NEBRASKA NEWS AND NOTES.
Items of Interest Taken From Here
and There Over the State.
A cnso of smallpox was last week
reported near Wood River.
Hans Jensen, aged 1G, wan shot and
instantly killed by his hunting mate,
Walter Brandenburg, near Plnlnvlow
whllo shooting ducks.
MIbb Mnrlo Douglas and lien Wind
ham will represent Plattsmouth In tho
East Central Nebraska oratorlal con
test to ho held at South Omaha on
tho evening of March 31.
Tho new Stato Dank o Cook at
Cook, Johnson county, Is now ready
for business, having jUBt opened In
Us new building with n coriiploto now
equipment.
Preparations are being made by the
Mannerchor der Cemethllchkolt of
Hastings for tho annual snngcrfest of
tho NobniBka sangerbund, which will
bo )old thero next September.
In the district court at Kearney
Carl S. Carson wbb sentenced to ono
year In tho stato penitentiary for
stealing hogs. Joo Holding was also
sentenced for a llko period for tho
anmo crime.
Iloy Bonfer, aged 19 years, is con
fined in the county Jail at Plattsmouth
awaiting tho arrival of an officer to
tako him hack to Deadwood, S. D.,
whoro ho is wanted for a statutory
offense.
Miss Margaret Poery has been
elected to fill tho vacancy fin tho
Bloomlugton High school, caused by
tho resignation of MIsr Lorranco, who
was forced by falling eyesight to glvo
up her work.
At Tckamah tho Jury that went out
to deliberate on a verdict In tho caso
of Nicholas Farrons, who was charged
with tho death of Lestor Ball at Do
catur last Dccembor could not agree
and wore discharged.
Whllo hunting ducks from a boat
In tho river near Peru, Joseph Sharp
was drowned and John Sheet of Peru
and Rich Aglmor of Auburn had nar
row escapes from the samo fato. Tho
boat overturned.
Sovoral of tho hunters from Toka
mah went to Lyons to kill a fow ducks
on tho Logan, but returned without
firing a Bhot Aftor that thrco of tho
boys went out east of Tokaham a fow
hours and bagged 102.
Gus ChlldB, "Doc" Trlbbets, Jerome
Trlbbcts and Georgo Gamble, four of
tho men arrested nt Beatrlco pleaded
guilty to tho chargo of gambling and
woro fined $20 and $25 respectively
and costs.
Tho Solck & Co. general merchan
dising storo nt Huntloy was entered
by burglars. Thrco boyp, all about
tho ago of 10 years, did tho work and
will bo glvon terms in tho stato re
form Bchool.
Sheriff Fischer of Otoo county re
turned ifrom Council Bluffs with Geo
Clark and Frank Dickson, charged
with robbing tho storo of L. F. Tcldo
of Berlin. Part of tho stolen goods
was found on tho men and they
pleaded guilty.
Tho Cass county mortgage record
for February shows that thero wero
eight farm mortgages illcd, amount
ing to $53,000; roloased, nine, amount,
$29,555; city mortgages filed, seven,
nmount, ?3,G72; released, four, amount,
$2,3G8.
Tho Board of Homo Trustees of tho
Odd Fellows decided to accept the
proposition of York for tho location of
tho Odd Fellow's homo at that city.
Thoy purchased a tract of 1G0 acres
of land overlooking tho city and the
valloy of tho Blue river for tho sum of
$30,000, of which $10,000 was donnted
by tho business men of that town.
Thero is an eleven-room houso on tho
land with flno outbuildings and shnde
trees.
Salesmon representing mail order
express liquor houses soliciting por
sonnl orders from consignees In York
aro given a warm reception. Owing
to tho many arrests a number never
stop In York, but paBs on through.
City Englnoor Watson has boon In
structed by tho supervising nrchltcct
of tho Treasury department to estab
lish tho grades of the slto for tho gov
ernment building in FaJrbury, so that
,planB for tho samo can bo mndo and
,tho contract for building awarded as
soon as possible.
Jcsso Blount of Stromsburg, died
,from tuberculosis of tho Blomach
nftor an Illness of about two months.
Mr. Blount was 22 years old and
loaves a widow, havlug boon married
only about a year. Ho was In tho em
ploye of tho Council Bluffs Remedy
company, and it is supposed thnt ho
contracted tho disease from dissect
ing dead cholera stricken hogs, which
ho frequently carved up for tho pur
poso of domonstrntlng tho benefits of
tho romedy which ho sold.
A wook recently closed was a
record breaker at tho county clerk's
ofllco In Falrbury In point of number
of Instruments filed for record. Tho
filings for tho week nmountqd to 185.
Of thoso 118 woro warranty deeds and
mortgages. Tho halanco wero quit
claim deeds, releases, cemetery deeds,
otc. Thero was a total of slxty-threo
deds recorded, representing n valua
tion of deeds tiled of n48,170, and the
farm mortgagoB $181,525, making a
total representation of cash transac
tions for tho week of $729,795.
Tho estate of N. A. Duff of Otoo
county has paid Into tho county treas
ury $3,393.90 as Its tax under tho in
heiltanco tnx law.
If tho stockmen of Custer county
will follow government Instructions,
It is probable tho quarantlno that has
existed for somo time, may bo lifted
In tho near future.
Tho Ossonkup murdor trial, which
recently closed at Plattsmouth, was
ono of tho longost cases over tried in
tho county. More thnn 100 witnesses
woro examined and much of tho testi
mony being of nn export character
made It hard to follow.
compare with the hospitality of Madl- quaint utmosphero of tho early century. Becky Hk. i tt f
Bon'H, the elegunco of JohnQulncy Adams', tho Sharp, perhaps, temporarily deluded tho same I HHMHVji I SsXsv JPP &
f-WM W 11 II S V tt M If ft r'
d HI V J14 MJ
pertinently still, how does It measure with tho
record of tho Roosevelt regime?
Tlieso aro to-day queries" of absorbing inter
est, and nowhere has this phase of a now ad
ministration quite tho significance that It has
at Washington. Diplomats, and back of them
the governments for which they Btand, aro as
much Interested in tho personality of tho ris
ing American powers ns their own country
men. Mrs. Tnft is neither the soft green of tho
soul of Burke's Ideal feminine, nor Is sho Nn
poleon's abhorrence, Intellect In petticoats. Sho
is that rarer thing, a well-balanced woman.
The Tories, said Wellington, whon Victoria
ascended tho English throne, could hopo for
little headway undor n fonialo sovereign, bo
cause ho had no small talk and Pitt had no
manners. Mrs. Tnft Is a woman whom ono
might well imagine making allowances for
both shortages, provided there wero such com
pensatlons along other lines as Wellington and
Pitt possessed.
Given such n foundation in character, with
youth, good health and ambition and tho pe
culiar advantages her llfo bus nlrcady given
her, few women have gone Into tho White
Houso so well equipped to meet tho exactions
of tho position of "first lady of tho lnnd." Her
roglme, moreover, has not thnt negative quality
which circumstances have Infused Into the so
cial ut'mosphoro of some provlous administra
tions. Sho has tastes nnd enthusiasms which
will glvo character to tho soclul llfo at Wash
ington, of which tho Whlto Houso Is tho contor,
for tho next four years.
Music, which has nourished at Washington
under Whlto Houso patronage during tho seven
years of Mr. nnd Mrs. Roosevelt's residence
there, hns oven more emphatic encouragement
under tho soclnl sway of a woman who was
ono of the founders or Cincinnati's famous
musical organization, tho Symphony orchestra.
Not only 1b sho n patroness of music, but Is a
muslclnn. Sho kept up hor hours of dally
practice regularly until within recent years,
when tho frequent changes In her llfo and Its
many added duties mndo tho continuance im
possible. Though she does not regard herself as suffi
ciently In prnctlco to perform for a critical
audience, sho has by no means lost hor skill
nnd frequently plays for her husbnnd and
children during their evenings nt homo. Theso
aro moro than might bo supposed, for Mrs.
Tnft is ono of tho women who stays usually
nt home unless hor husband can go out with
hor.
Other avonuos through which "her artistic
taste fluds an outlet aro hor lovo of pictures
and hor appreciation of wood carving. Charles
Tnft's art collection Iiob no more appreclatlvo
friend than his slstcr-In-law. Sho Is enthusias
tic about every treasuro ho ndds to It, and en
joys fow things more than pointing out Its
beauties to otherB. Faces nnd figures appeal
moro to hor than landscapes, and a recently
ncqulred Rembrandt has given hor keen pleas
ure. Sho 1ms mndo a study of wood carving,
and has tho nucleus of a collection containing
somo oxcollont specimens, Sho Is a connois
seur of tho crnft, and knows tho lino points
In tho work of various schools and mnsterB.
Sho Is a book lovor, and has been a studont
all hor llfo, first bucauso sho grow up In a
homo wliP'o bookB camo down from tho sholves
nnd mndo tho worlds thoy contain part of tho
domestic environment. Elizabeth Bennett and
hor sisters, with their heart nffnlrs and all tho
Incidental character delineations, stepped from
a worn copy of "Prldo anil Prejudice," bringing
into tho Herron homo In Cincinnati, with Its
CHARLIE TAFT
own kith nnd kin. Henry
Esmond embodied their
idenl of chivalry, and
Thackeray's whole world
of characters woro famil
iar figures on tho horizon
of their imagination. Mrs.
Taft is loyal to her old
literary friends, and still
dips into their society.
Georgb Eliot is ono of the
favorites of her later
years.
Sho is a general reader,
tho nowspnpors coming
in for a daily share of
her time. To any subject
In which Mr. Tuft Is In
terested or of which lie
Ib making a study sho al
so gives her attention. Ab
few men of tho period
have had occasion to look
up Information on such n
variety of subjects nB tho
president-elect, Mrs. Tnft
bus mudo herself a stu
dent of wldo range. It
has Intensified tho sonso
of comradeship existing
between them, and is per
haps but another oxprcB
slon of tho sentiment
which tnkes hor walking
over tho golf course with
her husband, though sho
docs not play. At Hot
Springs Inst, summer sho made tho tour of tho
course with Mr. Taft every day, a strenuous
va k, as every ono knows who ban climbed tho
b Us and descended tho dales of tho golf In
closuro at thnt resort.
Mrs. Tnft has brains, and uses thorn, with
out boing in any hciibo aggressive or pedantic.
She talks well, nnd looks well when she 1b talk
ing. Her smile has tho charm of Intelligence,
that quick flash of recognition, distinct from
tho frozen, nutomntlc Binllo peculiar to many
women in official llfo, on whom Boclal duties
mnko many domnnds, oven to that of contln-"
uously "looking pleasant." Sho hns n gonorous
mouth nnd hnndsomo teeth, a Btrolght nose,
woll proportioned to her othor features, a
broad forehead, abovo which hor brown hair 1h
arranged In a soft pompadour.
In her knowledge of langungcs Mrs. Taft has
an advnntago over ninny of hor prodccesBors.
During tholr last winter as mopiborB of tho
cabinet clrclo, Mr. and Mrs, Tnft wero In
mourning for Mr. Tnft's mother, and thoy took
no part In formnl social occasions. Thoy have
many friends In many Innds. Mrs. Tnft, how
over, llko many women who have grown up
In a largo family of girls among whom tho tlo
of kinship Is strong, hns fow Intlmnto friends.
Sho plays a scientific gnmo of whlBt, and has
gravitated horo toward tho womon who tako
tho game seriously, Of theso Miss Cannon,
daughter of tho speaker of tho houso of repre
sentatives, is ono who Is frequently with Mrs.
Tnft. They drive together, ono of Mrs. Tnft's
favorite diversions, and nro often together nt
concerts. Mrs. Ilnllle Ermlnio Rives Wheeler,
wlfo of tlio secretary of tho Amorlcan ombaHBy
nt Tokyo, Ib nnothor of Mrs. Taft'B frlendB. Sho
spent, sovornl months recently in this country,
and during part of tho tlmo was tho guest
of Mr. nnd Mrs. Tnft. Their friendship goes
buck to dnys of travel In tho UBt, when, they
saw many things togother nnd discovered a
symputhy In tho point of view.
Gen. and Mrs. Corbln nnd
Gen. and Mrs. Edwards nro
prominent In tho bocIuI en
tourage of tho next Whlto
Houso regime. Gen. Corbln
comes from Ohio. Mrs. Cor
bln was Miss Edith Patten
of Wnshlngton, formerly of
California. Their friendship
with Mr. and Mrs. Tnft Is
of long standing. Thoy woro
all In tho Philippines to
gothor. Gen. nnd Mrs. Cor
bln have rcccntlycomplotcd
n handsomo country homo
at Chovy Chase, WoBhlng
ton's most fnshlonnblo sub
urb. Gen. and Mrs. Edwards
nro cIobo neighbors of tho
Whlto Houso. Their friend
ship With tho TnftH has al
so a far-reaching and Inter
esting background. With
Gon. EdwnrdB thoy havo
rcmlnlsconcoBln common of
mnny lands. Tho chief of
stnff of tho army and Mrs.
Boll and Gon. nnd MrB, Gar
llugton, with their pretty
.lmiuhter Sally, ono of tho
nrmy clrclo at Washington, are all prominent
figures nt tho White House. Mrs. Gnrlltig cm
nnd Miss Garllngton woro members of tho
little party who heard tho reBUlt of tho nom -nntlng
convention at Chicago last Juno with
Mrs. Taft In tho office of tho secrotnry of war.
In addition to the sons and dnughtor of Mr.
nnd Mrs. Tnft, there aro plenty of young peoplo
nt tho Whlto Houso from tlmo to time, repre
senting vnrlouB brnnches of tho fnmlly. Tho
country became familiar with tho nnuios of
Mr. Tnft's nieces and nephowB at tho tlmo of
tho convention In June, when thoy woro on
hnnd to cheer for "Unclo Will." Of Mrs.
Tnft's five sisters, four are married, as aro alBo
hor two brothers, and nil havo families.
Mrs. Tnft's slstors nro Mrs. Parsons of Co
lumbus, O.; Mrs. Charles Anderson of Cincin
nati, who has throo charming daughters who
nro grnduntcH of Bryn Mawr, whoro Miss Holon
Taft Is now a student; Mrs. Louis Mooro of
Clnclnnntl, who hns ono little Bon, and Mrs.
Thomns Lnugblln of PIltBhnrg, who hns two
small children. Hor brothers, William Her
ron, who marrlod Miss Janoy lisby of Cincin
nati, and John llorron, who marrlod Mlsa
Goorglo Aldrich, both hnvo young chlldron.
Much of tho domestic mnchlnory of tho
Whlto Houso goes on nutomutlcally, with little
variation from ono administration to nnothor.
Mrs. Taft is a good housokcopor. In tho homo
maintained until last Juno sho had four serv
ants, olio a Filipino boy brought from tho
lulnnilti. The houso was tastefully furnished,
many souvenirs of travels giving It nn Interest
ing background. Mrs, Tnft's room wns decor
ated In blue, hor favorite color. In muttora of
dress Mrs. Taft has quiet tastes, Sho docs
much of hur own choosing nnd shopping, nnd
patronlzoB local Bhops. For evening sho weurs
whlto frequently, though pink Is porhaps the
color for which sho hns greater partiality. At
a reception at the Whlto Houso one afternoon
lutil .May, the last formal function she attend-
MMHELEfl TAFT
ed there us wlfo of tho secretary of war,
sho woro a doml-tolletto of black lace
over whlto, with a black and whlto hnt.
Sho prefers hatB to toques.
Tho question hhs already come up as a mat
tor of speculation In official circles of Wash
ington Hoclcty us to whuthor MIbs Helen Taft
will finish her collogo courso or bo n Whlto
Houso dobutnnto within tho next two yoara.
Tho question midoubttdly will be loft to her
own Inclination to suttlo.
Ono nftornoon InBt Juno, whon tho oyca of
tho nation woro on Chicago, thoro omorged
from ono of tho big, BiibBtuntlnl brick houses
In K stroot, Wnshlngton, a llttlo group of
figures, Including a womnn who led tho way
as they turned Into Slxtconth Btrcot nnd
wnlked southward toward tho Whlto House.
Sho swung along with u stop an olastlc us that
of tho hoy and girl nccompanylug her. Thoy
talked and laughed as thoy wont, and tholr
voices, nil pitched to tho same pleasant con
tralto tone, bespoko their kiushlp.
Porhaps thoy notod through tho groon vista
of Lafayotto park tho gllstonlng columns of
tho north portico of tho Whlto House. Tho
plcturo was n familiar ono to all of them.
That to tho woman It stood for tho momont
ns tho concrete presentment of fato toward
which hor stops had turned 22 yoara boforo
almost to tho day, who shall Buy? Hor clear,
bluogray eyes looked as unbllnkingly nt tho
reality us thoy had at tho vision. Though in no
sense undor tho spoil of thnt faculty which
Thurlow Weed ycarB ngo declared had bowll
derod many men wIiobo oyeB woro turned in
that direction, sho was too frank to feign an
iudlfferouco to tho alluring possibility of a
residence within its walls. Sho had u can
didate at Chicago that day, and if the quostton
wero put squurely to her sho wub ready un
hesitatingly to avow him.
Tho woman nnd children made nltogothor an
IncoiiBplcuouB llttlo group as thoy crossod
Pennsylvania avenuo nnd ontored tho big trlplo
dopartmont building on tho corner of Sovon
teonth Htreet. Tho watchman at the door of
the war department and tho meusongers in
tho corrldoiB rocognlzed thorn, howovor, ns
they mndo tholr way toward tho ofllco of tho
secrotnry, returning tho grinning salutations
that greeted them on all sides.
MrB. Taft woro a whlto linen suit. A flowor
ladon hnt shaded her faco, which retains all
Its girlhood contours. Tho door closed upon
them, nnd It wns llvo o'clock boforo thoy re
appeared. Was It tho samo party, or had
that hlBtory-maklng afternoon wrought somo
subtle change? Mrs. Taft, wlfo of tho secre
tary of war, was now Mrs. Tnft, wlfo of a
presidential nominee. Her step was lighter,
hor cyoB brighter. Happy? Surely. Hor can
dldato had won tho first approaches to ulti
mate victory.
They went us thoy had como, on foot, stop
ping In tho Btroot to buy an "oxtra," for tho
pleasure of npproachlng tho good news from
another nnglo. . '
The wlfo of a man already ono of tho most
conspicuous figures In public llfo In America,
Mrs. Tnft became from thnt momont a national
figure. Tho Novomhor victory of tho Republi
can party hut concentrated the attention which
hnd boon upon her for llvo months as tho wlfo
of Its nomlnoo. Thoro wero no longor favo
rites In tho field. Comparisons wero out of or
der. Tho names of tho president-elect and his
family became household words throughout tho
land.