o
Tiik Iu.us'i i aim) Bi:k.
Published Weekly by Tho Hoc Publishing
Company, Hoe lliilldlng, Omaha, Nub,
Price, fi crtitH per copy per year, 12.00.
Entered nt tlm Omnhn Post Olllce lis Second
Class Mull Mnttor
For advertising rates whirrs Publisher
Communications relating to photographs or
articles for publication should lie ad
dressed "Editor The Illustrated Uee,
Omnhn."
Pen and Picture Pointers
Without regard to Uh origin, there Im iio
mum beautiful or appropriate -iihI uiii tliiiu
ilml of oiici each year decorating I In grave
Of llc'll HoldlerH With HoWorS 1IH IU1 t'Vl
l IK i' thllt their Inetnoiy In cherished bv
Hi)' living Tin' lib'ii was born while the
piilrlolli- Hi engendered by tln civil war
still biiriii'il brightly Children who
nmirlii'il In ilii' Mi-Mi Decoration iliiy parade
lire mi'li mill women now, with children of
their own to jench I lie significance of t !i
wrriilh Hint In lit t r I on (lie sod above t ti
sleeping soldier's breast. A deeper ini'iin
lug Is now associated with lln tiny n ml
II h observance ihmi wiih alliirhi'il to II ut
first. On tin1 llrHl lieccrntlnii ilny Hi
wicntliH were woven mnl lnbl on Ihi- graves
by IiiiiiiIh of those who had sustained per
sonal Iohh, ami thf foil it t ii I ii of wli'H" (cars
wns not yet ilrlnl up Mirny of these have
none to Join tho Kit I tn ii t dead of that day,
anil "tin1 blades of the grave grass quiver"
over niort' of those who followed Olil (llory
Ihroilgh tin' Month Hum there are whose
eyes . grow film im they Hee the Btnrry
liannir fnrlril nt tho head of the column
that innn'hi'H to tho cemetery Other
hands have taken up the work, other bends
how reverently nt the graveside, and oilier
hearlH overllow ns tho llowerH are strewn
and the promise Is renewed Patriotism
haH not flagged, the Holdler who rlHked Ills
life for the flag Is nut forgotten. A new
army lias coino up to follow the Grand
Army, nnd wo nro living to realize more
than ever Hint "a grateful nation roinoni
berH Its dead." Tho young men who made
up tho army that went out ngalnst Spain
and theme who took part In tho Philippine
H. IIICN.IA.M1N ANDRHWS (MIANCISLUOR
UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA
DID It over occur to you that good
reading Is source and hard to
get In our state? Whnt would
you say to thu assertion that tho
least Illiterate state In tho union
(pray pardon tho allusion) does not con
tnln one copy of a good book for each
man, woman and child within its borders?
And yet this statement seems to bo en
tirely within reasonable bounds, considered
In the light of thu best data obtainable.
Tho total number of volumes In all tho
public and soml-putille llbrarloB In tho
state does not exceed lifiO.OOO, and theso
books are chlolly congested In tho two
largo cities. Omaha has the only largo
public library hi tho statu with Its 00,000
volumes. All other Omaha libraries aru
small collections on special subjects, o. g,,
tho libraries of tho Omnhn Law associa
tion, the Now York Life Insurance com
pany, tho Presbyterian Theological sem
Innry, for tho uso of n very limited num
ber of people.
Lincoln haw lio.oot) volumes In her four
libraries, but tho Btato library, 13,000 vol
umes, Is a law library, and tho library of
tho University of Nebraska . fil.OOO vol
umes, whllo freely open for roforonco to
ovurybody. Is of necessity Inrgoly n stu
dents research library, with n compara
tively small const Ituoncy. This leaves tho
entirely Inadequate public library of 10.000
volumes to supply reading for 10,000 people.
Indeed, In tho matter of voluntary ree
rentlvo reading -tho sort Hint uncou
Bclously makes for culture and olovatlon:
tho sort that rests nno after a hard day's
work; Hint brings a laugh to tho fnce nnd
n lightness to tho heart; tho sort that wo
rend for tho pure Joy of rending our slato
Is pitifully Inching.
Some I ii mm I iNraotiii'v I'luiiro.
Ill nil Nebraska thoro nro not more than
a dozen nctlvo freo public libraries, and
Bf 1 1 W Wt I'M
MWI'OI.K SCENE AT
campaigns now have lliolr sharo In the
ccrcinonics of the day. It means as much
to them iih to thu gray old veterans whose
hnttloH were fought before tho hoys of
18flS-!l were born. It Ih not n day on which
to talk of battle, only to remember tho
tight In which the hero foil. It Is n tiny
when the hollcHt roeolleotlnn of tho sol
dler Ih that of tho comradeship of those
Nebraska's New
It K Ii HKRDMANCM3UK AND 1,1-
IIRARIAN OF SUPREME COURT
these supply a tributary population of loss
than 200,000 not one-llfth of tho peoplo
of tho state. Tho other S00.000 Ncbraskans
those In tho smaller towns and, nioro
than all, those on tho farms depend Inrgoly
for thulr reading on tho weekly nows
pnpers, tho cheaper monthly magazines,
government and state publications dis
tributed gratis, nnd on tho few hooks
which tho pioneers brought west with them
a generation or more ago.
Few Nebrasltnn homes outside the largo
towtiB enn show a collection of books
which could properly bo cnllcd n library,
nnd tho best of bright, fresh, new books
which tho public library offers to tho city
resident nro nlmost entirely unknown In
tho grent country. Even In progressive
NoliMBkn there nro places whore a good
book Is seldom seen, whuro tho pcopto
hnvo no wny of knowing whnt books nro
good, nnd where tho ndvent of a now book
of nny kind Is hailed with Joy.
Tho scanty library provlfilons In rural
communities nro duo not so much to tho
fnlluro to nppreclnto books ns to ccrtnln
practical dllllciiltlcB In tho way of gutting
them.
Public libraries In tho smaller towns nro
Impossible under the present Inw.
With the vory low nsscssed value of
property In this state nnd the smnll tnx
rate which may ho levied for library pur
poses (until tho last legislature only 1 mill)
thor.i are not moro thnn alx or eight towns
In tho state where the revenue for tho en
tire permissible tnx will amount to enough
to support tho smnllest public library.
Indeed, tho benefits from the amended
Inw, permitting a levy of 2 mills, will ho
seen In placing libraries now established nn
n more satisfactory and useful basis rather
than In tho establlshUg of many new li
braries until our population Is substantially
creator than now.
Another dllllculty Ib to know what books
THE ILLUSTRATED BEE.
JULIUS MEYER'S IIIRTIIDAY PARTY Photo
who nro gone The living again plodgo
their love to tho dead, and the sentiment
Ih a sacred one
-
William II. Ely. tho new president of tho
Nebraska Statu .Medical society, Is essen
tially a self-made man Ills parents wero
too poor to give him even tho advantages
of the common sohoul system of Massachu
Public Library Commission
1'SSKaif
J- I. W YHR LIHRARI AN UNIVERSITY OF
NEURASKA.
to get. The present conditions surround
ing thu rotall book trade make it Impossi
ble to carry a representative stock In any
but tho very largest cities. Tho book store
In the smaller places Is usualy a side line
carried by tho druggist or Jeweler, nnd
Blight effort Is mnde U Interest tho pub
lic In tho best now book, chiefly, perhaps,
because tho man who owns tho book store
docs not know his profession (for booksell
ing hna become a profession In theso days
of experts and specialists) and tho village
book store sells chlolly stationery nnd text
books, Undur theso conditions hns coino Into be
ing, In pursuance of nn net of the Inst leg
Islnturo, tho Nebraska Public Library com
mission, whoso work Is to bo, in gross, to
foster tho lovo of books nnd to make pos
sible tho rending of good hooka whorevor
throughout tho length nnd breadth of our
statu thoro shall bo found thoso willing to
read them, especlnlly tho farmers and res
idents of smnll towns.
This commission Is n non-partisan board
composed of tho chancellor nnd librarian
of tho University of Nebraska, tho superin
tendent of public Instruction nnd tho state
librarian, who nro members ex-olllclo. Tho
appointment of tho fifth member of the
board is to bo vested In the governor, who
hns just nnmed Mr. Frank L. Hnllor of
Omaha ns commissioner for n term of five
years.
This puts tho work In charge of a hoard
of representative educators nnd librarians,
in whoso hnnds It would seem mny bo
lodged with entlro snfetv tho control nnd
administration of Nebrnska'B library In
terests. Tho work of tho commission will
fall Into two distinct lines that of travel
ing libraries and that which may ho called
Held work-
Traveling l.llirarlen,
Tho traveling library which Is about to
bo Innugurntcd In Nebraska under stnto
control Is n fixed and successful Institution
for Thu lleo by Ilostwick.
setts, whuro ho was born, but by hard
work ho managed to equip himself for the
practice of tho profession In which ho has
attained considerable eminence. He first
studied music In a desultory way and
found himself nt tho ngo of 27 In charge of
tho musical department of n Now York
seminary. This nfforilod him means to
enter on the study of medlrlno, nnd nine
FRANK I,. IIAU.KR OMAHA
LIIIRARY HOARD.
In moro than twenty other states. Its
maintenance nnd control hnvo been as
sumed without question ns a proper func
tion of tho commonwealth, and tho success
of tho library commissions under compe
tent expert management is evidenced In tho
increased support which they nro receiv
ing from ycnr to yenr. In New York state,
where this work Is most widely developed,
tho traveling libraries nro sent mainly to
threo classes: Study clubs nnd literary
societies, public schools and country com
munities. Whenever ten or moro tnxpnyers sign n
request for n traveling library, gunranteo
lug tho snfoty of tho hooka and ngroolng
to pay transportation charges, a box of
twenty-flvo or fifty carefully chosen vol
umes Is sent out. Let us suppose that It
goes to n tanning community. The books
nro kept In somo convenient place, easily
accessible, whore they nre given out to
renders, who return them when they ore
through in exchango for another hook.
In Wisconsin, where tho country work
hns been most successful, out of thirty
four stations twenty-two nre In fnrm
houses, nine In postofllces, two In country
stores nnd ono In n rnllrond station.
With ench box goes n simple outfit for
recording tho books lonnrd nnd n number
of smnll printed lists of tho hooks.
Tho library mny bo kept from threo to
six months, when It Is sent to nnother
phce. nnd tho first community gets n fresh
supply. Theso traveling libraries mny be
lonned. according to tho provisions of the
net, to nny library, literary society, study
club, or to nny community or organization,
whether Incorporated or not, or to nny
body of cltlzcnB or taxpayers temporarily
associated for tho purpose.
It would seem wisest, perhaps, In Ne
braska, as tho work begins with a smnll
appropriation of $2,000 per nnnum (as
compnred with $4,000 and $7,000 per annum
In other westorn stateB), to glvo preference
May woi
years later ho found himself with the
degreo of M. D. After eleven years' prat
tlco in New York state he came to No
hrnskn In 1SS3, locntlug nt Alnsworth, where
ho still lives. The doctor still holds to his
membership in tho Rochester (.V, y.)
Pathological society, Is a frequent eon
trlhutor to the medical Journals, as well
as to tho secular press upon political and
economic subjects, and Is an Industrious
student nnd earnest worker In his chosen
profession.
Mr .lullt.B Meyer Is not an unknown
figure It: the west. Ills manhood years
have b'en spent on this side of the Mis
souri, and while he has called Omaha his
home, his business has taken him to the
conllnes of that great scope of country
which Is frequently summed up under the
general heading of the wist. Mr. Meyer's
activity In other directions has given him
no time to seek out n wife and his fiftieth
birthday, which was recently celebrated In
royal stylo, found him without a helpmeet
or offspring, but with n wonderful array of
"nephews" and "nieces" miming In ages
all the way tip to when It would be Indeli
cate to say, "Uncle Julius" had a per
fectly lovely time with his flock.
l)r E. N. Leake of Fremont, who has
Just been elected president of the Ne
braska State Homeopathic Medical society,
Is n native of New York state. Ho took
tho classical com so at Syracuse, uni
versity and later received from the
university the degree of A. M. Ho
received the degree of M. ). from
tho New York llomeopathl? College and
Hospital In 1SS0 and nt once began the prac
tlco of his profession In western Pennsyl
vania, remaining (hero until 1S9I, when he
enmo to Fremont. Ho hns a wife and one
daughter nnd Is nn active member of the
Methodist church.
Tho photographs of Mr. Richard Mans
field which Tho nco presents this week, are
the first that eminent actor hns sat for or
nllowed to ho tnkon of himself or his train
during tho wonderful trip ho hns made
through the country with his great play of
Henry V."
PUHMC w k. FOWLER-STATE SUPERINTEN
DENT OF PUBLIC INSTRUCTION.
to the smaller towns nnd country com
munities and to the women's study clubs,
many of which nro sadly hnmporcd In tholr
study by lnck of books.
Indeed, so keenly hns this want been
felt nmong the women's clubs In tho coun
try towns that an Infnrmnl system of trav
eling libraries, numbering several hundred
volumes, hns been successfully operated
hy them for several years. It is now in
charge of Mrs. II. M. Stoutonborough of
Plattsmouth, the librarian of the State
Federation of Women's Clubs. Indeed, the
present law Is In great measure due to the
earnest work of tho clubwomen of tho
state, who expect to turn over to tho now
commission the books now owned by them
to form n substantial nucleus for the now
work.
I low Sell, .old Are Helped.
Another direction In which tho travel
ing libraries enn be of grent use to the
peoplo Is to tho public schools of tho stnto.
For oxamplo, any prlnclplo who Is poorlv
provided with library facilities and who
Is desirous of supplementing tho reading
In his course In history, science or litera
ture, would bo able to send nn outllno of
his work to tho commission, with a list of
tho hooka nvnllnhle nt the school, nnd got
In roturn n library of twenty-flvo or fifty
of tho host books on tho subject, nnd thoso
which would bo of most use to his students
ns supplementary rending. Theso hooka
may bo kept until tho end of tho school
year. TIiIb work Is carried to great lengths
In Now York stnto In connection with
courses prescribed by tho Stnto Depart
ment of Educntlon, nnd the presenco of
tho stato superintendent of public Instruc
Hon on our new library commission should
mnlto It easy to co-opornto effectively with
tho schools In tho stato.
Traveling library work In tho United
Continued on Eighth Pago.)
