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About The Omaha morning bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 1922-1927 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 2, 1924)
Financial Books | of Government Show Bis; Profit Expenditures During Last Year $276,812,518 Less Than Receipts—Further Tax Cut Possible. Washington, Jan. 1. — The govern ment closed its financial books ba the year last night with a record of having received $4,164,906,600, almost $500,000,000 more than was paid into the treasury In the calendar year 1922, Its expenditures were $3,SS8,063,* 082, leaving a net balance of $276, 842.518. The year Just closed was marked by unusual act.vity at the treasury. It funded the great British wartime debt and the smaller obligation of Finland; It refunded into easy han dling form the last of the $4,500,000, 000 victory loan and more than $2, 000.000,000 other government secur ities and made steady progress to wv-t reducing the huge wartime debt of e. s country. Its budget for the last - a 1 year was balanced and officials are confident that the policy of retrenchment /has made possible another year of debt reduction and solid government financing. “Swelling receipts during the cal endar year 1923 marked tlie govern ment's two chief revenue sources —internal taxes on Incomes and du ties collected at the customs houses. Treasury records show income and rofits tax payments for 1923 to iled $1,868.€98.422, as compared with - ,1,501,604,002 for 1922; customs rev , enue for 1923, the greatest in the h’s tory of the country, aggregated $582, 589,015, about $125,000,000 more than , the previous year. Treasury officials expressed satis faction at the internal tax receipts, declaring the lowered tax rates of the 1921 tax law had borne out the pre diction that lower rates would pro duce more revenue through a stimu lation of business. They declared no small amount of the economic l-o covery waa traceable to a return of available funds from its hiding in tax exempt places to the financing of productive enterprise which paid taxes to the government. The higher rates of the administration tariff law were regarded ns responsible for the s huge government income from that v source. The high duties failed to act as a barrier against imports, ttr 1 cording to official records which show continued heavy Imports after ‘ the law went Into effect In Septem ber, 1922, through the year ending ‘ today. Investors Kick ; at Wood’s Deals' ___ \ Losses Suffered by Purchasers Ij of Oil Company Securities ' to Be Investigated. _ I By l nivevsal Service. Washington, Jin. 1.—Stock mar ket speculation* and stock, selling 1 campaigns by members of MaJ. Gen. ; Wood’s family prompted Represents- 1 tive Frear of Wisconsin to announce ' yesterday the Investigation pro-'1 I>osed by him will be broadedenod Into 1 a sweeping congressional inquiry.]' Congress will be asked to go into the i * whoie business of stock market gam- ' bllng I ‘ The Frear resolution, originally • drawn to inaugurate a probe into]* Gen. YVood’s administration of the 1 Philippines, will be redrafted as to s provide for a searching investiga- * tion as to whether Lieut. Osborne * Wood actually made his $1,000,000 by I dabbling in stocks on the New York * exchange, how he got his start and how much he really made. It now is proposed also to include 1 a probe of the stock selling activities ! of Leonard Wood, jr. Damaging ac- 1 cusatlons have b<en made against ■’ this member of the Wood family by ' stockholders of the Craven Oil & 1 Refining Co., and the Acme Produc- I tlon Corporation, both of which he I promoted. ’ Representative Frear announced i his purpose to broaden the scope of i the investigation after a conference • with Senator Caraway of Arkansas yesterday afternoon. Several new letters relating to ; Leonard Wood, Jr’s, stock selling i were made public by Senator Cara- i way. Three In particular are from i residents of Baltimore. This Is ex- i Splained by the fact that agents of ( |pe Craven Oil & Refining Co. and i the Acme Production corporation. In i both of which young Wood was in- i terested, carried on an extensive sell- , ing campaign in Baltimore, and in- , duced a large number of residents to , invest their savings In the stock. ThlH money represents a total loss to the Investors, according to all the , letters. All complain they have been unable to obtain any reply from Wood on Inquiries as to what has be come of their money. John H. Robinette, commissioner —‘ for opening streets: William It. Hook, Mt. Washington Heights, and G. Louis Bchroeder of Roland park, are Halil moreans who have * complained to Senator Caraway that Investim nts in; companies floated by Leonard Wood, Jr., have been a failure nnd nil express a desire for an investigation. Welfare Board Has Busy Year Superintendent Wallace Wilson of the board of public welfare reports that 1023 was the busiest year In the history of Ids organization. Ills staff handled 2.724 cases, the prin cipal classifications being as follows: Collection, 1,148: domestic relations, 451; charity, 186: Juvenile, 80: legal advice, 107. Them were 200 more cases in 1023 than In 1022. The department administered near ly <16,000 through a tiust fund and a revolving fund. Sfany persons, who hail wages due nnd were in immn dlate financial nted, were given ad ineeg of money and assignments ken. During the year, permits were le sued for 2.131 dancer, which yielded fees In total amount of $4,262. The free ^employment depnitment placed * <20 men and women it. employment ] EDDIE’S FRIENDS **** 'TJ yjHAT'S THE NW4 HOS.BAMD-HE'S j/ /f ^JIFPEEEMCE IP MO PoKEJS-'PEMD A OME OP THEM '$ AE« MO012. OLUM C < A DlAMOMD? ALL wosbamo - HE ^ THE EEST OF THEM CHASE* OP \ AQ.E HEARTS? THE ^ Ab akac? ) --> hand >s *u-red = --y , aoS a£« X HAO& A FLUSH * \ \ A \attl-E , WoORMOSSAMD WILL / r — w '-_ ) BVTETO ' ^TEaMourJAT l-MPS. M'MV<S -W SEE \ -u OUGHT TO I \ - ) "THAT QGE-STIOH l ^E vOAM / / HAS MEv/ER COME \ A MW W AW ' I \—, UP BEFOBE ^ V ' - I_I Easiness in 1923 Like Military Operation Obstacles Overcome, the Year Ends With Many Records of Productivity and Pros perity Widely Diffused. Nineteen-twenty three was a' many sided year—one, in fact, in w'hich the word "irregular" and its synonyms be came outworn from much use. It saw improvi ment, first visible in the summer of 1921 and the calendar year 1922, apparently culminate in the re cord-breaking Industrial output of the first five months. Following this came a tapering off of activity and an ebbing of optimism^bich almost con vinced pessimistic prognosticators that they had successfully forecast the future; but following this. In turn, came a fair measure of Improvement —successive gains scored in both wholesale and retail trade over the preceding year, a speeding up of the industrial pace In many lines, and a cheerful ending. In a record holiday trade, of an eventful 12 months. All in ail, the year resembled nothing so much as a military movement, at first in the form of an advance along an entire front, IateiAchecked and suc ceeding this in turn, came detached advance or retreats, accordingly ns resistance developed or the inequali ties of the terrain provided obstacles. ■Individual conditions, In other words, either railed for the putting forth of renewed efforts at an advance, the consolidation of positions already won, or in a few instances made nec essary withdrawals, pending prepara tions for a new advance. It is prob ably safe to say that the year was a disappointment alike to the over-san guine and to the unduly pessimistic, although, no doubt, hoth could adduce abundant proofs front the year's hap penings of the essential soundness of their varying predictions. The year had its full share of na tural drawbacks. Weather conditions operated to discourage buying in the spring and again In the fall, stretch es of cold and mild weather alternat ing. while crop yields wero reduced by excessively dry or wet weather or by Insect ravages. Still, yields to the farmer, these taken collectively, wero better than in 1922 from a pecuniary standpoint, although some losses, no tably in wheat and cotton areas, could not possibly be offset by gains else where. Taken as a whole, the manufactur ing Industries, after the great forward in the first few months, had a diffi cult year to operate in. The price sit uation became fuirly stabilized in the course of the year, but there were enough exceptions to give serious concern to producers. It was a year, of full, in fact flush, employment, with lalior ecarlcity present until late in the .year and public purchasing ability, except In the cases of some wheat and cotton growers, at probably Its highest point. The railways were called upon to handle a record volume of traffic, and rolled up unprecedented gross earnings, doing this with unprecedent ed dispatch at u slight reduction in operating expense rations, unless realizing less in net profits than In years w hen gross receipts were far smaller. The building trades made new history In 1913, and, with the automobile industry, set up new re cords of production and expenditure. ‘Kxport trade was slightly larger than dn ^922, hut the fanners suffered heavily from the loss of trade In grain, inulnly wheat, this being made up for by increased exports of man ufactured goods and of smaller quan titles of higher priced cotton. Imports lor a while exceeded exports, but fell off with the quieting of trade in mid year. Throughout the year, uncertainties as to future prices, but certainties as to high costs of operation, kept the business world, metaphorically, on Its toes. With these two great factors ever present, the tendency, especially after the outburst of cautionary sig nals In late March, was to keep close to shore and buy sparingly for all but Immediate needs. That this kept down the volume of business and of industry goes without saying, but that it made for safety, though perhaps for smaller profits than were expect ed, seems equally certain. And yet, with all its drawbacks, foreign and domestic, our foreign markets being crippled and the ex change situation having dangers of Its own. while domestic affairs were unsettled by the appearance of a new crop of radical measures put forward by political ghost dancers in the al leged behalf of the farmer, the year was a big year, a wonderful year in fact, with many record* of produc tion broken, with prosperity widely diffused, and with the man train ed to a trade living better and saving more than ever before in the history of the country. The money markets displayed a good deal of ease throughout the v*ar and carried a record business without much, if any, evidence of strain. The Federal Reserve Bank notes that the loans and investments df the mem ber banks were larger than in 1920 while their borrowings from the Fed • ral Reserve were far smaller. Thus, the credit extended was $478,000,000 larger than In the earlier year, while the borrowing was $2,000,000,000 less. Some Feature* of the Year. The great surge forward In trade and Industry which characterized the first quarter of the year set up many new hlgh-record production marks, surpassing anything previously seen. The npparent culmination, for the time being at least, of this wonderful advance was heralded by the Issuance of a great many cautionary signals by lenders of finance and trade in the last week of March, but the momen tum obtained and the hanked-up or ders on hand kept production at high points for months afterward. Cold, stormy weather temporarily retarded trade in the last weeks of •February and again enrly in Apr 1, when the coldest weather In a third of a century was re ported on Easter Sunday. An important event In the textile manufacturing trades In March was the announcement of the grant ing of advances in wages, of about 12 1-2 per cent, to 45,000 workers in woolen mills. Coming at a time when cotton mill workere were demanding a complete or partial return to the wage levels of ]920, this acton seemed to precipitate a very general movement toward Increased compen sation of industrial workers, stretch ing well throughout the second and third quarters of the year, lines es pecially prominent being textile man ufacturing (cotton, woolen and silk). Iron and steel mills and other Indus trie*. Inability to get prices of cot ton goods up to a parity with raw cotton caused a good deal of curtail ment at various times in the year. March saw Imports exceed exports for the first time since the outbreak of the world war. April witnessed a slump in building at New York, which later spread to other cities and brought building expenditures in June below those ut 1922. Early August saw the sudden upturn in cotton prices, on which a 70 per cent ad vanca wds scored before it culminated in December. The death of President Warren- G. Harding on August 3. and the subse quent mourning observances, acccn tuated the quiet in trade and Indus try proceeding from usual midsum mer causes. Hater weeks of August, however, saw the beginning of the later-than-normal opening of fall trade. Helpful in this direction, espe cially at the south, was the rapid advance In cotton prices from the low of late July. The effects of the earthquake In Japan early in September were re fleeted In a sharp advance In prices of raw allk, with sympathetic gains in manufacturing goods and cla ms of diversion of much buying from silks to woolens. Mid-Septernber witnessed a tleup of the New York newspapers by an out law strike of pressmen, which had a perceptible lniluence on retail trade distribution in that city. Date In that month the price of corn practically tied that of wheat at Chicago, scarc ity of old corn, due to liberal feeding of the 1922 crop to hogs, being the reason for the scarcity of old crop offerings. Consequences of this feed ing upon hog prices were seen in the lowest levels noted in eight years for the spring and fall sales of these animals. The week of Reptemner 29 wit nessed the peak total of railway car loadings, but loadings were In excess of 1,000,000 cars weekly from late in May until late In November. Tbs In crease In the dividends on the com mon stock of the United States Rteol corporation on October 30 marked the beginning of a more cheerful feeling In the financial markets and sym pathetically affected policies in many lines of trade and Industry. Com plaints of mild weather retarding fall buying at retail were common from October to late December. November and December witnessed the deelBra tlon of many extra dividends by num bers of Industrial concerns and some leading railways. Another source of much encourage ment to the business community was Secretary Mellon's proposition, made public in November, for a reduction In taxes, this accompanying and In volvlng a declaration against the sol diers' bonus. Political opposition to this was, however, prompt, though d sgulsed by manipulative methods A notable development early In De cember was the report that 11 months’ marketing of livestock far exceeded the heavy marketing for the full calendar year 1922. An exception to the general trend toward higher dividends was wit nessed In the reduction of the com mon dividend of ths Chicago St Northwestern In December, this being preceded by the passing of dividends by Its subsidiary, the Chicago, Ri Paul, Minneapolis Si Omaha Ktillrofld company. Eleven months’ returns of building were one-fourth larger than In 1922, and statistical evidence of a record, year's output was to be had In cement, brick, builders' hardware, fir lumber (in the Pacific northwest), pig Iron, automobiles and their nc ccssortes. and a number of other lines. Failures were below those of the past two years, hut liabilities, swelled by Increased hank failures in (he old spring-wheat northwest, were very large, though below 1922 and 1921. Dank clearings were 3 per cent larger than In 1922, and only 8 per cent he low 1920, a difference ensily explain able by lower prices ruling in (lie pnst year. Swedish King Joins in Dedication of Town Hall I \ spectacular feature of the opening of Stockholm’s 10,000,000 Town IImII by King UueUf mm the regntt t in (he harbor, shown iibove in full swing. || 1,365 Suits tor Divorce Filed Decrees Granted in 922 Cases in 1923 in Douglas County. In 1923 there were 1,363 divorces filed in district court of Douglas county, eompured with 1,360 in 1922. Nine hundred and twenty-two di virces were granted In 1923. Other suits -of various kinds filed were as follows for the last year and the year before: Attachment . t ... Appeal and error . 261 309 Contracts .. 482 627 Chanse name .. 5 II Cancel contracts, receiverships, accountins. specific perform ance. miscel., equity ...141 14S Foreclosure .290 220 Injunction .. 91 96 License for Mtg., and Sale of Real estate . 66 40 Assault, libel, slander, malprac tice. alienation . 08 66 Mandamus . 8 9 Liquor, personal Injury .298 386 Trespass, conversion. tons, fraud. Injury to property .... 36 68 Partition . 47 47 Ejection, quiet title ..106 118 Replevin, quo warranto . 18 19 Workmen'* compensation . 89 66 Total amount of verdicts returned In civil cases In favor of plaintiffs during the year was 1612,344. During the year 301 Insanity cases were filed in the court, and 79 dip somania cases. The number of Juvenile cases filed was 337. Despite warnings and losses, wheat farmer# again planted heavily of winter wheat In 1923, and abundant moisture has made for a high condi j tion. Some other outstanding events of j the year, having greater or less sig nificance to or bearing upon American trade or business conditions, were i the occupation of the Ituhr districts | by the French, the consequent year long unsettlement of Kuropenn politi cal and business conditions, the year long decline In the quotations of the mark to a point where It merely had I a souvenir value, our agreement with Great Uritain on the debt settlement, j the killing of the ship subsidy meas 1 ure in congress, the rejection by the senate of the world court proposition. . the decision holding valid the amended grain futures act, the successful float ing of the Austrian loan with the rally | in value of that country's money, our refusal twice of soviet recognition, the ( short lived hut exceedingly effective anthracite miners’ strike, the dispute between Italy and Greece resulting in ; the bombardment of Corfu, the re sumption of diplomatic relations with Mexico, the formal ending of German passive resistance in the Ruhr, the establishment of the Turkish republic,; and the return in a slight degree ot Russia to the worlds’ grain export trade. Looking Forward. In considering prospects for the ; coining year In trade und industry. It i is worth recalling that the tone of I , recent months has been much more i cheerful than that, say, in the early summer, or even In midautumn. For this, the failure of many pessimistic predictions in midyear is partly re sponsible, and It is evident that mass | psychology has had, and will have, an Important bearing upon the way | men will face the uncertainties uf [be coming year. This is no disposition, however, to ignore th<> fact that prices, and there fore all costs. Including those of la bor, are high, nnd history may be cited to show that h.gh costs have tended to decline ns the distance from i the war, which swelled these costs. 1 ' increases. Hence the disposition will 1 ho apparently to go forward cau tiously, and to kep near shore as re gards buying for the future. In this direction, undoubtedly, safety lies But, on the other hand, the pros pects seetn to favor n cent.nuance of the big construction programs, es peclally In building and railway bet terment for which 1923 was notable. Sight must not lie lost of the fact that high labor prices have brought In thc.r train lug exiiendltures. which in themselves have constituted a powerful support for general trade and industry. The automobile trade continues one of the wonders of the world, both as regards enormous output and like wise in respect to the immense buy , ing power revealed. Not so much Is heard now of location of the satura tion point in the buying of these things as of the question as to , whether there will tie room on tin loads to operate those in use, those 1 being built, or those expected to be built In the years to come. As to the fact that the year now opening wlil see a presidential elec tion with presumably considerable ex citement, it is worth observing that research does not altogether confirm ' the popular idea that a presidential election of and by Itself necessarily constitutes a danger to business. There have been some presidential elections when business was very 1 gnod, and others when it certainly was poor. To Instance a few, it may l be remarked that 1892. 19m) and 1312 were good years In business, while 1 1SK4. 1896. 1904 and 190S were rather poor specimens, in fact, examination 1 of huslneas history rather reveals , other causes as mainly operative In , both the good and bud years. Caution and conservatism may be ' esteemed desirable, but It may be ob served that they have both been in , evidence for many months past, nnd I no doubt will be found governing most I operations in the year to come. It might well l>e wished that our lcgls lalors were inclined to show ns much caution as does nnd will the business community hut perhaps tills is too much to ask. The one really comfort Ing reflection the public has, however, is that these gentlemen cannot after all, do much more than retard busi ness, which has a way of going around obstructions, although the task Is sometimes n trying one. At the present writing there doce not si cm t" lie much disposition to expect any great change in the fairly even tenor of business as a whole, which throughout the past year ranged from fair to good. STELLA DALLAS lly Olive Higgins Prouty. SYNOPSIS. Pescrtrd by her tiMbnnd, Stephen Oulluk, hrraukc uf her frltuhty .rod fl.rtu .. Stella Italian, with her duughter laurel, 13. liven in the “cheaprnl nsun' of a faahloiutble hotel In Mllbampton. risen. laurel gorn on a vinlt to bee father In New York anil lie leaven her at the home of Mm Mi.rrlM.ii, a friend, while he In away on a trip to t'hlcagu. Alter aee leg her daaghtrr aboard the train In Hunt on Stella nan to a cafe, where nhe meetn an old nilnnree. Alfred Mann, with whom nhe attendn a munlcal farce. itontlnued rrnm Yeaterday.l 2. On a small table beside Helen Mor rison's bed there was a picture of a little girl whose pages also had never been written on. Often Helen Morrl sitSt would take the lovely little min iature of her dead child close to the strong light, and gaze at it hard and long, in a hungry attempt to recall how the soft cheek used to feel when she brushed her own against It, how the limp little body used to melt into her arms when she held It close. It was a beautiful baby's face that smiled back at Helen from out of the Ivory, but it was alway s a baby's face. That was the pity of it. What would she have looked like today? (Oh, never to know. Never to know!) What strength and confidence and beauty would that weak little body have attained? What strength and confidence and beauty would that spark of fine Intelligence, shining so steadily in her baby's face, have kin died under her constant care and tending? What had they both lost— this little daughter and herself, in way of rare companionship and hu man love? Sometimes as Helen gazed at the picture, it seemed that she caught a wistful expression In tile eyes, as If she sentimentalized, her little girl had become tired of waiting, waiting, wait ing. so long to grow up It hurt, even after years it hurt Helen Morrison to feel the stab of her uselessness to this child who had so trusted her. j Oh, if she could only do something to j rescue her from that eternal loveliness | of babyh oil—give her back the gift of | life again, even though it might hurt her sometimes, even as life had hurt her mother. Melon Morrison had worshipped her gentle, flower 1 ko little daughter. She had been more than just a precious baby to her Hhe had been a symbol, a m nlfestatlon. a gift from heaven, j For years and y are Helen Morrison had longed for something feminine of her own. She had never had any thing feminine of her own. No sister, no mother. Her mother had died when she was born. Her father h id never remarried. Helen had been brought up bv nurses and governesses, under the strict regime of an elderly and masterly housekeeper. Helen used to plan bv the hour what she would do for a daughter If she ever had one of her own. Even lie 1 f iro she thought seriously about mar- i tinge. she built aJr-castles about that little (lrenmgirl of hers. She should have nil the Joys nnd delights which her own childhood had lacked. She should tie surrounded, day and night, by feminine tenderness and eompre hc-ns'c n She shoud have a friend always waiting for her at home, to play w ith her. or to work with her, to ) walk and talk with her, or to love pretty clothes with her, or pity wound ed bugs with her. or to hid hands) with her when It "thundi red and light > ned.” I-tter. wh-n life its-if seemed to “thunder nnd lighten ' al>out her, 1 there would still be someltody holding her h tnd. reassuring her, making facts lucid and dear and truth beau- , tlful. Helen had ideas about girls, and what made frtr happiness In their) lives She would have filled the blank | pages of her little daughter's book I full of inspired and lovely things | When that little girl was born, Hel- i len Morrison had been married sev eral years. She had alre.-dy had two boys—fine sturdy specimens—but sol- | dier ma’eilab American business-man j stuff When a little girl, a little fern | inine creature of her own, was placed In the curve of Helen Morrison'* arm, she could not speck for joy. It seem ed a* If a bit of heaven itself had [ slipped through the clouds. Her cup was fpll nnd brimming over. That precious te'atlonship that she had lost so long ago, the day she was born when her mother died, had been given i back to her again! She spent two radiantly happy veers ! w ith her daughter (Carol, she named . her. It became the sweetest word In | the English language to herb and ; then suddenly, with the arrow like di rectness of a holt of lightning from j the skies, di*ense struck straight down into the holy of holies of her heart and killed her darling By a mere ac cident the realization of her lifelong hope was broken Into fragments— disintegrated Into a thousand poignant little memories. Her little girl be- j came a dream again, an ideal, a pic- , lure on Ivory. “There were her boys ” That is what people said in way of comfort. Yes. yes. Of course Thank henyen pile had h*r boys! But. oh. her boys must he made stalwart and bold strong nnd tough-muscled The image she would have nudeled out of her bit of little-girl city was to have been aa gra. if ill us poetry, as delicate as violin music, ns perfect In detail, aa fine nnd exquisite aa an etching After t’arol died, Helen Morrison offered her service* to a certain char Itrible Institution for yvorklnp girla In N»w York City. She was-living In Now York then. Bhe had been living In New York ever since she married.! She thought, perhaps. If something | of the young nnd tender Ideals she had had for Carol were given to other girls, then everything about her lovely baby would not remain In that state of undevelopmvnt which hurt her so ev ery time she looked at the miniature. It was soon discovered at the work Ingglrls' home that Mrs. Morrison possessed isre genius with girls. Bhe knew Just how to approach them— ittst how to talk with them Bhe could hold lhe attention of a whole roomful of factory girls rending poetry— Browning and Bending—out loud to them, nnd telling them what It meant to her. She could Interest a dozen lively little errand girls for an hour COUGHS COLDS Demand OF PROVEN BENEFIT Direction* With Every Jar At All DruggUta COAL! dweel.cvaenr PROMPTLY Consumers Coal & Supply Co. AT. 9146. “Dealers in Good Coal” AT 9146 ut a time, gathered around an ant hill In operation, at the edge of one of her garden-paths at her summer place 1*1 Long Island. Frequently ehe had groups from the Home come out from the city during the summer, and spend a day with her In her garden, among Ihe illuminating bugs and bee's and flowers. Helen Morrison usually talked with her working girls In groups. She »e! (lorn came in contact with the girls Individually. That was probably why they failed to satisfy her. why they remained, always, sirnply a worthy charity dedicated to the memory of the little girl beside her bed. It was n't until Laurel came to spend a week with Helen Morrison that she felt the same heart string, which Carol h. d pulled so haid once so long ago gently touched again. It hurt a little at first—brought track the old pain. But It also brought back a little timid thrill of the old Joy and ecstasy. There was something of the same pristine beauly about Laurel at 13 as about her own child's crystallized Innocence. There were areas In Laur el’s soul, big white expanses, untouch ed by experience, unsullied by life. It was almost as if those parts of Laurel had disappeared Into a picture also, when she, too, Was Just learning to walk alone. Laurel was nearly the same age as Carol. She was dark like Carol. Braver than gay, like Carol. She wore the same sort of clothes Carol would have worn. She had slept at night, it occured to Helen with a lit tle twinge, In the name bed where Carol would have slept, sometimes, now her father was gone. Even het name was something like carol s After Helen Morrison said good-bye to laurel at the end of her first \ islt wrapped her own coat about her, I tucked her in beside her father in the automobile, and laughingly, playfully kk-:sed her good-bye, she hurried away quickly- to her own room and closed the door. Taking the miniature rl.»se to the light, she gazed at it till the slow tears ran down her cheeks. CHAPTER XII. 1. At the same moment that Laurel, high up above the rumbling traffic of New York. Was i<a> king her trunk on the last day of her never-to he for r-t ten visit to her father (never to be forgotten because of the wonderful Mrs. Morrison). Stella several hundred miles away, also was packing a trunk. There was no sound of iraffle out side of Stella’s door, only the dt -got pound of the surf and a distant glimpse of a deserted board-walk Ey the end of Seplemlter there wire onlv thiee or four people left at the board ing house tit Belcher’s Beach By the m'ddle of September at lea't half of the arr.risenien* booths on the tv trd walk had been clo*ed for the season Stella had remained until the literal eve of Laurel's return, because she had been very lucky this year, and hod found a tenant for her rooms at the King Artbur for the mon'h of September. Laurel could have her fur c at and wrist-watch, too, now. My. though, but Stella was glad her ’oh was over! She did hate horrid places so nrd horrid people, and run down, second-rate boarding hou-'e stvie« and customs—loud talk or*, loud. Inugh’er and loud women, ano flies nrd dirt and bathing suits hang ing out all the front windows to dry (that is. when the season was "till on), and ba’hlng-corsets. and bathing gar ’era. ( Honest. Klfie. you'd think some people had had no bringing up.”) And all sorts of queer questionable things going on at night—doors opening e< ft y and closing—whispers—giggles The walls were like paper. Lord shed be g'ad to get away from Belcher's Beach’ Thank heaven, the four weeks were at an end. Tonight she'd he Bleeping at tbs King Arthur! Tomorrow night Lollie would be sleeping wl'h her at the King Arthur! She hummed deep in her throat as she peeked. Noth r.g give Stel’a the blue doldrums like •his month c.f Helrher's Bench. Noth ing gnve her the sjrtng-son* feeling like re'ease from It This year Belcher's Beach hadn't been quite so bad as usual, though. At leest It ought not to have been. Ed Munn hid done his best to bright en It un. Funny, though SteVa would be about as glad to get away from Ed as from the boarding houss. TVhat Now Playing—2:20 and *.20 f.oldaa Anniversary Stage Partnership THE INIMITABLE M’INTYRE & HEATH In Their Maate*“pieco "The Georgia Mu-streU** D. Apollon Ray Hughes John— M'LLFR A MACK —Jog. “The Bing Bov*’* Dotson The Flying Hartwe’1* - The nij'iRjfu'sl'fd Protean Actor OWEN M’GIVENEY ! Presents "Bill S ites'*—a Quick Change Dramatic Ep soda From Dickens Sanson's First UNIT SHOW. Presenting “THE WAGER" An Extra Attraction, a Hit of 2 Seasons Fables Topics Pat he News w A Riot of Laughter— Au Explosion of Mirth “HER TEMPORARY HI'S BARD” With Sylvia Breamor—Own Moore, Sidney Chaplin Matinee, li)0. Evening, *:S0. S%> POST Direction Melvii’o B Raymond In Locha'a Master-PUy “The Cliinu” .tr ” PDirTQ. Mgtlnee. »<Vc t. $2 <X> | * “‘CLJ . Evening, gt 00. »l SO. *2 00, 12 SO eng *3.00. yNe Phene Order* er Seats Ltd A. :*y\ MBmmmmamhpf VAUDEVILLE—PHOTOPLAYS Q **| Now riaying Nappy Holiday Bill With g Comedv Arte tn Addition to “HOOT" GltLSON tn "THE THRILL CHASER” ailed her? Ed had been ever so gen erous. Every single Saturday since Ijiurel had been away, and one Sun day, he had planned some diverting form of entertainment. It must have cost him a pretty penny! Stella was filled with remorse that she couldn't work up any real excitement over Ed. He was paving for "all wool," and de served It, not the Imitation stuff she gave him. it was all pretense with her when she returned his various little signs and signals. How pitiful to bo so old one isn't even tempted to flirt any more! How amazing to be so crazy about your own child that being crazy about a man loses all In terest and excitement in comparison. Sometimes, looking straight Into E l Munn's little red hippopotamus eyes, trying her utmost to pay for his ex pensive entertainment In the harmless coin that he liked best, the vision of Laurel wou' 1 apj-enr back there in fn* dark cavern behind her eyes, dowr there In the mysterious cave where her heart beet, like a sudden shaft of light. And the shaft of light would seem to be pointed like a sword, and pierce Stella. Her eyes would become suffused wi'h sudden tears, and ten derness. Pear little Lollle. with her Pig gray eyes and her dark hair, and sharp-pointed. little-girl shoulders breaking through the hair as it fell to her waist over her slim white bodv when sh- slipped off her nightgown In the morning. Pear precious little I grille! In a little while they would be togo-ber again' What s z t-zagglng thrill of .toy the thought gave Stella' Good Lend, how she worthipped the kid! Once, when Stella’s eves had he come suddenly soft with the thought of laurel, Ed Munn had mistaken th» cause of her emotion, and grasped hold of her hand, her artn, as much of her as he mut-i reach across the small table that divided -hem and that sort of mouth wa*ery look which always turned Shelia's pleasure In a man's at tentlons to dGgtis*—If he persisted li ft—came into his eyes. <Cnalimi<-I In The livening Bee.) England M rrv ns 1924 Is ILm I/ondon. Jam 1 —T-ond-ners and English folk generally celebrated New Vcar s eve as it was never celebrate before. Around almost every firesid merrymakers listened to the musl and speeches broadcast from hotel '-- ‘aurin's and calgiretfl. There was probably not a home Ir England where a wireless set ha been Installed that was r.T wid awake at ml Irlght to hear the chime of Big Ben broadcast. The gaiety at Clarldge'a was bo table be-ause of the presence ther of the new Amer.can ambassador Prank R. Kellogg, and Mrs Kellogs. as well as a score of other Amer leans. At the Savoy trumpeters from th Royal H rse Guards fanfared In th< foyer a: the stroke of 12. As New Year dawned In the ballroom a grea’ electric tun r. se from a bower o! flowers. A giant hour glass in th Abraham Lincoln room Indicate when 1923 gave way to 1924 and sr n.ataed binds In the main restaurar. "•ore accompanied by 1,000 dinei ringing ' Auld I.ang Syne.” The oldest party of New Y« greeters was a score of Bohemian who partook of a dollar dinner at t modest restaurant n the theater di-’ triet, sluing down shortly before me: night. They called themselves th "thin timers," each one avowing tha! 19i.'3 had been a l««n veer. 32 Below at Lewhton. Lewiston. Mon:., Jan. 1.—Thirty two below zero was registered her* Throughout yesterday the niereut? stood at about 10 below z**ro. dropping to 24 b.low at 8 o’clock last night. Vor C«*ld«.t CJr'n t lnf!ur«»» and h* u rr«»»auvf. taka L&xativ* r TtO'.to C NINE Tablet* The hoi bear* tb* aijrf'aMir** of E. W. Grove. J*c — Ad'"*rM*ern* nr. 1“The Silent| Ccmmand”j SUNDAY The I-ong Waited for Tre*. Elinor Glyn’a “SIX DAYS” | featuring Corinne Griffith, Frank Maya ^CEEG3 S : . T “ » 1)ari |tom mix iu •Mill A-MINUTE ROMEO’* €rn ./> 1 / * Ounka'i Fmw ConU Mat «n«l Nit* T«d«« F «rt th* Nfw V*ar Optirutktllf— LA1HIF6 EEAlllES rB^ M ith Ctvda Bat»« Jack Hum, a Bit Caal and ?1 »ru FILI ED BATHING SU!T> 3YTP8 Aaron A Kr"jr. AmaHca'a Grral r a . _ *M * "*<■'» and Panrat. I atltpa Ra.fam Mat, JtIS Work Day GAI^ HOLIDAY MAT AT 3:00 TODA'* “A Bachelor’s Night”: In Addition to Photoplay* NEIGHBORHOOD THEATERS GRAND ...... 16th and Finn«v N A fl IF R ’ \ F V -DON A1 D n *’THK \ Al l \ V OF Ml F M MEN "D*> • of Paniol Boo»*«.“ t. hap XIII BOlt’! F' A^D - . l td and l »*Y*nwv-tth NORM A T At MADGE in TIIF \ OK F F ROM THE MINARFT" "l'*» • of Dnmri Boot.*,** i'hap. II * .