T3
Official Paper of Box Dutte County
TWICE A WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY
Official Taper of the City of 'Allianet
VOLUME XXIX
(Eight Tages)
ALLIANCE, BOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, FBI PAY, MARCH 17, 1C22.
No. 32
i
V
FARMERS ARE
INTERESTED IN
CERTIFIED SEED
INCREASED ACREAGE. IS PROM
ISED FOR COMING SEASON.
II. O. Werner and Hardy W. Campbell
Speak to Large Audience at
. Court House Wednesday.
A largely increased acreage of cer
tified seed potatoes will be grown in
Box Butte county during the year 1922,
according to the statements of the
.farmers of the county who crowded
the district court room Wednesday
Afternoon to hear Professors Hardy W.
Campbell of California and H. O.
Werner of Lincoln, discuss the potato
:growing situation in western Nebras
ka. C. A. Newberry, the Alliance mer
chant and manufacturer, who arranged
for the speakers and the meeting, was
present and acted as chairman, intro
ducing the speakers.
Mn Werner was the first speaker
and talked to the intensely interested
audience for an hour. Mr. Werner is
secretary of the Nebraska Potato Im
provement association which wjll hold
its annual convention in Alliance in
December. He has t-poken to potato
growers here before. His talk touched
on the raising of the best potatoes
only, saying that when the grower
raised potatoes which he couM stand
iack of, the marketing problems would
fade away. "The man who has good
potatoes always sells them," he said.
The speaker also spoke at length of
the potato disease situation, advocat
ing rive-year rotation as a remedy for
purifying ground which has beconfe
contaminated with potato disease, lie
told of experiments in the North Platte
valley. Referring to scab, our most
troublesome disease, he stated that
there is usually more scab in wet tea
sons and that early plantings are more
susceptible.
Avoiding the Scab.
For avoiding the scab Mr. Werner
emphasized the following rules: 1
Eotation of crops; 2 Treating t-eed
potatoes; 3 Soil culture as preached
by Prof. Campbell; 4 Late planting
about May 25. He advised the
treating of seed with the corrosive
sublimate solution 4 ounces of corro
sive sublimate to 30 gallons of water,
leaving the seed in the solution for
from 1 to Ha hours, with 15 minuses
additional for each subsequent batch,
using only 4 time3.
Mr. Werner also emphasized the
necessity of watching the growing
rinn. as some Dotato diseases, ao he
said, can only be found in the plant
tluring growing time, "rreuy pota
toes are not necessarily good teed,"
he said. He explained that the jnost
insidious disease in the Triumphs, the
seed potatoes which are shipped to the
south, is the Mosaic disease, which
cannot be detected in the potato it -elf
and can only be detected in the trow
ing plant. He told of the recent sits
of Prof. Howard of Lincoln to Texr.s
and other southern states, where lie
found many fields which were planted
to Pox Butte county seed which were
particularly free from the disea.se.
At the Mose of Mr. Werner's talk a
large number of application blanks
were passed out to growers who wi.-h
to apply for certification of their f.cins
this year.
Mr. Campbell was greeted with a
round of applause when ha introduced
Mr. Newberry. The speaker passed
out
i
in
inn
produced in this country are maie
from the produce of spruce wood. He
explained that it took three attempts
and the expenditure of over $3,000,000
lefore a success was ever made of the
attempt, but that in the end all dif
iiculties were overcome and now hutre
profits were being made from this
idea. "Persistency pays," said he, "and
it pays in the fanning business just
as in any other business."
Mr. Campbell's Talk
Mr. Camnbell's talk referred particu
larly to soil preparation and soil bac
teria. He emphasized the fact that in
this western country the big problem
is to hold the moisture in the ground
and to properly prepare the seed bed.
"The potato growers of Box Butta
county should raise 200 bushels per
acre,"' he said. He advocates thin
seeding, both with small grain and po
tatoes. "Many a Nebraska farmer has
lost his crop of wheat because of too
much seed the speaker said. "Disk
and double-disk but not too deep,
in answer to ouestions Mr. Camplell
advised the plowing of sod four inches
deep, rolling it flat; then disking it two
inches deep. On old ground he advised
.iiAimr first to loosen the top; then
Blowing, following the plow closely
ith th tandom disk. He showed how
ihat the all-imnortant soil bacteria
Yvmltinlv much faster with proper soil
conditions than when no intelligent
' preparation has been made.
tViao three noinU were emphasized
iA perfect seed bed; 2 Do not plant
tru thick: 3 Do not plant too early
Mr. Campbell said that the first move
as soon as the soil is thawed out should
be litjht disking. This operation, he
enid. would halt evaporation and
hasten the warming of the soil so that
what appeared to ie siik com ior "'' ' . . ,T , "i . .
nspection and explained that it was 'H V"" '"--
V .i i.. ii,(iram to Lincoln convinced he was m-
ade irom spruce umuei, uui, mm, - - - -
a . .. ! i nnrpn . shp now has a stronc convic-
t nt tie "si k snins. wui.--i.t-, ca.. " ..- . " . . ,
the development of bacteria in the
.
earth might begin. He also said t
it would frwn nn ihtk 2iirfifa
when the first rains fell most of
moisture would go into the earth. h
advocated harrowing after rains as a
means of preventing cxaporation of
the moisture.
This will probably le the last visit
ths spring of Mr. Campbell to west
ern Nebraska. He has just completed
a series of lectures in Montana and
goes to his home in California from
Alliance.
Dairy Cow Sale
at R. L. Harris'
a Big Success
The sale of dairy cows by R. L.
Harris, farmer, living onehalf mile
east and one mile north of town was
an unusual success, the cattle all
going at a good price, and a good
crowd attending. The cattle sold at an
average of $76.40 each, and three
especially desirable cows went at over
$100. Colonel Coursey who had the
sale in charge said that this was the
best herd of milch cows he had ever
sold, and he has had considerable ex
perience in this line. There were 23
cows in this sale, Mr. Harris' entire
herd. He does not intend to give up
farming but has decided that he has
been in the dairy business long enough.
givesTptask
of liberating
reisenweaver
MRS. KERR CHANGES HER MIND
AND HER TUNE.
After Reading Over Testimony
the Case, Decides Time Is
Not Opportune.
in
Mrs. Laura Kerr of Sheridan, Wyo.,
described by the state papers as a
pretty, blonde newspaper woman, has
abandoned her efforts in behalf of
Walter Reisenweaver, youth who at the
tender age of sixteen killed Charles
Johnson, of the Burlington commis
sary, in one of the most brutal mur
ders in the history of Alliance. Mrs.
Kerr came to Alliance armed with a
number of letters . from friends of
Reisenweaver's parents, as .well as
letter of introduction from the gover
nor of Wyoming, and scouted around a
bit in Alliance with a view to stirring
up sentiment in favor of the murderer.
She had little success, and transferrea
her efforts to Lincoln, where last Sat
urday she interviewed the twenty-year-old
boy vho is now serving a life
sentence. She gained some newspaper
space and announced firmly that she
intended to go ahead and interview the
pardon board, but apparently the more
she went into the case the less it ap
pealed to her. .
According to the State Journal, Mrs.
Kerr has decided that the present is
not the opportune time to act. This
decision was arrived at after she had
read a transcript of the testimony in
the case. The Journal says:
"After Mrs. Laura Kerr, newspaper
woman from Sheridan, read the testi
mony in the case in which Walter
Reisenweaver drew a life rentence for
murder, she changed her mind about
asking for a pardon for the youth.
She also talked with members of the
office staff of the secretary of the
bureau of pardons and paroles.
"Mrs. Kerr said she would not ask
for a pardon now because it did not
tion that he was rightfully convicted,
She told newspaper men that t-he had
known the boy's family well and the
hoy himself, when ho was fifteen, nn;
she just could not believe that he was
guilty.
"The lad is now twenty. He left
home after a little trouble with his
father, and in Alliance he was convict
ed of murdering Charles Johnson, a
stocEman, in the yards there for his
money. He told Mrs. Kerr that he was
innocent, but was frightened into a
confession by officials who painted a
picture of the electric chair for him it
he stood trial and was found gun
"Mrs. Kerr said she had premised
the boys' mother to look into the case
when she came to Nebraska.
Commissioners
Postpone Their
Monthly Session
Bright and early Monday morning,
Commissioners Hashman and George
Carrell assembled for the regular
moethly meeting, but the session was
short-lived. Mr. Hashman succumbed
to the prevailing epidemic and retired
to his home to fight the grippe. Mr,
Carrell returned to Hemingford, de
ciding not to attempt the meeting
without assistance. Comissioner Dun
can is just recovering from the grippe
in another state and all three commis
sioners hope to assemble next Monday
and begin where they left off.
The precinct assessors of the county
will meet with County Assessor John
nlkington on Saturday afternoon
March 2a, at the court house, 'iht
meeting is called for one o clock.
FARMER PLACED
MN SANITARIUM
THE INSANE
L. G. Tnr NS TAKEN TO LIN
COLN WEDNESDAY NIGHT.
Was Obsessed With the Idea That Alii
ance Was to Be Destroyed Be
lieved End of World Near.
L. G. Timmons, a farmer living a
mile south of town was brought before
the insanity board Wednesday and was
adjudged insane. He was taken to the
Bailey institute, a private sanitarium,
Wednesday night by Sheriff Miller.
Mr. Timmons, who was reported by Ids
brother, first showed signs of insanity
Sunday, being obsened with -the idea
that Alliance was going to blow up,
often getting out of bed at night to
look out of the window, to see if the
catastrophe had as yet hapiencd.
When in jail prior to the hearing, he
informed the other prisoners that they
were lucky to be with him, as the
world would soon come to an end nd
he was the only person who could sae
them.
. At the hearing, Mr. Timmons :n
swered that he "didn't know" when
asked as to his age, place of birth pnd
other questions. The insanity board,
after questioning the man's wife and
other witnesses, found him insane and
instructed the sheriff to have him
placed in some sanitarium. As his wife
wished to have him placed in a pri vate
hospital, this was done at her expense.
The man showed no evidence of vio
lence at any time, except a little vio
lent language to the sheriff and his
deputy when they first took him in
charge. It is not thought that 'he
affliction will be permanent but that it
is simply the result of a nervous
breakdown.
Timmons was placed in a straight
jacket for the trip to Lincoln, the de
cision being that it would be better to
allow him no opportunity to do him
self or others any damage should he
become suddenly violent.
Kite Tournament
to Be Held at High
School, March 23
C. W. Phelps,' manual training in
structor in the high school, has in
troduced a novelty this year in the
form of a kite tournament for boys.
1 he tournament is to be held Saturday,
March 25, north of the high school.
A number of interesting events have
been arranged, and which should at
tract special cttention are the last two;
the smallest kite that will fly and the
largest that will ny. Ihere is already
considerable interest in this event and
various kites are being planned or
constructed. All entries must be in
by March 20. The list of events is
: 1-a mile race, iwinu in string
by hand. ,
z Highest nyer.
3 Strong puller.
(Single kite.)
(Box kite under
three feet.)
4 acht race.
f Highest flyer,
f Strong pulier,
(Tandem kite.)
(Box kite over
three leet.)
7 One-fourth mile race.
(Wind in
strinir with reel.)
8 Highe.t flyer in five minutes
(Open to ull kinus.)
a Best combined kite. (Upen to all
kinds.)
10 Smallest kite tlu:t will fly.
11 Largest kite thit will fly.
First Services in
New M. E. Church
Sunday Morning
The north side of the new Mcthodi.-t
church which contains the combine
gymnasium and social room, parlor
ami hunday school rooms is neuring
completion and will be used the first
time Sunday morning when all the
regular services will be held there.
ihis will not be a dedication serv
ice, as the main auditorium of the
church on the south side is not yet
completed, and the formal dedication
will take place on entering that part
of the building.
Rev. O. S. Baker, district superin
tendent and former pastor, will be the
Sunday morning preacher, and in the
evening a musical program will be
given by the choir.
While many Alliance people have al
ready gone through the new building
which is said to be the finest of the
kind in western Nebraska, many others
have not get seen the interior, and will
be glad to see the plans of the rooms
next Sunday morning. It is expected
that a large congregation will be pres
ent at all the services.
DEATHS AND FUNERALS
Frank J. Duhon, 14-year-old son of
Mr. and Mrs. frank Duhon of Mars-
land died at St. Joseph's hosnita!
Thursday, of chronic appendicitis. The
body Vas shipied to Marsland for bur
ial Saturday.
Jen J. Sallows is among those who
are ill with the grippe. He has been
confined to his home since Tuesday.
ALL SET FOR '
BOXING BOUT
SATURDAY EVE
PRINCIPAL SCRAPPERS ARE NOW
TRAINING IN ALLIANCE.
Exhibitions at Elks Club Convince
Fans That Coining Mill Will
Be a Fast Affair.
Boxing fans are exhibiting all kinds
of interests in the prospects for the
Alliance Legion's bout on Saturday
evening at the roof garden, and with
the advent of the principals the Elks
gymnasium, where the scrappers are
working out daily, has been a mighty
popular place. Young Billy Papke,
who is to go in the semi-windup with
Mel Wyland of Alliance, and Bud
Hamilton of Tulsa, Okl., who is sched
uled for the main bfcut, arrived in the
city Wednesday and the two of them
put on an exhibition and workout at
the Elks gym Thursday afternoon.
After looking at the two fighters
mix it for over an hour, the fans arc
more enthusiastic than ever. Papke,
who is in the light heavyweight class,
shows considerable form and speed.
and the Alliance boxer will have to go
some to get a decision.
Hamilton, the bantam who is
furni.-h half the scrapping for the
main event, is in the pink of condition,
and his work was a revelation tq the
fans, who expressed themselves as
very much impressed with the class he
exhibited.
Chuck Roach was due to arrive this
morning, and another workout is
scheduled for the Llks gym this aftei
noon at 3 o clock.
The barbers of Alliance have agreed
to co-operate with the Legion post to
get a good crjowd out for the exhibi
tion, the first of a series planned for
the rest of the winter and the coming
spring. Every barber shop in the cit
will close at a o clock Saturday night,
and this will give not only the barbers
but their customers an opportunity to
get in for the main bout and probably
the semi-windup. The preliminary is
a fast exhibition by ilorwe and
O'Connor, both local boys.
F. J. Bushell of Antioch has issued
a challenge to the winner of the semi-
wimlup Saturday night. Bushell came
into prominence some months ago for
his work at the Missouri athletic club,
and has an idea that he will be able to
put up an interesting scrap.
High School
Declamatory
Contest Tuesday
The declamatory contest, which is
held each year for the purpose of de
ciding who will represent the Alliance
high school in the district declamatory
contest, will be held next week. The
preliminary contest will be held at the
high Fchool building luesday, March
21, at 7:30 p. m. Only those in the
dramatic and humorous classes will
appear in the preliminary contest. In
asmuch as there are only two contes
tants in the oratorical class, they will
not appear in the preliminary contest
but will appear in the final contest.
The program for the preliminary
contest is ius follows:
Dramatic.
Pro Fatria Dorothy Dej.ring.
OP Mistus Miriam Harris.
'He Knew Lincoln Barton Kline.
The Death Di.-dc Mildred Pate.
The Man on the Curb William Zieg.
Humorous.
The Mission Box That Scandalized
the Village Eva Beal.
An Aspiring Dishwasher Vivi
Coi bett.
A Case of Fit. Fiances Fletcher,
Hey, Diddle, Diddle Sermon Elsye
Harris.
Keeping a Seat at the Benefit Ruth
Hutchinson.
Frivolous at Forty Wauncta Rob
inson.
Billv Brad and the Big Lie Mar
garet Schill.
A Pleasant Half Hour on the ueacn
Margaret Vanderlas.
Jane Josephine Wright.
The best three from the dramatic
and the best three from the humorous
class, in addition to the two in the
oratorical class, will appear in the
final contest, to be held at the im
perial theatre Wednesday night, March
22.
The preliminary contest will be held
at the high school. The final contest
will be held at the Imperial theatre,
One ticket will admit to both contests
without further charge.
The fire departrnent responded Wed
nesday afternoon about 2:30 to an
alarm turned in from the John Synder
home, 312 Missouri. The fire is be
lieved to have started from a chicken
brooder in the basement, although it
was believed to have been turned off
some time before the blaze was dis
covered. It is presumed that a spark
from the brooder lit a pile of straw
which was also in the basement. There
were about 1'50 smal chicks in the
brooder, and about 30 or 40 were killed,
No great damage was done and the
fire department had little trouble with
the blaze.
THE WEATHER
Forecast for1 Alliance ami vicinity:
Unsettled weather tonight and Satur
day. IVobably rain Saturday, Colder
Saturday.
Kcv. S. J. Epler
Receives a Call
From ScottsblufT
Rev. Stephen J. Epler, pastor of the
First Christian church of this city, re
ceived a telegram Wednesday, inviting
him and Mrs. Epler to attend a dinner
held by the members of the Christian
cnurcn oi acousDiun mat evening.
The invitation was accepted.
Thursday morning, a telephone call
brought the news that'Mr. Epler had
been extended a unanimous call from
the membership of the ScottsblufT
church to the pastorate. The induce-
menia oi an increase in salary and
yearly increases to follcw, of a com
modious parsonage and moving ex
penses were a part of the proffer.
Mr. Epler now has the matter under
consideration, and has reserved his de
cision for a few days. Members of
his church are unanimously against
an acceptance of the call, but the
ScottsblufT church is fairly insistent,
and there is a possibility that he will
decide to lcive.
GUTHRIE TALKS
TO LIONS ABOUT
FIRE INSURANCE
EXPLAINS HOW RATES ARE DE-
TERMINED AND FIXED.
Policyholders Should Read Pol icier
and Make Sure They Are Prop,
erly Protected.
J. W. Guthrie was the speaker at
the Thursday dinner of the Alliance
Lions club, taking: for his subject some
of the interesting facts about this por
tion of his business.
Mr. Guthrie said, in Dart:
"At the request of several members
of the Lions, I will endeavor to tell
you how fire insurance rates are ar
rived at and fixed. The United States
supreme court has ruled that insurance
is not subject to interstate commerce
laws, but comes under what are termed
police laws laws that are mave by
each state. Consequently, the first
consideration for basing rates depend
upon tne laws of the particular state.
"Nebraska has a valued policy law
which stands that if a buildinir is com
pletely destroyed by fire, no matter
what the value of the building may be,
an insurance company cannot claim
that the insurance carried was more
than the actual value of the buildin?
but must pay the amount of the in
surance carried unfesa it can be clearly
proven that the insurance was obtained
by fraud or misrepresentation. To il
lustrate: suppose the actual cash value
of a building is $10,000 and the owner
procures insurance thereon, throuirr
different agencies, to the amount ol
$25,000. It is not ermisible or allow
ed by the law for the companies U
refuse payment on account of the over
insurance, but they must pay the full
face of the policies regardless of liv
value of the building before the fire.
"This law makes the residents oi
this state pay a higher rate than ii
states not having a law of this kind
on their Inioks, and is offering the dis
honest man a premium to overinsurt
his building.
"The next matter to be taken intc
con iidoi;at'on is the water supplj
Then follows the fire fighting equip
ment, fire department, olice depart
ment, siz eof mains, number of hy
drants, fire alarm system, ordinances
construction of the buildings in thi
congested part of the city or town ami
the conditon of the streets, whetliri
paved and how taken care of tt ul
times.
"When all these matters have been
determined, the town is finally classi
fied and a base rate arirved for i
standard building-isolated-without
interior or exterior exposure or occu-
nanv. For each defect in the construe
tion of the buildinir a charge is made
which when remedied is taken off and
credit given. The area of the building
is first taken into consideration and an
additional charge made for each 2,;00
foot of floor space on any one floor
over and above the first 2,500 feet
Stairways, elevators and openings of
any kind from one noor to anotner,
which ODerate as draughts, are an ad
ditional hazard, and, unless enclosed
or traDoed. are charged for: and open
ings to an adjoining ouiiuing add w
the rate on both buildings, unless pro
tected by an automatic standard fire
door or window.
"The real fire-proof building has yet
to be constructed, as those of you who
read the papers and saw the account of
the burning of the Burlington t"
ing in Chicago this week, will realize.
This building was called and consid
ered fire-proof, yet it was almost com
pletely wrecked by a fire which start
ed in an adjoining building.
"Finally, the occupancy of the build
ing is taken into consideration ami
the inflammability of the contents, as
proven by actual experience, noted.
Some stocks are damaged by water as
much or more than by fire and some
are injured by smoke and soot."
IMPERIAL FIRE
THURSDAY EVE
NOT SERIOUS
FLAMES CONFINED TO THE PRO
JECTION ROOM.
Nine Reels of Flm Destroyed, With
Damages Estimated at $2,500 t
$3,000 Regular Show Tonight.
Fire which started in the projectioa
room of the Imperial theater at 7:30
Thursday evening destroyed nine reels
of film, including that for the feature
photoplay, "Mother o' Mine," scheduled
to be shown last night and tonight.
The fire started just as the operator
was preparing to begin showing th
first film of the evening. Within a
very few minutes the building was1
emptied and the flames, which wer
confined to the projection room, died
down. There was no panic among: th
spectators, and no mad rush for th
exits, although the alarm of fire was
given by one of the employes and
others who were in the balcony.
The Indirect cause of the blaze was
the action of employes at the city
lighting plant, who cut off the lights
for the west half of the city. Th. .
lights were turned off just at the time
when Verne Butler, motion picture op
erator, was getting ready to begin
showing the pictures. There were sev
eral people in the projection room,
among them a Crawford man, who was
looking over the theater for ideas to
put into practice at a motion picture:
theater he was planning to build.
When the lights went out, one of the ,
men in the projection room, thinking,
that perhaps a fuse had blown out,
struck a match and turned to look at
the fuse plug. The match in some way.
got in touch with viie box containing,
films, and in a few seconds every film
in the operating room was ablaze. Th
men in the booth attempted to
smother the flames, but in the mean-,
time the film intthe machine caught
fire. Within a very short time the
occupants of the booth were driven, oat ,
by the intense heat.
Booth Was Fireproof.
The projection room, which is built '
in accordance with the most strict de
mands of the underwriters, is lined
with steel covered with asbestos. It
has two openings ia the sides, and
these are fitted .with' fireproof doors,
which automatically shut whenever a
fire occurs. The apparatus vsjj in fine - . ,
condition Thursday night, 'the doors '
shut almost instantly, and the flames ,
never got beyond the operating booth.
A ventilator in the roof fnuhed an '
outlet for the smoke and flames. Out '
in the residence district, the I'ames
were seen shooting out of the ventila
tor to a height of several feet. The
films are highly inflammable, and
within a very short time were con
sumed. The construction of the booth was .
such that there was absolutely no kn-
ger for the occupants of the theater
from a fire originating within it, imt '
the audience, in the brief instant e
fore the steel shutters to the openings
closed, got a glimpse of the reflection
of the flames. There was no panic
The house was in total darkness, but
the audience moved toward the oxits .
in fine order. In the balcony the re
treat was a trifle more precipitous, the
leparture of the spectators being hur
ried by one or two who lost their
heads and yelled. The building was
emptied in a few minutes.
. Trouble at the Light Plant.
The lijrht plant has been running a
scries ot tests on coai, 10 neierininw
which brand row on the market fur
nishes the mo. t heat and does it most
economically. The men last night
were using a carload or Fiun wnicn
gave rather poor results, and although
two of the three boilers were running,
it was impossible to keep up sutncient
pressure. Instead of sending for the
city manager or firing up the third
boiler, the employes decided to turn ff
a part of the iignis. aiosi oi u
street lights had been off for some
time.
The fire department made a record
run, but found their services were not
needed on arrival, wanager uuuuqj
was very liberal in his praise for the
way the department turned out and
the speed with which they got to th
scene of the fire, as well aa their as
sistance in handling the situation when
they arrived.
Will Show Tonight.
The Imperial this morning was busy
repairing the damages to the project
tion room, caused by the blaze, and
cleaning up the two picture machines,
which were covered with smoke ana,
stains. New films were ordered by
telephone, and arrived at 11 o'clock.
New asbestos covering for the sheet
Iron walls has been put in place, ami
electricians have installed new wiring,
switches and fuses, to take the place
of material scorched or burned by the"
flames. By tonight it 13 expected that
all traces of the fire will have disap
peared. The loss, according to Manager-
uuisuque, win amount to $2,500 or
$3,000. The chief item is the film,
whhh on account of its inflammable '
nature, is not insurable.
One woman, who was present with
her husband from Antioch, fainted
(Continued on Page 5)
