TWO
THE ALLIANCE HERALD, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1922.
Wht Allianrr Hrralb
TUESDAY AND FRIDAY
BURR FRINTING CO., Owners
Fntered nt the ponfTice at Alliance.
N"h.. for transportation through the
nails as second class matter.
croPOK T BURR. Jr. .Editor
EDWIN M. BURR Business Mgr.
Official newnaper of the. City of
Alliance: official newspaper of Box
Butte County.
"icial turndown, a few months' failure
lo act, "takes the tuck out of tis," ns
nur grandfathers used to pay. We may
not like to admit it; we mny re .'use to
oe the situation In this light, but
'.hat's about the way the card. read.
And so the pood an I timely Advice
of Harold Cook, who spend much of
his time In the past with his fossils,
'ut who is tremendously nlive to pres
ent day problems and possibilities,
nevertheless, ought to stir us from
ing for something that's sure to hap
pen. Alliance newspaper men have
their eyes open and their cars to the
ground for the first igns of two vr
three pood scandals that ought to bo
"breaking" almost any day, now.
The whole country is eager for de
tails of old and new movie scandal-.
They occupy a much greater place in
our news columns and in our thought
than they are worth. But advertising,
I that remarkable influence, has made
OwkwI and published by The Burr
Printing Compnnv, George L. Burr,
Jr- President; Edwin M. Burr, Vice
President.
THE EXPECTED HAPPENS.
We won't go fo far as to say lha
what we feared has come upon u
but the expected has happened. Eve
lyn Preisa McElhaney, after serving
thirteen months out of a thirty-year
sentence imposed when she was con
victed of the murder of Earl B. An
derson, is making efforts to secure her
release. She has followed the line
that was expected. She has issued
statement to Lincoln and Omaha news
paper men in which she declares that
she is the scapeppjit in this case that
she assumed the guilt and accepted
the punishment for another. Her
friends have been trying to clear her
nnd it is reported that there are wit
nesses who will testify to her inno
cence. After more than a year, these
witnesses, who dreaded the limelight
so much that they stood by and saw
an innocent woman condemned to
living death for another's crime, have
come out of the brush, and will tell
what they know.
So much for the surface indications.
It is not impossible that the story told
by Mrs. McElhaney may be true. It
is not impossible that her innocence
may be established and the guilt fas
tened upon another. If she has sac
rificed herself, from any motive, to
pave another end now, forgotten and
neglected, seeks to make another bear
the punishment for his crime, well and
good. No obstacles should be thrown
fn her way. If the courts, through
her long negligence, are closed to her,
she should be allowed to plead her case
before the pardons board.
But until her innocence is estab
lished, let's remember that she was
convicted by a jury in open trial, a
jury which had every opportunity to
learn such facts as she saw fit to give
them. This jury, on her own confes
sion of guilt, brought in their verdict
The county prosecutor, and his able
assistant, sought to convict her to up
hold the sanctity of human life and
of law. They made the fight from
a sincere conviction that they were
doing their duty by the people of Box
Butte county. The Identity of the de
fendant or of the victim had nothing
to do with it The county authorities
stand ready, when competent testi
mony is adduced corroborating her
story, to help her as once they worked
to convict her.
In the meantime, until some definite
information is at hand, and the case
has been reviewed by competent .au
thority, it is no time for Alliance to
pet excited. This is about the proper
time for the sob brigade to get on
the job. Already there are evidences
of its work. The state papers that
have reported the incident are, almost
without exception, coloring their re
ports in favor of the youthful and
pretty defendant The State Journal,
overa dispatch from Alliance which
says merely that the action of Mrs,
McElhaney was expected, and that it
is reported that affidavits from wit
nesses have been secured, places this
sort of a heading over the dispatch:
"Think Woman is Innocent" Portions
of the articles show that they are in
sympathy with the effort Some sort
of a protest should be made against
manufactured sentiment of any kind.
This is a case for impartial judgment
by courts and men trained to separate
fact from error. Mrs. McElhaney is
entitled to strict justice and no more.
ur present lethargy. We've leen let- L,, as we aC(jUainte(l with Mary Miles
ing well enough alone ju.t a bit too
long. We've been content to drift
with the tide instead of digging out
the oars and taking the short cut. We
are content with rumors, and half
promises and prospects, when we
should get busy and get after what
we want in earnest
Mr. Cook tells, for the most part,
facts that are well known to Alliance
men. He shows how North and South
Dakota, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming
and the Pacific const states are alive
to their natural possibilities and are
capitalizing their scenic wonders. He
tells us plain figures, just what gains
we may expect when we draw the
tourist travel of the country to our
doors, He emphasizes what we have
long known, that Alliance is the log
ical point for a cutoff from the Lin
coln highway to the Black Hills. He
confirms our suspicion that garages
in eastern Nebraska and in other
states are working against our inter
ests. Again we hear the accusation
from men and women who have trav
eled all over the United States, that
the only real bad roads they struck
were in western Nebraska.
Mr. Cook goes farther. We are told
that in the Agate fossil beds we have
an attraction unequalled anywhere in
he world. Over one of the worst
roads imaginable, thirty-five hundred
people, in a single season, have come
to view the wonders of nature. With
a fair road not necessarily an expen
sive state highway, the number of
yearly spectators could bo increased
'.remcndously.
Let's hope that the business men
who heard Mr. Cook caught the vision
that he has. Let's hope that they will
also find his energy infectious. Let's
trust, al.-o, that his remarks concern-
;ng the progress of North and South
Dakota in road building states not
a whit richer than Nebraska, will sink
home. And his last bit of advice de
serves to be emphasized: "If your
road officials won't co-operate, get to
gether and make them."
This road game, be it said, isn't a
task simply for Alliance it's a job for
all western Nebraska, for the whole
end of the state is interested. Right
now is the time to get busy and to
stay on the job. Other states, not
nearly so advantageously located, are
organizing and building roads to catch
he tourists. The longer we delay, the
more difficult will be our task when
we do set out to win back the place
that we have lost through our negli
gence. If Alliance has caught Mr.
Cook's vision and only a small part of
his enthusiasm, we'll be able to organ-
ze all the counties that should be in
erested. If the state authorities do
not show the proper co-operation, we
will do our best to convince them, and
to prod them into line. That failing,
we will build plain, ordinary roads,
from county founds. Box Butte had
thirty thousand dollars, aside from the
tote and federal funds, to spend on
roads in 1021 alone. Other counties
also have money. If once we get the
will to build roads, we'll find the way.
The one important thing is to do it be
fore we've lost so much ground that
it will be impossible to retrieve it
WISE COUNSEL.
There has been so much talk about
building good roads in western Ne
braska and so little accomplished
that the average citizen is beginning
to show signs of weariness when the
subject is brought up. Alliance is a
western city, and it's fairly easy to
stir up enthusiasm and to get results
on every activity but good roads.
True, we have a booster trip every
now and then which shows us up to
our old form, but somehow or other
something always happens to take the
starch out of us before our objective
is won. This is probably true of other
communities.
A a matter of fact, we've gone up
against the stone wall of state official
dom often enough, in road matters, to
know that it's one thing to conceive
a plan and another to get permission
to carry it out The money spent on
roads comes largely from us, in either
direct or indirect taxes and we ought
to have some means of making our
(teairea crystallite into action. On of
A PROBLEM IN PUBLICITY.
Mr. Poherty, one of the star report
ers on the staff of the Chicago Tri
bune, was sent to the Pacific coast
recently to report "the murders and
other social advantages" of that 're
gion, the favored habitat of movie
queens, heroes and slapstick comedians
of the silver screen and directors, who
seem to be the czars in their particu
lar studios. Mr. Doherty has been
busy ever since, the Tribune's editorial
writer records. "He was asked if he
did not want to take a rest and come
back home. He replied that he would
resign first" Here we have the ma
terial for our discourse. -
Mr. Doherty presumably ranks as
a top-notch news-gatherer, one of the
sort who are allowed to sign their
names to their dispatches. Like all
other reporters, he is in love with his
work. Newspaper men have to be, or
they would find some other position
where their talents will bring a better
financial return. But Mr. Doherty's
desire to remain on the job in Holly
wood and other crime centers isn't
solely due to the love of the game,
much as we should like to call it loy
alty to our loved profession. Mr. Do
herty is afflicted with the same thing
that's bothering the rest of us, saint
and sinner alike. He's waiting for
the next movie scandal, and curious to
know which spotless movie idol will
be the next to be fair game for the
publicity hounds.
It's a fascinating pursuit, this wait-
Minter, "Fatty" Arbuckle, Minta Dur-
fee, Mary and Doug, Mabel Normand
and others who have figured in one
sort of a scrape or another as we are
with the family next door maybe
better. We don't fret a whole lot about
Madelyn Obenchain, Lieutenant Wan
derer or Mrs. Still man and her Indian
guide friend unless we hail from their
home town, but Mary Miles Minter
is different Why, we've known her
ever since the child wonder appeared
in her first five-reeler.
The movie news is more interesting
to all of us than we like to admit in
our sober moments, provided we have
sober moments. It has had its effect
on the country as a whole. The arms
limitation conference might have been
the biggest topic since the war if it
hadn't happened that "Fatty" Arbuckle
was on trial for murder. The collapse
of the Knickerbocker theater in Wash
ington, the greatest disaster of its kind
since the historic Iroquois fire, would
have made a mighty stir, but the mys
terious death of William Desmond
Taylor, movie director, and subsequent
developments in this most interesting
case have driven it from the public
mind. Besides, Arbuckle is to have a
third .trial. We doubt if even the
Washington newspppers have much
space to devote to their own disaster.
Undoubtedly their readers want to
know all about Mary Miles Minter and
her pure love for the last man to be
murdered. t
The details are interesting, for a
fact. Taylor prepared for a quiet eve
ning at home. He laid out his favorite
book, donned his dressing gown, took
up his pipe and drew the blinds. On
ether evenings the blinds had beenl
drawn when he planned to spend the I
evening differently, but no matter. A
friendly movie actress calls, chats a
while and leaves. There's a shot in(
the back. Rumors connect a valet with I
the crime. Then a pink nightie is dis
covered, with the initials of a well
known, but carefully guarded name..
Mabel Normand breaks down and
is- carried away at the funeral. An
opened book discloses a love note from
youthful Mary Miles Minter a love
note with a string of X's at the dose,
one of them two inches high and fol
lowed by an exlamation point a full
inch high. Why, a presidential elec
tion or the repeal of the Volstead act
couldn't arouse more curiosity I
A leading newspaper men's publica
tion last week carried an article urg
ing editors to minimize this stuff. The
argument made was that a good review
of "Main Street" or "an intelligent in
terview between an observing and live
ly visitor and an intelligent reporter"
is a better front page story than any
of these others. Maybe so; but which
would be read by you first T It's a
problem for the city dailies, primarily,
for the country newspapers aren't in
a position to serve these delicious scan
dals in anywhere near the portions
of their big brothers in the cities.
It would be nice to believe that Eric
W. Allen, dean of the University of
Oregon school of journalism, is correct
in his assumption that "the average
western home is a place of comfort
and intelligence. It is a shame and
ali-o a business mistake to serve such
a population ns that with a typ of
l journalism we imitate in any degree
from that devised for the slums end
subways of the east." We agree fully
; with Dean Allen that it is a shame
ibut is it a business mistake? Should
1 a publisher hold fast to his ideals and
jlose his readers, or should he conclude,
i in line with another utterance of Mr.
Allen, that "what people are thinking
about" is news, and endeavor to serve
all these scandals up just a little more
red-hot than the competitor down the
street?
All the wise ones, writers and others,
who can tell others exactly how to
farm, become silent when corn falls
to 2G cent a bushel.
Moonshine whiskey glows with un
usual brilliance in the statistics on
suicide, homicide and other forms of
violent death.
MAC AND CUS WERE THERE!
(Gcring Midwest)
After the publishing of a scathing
article in the Fremont Tribune, call
ing attention to the lawlessness in
Norfolk during the convention, Gus
Hyera sent deputies to the Madison
county seat and their reports con
firm what has already been said. A
half-dozen men paid fines into court
I for confessed bootlegrmg and others
i have expressed a determination to4
, fight prosecution. Norfolk appears to
be one of the wetter.t spots on the
I map just now Nebraska City tTess.
' O, piffle! Ous Hyers and a couple
of his assistant booze hounds were in
Norfolk from the time the firemen's
i convention started until it closed. Gov
ernor McKelvie was there a part of
the time. Why did they wait until
1 after the convention was over and all
' of the visitors had departed before
they made the big haul 7 Why didn t
they cinch the violators of the law
right in their illegal acts? Why claim
so much superior virtue while playing
I the political grme?
I Doubtless there have been many vio
lations of the liquor law in Norfolk,
and it is more likely that the violations
I ncreased while the firemen were there.
But was it any worse for Norfolk to
put up a little party for her visitor?
than it was for Governor McKclvie
lo take wine with his friend John
I Drew in an Omaha hotel in violation
of the law?
After the party was over in Nor
folk, Gus and his booze hounds got
awfully busy. But they were there
luring the convention, and it is more
than likely that they winked at the
violations in order to curry favor.
Marshal Foch survived hi3 trip
around the United States, again dem
onstrating the kind of stuff he is made
of.
SOUIBB'S
Alliance Di u Co.
214 Box Butte
THE ASSURANCE OF TRUE PURITY AND RELIABILITY.
A complete stock of household products and pure drugs.
That Mexican volcano that has been
throwing out smoke and ashes for two
years is running itself up an awful
coal bill.
Leaeues and associations manaee
to get along together all right in
baseball. Why not in nations?
w
J
This Bank, like our Government, is an Institution
"OF THE PEOPLE
BY THE PEOPLE
FOR THE PEOPLE"
Our Aim Is:
To protect .the interests of our depositors and see that
their funds are kept safely and securely.
To give sound advice to investors, and assist them in
making such investments as will yield greatest re
turns, commensurate with safety.
To assist and advise the business people of Alliance in
their business affairs.
MAY WE SERVE YOU?
Alliance National Bank
Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits $130,000.00
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$2.00 HAT WATER
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Fifty Lord Baltimore
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One pound Lord Balti
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both for
89c
$1.00 bottle of Rexall
93 HAIR TONIC
two for
I $1.00 I
Spring Is Coming!
Get Quality Tools
TOOLS that stand up under the strain are the kind
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