Nebraska Newspapers

    . I,
4
Official Paper of Box Butte County
TWICE A WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY
OITicIal Taper of the City of Alllanc
VOLUME XXIX
(V-M pages)
ALLIANCE, BOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, TUESDAY, APRIL 4, 1922.
No. 37
WILLIAM BOCK
A SUICIDE AT
RANCH SHACK
DEAD BODY DISCOVERED SATUR
DAY MORNING
Had Bern Seen Last Thursday Morn
ing When Neighbor Visited
Him at Sod Shanty
William Bock, sixty-three years of
age, was found dead in his cod shack
twelve miles north of Alliance, about 8
o'clock Saturday morning, when Lem-'
uel M. Clay, a neighbor, went over to
the place to see about the return of
some harness that Bock had borrowed
from him a few days before. Bock
had committed suicide by hanging
himself to the rafters of the shanty
where he lived. He had gone about
the deed with methodical care, using a
heavy crowbar to attach the small rcpe
to, and carefully making the knot, as
well as tieing both ends of the crowbar
to the rafters.
Bock had lived in the shanty for
three or four years, according 10
neighbors. He was a sort of a recluse,
having little to do with hi3 neighbors.
He had rented a quarter section there,
and at one time had some farm im
plements and livestock, but last fall he
field a public sale and closet! out prnc-1
tically all of his possessions. Since
then he ha3 apparently lived on the
monev left over from his sale, and it
is believe 1 that the lack of money was
responsible for the suicide. In his
jweketbook, found on the body, were a
five-cent piece and seven pennies, and
a careful search of the shack failed to
disclose any more money, or anything
else of much value.
According to the neighbors, Bock
was not at all friendly or communica
tive. He occasionally purchased a loaf GRADES WLL BE TESTED TODAY
of bread or a can of tobacco at the AND WEDNESDAY.
l?Leld J? J1"S-S-,?iidJ52
Iom in Germany, but could speak the .
English lamruaire fairly well. He
read both Alliance newspapers and
r U'.kla tliic rnmnrisml his 11-
Jjrary. j ui music ut'janmeni. ana me neaiiifH
It is believed that despondency over and most energetic co-operation of
his financial condition was responsible tne p-ade teachers concerned, just
for the suicide. He was without farm come e ciose of a most cntrill.
machinery and had borrowed harness 8jastjc period of concentration on the
and implements to do his farm worK. stvuiy 0f old and modern classier, pa
in a conversation with Mr. Clay lnurs- triotic selections, folk songs grand
day morning, he said that he was opfera( ctc xhis study has been l un
doing to Alliance in the afternoon to ninjf over a period of about yix weeks,
.ee whether he could make arrange- an(i each number has been studied
ir.ents to purchase farm machinery, carefujiy as t0 composer and his life,
nd it is thought that he was unsuc- cotuntions which inspired or made pos
ces?ful. , ' sible the composition, stories of ihe
Harry E. Wells of the Miller mor- opera and manv other (letaiISi This
vjciiiiau iiuiv, - c
tuary, who toon charge oi wie uwy,
saj.rt.Vint. Rock had been dead
twenty-four or thirty-six hours.
The shack in which Bock uvea was a
board shanty, the only building on the
place. His two horses weie
shelter or any Kinu. me Bny imperial theatre Sunday, April
teen veneered with chunks oi sod. -lne preparation has been .men by
There was no floor. The contents in-1 the use of tne piano phonograph,
eluded a small stove, straw tick set on voice anj from t,me t0 time partici
fiprings and boxed in and one chair. I patjnff students have practiced sjne cf
There was a small sack of potatoes th(J elections till they were abie to
snd a basket containing some eggs, bnnff them tQ thft cajJ3 pre.seni inrf
which was the only food in the Pfe. them aa violin ciarinet, trombone,
In a cellar outside were about "uy I saxophone and comet solos, and in
bushels or potatoes. m n-i,
fuel and no feed for the horses. Ihe
...UA Mf Plijv
ioor was stanuing open
4,1 Mr?'Vell3 telegraphed to the officers
at Carroll and West Side, la., in
which places Bock lived before com
ing to Alliance, in search of possible
relatives, but no reply has been re
ceived. Boy Scout Minstrel
Should Be a Success
From all Indications
From all of the indications the
Rov Scout minstrel show should be
what is technically known as a
"knockout." A. H. Harper who has
the "how in charge has already put
on successful shows in Alliance Mid
all those who have attended the.e
lenow what he can do. , There are aKo
ight Camphre girls in the cast, ho
..-ill cincr nnd the aatbtion of tuee v. ill
add much to the show. The director
lias a number of new songs, and ao
a few which while not new are favor
ites that could not be left out of ;he
irformance. -
1 ti,. c.i mpn. Vrerne Laintr and Jay
-.i:n Ur takine their parts like
nofessionals, and all of the boys and
iiils have t-hown that they can and
" ofnwl tn sintr.
The interlocutor, Wayne Threlkeld,
f..or tn t.h usual custom, the
smallest man in the show, and is fully
There will also be specialties pre-
u Wh ai( sure to please.
likes rood music, and
zood "clean jokes can surely not r.fford
:to mis this show. Besides, the Scouts
-need the money. Give yourself a
meat Friday night.
lJlKTHS
Anvil 3 To Rev. and Mrs. B. J. Mi
moil. C19 Laramie, a daughter. The
j Ule miss has leen given the name of
J.avon Lvangelme. lhis is the first
tf.i.-.ugh'.er in generations of the famiyl.
VS Nt'MBER.
The He. "V.
.ial miniature
All Fools' nuiu .t the people of
Alliance in the riv t spot, apparent
ly. We've hud literally hundreds
of compliments upon it, and appre
ciate every one of them. It was
some task to strike a combination
of fake news stories that would in
terest everybody and yet offend no
body, but apparently luck was with
us. The only man who's at all
peeved, it seems, is still in jail and
will be all over it before he gets
out.
Beginning about five minutes af
ter the boys got out on the streets
with the number, requests for the
All Fools' number began to come
in. It required two printings Sat
urday from the forms something
'over 3,000 to supply the demand,
and Monday a third printing was
made, with 1,500 more.
Those who wish extra copies to
send to friends should say the wort!
soon. They're as free as the air you
breathe or the water you drink as
long as they last.
The Herald believes in occasional
laughter and will go to almost any
lengths to put over a good joke. It's
encouraging when we find that our
efforts are not entirely lost. The
All Fools' issue is conceded to be
the best bit of advertising ever done
in Alliance, and we realize just
what a compliment of this kind
means from men who know some
thing about advertising.
MUSIC MEMORY
CONTEST FOR THE
CITY SCHOOLS
Final Elimination
Contest Will
Be
Held at the Imperial Treater
Sunday Afternoon.
The Alliance schools have, through
. . . , , , . .
work has been going on in the wxth
seventh and eiehth grades, and final
f
contests for elimination will -.e held
Tuesday and Wednesday in ;
ooms to deternvne the C(
he vai iotts
for tne grand conccrt.to be held at the
group
...
"'Hie contest has proven beyond til
question that our Loys and tills will
be interested in music of Ihe ri.ia soi l
if only they be allowed to become ac
quainted with it in an interesting
way," according to Mrs. lnice Dunning.
'We are more and more convinced ot
the fact that we are not warranted in
giving music to only a few tt'enUd
uuDils. Music is now irene -ally recog
nized as a universal human need, and
no longer a luxury for the few. J he
school is the logical place to meet 'lie
need of more and better music, ti d
the time has come when every child
in the country must have the opir
tunity of knowing what is be.it nnd
familiarizing himself with it. Ihe
phonograph is the open door to the
classics as a whole, but how jooh have
our pupils become so interested that
many are whistling anu humming, or
attemntintf the leading melodies on
the home instruments?"
Through the irenerosity f Harry
Thiele, an added incentive has 1 een in
view, lie has onereci as a prize in
each building to the winner in the con
test a phonograph record of the pupil s
nnn choice.
The Di-imarv or eliminating test is
to be able to recognize the melody
iilaved. with its name and that or its
composer. The pupils winning in this
will participate in tne nnai contest at
the Imperial, and will be privileged to
extend five invitations to guests for
the final concert. At the final contest
spelling and capitalization will also be
taken into consideration, and an num
bers will be presented in an entirely
ditferent manner from those heard in
the preparations. Local musicians have
kindly co-operated with us to make
this concert a musical treat to the
guests, and a joy to the contestants.
As this is strictly an educational
feature, and no charges, Mr. DuBuque
has generously given the u.se of his
comfortable show house for the con
test. Leo Kindig, organist, will inter
sperse the program with several of his
ii.terpretations of the masterpieces;
while other musicians lending a much
(Continued on I'age 6.)
RAILROAD MEN
AND FARMERS
HOLD MEETING
THOUSAND PEOPLE HEAR AD
DRESS AT ROOF GARDEN.
C. A. Maier, Representative of B. of
L. F. and En Tells of "Achieve
ments of Labor."
Nine hundred sixty-eight people, by
actual count, are repoited to have been
in attendance Sunday afternoon at the
meeting of the Box Butte county civic
forum, held in the Lowry & Henry
roof garden. Rev. B. J. Minort, pastor
of the Baptist church, presided. The
program included:
Song, "My Country, "lis of Thee,"
by congregation.
Music by the orchestra.
Song by Mr. Shellenberer, "On the
Road to Mandalay." "Mother Ma
chree." Poem recital by Miss Schirk.
Rev. Mr. Minort spoke on the "Hih
Cost of Ignorance."
He stated that just one year ago
Sunday night the first labor ;-ermon
was preached in Alliance. He took as
a text, First Timothy, 1:13, "I did it
ignorantly in unbeliet." He Hated
that he was born in France but that
he dme to this country from choice.
He went back into recent history to
show the results of ignorance, men
tioning the attempts oi the French to
build the Panama canal, showing how
ignorance of the laws of sanita
t.on and disease prevented their suc
cess and how the united States over
came these difficulties by knowledge.
He then showed the results of igno
rance, in the political and economic
world. He quoted from a recent
speech of Senator Hitchcock in the
senate on "Co-operative Marketing,"
as follows:
"My judgment is that this country
should in some way be relieved l'rm
that necessity of throwing his crop
upon the market immediately he hus
finished its production after months
and months of labor. There outrht to
be some system of personal credit by
which he could hold that crop for a
few months and market it gradually,
because the very necessities of the
agricultural classes, which compel
them to throw all their crops upon the
market simultaneously and almost in
stantly, result inevitably in an undue
depression of the market"
Effect Politically Predicted.
He quoted the recent statement i"
W. J. Bryan that "this is the .most
sacred congress that 1 have ever M-tn
in all my time" and called the atten
tion of those present to the golden
rule as practiced by Henry Ford. He
also predicted that the combination of
the farmer and labor vote would re
sult in some astounding results at the
coming fall elections.
C. A. Maier, special representative
of the B. of L. F. and E., spoke for
an hour and a half. He talked
mainlv on the Adamson act and its
benefits to the railroad men and of
the constant, as he said, attempts to
destroy or nullify this act. He also
explained the sixteen-hour law and its
ojeration. In his talk he mentioned
William Allen White and tne Kansas
industrial court law, which he charac
terized as unjust ami inhuman. He
(Continued on Page 8.)
PROCLAMATION
CLEAN-UP AND PAINT-UP WEEK
FOR ALLIANCE, NEBRASKA
That, Whereas the "National Clean Up and Paint Up
Campaign has resulted in many advantages to community
life throughout the United States,
In relieving UNEMPLOYMENT; y
In safeguarding HEALTH;
In promoting THRIFT;
In furthering FIRE PREVENTION;
In stimulating CIVIC PRIDE; and
In making the "HOME AND CITY BEAUTIFUL."
Now, therefore, Be it known that in accordance with
the action of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce, taken this
date, plans have been made for a thorough Clean Up and
Paint Up campaign in the City of Alliance, Nebraska, lie
ginning the week starting Sunday, April 23, 1922, this date
to mark the opening of a real campaign of persistent and
constructive effort in cleaning up and keeping it up. In
this worthy movement we urge each citizen to do his or her
part to make our community CLEAN, HEALTHY, SAFE,
THRIFTY, BEAUTIFUL.
Dated and signed this 3rd day of April, 1922.
K. M. HAMPTON,
Mayor and Chairman of Civic Commission
TRUE MILLER,
President Chamber of Commerce.
N. A. KEMMISH,
Citv Manager.
BUD SCHAFER,
Chief, Alliance Volunteer Fire Dept.
J. I'. WEYRENS,
City Physician.
REUBEN KNIGHT
QUITS HIS JOB
WITH COUNTY
DECLINES TO CONTINUE AS THE
HIGHWAY COMMISSIONER.
Unfriendly Attitude of County Board
and Lack of Co-operation
the Reasons
Reuben E. Knight, county highway
commissioner, has turned over to the'
county clerk all the books and records !
of his office and has notified the coun
ty commissioners that they will have
to get along without his services. Mr.
Knight h&A held the office for the past
three or four years, and apparently it
has been growing more distasteful as
the months have gone by. In January
k. - J 1 . f
one of their number to the office, but
finally decided to reappoint Mr.
Knight. He did not accept the honor
formally, however, and developments
the past two or three weeks have con
vinced him that life was entirely too
short to try to do anything with the
office.
The direct cause of the resignation
was the reduction of the salary for the
official from $50 to $20 a month. But
this is only a small part of it. Ac
cording to Mr. Knight, there has been
no real co-operation on the part of the
county board and a general lack of in
terest in the work, as well as an ap
parent conviction that it was unneces
sary. In view of this attitude, Mr.
Knight decided that he hud no desire
to go on Vith it, as the lack of co
operation made it impossible for him
to accomplish anything. "I've no time
to monkey with it under these condi
tions," he says.
The county highway commissioner,
as contemplated by the statutes, is an
official who is in direct charge of road
construction and maintenance within
the county. He is expected to keep at
curae accounts of all money expended
for roads, and a distribution ledger
showing just which roads the money is
spent on.
Actually, however, the past year or
two the highway commissioner has
been keeping books for the commis
sioners. The county board have taken
cjjarge of . the expenditures, of. funds,
and have made tneir own road pro
grams and carried them out without
interference and with very few sug
gestions. Mr. Knitrht was actually in charge
of ror.d matters in the county durintr
'.ho building of the Chadron road. This
is the best road in the county today,
nnd cost the least' money. At that
time the laying out of plans and their
execution was left to Mr. Knight. Ap
parently the commissioners prefer to
do it themselves, and have no particu
lar regard for systems of bookkeeping.
Mr. Knight points out that without
any system in building or maintaining
roads, it is impossible to keep accurate
lecords. For the past year he I id to
depend largely on monthly reports,
and these were most unsatisfactory.
The road machinery and gang .vas
pulled from one part of the county to
another, and an accurate check wu3 al
most impossible,
John Duskin. a farmer living a few
miles south of Hemingford, was taken
to Alliance Sunday evening in the
Miller ambulance. He was suiienng
from the flu.
ROLLER SKATING.
City Manager Kemmish in this
issue gives warning to the children
who are just getting another case
of the roller skating craze. For the
past week or ten days, the down
town streets have been crowded,
most of the skaters being young
men and women. The kids hav al
ways skated, but they do not make
a fad out of it, and ordinarily keep
out of danger.
Last night a fifteen-year-old boy
was unable to stop in time to keep
an automobile, running quite slow
ly, from colliding with him. The
larger boys have been going full tilt
down the main business streets,
without slackening for the inter
sections or taking any other precau
tions. It is fortunate that dozens
of accidents have not been reported.
Luckily the victim last night was
not seriously injured, but the acci
dent should teach a lesson to some
of the other skaters who are too
much intent on having a good time
to watch their step.
The city's principal business
Rtreet should not be converted into
a skating rink, no matter how
much fun it is for the skaters.
Those who are wise will confine
their amusements to less frequented
parts of the city, or, as the city
manager suggests, it may be .neces
sary to, -"SB an ordinance entirely
prohibiting this kind of fun. A
word to the wise should be sufficient.
HEMINGFORD
CONTRIBUTES
A BOOZE CASE
MARSHAL GRIMES DOES SOME
rrrF5sPiTi vipittiiivp
frLCCEhhrUL SLEUTHING. .
Warrants Issued for Warren Lotspeich
and Sanford Sahling
Hearing Friday.
The town of Hemingford, which on
New Year'a eve contributed half a W.
dozen temporary and semi-permanent! kw Cannot Be Changed ,
guests for the county jail following a "While the bill is still in a confer
raid on a tailor shop, has contributed ence committee it cannot be changed;
another case to the county court. Mar- with respect to the above proviso be
shal Grimes on Friday afternoon came cue there is no controversy between
to Alliance and secured warrants for the senate and house on the proviso.
Warren Lotspeich and Sanford Sahl- "1 will confess that I did not notice
ing, as well us one Ford touring car, this provision when the bill was hur
the complaint reciting that these three riedly passed through the senate, and
were guilty of unlawful transrorta- apparently no Nebraska congress
tion of intoxicating liquor. Mr. men noticed it in the hou.se or they
Grimes placed Lotspeich in custody on would have called it to my attention.
Saturday and he was brought to Alli-I "The effect of the proviso will bj
tnce with the offending Ford car on that after the 30th of June the corn
Sunday. Sahling waii not arrested, missioner of the general land office
Word was received at llcmingiord will not be able, even if he so desired,
that he was seen in Chadion Sunduy, j to keep the Alliance land office open
and it is believed that ho took a turn-' because the public land area ot the dis-
I. to fx Vi i mcnl t' ft Tn tnfitn tn irr i')na -.,. ntvmiint s 1 1 11 ttI hamd
m in iiis i wmi mvvivivvi vu fvr t in i v.
the going was not beset with ob-;
rtacles.
County Judge Tash released Lots
peich under $:(0 bonds to appear tor
a hearing on Friday, April 7, to answer
to the cnarges against hiin. County
Attorney Basye wus out of the city
s.n lml hiwinis.e nt Wiwlivillp. fiml I np
I 111. lire, il.'iiliwl thnt the ruse khnulil lx
postponed until his return.
Accordmg to tne story toui tne
officers by Marshal Grimes, he had
noticed 'the Ford car, which is owned
by burning, parkofi on the streets or
Hemingford ihursduy eenini'. His
suspicions were arou sed, and when the
car left town and returned a swond
time within a few minutes, he decided
to investigate. When he arrived on
i the scene, Sahling was just .-farting
the car. I he marshal hopccl on to
the running board and asked a ques- ytt given up the ship. In a telegram
tion or two. His eyes fell upon Lots- torwarded to Judge J. H. II. Hewitt,
iteich's coat, and he picket! it up. A 1 rece.ver, Mr. Kinkaid admits that th
bottle of whisky was in one of the prospects are against success. He last
jiockets. Just at that moment, Sahl- week wired for the acreage of un
mg got the car started, he says, and patented entries under the North,
threw him and the coat to the ground. Platte irrigation district, as well as
A second later Ivotspeich came run- unpatented dry land entries, and Mr,
ing around the car, grasped the coat' Hewitt sent him word that the former,
and jumped back into the Ford, and aggregate 44,040 acres and the latter
it was yoicks and'away. But Marshal ( 0b,'J20. This makes more than 100,000
Grimes had the bottle of evidence, and acres of land subject to f ntry.
proceeded to swear out the com- The section of the federal statutes
plaints. I under which the action is taken was
Sanford Sahling was one of lie men i,asscd in 1840. and refers to the "sale"
who was arretted at the New lears
eve raid in Hemingford. At that time
he was fined $10 and costs on a
charge of possession of intoxicating
liquor at a place other than his dwel
ling. The second offense means a jail
sentence in punishment, and Mr. Sahl
ing was apparently not disposed to
Uke the ri-k.
THE WEATHER
Forecast for Nebraska: Cloudy to
night and Wednesday. Colder west
I-ortion tonight. I
The Cox family and Miss Gertrude
Gift, dome.-tic science teacher in the
local schools, who lives at the Cox
house are all ill with the flu and un
der the care of a nurse.
The George D. Darling family are
all ill with the flu. Mrs. John Ueach,
trained nurse, is tit the houe caring
for them.
Mrs. J. I. Calhoun of Interior, S.
I., i in Alliance visiting her sister,
Mrs. D. C. Keach.
FIGHT TO KEEP
LAND OFFICE HAY
NOT BE SUCCESS
SENATOR HITCHCOCK SAYS CASE
SEEMS TO BE HOPELESS.
Policy of Administration Inflicts Harafc
and Unfair Hardship on
Western Nebraska.
According to a letter received from
Senator Gilbert M. Hitchcock by J. CL
I Morrow of this city, and read at tM
j Monday luncheon of the chamber ot
, commerce, the efforts of Alliance and
j other interested western Nebraska
towns to retain the land office here ai
. foredoomed to failure. Mr. Hitchcock
I hus taken the matter up with the de
partment in person, and has learned)
that they undoubtedly construe the ap
jjiujMiuuon oiii under wnicn me ais
continuance order was made in such
way that it will be difficult work U
make them recede from their position.
The senator's letter follows:
"I acknowledge the receipt of your
letter of March 24 and I quite sympa
thize with your protest against th
closing of the Alliance land office
Nevertheless, I regret to report that
the case appears to be hopeless. Undee
existing law the commisioner of th
general land office has wide discretion
ary power of consolidation, and the de
partment of the interior appropriation
hill as passed very recently by th
house and senate contains the follow
ing proviso:
"'Provided further, that with the.
exception of the land offices mentioned)
in the last preceding pioviso, and also
the land offices at Eureka, Cal., Van
couver and Seattle, Wash., and Burns,
Ore., and where the land office shall b
the only remaining land office in any
state, no money herein appropriate .
hhall f)e expendwi for the nminnanc
0f any land office, other than as ia
provided in this paragraph, in a land!
district having public land area of less
than 100,000 acres, or whose cost of
maintenance shall exceed 33 1-3 per
centum of the revenues of the office)
for the fiscal year ending June 80,
1 1 iv. V t,uvn xjuv auiuuuv tw vsrsw tvvfm
and I presume also because the cost or
maintaining actually exceeds one-third
of t revenue.
"While I thmk this is a very harsh
and'unfair hardship to inflict on west
ci n Nebraska, it seems to be a part ot
the settled policy of this administra-
n.l fir.r.li.w n..t n I vr 1 . VoHrntlrn.
I.. if run f I J ..tlnr btiitou. Kvpn thih
I offices of register and receiver at Lin-
t0ln arc consolidated by .the terms ot
this b II as well us in a dozen Other
;un,l offices in the country.
"I am torry. therefore, that I am not
nble to remedy the damage. Very
tiuly yours,
'G. M. HITCHCOCK."
Uncle Moses Still on Job.
Congressman M. P. Kinkaid, who is
also working on the matter, has not
Gf DUhHc land. Mr. Hewitt told the
' members of the chamber of commerce.
This was before the passage of th
homestead laws. Public land is not
sold, but patented these days. Th
total acreage of land in this district
is well above the 100,000-acre mark,
and Mr. Kinkaid hopes to be able to
convince the powers that be that the
olfice should be retained as a conven
ience to the homesteaders in western
Nbraska, who have cases involving
hundreds of patents which have net
yet been granted.
Mr. Hitchcock's letter was written
Lefore the information relative to the
acreage of unpatented lands had been
forwarded to him, and it is possible
that this may change his outlook, al
though the provision relative to re
ceipts of the office may still be a bar to
icscinding the order.
Mrs. Tearl E. Montague of Denver
arrived Saturday to spend Easter va
cation with Miss Merle Welliver, who
is teaching in Morrill county.
Mrs. W. C. Mounts Is ill at her hom
with the influenza.