way. Mr. Hampton de
clared, and by the latter part of 1922,
there should be business as usual.
Dr. J. H. Jeffrey was a guest at
the dinner, and contributed a brief
talk on the advantages of Lionism and
the need for a spirit of toleration in
business and social life.
Express Company Is
Moving to Its New
Quarters at Depot
The work of moving the express
company headquarters I t orn tne Ala-
sonic Temple buiding to the mainten
ance building, just west of the Bur
lington station, began on Welnestlay.
It will take at least two weeks to
complete the job.
W. R. Harper writes from Chicago
that he is busy buying and some of his
purchases in the way of spring goods
are already arriving.
Allhncc Elks Plan
Vaudeville Show for
Friday, February 10
Under command of A. H. Harper,
members of the Alliance Elks lodge
have perfected a vaudeville program
convisting seven numbers that are fir
above the average. The program is
(mite varied, and all of it is good, ac
cording to the report of a committee
called in to pass Judgment. The com
mittee unanimously decided that the
show was just the kind that the- Alli
ance Elks want to sponsor, and the
program witl be put on at the Imperial
next Friday night,' and possibly taken
to Chadron later. Further announce
ment will be made later. The admis
sion will be comparatviely low, and it
is expected the house will be packed
to the guards.
Two Fire Calls
. Last Night From
' . ' : Railroad Yards
k -
The Alliance fire department' was
called out twice last night The first
call came at 8 o clock on account of a
fire in a refrigerator car loaded with
potatoes. The fire was in the packing
between the outer and inner walls of
the car. After the blaze had been ex
tinguished, the city fire bovs left it to
the railroad fire department to look
after it and see that it didn't break
out again, but another call came at
8:30 when the car again broke out in
flames.
Burlington Adds
New Train Crews
to Present Force
Two new train crews have been put
on this week and white it ! not
definitely known whether theywill re-
"in iwii:jr ww pruftijcvwi ii
this seem good. Business has been
picking up some lately and it s hoped
iSf E ilih "It
iT ... f""
HEARING ON THE
PHONE INCREASE
WAS INFORMAL
CITY MANAGER KEMMISH AP-
PEA RED FOR ALLIANCE
Commission Agrees to Accept Com.
pany's Book Values, But Alliance
May Make Valuation
City Manager N. A. Kemmish, who,
left Alliance Tuesday noon for Omaha
and Lincoln, to attend the hearing be-
fore the Nebraska railway commission !
yesterday, called his office force by
telephone this morning and reported
the results of the hearing. The meet
ing, he said, was informal, and the
commission clul not attempt to go into;
.u" V... .i :. .'
increase at that time.
The commission, Mr. Kemmish says,
decided to accept the book value of the
Northwestern Bell Telephone company,
and will not conduct an investigation
at fdate expense to determine whether
the figures submitted by the company
are correct. News reports recently
have indicated that the commission
would take this attitude, one of the
members having stated that a similar
investigation in another state had cost
$205,000, and there were not sufficient
funds at the commission's disposal to
permit an exienditure of this size.
Ju."t what effect the hearing has had
on the matter of the rate increase
asked by the telephone company will
not be known until Mr. Kemmish re
turns, which will be on Sunday. It is
understood that the Alliance represen
tatives, Mr. Kemmish and Mr. Romig,
secured permission to start work on a
valuation of their own and that they
would be given an opportunity to pre-
sent me resuns oi meir investigations
to the commission
Mr. Kemmish took
with him a carefully prepared brief in
which he presented arguments against
allowing the increase, but it is not
known whether it was filed or will be
presented later if Alliance is given a
separate hearing. At yesterday's ses
sion there was considered only mat
ters affecting all of the towns at which
the increase was asked.
Plans for New
High School Are
Nearly Completed
The plans for the new high school
building will be completed soon, ac
cording to W. R. Pate, superintendent
of schools. A small draft of the
ground plan was sent last week to the
board in order that they might decide
just where to place the building on the
lot. A decision was reached to place
the new structure in the center of the
block on which the present high school
standi and, to face it to the west.
Deputy U. S. Marshal A. M. Wright
ox v. uauxon was m ue city waay.
CHECK WRITING
ROMEO IS AGAIN
' THE LIMELIGHT
DEWEY L. RUSSOM NOW IN BADr
AT FAIRVIEW, OKL.
Sob Story Told to Alliance AntbecK
ties Evidently Part of His
Regular Line.
Dewey L. Russom, twenty-twe-ye
old Romeo writer of worthless cheeky
who got into trouble at Alliance th
latter part of December, and who wm
released after a nobbing promise tore
form when a letter offering him hi)
old job was received, is again in, tcee
ble"The sheriffs office yesterday ra
ceived a postcard from Sheriff Jeh &
Horn of Fairview, Old., which here tfet
heading, in large type, "Escaped,' VtA
which contained the following: lllunift
atlng message:
"Escaped From the Major eeuafqt
jail, January 27, 1922, Dewey L. Jtqs
som, age twenty-six years; wtcafc
about 165; 6 feet 10 inches tall sua
built; has black hair and dark ttt
one leg shorter than the other; wtar
a built-up shoe and limps slightly. Kej
is a bad check artist. Arrest. M4
wire at my expense."
In all probability, Russom will stfteQ
dear of AUiance, where he has a ih
row escape from being sent to jaJd, b
the message from the Oklahoma sheciS
brings up .interesting recollections. &
his experiences in this city.
The day before Christmas, Rus.eB
who called himself Russell, waa a
rested by the Alliance police, charged
with cashing two worthless checks Jt
, -k t k. u,.i ur
mcnt store. The last session ofthf
legislature was all that saved: hi
bacon, for the legislature changed ttM.
i.w in reran! to writing wosthtassi
cnecks anJ p,aced l offense on a p
Mi d and petty larceny, depeK
ing on the amount of the checks, for
tunately Russom had not written an
check in an amount sufficient to held)
him for grand larceny, and so, after
rather damn session before Judgt
Tash, in which the crippled bOy wept
copiously, he was ?lven but thirty dan
in jail. - ( ' v," ' J
'Alfowed to Co'ttf Work.
A day or two later, a letter cam
from his sweetheart in his home town
Green River, Wyo., which said that hia
I job as Union Pacific timekeeper wa
open for him, and the judge released
mm. it. nan Dcen supposes mat oi&
reformation was genuine, and that he
was now hard at work trying to re
deem himself in the eyes of his Greejk
River sweetheart, but apparently notv
The officers, with later facts to
guide them, are now of the opinio
I hut fvpn thftiio-h Uiissom was t bm
time a railroader, he has found th
. check writing game profitable. Hia
crippled condition undoubtedly won
I c v'
money.
Shortly after he was released from
the Alliance jail, a message from
. rvr " , . .. z
was wanted there for a similar offense)
at the expiration of his sentence.
word came too late.
(Continued on Page 8.)
Vandals at City
Park Lectured by
County Attorney
Half a dozen boys have been called
before County Attorney Basye since
Tuesday and informed that their be
havior at the city park was not ap
proved. The boys say that they may
have been rough with the smaller boys,
but it is a pretty small skating pond)
and the little boys ' naturally get
crowded off. They promised to try ta
do better. Mr. Basye couldn't get any
of them to admit tearing down tree
to make bonfires, each one insifJng;
that he had brought wood from hoan
for the purpose.
Juvenile Offenders
Report Promptly to
County Judge Tash
The ten juvenile offenders who ad
mitted in juvenile court that they had
entered the Morgan grocery company
building and taken therefrom various
comestibles, and who were lectured
and told to report to Judge Tash on
Tuesday of this week, were on hand
promptly at the appointed hour, only
one missing the appointment. The
missing lad had run a nail in his foot
and was permitted to stay at home.
The boys talked the matter over with
the judge quite frankly, one of them
saying' that every boy, at some ime
in his life, has to have the lesson
brought home to him. The two boys.
who were told to attend Sunday school
annouced they had found one to at
tend. Dr. F. M. Knight, president of th
Alliance National bank, will leave th
last of the week for Decorah, la, for
a week's visit with hia mother Jink
Ruff ridge, , . , t