1
The Alliance Herald
OFFICIAL OIIUAN NEBRASKA STOCK GROWERS ASSOCIATION. REACHES EVERY MEMBER
OFFICIAL OIlflAN NEBRASKA VOLUNTEER FIREMEN'S ASSOCIATION. IT REACHES HEADQUARTERS FOR 10,000 FIREMEN
VOLUME XXII
ALLIANCE, BOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1914
NO. 4
Dedication of Box Butte County's New Court House
A MAGNIFICENT
NEW BUILDING
MA Monument to the Enterprise, the
FrogTesslvenesa, of tlie Peo
ple of This County"
Monday afternoon, December 28,
1914, was the time Bet for the dedi
cation of Box Butte county's new
court house. The day dawned with
rospects of a storm, but before noon
the threatening clouds had cleared
away. Before 2:30 p. m., the time
set for the opening of the program,
several hundred people thronged the
orridors and Inspected the rooms of
the building. The Alliance High
school orchestra discoursed music
from the north corridor of the sec
end floor. Failure to provide a pi
ano for the accompaniment handi
capped the orchestra to some extent,
ut the omission was not noticed
such except by members of the or
chestra. When the time arrived for the ex
ercises in the district court room, It
was filled to overflowing. Many
failed to gain admission. Hon. Ira
E. Tash presided with his usual dig
nity and introduced the speakers in
a pleasing manner. Three of the
speakers that were to have been on
the program according to previous
announcement were not present.
They were Hon. H. M. Grimes of
North Platte, judge of the 14th Ju
dicial district, who could not be pres
ent on account of holding court at
North Platte that day; William Rose,
supervising architect; and Hon. R.
W. Hobart of Gerlng, judge of the
17th judicial district, who was una
ble to attend on account of illness.
In a letter to the program commit
tee. Judge Hobart expressed regret
because of his inability to be here
and added: "I hope that the court
house dedicated tomorrow in Box
Butte county will be a center from
which will radiate equity and justice,
and that by the action of those in
authority who are connected with it
an even higher standard of citizen
ship may be established. Tomorrow
will be a great day for Box Butte
county, and a great day for western
Nebraska. The pioneer days are
now over, and those who so nobly
endured all those hardships are now
reaping the benefits."
Some persons whose names were
aot on the printed program were
called upon for impromptu address
es, and the time was occupied very
Interestingly.
Rev. H. J. Young, pastor of the
Alliance Christian church, made the
opening invocation.
Superintendent Walter R. Pate of
the AU'ance city schools was intro
duced and delivered a cordial and
appropriate address of welcome. On
behalf of the county commissioners
and other county officers he welcom
ed the citizens of Box Butte county,
and on behalf of the people of the
county he welcomed those who were
present from outside.
The address of Hon. W. H. West
ver, Judge of the 16th judicial dis
trict, which was the next, was replete
with reminiscences that were Inter
esting. It was his good fortune to
have attended court, in the capacity
of attorney or district Judge, at all
of Box Butte county's county peats
and in each of the two preceding
court houses. He paid the people
ef the county a compliment in the
following sentence regarding the new
court house: "This Is a monument
to the enterprise, the progressive
neas. of the people of this county."
Ex-Lieutenant Governor O. A. Ab
bott of Grand Island was introduced
iri ii .ii ,!. i iv.i,iiji
JOSLl'll UAXLK
Count y 'oni.ui-ioiicr
by Chairman Tash and requested to
give a talk. Altho not on the pro
gram, his address was one of the
most entertaining and instructive of
the day. He spoke of the time and
labor necessary to subdue the wil
derness, whether a wilderness of
trees, of bills and rocks, of Band, or
ef open prairie. He had watched
the conquest of the wilderness In
central and western Nebraska, hv-
.--iVr . .;v-.;;'v
fciillii l nl lllr itMUMMM M
ing opened an office in Grand Island
In the year 1867. "Kind nature
seems to resent the Intrusion of civ
ilization." He praised the wisdom
of Box Butte county people in erect
ing a fire proof building for their
public records.
Attorney S. L. Geishart of Lincoln,
who was Alliance to attend dist
rict court, gave a short but Interest
ing talk. Speaking of the complaint
that is some times made by taxpay
ers that the building of court bouses
and the administration of public af
fairs costs too much, he pointed out
that it is much cheaper, as well as
otherwise better, to settle differences
ln human affairs by judicial process-
... 1- j . ik ( .... .v,
by the arbitrament of arms, as . is
being done in Europe.
A. S. Enyeart of Hemlngford was
given no previous notice that he
would be called for a speech, so that
when the chairman announced his
name it was as much of a surprise
to him as to the audience. He re
lated how, as foreman of the grand
jury three years ago and as a cora-
mlttee of one from the grand Jury, !
and discovered that the county rec
ords were unsafe. It was upon the
report and recommendation of that
grand jury that a definite movement
was started for the bonding of the
county for the erection of the pres
ent court vhouse.
Hon. R. M. Hampton was intro
duced as a representative of the pi
oneers and taxpayers of the county,
being a real old timer and one of
the heaviest taxpayers in the county.
Mr. Hampton claimed that the chair
man had promised to excuse him
from making a speech at this time,
but he responded in his usual happy
vein. Besides showing briefly that
it was to the interest of the taxpay
ers to have a first-class court house,
he related a number of humorous In
cidents of pioneer days.
The program was concluded with
a benediction pronounced by Rev. O.
S. Baker, pastor of the First M. E.
church of Alliance.
UOliUKRS NOT LOCATKI)
Vaiulal Who Broke Into Catholic
Church Has Xot IWn Found
Other Towns Notified
No trace has been found of the
vandal or vandals who broke into
jlloly llowary Catholic church Wed
' nesday nipht of lat week. The of
i fleers of the surrounding towns have
been notified to look for a man with
an injured hand.
Pamase estimatrd at $200 was
j done when the thief broke costly im-
ac", vases and pillars. The furn-
iHhirgs ni the altr wr-re torn and j
damaged by the thief in his search
I for valuables. i
I The same thief is beiieved to be!
tl"- ope who broke into a railroad
i ho:; car the fame rluht. cutting him
' self on a Btiarp piece of metal.
Letter fr uii Arizona
Mrs. M. J. Uaumcardner. or A111-
nnee. who is spending the winter in
I'hoer.ix, Anona, writes The Herald
as follows: "Phoenix, Arizona.
irizona. Box
IHiG. Happy New Year
to the editor
!of the Alliance Herald. Weather is
I mild here. N'o snow in sight." The
.Herald thanks Mrs. Baumgardner
j for her good wishes and trusts that
ithe year 1915 will be a happy one
! for her.
I Copy Karly, l'lease
j Those who have articles for inser
tion in The Herald will always con
fer a favor by seeing that the same
reach this otlice not later than Wed
nesday. The large circulation of
The Herald requires that the paper
go to press for the last run Thurs
day morning, sometimes necessitat
ing leaving out articles which come
in late.
r - aa ; m w r
l ;: : .... .... .
CAMPAIGN FOR
CLUB BUILDING
Alliance Commercial Club Will Make
Four Day Campaign to Raise
Funds for New Building
Starting January 11 and running
untu tne 14th, the Alliance Commer-
.. ... . . .
clal Club will make an active ram-
palgn for subscriptions for tbe pur
pose of raising funds to erect the
club "community" building. In ac
cordance with the action taken at
the smoker at the city hall recently
11 is Denevea mat ine necessary
. ...
this "time and that the will be n
i wf? .Bu t1
finnatpiit tha H11IIH f n cr CavArol torero
uuuuiv si hioiii iivuru tuiiua . v
, t.
vpin
u"tri1
f1 Mmnalrn 1. hrlrM
The sum of $450 In labor has al
S. C. Itl'.CK
County Coiiiniissioiicr
ready been donated by Allianee la-
boring men who are anxious to gee
the town advance.
ATTKXD ( KAWI'OUI) SMOIir.lt
Meinlx'rs of Allianee Fire Prparl
inent Miwle Trip to Crawford
VHliieMlay Kveniiiu
Members of the Alliance fire de
partment attended a smoker j.'iv n
at t rawroru Wednesday eveninc. as
' guests of the Crawford department,
Crawford is in the race for the state
firemen's convention in 1016 and in-
c- iuit: tm ttir aiatr
I vited guests from other Points in the
' WBHiom n,i f ,y,a ,
this meeting, which was for ten pur-
poso of showing that Crawford is
amply able to handle the convention
in 1916.
Among those who attended from
Alliance were Rolfson, Hull and
Thomas, who spoke during the even
ing. Local Crawford men who took
part were Mayor McLain. Messrs.
tiordon. Heyward, Minnick, Lightoff,
and Rev. Rundin and Father (Jlea
son. Mr. Darey of Omaha, architect
of Crawford's new city hall, was also
a speaker. s
Miss Marian Seawell is In Alliance
visiting with friends during the holidays.
SERVANTS OF
THE PEOPLE
A Few Facts Concerning the County
Official Who Will Occupy
New Court Houmo
The court boute belongs to "Tbe
People" it Is public property and1
, . X. . .1
a. such is for the use of he citizens ,
as-a wnoie. i.n wnams 01 iaehoma of her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
uilding are the public servants, oth-;
erwise known as county officers. :
. . . .,
They serve the people by transacting,
,
public business, keeping public rec-'
I -
ords administering Justice, superin-
ing our aystera of public educa-
tion. and otherwise promoting the
1 g
general
1 uua uutir luuui la I ui luuaic
1 . m 1 u j -wii
I ty. It U. pleaBUFe
It i a pleasure to mention
! ooiK as l)ia ipnnntv r ftf nor ai I nnl 11H i n r
AI.VIN HASH MAN
Chairman Hoard of County Coiiiiuis-
1 i(ltr
those who assume the duties of office
on' January 7, altho necepsary to
make the mention brief. Photonrav
urcs of nioKt of them are u1po print
ed in this issue of The Herald.
Monte S. Harjiravea is closing his
first term as county clerk. He was
elected three years aio for a two
year term, but the change In Nebras-
Ha elections irom annual to biennial
dispensed with the election thai
would otherwise have been held In
November, 1913. and lengthened the
. . . ... ... .
l,"-'r um., ..mn. .
V.1 'Mrs- .Al Ule e '-"ion neiu
-November oi una year .Mr. Margraves
a8 re-eleieu. wnnoui opposition.
: Kdgar M. Martin is closing his
flm term of three years as county
i treasurer. He is an old resident of
! Alliance and Box Butte county and
,W,
is well and favorably known as a the office some times require an able
citizen. Ills work in the office of ' man in charge. It is needless to say
county treasurer has given general : that Dr. Slagle Is well qualified to
satisfaction, and altho opposed at fill the position.
the last election by a popular candi- Elsewhere In this paper Is a state
date, he was re-elected by a good ment regarding the good work of
majority.
Sheriff Cal M. Cox la popular a
citizen and officer. Others who would
like to occupy the oflice of sheriff are
petting discouraged about trying to
get it as long as the present incum
bent wlahes to hold it. At the last
4.
V
election he was re-elected
for his
Miss Delia M. Reed is closing her le county seat locaiion, ine
second terra as county superintend- of Nonpareil and Hemlngrord, sltu
ent of public Instruction. She has led raUeB P'V The for,mr'
made a splendid record and has done,beln8 the nearer to the center of the
much to promote the Interests of the county, received a majority and
public schools. All of her school w declared elected,
work has been done in Box Butte As an inducement to the voters to
county, of which she has been a real- ocate lb county seat at Nonpareil,
dent for many years. At the elec- citizens of that place made a condi
tion of 1911. she was accorded a re- oa& promise to donate a court
election without opposition. Altho bouse to the county. As soon as tbe
urged to be a candidate for a second re11 of the election was known,
re-election, she wished a rest from rk w commenced on a frame
k. -,w h- ..nj bulldlna. 20 by 30 feet, one and a
After the close of her present term
of office next week she will bo to
ft" exTen'ded vllt at tne
ira Reed, who were formerly resld-
ents of Box Butte county and well
known here
, : . ., .
Miss Reed has an able and worthy
. . ., m , ...
DULtrDDUl 111 LUC UU1I.C Ul I UUllLf euir
erintendent in the person of MlssiP-
Opal Russell, daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. F. M. Russell of Lake precinct.
Miss Russell's borne has been in Box
Butte county since she was a little
girl. She Is a graduate of the Alli
ance High school, and has had a
number of years' experience In teach
ing in this and adjoining countiea.
The Herald bespeaks for Miss Rus
sell the support and co-operation of
teachers, school district officers and
patrons, which she deserves and
which was so cordially given to her
predecessor.
Eugene Burton is closing his
fourth term (eighth year) as county
attorney. It is but stating a fact
which the public ought to know
when we say that be has made an ex
ceptionally good record as prosecut
Ing attorney. As lawyers well know,
county attorneys in Nebraska have
an opportunity to make a reputation
for themselves In prosecuting crim
inal cases, if they wish to do so, at
the expense of the taxpayers; but
Mr. Burton has made his own inter
ests subservient to those of his con
stituents. He Is a gentleman of
pleasing personality and 'by personal
appeal to those charged with crimes
has persuaded a large majority of
them to plead guilty and thus save
themselves and the county much ex
pensive litigation.
The incoming county attorney
Lee liusye. in a brilliant youtiK at
torney who is juutly popular with
his many acquaintances. Within the
lust e;.r he graduated with honors
from the University of Nebraska Law
School. Altho his experience as an
attorney is yet quite limited, he has
the education necessary to success
and bet-' ins the practice of the law
yer's professeif, with a food busi
ness.
r. u. uanitiiin, wno is closinir l is
second term .is county surveyor Jvts
other work that (leu.ands all of his
time, hence was not a candidate for
election atiain
His successor, U. I
Knight, Is well qualified as a survr
or and civil engineer, and without
doubt will perform the work of the
0l)j,. efficiently and satisfactorily.
i,r. Charles K. Slael was lirnt
-
elected coroner of Uox Uutte county
at the November election. 1909. fo
years later he was re-elected by an
increased majority, and again last
month without opposition. Altho
the official services of the coroner
are not often called into requisition
in Box Butte county, the duties of
tho present board of county com mis
( sloners, hence not much need be said
here. C. L. Hashman, member from
the Second commissioner district. Is
chairman of the board. He was first
(Concluded on page 5)
THE PAST AND
THEPRESENT
Historical Sketch of County Heats
nd Court lfcouiea of liox
Butte County, Nebr.
A few old timers are familiar with
the history of the court houses of
Box Butte county, but it has never
yet been published in full. At this
time it will be interesting to a lirve
number of Herald readers, hence is
given herewith with the story of thi
organization of the county and the
locating of its county seat.
Formerly the territory now era
braced in Box Butte county, Nebras
ka, was Included In Dawes county.
The question of dividing Dawea
county on an east and west line, be
tween townships 28 and 29, and
erecting the territory south of that
line into a new county, was voted
upon by the electors of Dawes coun
ty at the general election held Nov
ember, 1886, the proposition receiv
ing a majority 01 me votes cast.
Pursuant to proclamation of Gov
ernor John M. Thayer, an election
was held in the new county, under,
control of the Dawes county officials.
March 7, 1887, for the purpose of
locating the county seat and the
election of a corps of county officers.
The returns were made to Chadroa
and canvassed there.
There were two candidates for
half stories high, costing 1400.
Within about sixty days from the
dat. of the election the court house
was ready tor occupancy uy
tbe
newly elected county . officials. It
was not plastered yet, In fact never
was until after it ceased to be used
Blt rmirt hou Before the ensu-
RB court nouse. ueiorn iu u
Inn winter, it was ce led with ship-
While the court house was being
constructed, the county clerk and
two assistants copied the Dawea
county records at Chadron for the
new county.
The first court house was used by
tbe county three years and eight
months, until January 1, 1891, when
the county seat was moved to Hem
lngford. There was no railroad here when
Box Butte county was organized and
the county seat first located. A spec
ial election was held March 4, 1890,
to vote on the question of re-locating
the county seat. There were
three candidates this tlit.e for the
county seat location: Nonpareil,
still an "inland" village; Hemlng
ford, which had become a railroad
town; and Alliance, which had been
started since the county was organ
ized. It took three elections to de
cide the matter. The Lincoln Land
Co., which in those days took an ac
tive part in the locating and re-locating
of county seats along the line of
tbe B. M. R. railroad, owned town
lots In both Heioingford and Alli
ance. The company wanted to build
up two good towns In the county.
The location of tbe railroad shops
and roundhouse in Alliance Insured
(ii:oi;(ii: w. in xc.x
Commissioner-elect
a prosperous future for this city; by
locating the county seat tit Hemlng
ford it was expected to make a thriv
ing city of it.
The first election to vote on re-location
was held March 3, 1S90. It
required a two-firths vote for Non
pareil to bold the county seat, and
three-fifths for either of the other
places to secure it. Neither of the
places received the necessary vote.
t
In iint mk is Mli Um flfaa Miawilil aifcalt trntumdlt
(Continued on page 5)