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About The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922 | View Entire Issue (April 4, 1919)
THE SEMLWEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA. PIS IE IS LEGISLATORS HAVE AGREEP ON SCHOOL REGULATION OTHER LEGISLATIVE DOINGS A Brief Digest of Other Important Legislation Being Considered by the Nebraska Legislature M PROMISED Lincoln. Contending forces In tlio legislature hnvo reached iin agreement so far us (lio parochial school bill has boon porfected In tlio senate. It Is still known as H. 11. CA for tlio regu lation of prlvato and parochial Bchools, but It Is a rewritten bill and the sen ato recommended It for passage. It now includes denominational schools, and contains some new matter andn complete revision which leaders of tlio two legislative branches agreed upon. Uy many It Is now called a compromise bill, but Senator I'otorson of Lanluu ter, ono of tho legislators who pro sonted the substitute measure, made it plain' that It Is a substitute and that it Is not a compromise bill. "It does not represent a compromise of con viction on tho part of either house," said PotorBon In tho senate, "but It represents a clarified statement of the position of the house uud of the sen ate." Under the compromise effected nil , private and parochial schools In Ne braska and all teachers omployed or giving instruction therein shall bo sub ject to and governed by tho provisions of the general school laws of the state ho far as tho same apply to tho grades, qualification and certification of teach ers and promotion of pupils. All prl vato and parochial schools shall havo adequate equipment and supplies and shall bo graded tlio same and shall havo courses of study for each grado conducted therein substantially the same as thoso given in tho public schools whoro tho children attending would attond In tho absence of such prlvato or parochial schools. No per son shall lio employed to tetich in any prlvato or parochial school, who has not obtained a teacher"s certificate en titling such teacher to teach corres ponding coursos or classes in public schools. All public and prlvato pa rochial schools shall give In tho proper grados such courses In American history and in civil government, as . will givo the pupils a thorough knowl edge of tlio history of our country and ita institutions and of our form of government nnd shall conduct such patriotic oxcrclsos na may bo pro scribed from time to timo by tho state superintendent. The county or city superintendent where such prlva'o or parochial school is located, shall In spect such schools and report to tho proper ofllcors any evidence of tho uso of nny toxt book, or of nny ac tivities, Instruction or propaganda therein subversive of American insti tutions, a republican form of govern ment or of good citlzonshlp. Soctlon 3 provides that nothing In tho act shall bo construed as to lntorfero with ro llgloiiH Instruction In any prlvato or parochial school. Final enactment of a law to check advocacy or uso of "Vlolonco or other bolshovlk methods In accomplishing in dustrial or political ends In Nebraska was forecasted when tho lower houso advanced to third reading, Sonato Kilo No. 200. Tho voto was unanimous. Tho bill defines criminal syndicalism as "tho doctrino which ndvocates crlmo physical vlolenco, arson, .de struction of property or sabotago as a means of accomplishing or effecting- in dustrial or political ends or for profit.' It then forbids the commission of such nets, or their advocacy either by word or mouth or by writing or publication Tho ponalty is Imprisonment for from ono to ten years or a lino of not more than $1,000. Tho use of any building for a mooting for such purpose- Is nko prohibited. Tho lower house has adopted tho committee recommendation for the general fllo of Houso Holl No. 121. by Jacobson, which provides that railroad companies must act upon claims of shippers within sixty days after ro coipt. Tho sonate Indefinitely postponed iioubo Hon no. 202, by J. Hold Green which provided that If a discharged employe was not paid when dls charged, salary should contlnuo until payment might bo mudo. The sonate committeo on highways reported out h. u. uas without amend memt. This is tho gonoral mini inw designating and loentlng roads to bo Built at this tlnio with state nnd fed oral aid. TJio committeo had reopened tho bill for hearings and listened to proiosiB nut mudo no cIhiiiko In roml as agreed upon by tho houso and tho joint cominitteo on highways. Thl moans a fight will bo made In commit teo of tho whole to attach nmo-.ul moms. Tho sonnto not only followod tho iouu or mo itoiiHO In approving bills ap in uiu lining iuu,uuu ror ouch of twi Hospitals, ono to bo oroctod at th homo for soldlors at Grand Island and tho other at the soldlors' homo at minora, nut 11 milled 126.000 to minli bill and amundod each so as to call lor sia&.uuo for u building and umiin mont. The original bills were sllont nato equipment. The Bonntn com mittee hold u hearliiK and after lis toning to friends of both soldiers' lioniSN and ofllcors of the G. A. It., do pii!n"Mi' i r Nebrnskn, decided to pine- bills on tho gonernl fll Althnnch both house and sonnto of tho legislature have rejected every proposed amondmont to the primnry election law, tho committee on r'lvl leges and elections of tho lower houso decided to mnko still another effffort. It recommended for passage Houso Roll No. 323, In much amended form. As supported by 'tho committee, tho bill wipes out tho nomination of can didates for state offices below that of ovornor, excepting thoso nominated on a partisan tlckot. In place of tho primary, it re-establishes tho state con- cntlon for those ofllces. Tho bill provides for tho election of delegates to a county convention In each county. Thoso delegates aro to pick from their number tho county's dolcgntlon to tho state convention. Members of tho county central com mittee, ono man nnd ono woman from each precinct or township, aro also to bo elected by tho voters at the primnry. This last Is a plan proposed by Robert Smith, clerk of tho district court of Douglas county, designed, he said, to wlpo out machine and boss control of county committees. In view of tho general legislative attltudo to ward legislation nffectlng the primary, It Is doubtful If tho bill will bo ap proved, at least Insofar as It removes minor state ofllcors from the primary. Very fow, If any, changos aro prob- ablo in the four big road bills, which havo already passed tho lower houso, when they aro ovontunlly passed by tho sonate. During tho progress of theso bills In the house, tho senuto onimltteo on highways and bridges attended nnd labored with tho houso committee in working out amend ments, and giving public hearings to people from various parts of tho stato who aro Interested In tho routing of tho 2,400 miles of highway which has boon surveyed and mupped out by Stato Knglnoor Johnson. Two of theso bills have ljeen re ported out ly tho sonnto committeo with no chnngo from tlio way thoy passed tlio houso, Houso Roll No 2UU, providing Tor a ?10 automobllo tax for maclijnos weighing 2,000 pounds nnd a tax of 50 conts for each addi tional 100 pounds is ono of tho bills reported out, and will probably pass tho senuto without chnngo. It Is esti mated that tho avorago tax will be approximately ?15 per automobllo which will bring into tho road fund around $2,000,000 per year, offoctivo aftor July 1, 1919. Tho other bill re ported out is House Roll No. 300 which provides tho 3-mill levy tc hiutch tho govornmont appropriation, and which will nmount to approxi mately $1,540,000 per year, or with tho govornmont appropriation will amount to something over $3,000,000 por year. Tho houso committeo of tho whole decided that tho carrying out of the highways program should not bo In trusted to mon of monger salary S. F's. 50 and CI, originally drawn to benefit Lancaster county alone, had boon broadened In senate stand ing committee to embrnco the entire stato nnd it was bocauso of this broadened sphere that somo objec tions wore raised. "Both measures woro advanced to third rending aftor attempts to postpono had been smothered. S. P. GO rnisos tho sal arlcs of surveyors in counties hav ing Icbs than 50,000 population to $8 n dny, and Increases ' certain fees from fifty to eighty conts. County boards may, howevor, In counties hav- ing 10s than 50,000 population put tho surveyor on a flat salary basis not to exceed $1,800 a year. In eountIes of less than 8,000, S. F. 51 provides that highway commissioners frhnll not rccelvo to exceed $8 por dny. In counties of from 8,000 to 20,000 and In countlos having 20,000 to 50,000 population $1,800. If, In countlos hnvlug less than G0.000 pop ulation, tho county surveyor Is mudo highway commissioner, the aggregato salary shall not exceed $2,400. Tho Joint cominitteo of houso nnd Honato looking into coal purchases and other items of the activities of tho stato board of control wends its way along from day to day with almost continued lioarlngs and many wit nesses. During the week inquiry Into tlio dlsciplino enforced at tho Indus trial Homo for Girls at Gonova has boon under scrutiny, bringing out tlio fact that corporal punishment is at limes administered. , Chairman Cordoal of tho committeo on Judiciary, tiled a report placing on general tlio ll. H. 345 without amend mont. This is the grain oxchango bill desired by tho farmers' union for the purpose of admitting eo-oporntlvo as soclatlons to membership upon , tho Omaha grain exchange with permis sion to cut commissions or rebate earn lugs to local organizations or to pa trons who may not bo members of co operatlvo organizations. Tho country school district will bo reorganized to Include greater torri lory, encourage consolidation, and malm a strongor district, under II. R 351, which received tho approval of the houso. It provides for a standard district of about twonty-llvo miles based on tho boat interests of tho community served. Twonty-llvo per cent oi mo votors of a proposed dls iriot may protest to tho stato sunoiin tondont. Tho decision shall bo by tho votors ot ino district nt an election. S. I 109, a bill providing that tuxos on real proporty within tho corporato limits ot cltlos of tho metropolitan class shall bo and become n first Hon I Hereon from and including Mav 1 following tho levy, was killed. Some members oxpressed tho bollof that tho bill was being fostorod by those who might deslro to purchase and sell property betwoon October and May witnout bolng llnblo for taxes. House Holl No. 27. by Snmlqulst providing that assessors colloct poll tax at tho time of making assessment Instead of tho regular way of pnylng tne countr treasurer, was defeated 1 Railroad bridge nenr Ufa Russia, which wns blown up by the bolshevik!, cutting the town off from the outside world. 2 Gerninn 15-lix h shells about to bo exploded by the reclamation and demolition men of the American field ammunition force. ll Glunt French searchlight on the Hhlne facing the historic village of Well nlch and the famous old Mouse rustle. SEWS REVIEW OF CURRENT EVENTS Hungary in Grip of Bolshevism and Other Parts of Central Europe in Ferment. PEACE DELEGATES STARTLED Speed Up Work on the Treaty, Which Germans Say They Will Not Sign League of Nations Covenant Being Amended. By EDWARD W. PICKARD. Matters In Europe last week moved swiftly toward a climax. Bolshevism wlis gathering itself for its greatest fforts, and made a start In that-wuy. that alarmed the civilized world. It fastened its clutches on Hungary, or at least on the government anil on Budapest, the capital, and soviet rule was established In place of the repub lic that was headed by Count Karolyl. Revolution broke out in Gallclii, start ing In the oil districts; a soviet gov ernment was set up, the l.embcrg soviet declared a general strike and Polish troops sent to combat tho rev olution Joined In the movement, lies Hiirabla was proclaimed a repubjlc and Its directorate began military opera tions against Itoumanln's army, de feating n part of it. The Ressnrnblnn movement undoubtedly was directed by the Russian bolshevlkl anil support ed by the Ukrainians, the Idea being to establish communication between Moscow and Budapest by breaking through Roumanln. Efforts to turn Czccho'-Slnvnklii and German Austria over to the bolshevlkl have been so far unsuccessful. Frank critics of the nenco confer' enee lay the blame for much of this on those Idealists who undertook to remodel the entire world and bring about the millennium at nnee. in stead of first making peace and per mitting the belligerent nations to re sume the ordered activities of civil ized existence. That the irontloinen gathered in Purls have recognized their error Is apparent In their present haste to conmloto the nenc-o treaty and have It signed. They will, accord ing to renorts lit 1he time of writing. Include In the treaty a formal state ment concerning the league of nations, because Germany will be required by the treaty to surrender her colonies to mandatories of the nronosod league, but It Is not unlikely that the adoption of the full constitution of the league will be deferred. The first treaty, which was being considered last week by Wilson. Lloyd George, Clenieneenu and Orlando. It was said, was sulllelently firm In Its terms to Insure a lasting pence, would simplify the International food problem and pave the way for Industrial and financial reconstruction. The princi pal alms of the proposals under con sideration were: (1) To Insure nmple security for the future protection of France, especially on her eastern frontier: ('') to establish n strong Italy, with a formidable northern bar rier against aggression; CO to create a strong Poland; (!) to fnund a league of nations pledged, on material as well as moral grounds t the preser vation of world peace. The "Dig four." us they are called In. Paris, were said to have decided to make peace with nil four nf the enemy nations at once. This plan presents some dllllenltles, one of the least of which Is the fnet that the United States never was nt war with Turkey mil Ilulgnrla. Most troublesome will oe the fair assessment of the pre-war debts of those, two natinus and of Austria-Hungary unying Hie various provinces, and the living of the boundaries they must nenpt. . It is believed Goriiinn -uw bound aries have been virtually iiol by the peace delegates, thoiiKh n. niinnitneo meat 7ms been made. . UnauclMl I'OUlIlllsslot) Ims been w ml inn fast to M'tlle th lenpporiliiiii . i of Ger many's public debt, 'b question of German tnte property In territories to be ceded by the peace treaty and the order In whltii the obligations of Germany shall be Imposed. As for the reparation to be demanded of the Huns, the economic experts have found the amount of damage Inlllcted by the Germans was between $:!.", 000,000,000 nnd ?4n,000,000,000, but as this Is beyond the ability of Germany to pay, the sum Is being scaled down and probably will be less than ?!H), 000,000,000. If the treaty with Germany Is such ns It Is supposed to he, Geriniiny will refuse to sign It. Anyhow, tbnt Is what the press ami ninny of the lend ers say. Doctor Dernburg of unsav ory memory, declares the German peo ple will not accept a treaty of peace that Is not Inspired by impartiality. Justice nnd a spirit Of reconciliation and tbnt does not contain a league of nations Into which Germany is admit ted with full rights. Doctor Sehlffor, minister of finance, says lie has taken n solemn oatii tliat the government will not surrender one Inch of German territory. The Prussian national assem bly has voted against the relinquish ment of any of the Ithlue territory, es pecially the Sanr basin. All over the country meetings are being held, or ganized by Foreign Secretary Brock-tlorff-Itantzau, to protest against an "enslaving peace." This movement, in which all factions are Joining, Is being used to reawaken the national spirit, and the threut of spreading bolshevlsm If the demands of tho Ger man people lire not met Is being used by the leaders to Intimidate the Inter allied peace delegates. The latter, however, do not seem especially wor ried, evidently tnklng It for granted that Germany will have to accept any treaty they formulate. If the Ger mans do submit to bolshevlsm, It will be of their own free will, und mainly In spite nnd not because they pre fer that form of "government." With Hungary the case is different, and It may well be that that conn try's new soviet government will re fuse to sign any treaty with the al lies, If It survives. At the end of the week there were evidences that tin allies were about to take decided ac tion against the Hungarians. The Fronuh were urging that an army be sent to occupy territory between Rus sia and Hungary, und General Mangln was recalled from Mayenee In this connection. Italian troops were re ported to have occupied Presshtirg Hungary, only Hfl miles from Vienna Allied gunboats were hurriedly sent up the Danube for the purpose of pro tecting the French and British nils slons In Itudapest. The members of those missions are believed to have escaped safely. Itela Kun, us foreign minister, Is bossing the bolshevist Job In Itudti pest, and he nnd his associates an; nationalizing everything and ordering I the severest of penalties for any form of reslstnnce. Count Karolyl Is vurl ously reported to be executed and In prison. The outbreak of the revolu tlon in Hungary at this time. Is as crlbed to the action of the French military mission In establishing u neti trill zone between Rounuinln nnd Hun gnry In a way that led the Hungarians to believe their country was about to be dismemberer;. The Czeehn-Slovnks, It was understood, wen! Into action against the Hungarian bolshevlsts at once, some of their troops having cap tilled Haul), on the Danube, Interrupt ing communication between Itudapest and Vienna. Large Hungarian cannon factories are situated In Ranb. The premier of Ozecho-Slovakla, Dr. Karl Kriimaivz. now In Purls, declares his country Is too strong to yield to hoi shevlk temptations, though he admits It Is In dangerous proximity. If bol shevlsni Is victorious in Russia, he predicts that country will Ipevitably fall under German Influence. Here Is a peculiar contradiction of opinions. For many months wo have been assured that the one sure thing that would check the spread of the bolshevik poison. In Russia and else where, was food; and consequently Mr. Hoover has been making strenu nus efforts to feed central Europe. Now mi enterprising newspaper cor respondent who has been long In Rus sla and Is at present In Petrograd writes that If the bolshevlsts can bring food to the hungry people there they can retain their control ; that if they fail there will lie another revolu tion. Is it true, then, that hunger Is the fo6d on which bolshevlsm thrives? When the Hungarian revolutionists made overtures to the people of Ger man Austria, the latter replied they could not adopt bolshevlsm because they were dependent on the allies for their food the Inference being that If they were not thus dependent they also would set up a soviet govern nient. . Another contradiction Is to be found In the stories that come of conditions In Russia. American commissioners, and most of "the press reports, have led us to believe that there was little to lie found there but murder, anar chy, riot and starvation. Agents of the French government returning from Russia report that wholesale massa cres havo ceased generally, that order prevails and Industries are being re sumed. It Is said that even the rail roads are returning to something like normal service, trains being run be tween Moscow und Petrograd on scheduled time. Conservative Influ ences are making themselves mnnlfest In every direction In Russia, It Is said apil ofllclals in power a'ppear to real fte the necessity of recognizing Indl vldunl lights to property in order to mnlntnbi their nutlioiity. A bolshevik commissioner told the correspondent mentioned above that If the allies would withdraw their sup port from -those who are opposing the soviet government the civil wars would , end In thirty days, the gran tuios of Siberia would be opened, the army demobilized, the factories stnrt ed again and the present want nnd misery ended. Dispatches from Paris Indicate flint the allied peace delegates are slowly changing their opinion concerning the Russian situation, though not In the least minimizing the threat of hoi shevlsni to the rest of the world Stephen Piehon, foreign minister, told ' the French chamber of deputies that the policy of the allies In Russia was not "war" hut a "pacifying" policy and designed to save Russia from the grip of Germany. The league of nations commission with President Wilson In the chair, completed Its consideration of th covenant of the league Wednesday night. It was turned over to a draft Ing committee which wns to go over It carefully and return It to the com mission for final consideration before It was reported to the executive com inittee of the peace conference. Many proposed amendments to the original plan were considered. Including seven suggested by Charles E. Hughes and those drafted by former President Tuft. It wns understood that Mr. Wll son had deferred the presentation of amendments safeguarding the Monroe doctrine und exempting domestic questions from the league's Jurisdic tion. No amendment has been Incor porated that specifically meets the de mands of Japan for recognition of the equality of nationals. Among the amendments adopted was one providing that the ofllces of the league are open to women as well as to men, and one permitting the with drawal of a member on two years' notice, but not until such member has lllled Its International obligations. The Industrial situation In Great Riitaln has been greatly alleviated by the report of the committee appoint ed by the Industrial conference that met last February, consisting of thirty employers and thirty trades unionists. The commit teo recommends that a legal maximum working week of -IS hours he established, that 'systematic overtime be discouraged and tbnt legal time wage rates 'inlvorsnl ap plicability be fixed. To meet the prob lem of unemployment and the care of the unemployed, It suggests stuto de velopment of new Industries, tho rais ing of the age limit for child labor, more generous sick benellts and old age pensions. A national Industrial council of 100, and u standing com mittee of .10 are proposed. It Is be lieved this plan, possibly with modifi cations, will be adopted by the gov 10 FACE HIGH COURT EX-KAISER AND OTHERS WILL BE TRIED AS CRIMINALS. TREATY NEARS COMPLETION President Wilson Expected to Speed. Up Work Preparing to Receive Enemy Delegates. .. Paris, April 2. The commission on. responsibility for the war has decided : First, solemnly' to condemn the viola tion of neutrality and all the crimes committed by the central empire; sec ond, the .appointment of an Interna tional tribunal to Judge nil those ro simnslble, Including the former Ger man emperor. Signs that the directing forces of the conference look for the early com pletion of the lirst pence treaty aro found In the preparation now going on at Versailles for a meeting of the pence conference or Its representa tives with the German commissioners. Growing, dellnnce of Germany Ihids tin outlet in the reiterated threat to sign no peace 'treaty that is not wholly satisfactory, and In refusal to permit Polish troops froiii France to land at Danzig. Delegates are discussing steps to he taken If Germany refuses to sign the treaty. Relief prevails tbnt tho nllles will first exert economic pressure, nnd then undertake military oper ations, If necessary. It Is reported that the Indemnity which Germany must pay for the dam ages of the war has been fixed at a figure between $ino.000,000,000 nnd S'J.'O.OOO.OOO.OOO. The yearly pay ments will increase its Germany's eco nomic life revives. Speeding Up Work. Persistent efforts of American dele gates', but seconded for the most part by the British nnd Italians, to speed up the work of the various coum-lK and commissions preparing the details of the pence treaty, resulted In better progress during the closing days of the past week. It is learned that there has re cently been a revival of certain prop ositions and arguments, which has trlcMl the patience of somo of the par ticipants in the deliberations. Hut ap parently new Ideas have been ex hausted and there are signs of the rapid approach of the end of the dis cussions. Therefore. It is expected that President Wilson, whom some of. the French newspapers as well as some Influential British papers, have held' responsible In a measure for tho de lays ,1s about to exercise the power which goes with the responsibility to mnko an end to the delnys. The most stubbornly contested sub ject was that of reparations and It i suggested that the delay In this case cannot he charged up to the Amer icans, but rather to the pre-election-promises of Premier Lloyd-George and Premier Clenieneenu to make the Germans pay the whole cost of the war. which have led to some embar rassment because of tho potent inabil ity of the enemy to pay more than a fraction of the enormous Indemnity that will be required for tbnt purpose. Demand Red Regime Quit. London, April 2. The .allies have demanded the resignation of the Hun garian soviet government. They de mand tho election of a national as sembly under the supervision of al lied troops. All work in Budapest has been stopped, and the government i taking an Inventory of shops, banks and factories. All property, real nnd personal, has been sequestrated. Houses have been seized by the state, arms requisitioned, ' and numerous prominent persons arrested. Interested In Japan's Action. Washington. D. C, April 2 Ofllclals wore greatly Interested In the an nouncement In Mexico City that con cessions to exploit agricultural landf ill lower California had been granted to Japanese corn corporations. It was stated that no advices had reached the department and In the absence of such advices, high ofllclals declined to comment on tho Agulrre anuuunei ment. The stnto department recently called attention of u Los Angeles rea1 estate company, reported to be plan nlng to sell hind In Southern Cali fornia to Japanese, that tho uttitu.l of' the Wilted Stales was opposed to such acquisition. 100,000 Are Injured. San Francisco, April 2 Demonstra tions throughout Korea are growin.- stronger; ;i2,000 persons hnvo been Imprisoned; 100,000 havo been in jured. Including children nnd girls and Christian churches, schools ut.u stores have been closed, nccordlng t,, a cablegram received nt tho hendqua. tors of the Korean National associa tion hero from Rev. llyun Soon, special representative of the Kores.n Independent union at Shnnghnl. Referendum In North Dakota. Kurgo, X., D., April 2, The North Dakota referendum election on Ihm passed by the last legislature, was a sured when Theodore G. Nelson, si rotary nf the North Dakota Independ ent Voters' association. nnnoune.Ml r celpt of petitions containing ;::.ui nnmes. "Tho referendum Is pivading lll-e wildfire. In the fact of drasth ef forts by Nonpartisan league leaders, to prevent the people of tho state from voting on the bxws enneted by the hut legislature." Nelson said.