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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (March 13, 1914)
THE NORTH PLATTE 8EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. PRESIDENT READS TOLLS MESSAGE TOD) SIMMIJB 1 WO) AIO LWjfg ' WKobertftNoulton Rlllffl d I I PERMANENT winter rofugoof 2,000 ncres of land on tho oast side of Jackson's Holo, In Wyoming, to euro for a herd of 25,000 elk has just been arranged b; tho depart ment of agriculture, It la expected that onough hay will bo raised on this tract to feed tho entire herd. Tho price of tho land ranged from $50 to $52 an acre. Tho govern ment WUB forced tn. nrinnt thin plan to prevent tho elk In tho went from going tho way of tho buffalo to extinction It In estimated that fully 50,000 elk winter lnio Jackson's Holo country, n large area south of tho lollowatono National park. Tho elk scatter dur Ing tho uummor months, many of thorn grazing In the park, but as winter approaches they converge toward their old winter quarters. These quarters wore amplo before tho homesteader camn to fonco tho lands. Tho elk would feed on tho rich'' grass of the val leys In tho fall, work up on tho sheltered hillsides in tho winter, nnd when necessity urged descond to tho crooks and browso among tho young wll Jowa and other follago until tho spring grass canio, T It o homesteader's fenco has nmdo this im possible now, nnd each your leBBons the ttmount of open range Tito result Is tlint ,tn. flplto tho larcn ninminf nt fo.i tl.. i.., t. ...... .. wished thont by tho stato of Wjomlng, each winter ims soon an enormous death loss of this fast dlsau roaring gnmo animal. Driven, to dosporntion from hunger, tho elk would break down tho strongest barbed wlro fonco surrounding a haystack, and during a por tlon of tho winter tho settlors woro forced to guard their hay night and day Tho oik have boon Itnown to mount upon tho fnllon bodies of their companions, und thus climb to tho top of a thatched roof shed, whoro they would voraciously devour tho rotten hay or straw UBOd as a roof cov orlng. Tho scenes In tho oik roglon of Wyoming during tho last two years aro described aa heart-rending. 'Tho starving elk, driven to tho lowlands by tho .high snows in tho mountains, found moat of tho rnttgo fenced in by ranchers. In many casoB thoy uroko down fences and demolished tho hay utacks of tho ranchors. .They itto tho wlllowa along tho streams, and gradually grow woakor and weaker, and finally sunk down to dto In tho snow. Immediately thoy woro pounced upon by nmgploa .LfcMrx- BS S .Jfffl'AfflMfflk yjxr -w !?. ruMztisii v &jM,it - j .'. t n . i m. jskn r j - y 4- -i dTARmeTojjpwimmfoiDzrr&tGffr. mezzx ojrj&c r4lSS 14 UTXJJ-jC Stls l-CuTiX-V JX&JTiJS T "iXTVL- PJ! I f V' , , MW. $ F l t3, t L v mftk 4 v nnHH fe j&kd tirj&fcarrm? wmw?&wze; jACKsarrVffotf wyamrrGZ and other blidg, und their eyes woro picked out. In many cases bofore tho elk woro dead. Tho conditions which led up to tho government's recent action have existed for moro than ton years, but tho Btato of Wyoming seomed unablo, slnglo handed, to cope with tho situation. Tho tendor-hoarted ranchmen of tho Jackson Holo counliy have helped to the full extent of their ability, feeding to tho starving elk as much as thoy could sparo from their private stores of hay and fodder without putting tholr own stock oji ex tremely short allowance. Hut with all this, it is estimated that fully 5,000 elk died of starvation each year. According to Mr. S. N. Leek, a prominent ranchman of tho Jackson Holo district and for mer stato senator, who has made a special study of tho conditions surrounding tho elk In that part of tho country, Blnce 1003 about 75 per cent, ct the adult elk have perished of starvation each winter. Ho Btatos that ho has counted no many as 1,000 doad elk within a radlua of half a mile, and that on sovoral occasions when driving through tho country ho has boon forcod to turn out of hla way ZiKMAitJurcxfflitfyMD mirm&j&ffp becnuso of the bodies of dead elk obstructing tho roads. Tho elk would first eat tho range clar of all food, then turn to tho coarse sticks and barks, and In many places they would actually gnaw the bark from the fence mils, When all these sources of food If such It may bo called were ex hausted, they would gradually be gin to loso tholr vitality, spirit and ondurance. Then, reduced by hun ger until too weak to follow tho herd, they would drop down by some rock or brush, to either be come a proy to carnivorous ani mals or dio a miserable death by starvation. It is estimated that the value of elk to the region of Jackson Holo is equal to the rovenuo derived from stock raising in that dis trict. Tho amount of money which tho animals bring Into tho country is very large. Many hunting parties aro attracted thither every year, being allowed to kill a limited number of elk under cortaln restrictions. Hunters aro obliged to hire guides, packers, cooks and pack aulmalB and to buy considerable quantities of food supplies. The avorago daily expenso of a person hunting In that region 1b at least $14. Thus a thirty days' trip would cost each non resident $120, all of which is spent In the vicin ity of tho hunting grounds. About 2,000 elk are killed each year by hunters. Thoro Is considerable poaching, 1. o., illegal kill ing of the animals, by men who frequent and even resldo In tho Jackson Hole region for tho sake of making their living wholly or In part from game. Tho law-breakers regard tho elk as their natural prey. But tho lowest 'In tho scale of all tho onemtes of tho elk Is tho tooth hunter tho human bruto who for tho pake of gaining a dollar nr two kills tho noblo creatures, and, taking only tholr tuBks, leaves tho carcasses to rot. Under cover of tho mall he forwards his booty unde tected to dealerB In tho cities, who dlsposo of it to thoughtless purchasers. Tho government's present work of oik preserva tion is unique. Had similar measures been un dertaken In behalf of tho buffalo, tho nation would not now bo mourning tho almost total loss of those animals, which at one tlmo wero much moro numerous in tho west than aro tho elk today. HEADLINER. "My blase son has managed to got up some en thuBlasm over the opening of tho Panama canal." "Yob; ho admlt3 ho never saw anything bigger than that In vaudeville" HC K " CHANGING SOCIAL HABITS k"i i-Utf&lfciQvft V . 0 . U. l v In comparing tho habits and manners of the prenont day with thoso of tho past it scorns to mo that tho most Btrlklng thing la tho groat change thnt has taken place In our economic and financial conditions. Tho poor of today aro a different raco from tho poor of 50 or even 30 years ago. Thoy earn a great deal moro monoy and, though thoy got less for it in solid comfort nnd well being, thoy Bpond it In a much greater variety of waya. Neither aro tho rich of today tho same as tho rich of 50 years ago. Largo numbors of tlip latter tho landed gentry, for Instance havo taken a back soat, if they lmvo not ac tually disappeared, Tho now rich who havo puBhcd them out aro Introducing Ideas, habits and mannora of tholn own. Consequently the luxury of today Iwb llttlo In common with tho luxury of 50 years ago. It apends ltB money In moro Hellish and ostentatious ways, luatend of tho manor house, with Ha crowd of hereditary retainers, we have now tho fashlouublo hotel, with its nrmy of llvorlod waltora and chauf feurB, W, K. Lawsan writes In tho London Morning Post. In 14 of theso estab lishments thoro was apont last year J2 2,082,000 nearly two and three-quarter millions sterling. This 1b the essence of present day luxury, and thoso who consldor It extravagant may console thomuclves with the thought that foreign ers contributed much moro to it than Urltlsh born prodigals. Our Amorlcan visitors 'boast very truly that' wo havo thorn to thank for theso sybarlto caravansaries They called tor thorn and havolall along boon tholr chlof sup porters, paying without question most extravagant churges. In other waya tho Americans have been tho ptoncors of modern luxury. An inquiry which is now going on in tho United States as to tho annual expendi ture of American tourists in Europe Indicates that It is llttlo, if any, ifhort of $200,000,000, or 40,000,000. Our Canadian, Australian, French, German und other foreign visitors aro also free spenders, so inucll so thnt mlnlstorlng to tholr luxurious tastes has become one of tho most profltablo of London's Indus tries. On tho other hand, tho cot responding class of our own people aro prob ably spending loss rather than moro on themselves than thoy used to do. They aro bolng taught thrift In a hard school that the chancellor of tho ex chequer. If wo deduct from their apparently large incomes tho number of prior claims on them that havo to bo met beforo tho freo margin Is reached, It will bo found In many cases that comparatively llttlo remains either for rlotoUB living or vulgar show. Bealdos, It must bo remembered tha,t the modern Croesus Is oftou a business man who can reinvest his annual profits to much hotter advantage than in 20-gulnea banquets at tho Hotol Cecil. Tho champion spendthrifts of today nro not tho owners of motor care and motor yachts, they aro tho railway and tho shipping companies. A slnglo train do luxo, with Its crow of chefs, harbors and Indies' malda, waBtos moro money In tho course of a year than tho most oxtrnvngant millionaire Thoro 1b tenfold more luxury on tho latest Atlantic liners than will bo found in any half dozen pnlacoa In the country From a careful comparison of tho proportions of available Income spent on superfluities, tho worklugman will sometimes come out higher than many dukes. His glasa of beer, his tobacco, hla llttlo bets, his evening paper, hln picture shows, hla football matches, his soaBldo trips and hla other extras eat up a largo percontaao of tho weokly wngo, oven of a well-to-do artisan. No ono grudges him cither his comforts or his recreations, but at the Hainu tlmo It cannot ho Ignored that thoy form a largo Itom In tho sum total of our national outla on superfluities, Another significant feature of modem luxury Is to bo found In tho fact that tho leading millionaires of tho day aro tho rovorso of extravagant. Neither havo thoy mndo tholr millions by pnndorlng to tho luxurious tastes of the rich. Nearly all of them cater specially for tho working ami tho mlddlo classos. They aro purveyors of boor, cocoa, soap, patant modlclnos and very light literature to the multitude. If ours bo an extra vugant ago, Its oxtrav nganco has at least tho redeeming quality of bolng democratic. Freo living wus never moro widespread than it iti today. From cablnat ministers to boclallst lecturers thoro aro all degrees and shades of It. URGES CONGRESS TO REPEAL THE EXEMPTION CLAUSE. "IN VIOLATION OF TREATY" Favoring of American Coastwise Vea sels Declared by Chief Executive Also to Be Based on Mistaken Economic Policy. Washington, March 5. Declaring that tho exemption of American coast wlso shipping from the payment of Panama cannl tolls was based upon a "mistaken economic policy" and wns "in contravention of our treaty with Great Britain," President Wilson to day aslted congress to repeal tho Ad nmson act containing tho exemption clause. Tho appeal was made in per son by tho president, who appeared before tho senate and houso of repre sentatives in joint session. Tho president declared that all tho world powers woro unanimous In Judg ment that tho exemption was in vio lation of our treaty obligations. Only In tho United States, he said, was tho exemption clause regarded as debat able or as open to question. He said ho had not como to congress to deliver n personal view, but that considera tions of justice and wisdom led him to bellovo that tho proviso should be re pealed without delay. Tho president added that tho United States "ought not to quibble" in tho matter of a treaty obligation. Ho In timated that the Panama canal tolls question was Involved In all the other foreign questions now before tho Uni ted States, because he would not know how to deal with them unless tho ex emption is repealed. President's Message. The address follows: "Gentlemen of tho Congress: "I have como to you upon an errand which can bo very brlolly performed, but I beg that you will not measuro its importance by tho number of sen tences in which I stato It. No com munication I havo addressed to the congress carried with it graver or more far-reaching implications to tho interest of tho country and I now como to speak upon a matter with regard to which I am charged In a peculiar degree by tho constitution it Belf with personal responsibility'. "I have como to ask for tho repeal of that provision of tho Panama canal act of Augustl, 1012, which exempts vessels engaged in the coastwise trade of the United States from payment of tolls, and to urge upon you the jus tice, the wisdom, and the largo policy of such a repeal with tho 'utmost earnestness of whlcn I am capable. Exemption a Mistake. "In my own Judgmont, very fully considered and maturely formed, that exemption constitutes a mistaken economic policy from every point oi view, and is, moreover, In plain con travention of the treaty with Great Britain concerning tho canal conclud ed on November 18, 1901. But 1 havo not come to you to urgo my personal views. I havo como to state to you ;i fact and a situation. "Whatever may be our own differ ences of opinion concerning this much debated measuro, its meaning is not debated outside tho United States. Everywhere else the language of thq treaty is given but one interpretation, and that Interpretation precludes tho exemption I am asking you to repeal. Consented to Treaty. "We consented to the treaty; its language wo accepted, If wo did hot originate it; and wo aro too big, too powerful, too self-respecting a nation to Interpret with too strained or re fined a reading the words of our own promises Just because wo havo power enough to give us leave to read them as wo please. The largo thing to do is the only thing wo can afford to do, a voluntary withdrawal from a posi tion everywhere questioned and misun derstood. Wo ought to rovorso out action without raising tho question whether wo wero right or wrong, nnd so onco moro deserve our reputation for generosity and tho redemption of every obligation without quibble or hesitation. "I ask this of you in support of tho foroign policy of tho administration. I shall not know how to deal with other meetings of oven greater deli cacy and nearer consequence If you do not grant It to mo in ungrudging measuro." RUSSIAN OFFICER MURDERED Slayer at Arms Factory Then Throws Himself Into Machinery and Is Crushed. St. Petersburg, Russia, March 5. Captain von Stahl, chief of works at the, shrapnel tubo factory of tho Putl loft' armament works, was brutally murdered by ono of tho foremen. Tho murderer then throw himself Into tho electrical machinery and wa3 crushed to death. Thoro has boon a strlko at tho Putlloff works nnd Captain von Stahl'B attitude toward tho strikers la supposed to havo been the cause of tho tragedy. Noted Southern Woman Dead. Chattanooga, Tenn., March 5. Mrs. Mary Ambler Colotnan, aged olghty four, mother of. Lewis M. Coleman United States district attorney for th eastern district of Tennessee, diJ here. Mrs. Coleman was a grand daughter of Chief Justice John Mar shall. SUCCESS IN RAISING DUCKS One of First Ecnentlalo Is to Havo Quarterns Dry and Clean Keep Old and Young Separate. (By ANNA GALiailEU) Ducks always sleep on tho floor or on tho ground, thereforo all such places thould bo aB clean and dry na possible. Keep tho floors covored with clean litter or straw, and chango It every day, or as often as necessary. If a largo number aro housed to gether, once a day is none too often. Keep old and young separato, and don't keep duckjlngs of different sizes together. The larger ones will abuse the smaller ones, especially at feed ing tlmo. It is best to keep not moro than 35 in a flock, as they grow faster than whon a largo number aro kept to gether. Pekln ducks that havo been well fed and cared for through tho winter will usually begin laying very early in tho spring; sometimes beforo tho cold weather is over. Ours used to begin about the last week in February. But it is difficult to kcop tho eggs from getting chilled, when they begin to lay bo early, and besides, the first few eggs a Pekln lays each season will not hatch. If tho weather is not too cold, March Is about the proper tlmo to begin sav ing the eggs. Remember thoy will not keep In hatchablo condition very long. Wrap each egg in paper and keep In a cool place (50 to 00 degrees is about right) and turn every day yntil placed for hatching. Theso directions should bo observed In caring for other eggs. If incubators aro used, tho duck lings will bo very thirsty after they nro hatched. Open tho outside door mU'p ; , &kkJ&4 ' j ri7 kx r . J -jmm uvc si- nocmvsj? .-. ewji'- . .mMNMTi. X . ." VASNV1. Aul" -sikv- asY' -.vi" a . . - A Bad Arrangement for a Duck House. and look through tho glass once in a while. If thoy are too warm they will bo panting with their mouths open. They should bo removed at onco and given a drink of tepid water. If tho air is cold they should bo placed In a brooder as soon as taken from the incubator. Be sure to havo tho brooder properly regulated. Tho temperature should bo bo about 90 at first. Keep tho ventila tors in operation all the time, and lower tho temperature as tho duck lings get older. When two weeks old 75 degrees will be warm enough. When four weeks old they need not bo kept In a brooder at night if they have a comfortable houso to sleep In. Don't overcrowd or overheat in brooders. Tho first feed r for tho ducklings Is dry bread soaked in sweet " skim milk or water. Don't let it soak too long, or it will get gummy, and that Is what ducks do not like. They cannot or will not eat sticky feed; they simply shako it out of their mouths, and then it is wasted. Old ducks do tho same thing. Place some clean water beside tho feed each time. Cold water will do when tho ducklings grow older. Some coarso, clean sand should bo placed in tho water oach tlmo or in Bomo shallow vessel near tho feed or water. They need both grit and. water whllo eating. But do not add sand or any other grit to the feed. Don't confine ducks to ono kind of feed. They like a variety. Never givo young ducks milk to drink. They will smear their heads with it and become very mossy. Corn bread is very good for yourg ducks, but it is very fattening. Wo never feed raw mixtures to newly hatched ducks. They will eat raw food, of course, but it will sometimes causo bowel trouble. Too much milk will sometimes causo it, ao. Green food is essential from tho start. If there is plenty of grass in tho yard that will do, although thoy llko it best when It is added to tholr grain food. Wo uso green clover, green rye, cabbago, dandollons, onion-tops, etc Green oats aro also good for this pur pose All should be cut small enough for growing ducks to eat with ease. Wo do not often begin feeding raw mixtures until tho dtfeks aro several wooka old, although some green stuff Is added onco or twlco a day. Tho Pekln ducks should bo fed four or flvo times a day from tho tlmo they aro hatched until ready for market Tho best timo to sell ducks is -when from 10 to 14 weeks old. At this ago thoy should weigh anywhere from foui to seven pounds each. Eggs for Hatching. In getting eggs for hatching pur poses, try to select thorn from tho strongest, Wrd, 1 V A &,