Nebraska Newspapers

    THE SEMI WEEKLY TRIBUNE NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
1
L
SIVES OUT REPORT
FINDINGS IN GENEVA SCHOOL
INVESTIGATION
SAYS IT WAS MISLED BY
FORMER SUPERINTENDENT
-Retiring firlembers of Board Make
Public Conelusl
Based Request for Reslonatlon of
r . I .
miss mcmanon stm Apart on Fl
nanclal Settlement.
Lincoln. In closintr tin Its
with Miss Lydia J. McMahon. -fnrmnr.
auporintendont of the Geneva Indus
trial bcliool for crirls. the Stnto Rnnwl
of Control ndonted findings in thn
matter of the hearing asked for by
iuiss aicmaiion in tho controversy be
tween nerseu ana tho board in 1918
which terminated in tho request for
her resignation. Tho findings, adopted
unfcr date of April 20, were deemed
unnecessary until tho legislative in
vestigating comntitteo severely criti
cized tno board for not doing so. July
1, tho membership of the board
changes by the retirement of E. 0.
Mayficld of Omaha, and Henry Gerdes
oi nana uity.
There was a difforencn nf Aninmn
between the board and Miss McMahon
in regard to finances'. Tho board al
leged sho owed tho state $183.57,
mostly lor nog3 sold which the board
says were not accounted for on the
books of the institution. Thero was
some salary duo Miss McMnhnn.
in addition the board agreed to pay
lor some rugs which sho said sho paid
for with lfer own funds. Tho hnnrd
agreed to pay for these rug3 if they
-wero to remain at tho institution. On
the rugs and salary tho board allows
her $153.24. leavincr a balance of
$35.33 due the state. This statement
oi account and offer oZ settlement will
bo submitted by the board to Miss
.McMahon's attorney.
Tho following is the financial state
ment of the board:
Debit Items as follows:
May 16, 1914, Error In report 1 .05
May 16. 1914. C hoes sold, not re
ported 112.20
.June 16. iai4, 1 Iios sold, not re
ported 28.56
Mar. 29, 1914, ltsm allowed
Apr. 13. 1915. hoc sold by Murray.
not reported .' 14. lo
ajci. o, ivio, error .. 01
Oct. 8, 1915, Item allowed
Jan. 4, 1916, item allowed
Mar. 6, 1916, hog sold not reported 8J.21
Feb. 15, 1917, item allowed
Apr. 30, 1917, error In report 60
Total 18S.57
Credit Items as follows:
Salary of Supt. Feb. 1 to 24, 1918,
Inclusive 107.14
Dec. 4. 1918. 4 Bumlnhr rin- small w'tn
4 nber porch 'rues, 2 large, 2 small 22.50
Balance yet duo the state...'.'.'.' 35.S3
Tho findings of the board in the
matter of tho McMahon hearing are
as follows:
"At tho request of the former
superintendent, Lydia J. McMahon, a
"hearing and investigation as to her
administration of tho affairs of the
Institution under her charge was had
and testimony submitted as called for
by the board and also by Miss Mc
Mahon. Prior to such investigation,
Miss McMahon having resigned as
such superintendent and her successor
having been appointed, tho board
could make no order nor reach any
conclusion with respect to her tenure
of office but only make a general find
ing as to conclusions it reached with
respect to the facts as developed by
the investigation. No formal finding
has heretofore been made nor has the
testimony been transcribed and re
duced to long-hand as the same would
involve, in the judgment of the board,
;an unnecessary outlay of money which
would bo required if the testimony
was thus transcribed. A majority of
'the board was present and heard all of
'the testimony taken and examined all
documentary evidence, writings, etc.,
which were presented and considered.
"The board finds generally that the
former superintendent had by her ac
tion as such superintendent, in several
different aspects, acted in such a way
as to militate against the best success
In tho management of the institution
and in such a way as to justify and
make necessary for the good of tho
institution the severance of her rela
tion as such superintendent more par
ticularly as follows:
"(a) As to the immoral acts
shown to have existed between the
musical instructor and one of the em
ployes, formerly an inmate of the in
stitution, the course pursued by the
superintendent in respect to such
matter and especially her failure to
ipromptly advise tho board of the sit
uation was highly detrimental to the
best interests of the institution, and
its welfare, and greatly weakened its
reputation and ability to do effective
work among the pooplo generally and
was such a breach of confidence and
co-operation with the board as to pro-
Pay Liquor Tax for 1920
Chicago. Eighty saloon koepors
and ten wholesalo liquor dealers havo
paid tha internal revenuo tax for tho
fiscal ydnr, beginning July 1, Just as
though prohibition ha nover been
heard of.
Will Stay TIN Peace Is Signed
Coblonz. The tbreo American dl
Tialons which wero concentrated east
of the Rhine in the American bridge
head area will remain thoro until the
jpence treaty is actually signed.
B AD
ram
SET TENTATIVE DATE rOr
SPECIAL LEGISLATIVE CALL
Governor McKelvIe Will Probably
.Conveno Law Makers on
July 21
Lincoln. When questioned in re
gard to tho proposed special session
of tho legislature for tho ratification
of tho suffrago amendment, Governor
McKclvio said: "I will probably call
tho legislature in special session July
21. I nm undecided ns to what sub
jects shall be included in tho call for
a special session. I do not enro to
make a statement until I havo fully
dotormincd v:hat shall be included in
the call. My principal reason for se
lecting July 21 is that many members
of tho legislature desire to bo candi
dates for delegates to tho constitu
tional convention to bo held in Do
cember." Tho attorney general hnd ruled that
members of tho legiilature are not
eligible to be candidates for tho con
stitutional convention but that they
must resign from tho legislature to be
in a position to run for the ofilce of
delegate. Recently the attorney gen
eral's department modified its opinion
by holding that legislators need not
rosiirn until thev tnkft their scats in
tho convention, that they are cligiblo
to run for delegato without resigning.
Tho governor desires to call the ses
sion 01 tno legislature in timo to per
mit legislators to servo in tho special
session and then if thoy care to be
come candidates for the convention to
do so.
Thero will be nothing in the call in
the nature of a request for the special
session to appropriate fund3 for a
library or judiciary building. Tho
capitol commission is unanimously of
the opinion that there should be a sep
arate building for the stato library,
supremo court and attorney general,
but it is of the opinion a request for
an appropriation should not be in tho
call for a special session.
Tho governor said some people had
asked him to includo in tho call for a
special session tho passage of a law
for the appointment of u commission
to deal in some way with profiteering
in food and other supplies, cither with
power to act or power to do what it
can by a publicity propaganda show
ing prices paid to producers, middle
men and retailers.
vent cordial co-operation and har
monious action in the future, render
ing the further usefulpses of tho
superintendent as highly improbable,
if not impossible.
"(b) It was further found that in
tho matter pf conducting the institu
tion along business lines and in an
economic manner tho board did not
receive the help encouragement, 'and
co-operation from the superintendent
that it should have received, and for
that reason was unable to succeed as
well as otherwise it could have dono
and as is dono in institutions gener
ally in pursuing a -policy of strict
economy in the way of expenditures
for the support of the institution.
"(c) The board further finds that
it was misled and deceived as to tho
methods of punishment resorted to
for violation of rules, misconduct, etc.,
and that methods of punishment were
resorted to that were more severe
than the situation justified: that such
punishment was frequently left to the
discretion and judgment of employes
haying in charge those so punished;
and that while thb rules required a
report of all such punishments, tho
nature of tho same and the reasons to
bo promptly reported on report cards
prepared especially for this purpose,
there was complete failure to observe
this rule save in two instances whero
the punishment was light 'in its char
acter and regarding which no excep
tions could be taken, while in many
other instances whero thero was
severe and unusual punishment in
flicted no report of tho same was ever
given the board, but on the contrary
it was led to believe that corporal
punishment wa3 not engaged in and
that it was not found necessary to re
sort to it, save in tho two exceptional
cases referred to.
"(d) That the best interests of tha
institution were subserved by the res
ignation of the superintendent and
that no further or different order 01
conclusion is, under the circumstances,
required."
Dr. Orr Appointed
Lincoln. The board of contJCl ap
pointed Dr. H. W. Orr of Lincoln cnief
surgeon of tho state orthopedic hospi
tal in placo of Mr. McKinnon, re
signed. Dr. Orr was formerly super
intendent of the hospital. He left tha
service of the state to do surgical
work with the English army and hnd
just returned from England. When
Dr. McKinnon was appointed it was
agreed that ho should serve until the
closo of tho war. Dr. B. F. Fmkle re
mains superintendent of the ortho
pedic hospital.
Western Interior Branch
Washington. Establishment of a
branch of tho interior department In
somo western stato with several of
the department's bureaus removed
there from Washington was proposed
in a bill Introduced by Representative
Mays, democrat of Utah. His moasuro
would appropriate $1,000,000 for tho
branch headquartors, which would
hous tho general land offlce, the geo
logical survey, the bureau of mines,
the reclamation service, tho Indian
bureau and tho national park and
foreit services.
1 First photograph of VUUsta pr.ners taken by United States troops In Mexico. 2 Men of the British
royal air forces nt work op tho moorings on Roosevelt field, Mineoln, L. I. for tho great British dirigible R-3-1,
which wns scheduled to make the trip ncross the Atlantic. 3 Sunderlnnd House, London, tho sent of tho Lcnguo
of Nations committee until permnnent hendqunrters nro established In Geneva, Switzerland.
NEWS REVIEW OF
CURRENT EVENTS
Signing of the Peace Treaty at
Versailles Brings the World
War to a Close.
HUNS ARE RECALCITRANT
Bloody Rioting In Berlin and Hamburg
Strong Indications of a Military
Counter-Revolution "Free
Ireland" Agitation Increas
ing In United States.
By EDWARD W. PICKARD.
The pence treaty with Germany was
signed Saturday, June 28, and tho
,world wnr officially came to a closo
Just five years to a day nfter tho event
that precipitated the mighty conflict,
the assassination of the Austrian grand
uukc at Sarajevo. The ceremony was
performed In the Ilnll of Mirrors at
Versailles with a stntely dignity be
lli ting the most notable event of the
kind In all history. After the repre
sentatives of the allied and associ
ated powers had taken their places In
tho hall and the privileged spectators
wore in their seats, the German deler
gates, Mueller, Lelnert and Bell, wero
ushered In. M. Clcmcncenu, without
making a speech, declnred the meet
ing open and, as president of the peace
conference, first signed tho treaty.
President Wilson next nttnehed his
intine and Premier Lloyd George enmo
mxt. One hundred nnd sixteen other
representatives of nations opposed to
Germany then signed the document,
and Inst of all the German delegates
were called up to attach their names.
The entlro ceremony took several
hours.
Gustav Bauer, having succeeded
Scheldemnnn ns premier, urged th
Germans to abide by the voto of tho
natlonnl assembly, accept tho peace
terms and endenvor to carry thorn out
and to try to hold tho country togeth
er. At the same time, in llery words,
he denounced the treaty "this mockery
of liolf-determlnntlon, this enslave
ment of the German people, this new
menace to the pence of the world."
IJls words were echoed by tho Hun
pross nnd the Hun orutors, and many
were tho open assertions that Ger
mnny accepted tho treaty only under
compulsion, looking on it ns another
"f-jrap of paper," and awaiting only
tho chunce to violate It and to got re
venge. All week the Hun government
sought for someone who would con
sent to be tho "goat" and nttnch Ins
name to the pact. FirBt Ilanlel von
Hnhnhnuscn, secretary of the pea
delegation, wus selected, but he was
too unlmportnnt to suit tho allies, ami
so he declined. Finally Dr. Hermann
Mueller, forolgn minister; Ilerr Leln
ert and Doctor Boll,' minister of col
snies, were named to sign the treaty
and nccepted tho. unthankful tusk,
promising to bo In Versailles by Satur
day morning.
It fell to tho lot of Ilnlmhniiseii
to notify M. Clemenenc.cau for
mally of the decision of the govern
ment to accept tho treaty, nnd In tho
course of his note he remnrked with
unconscious humor "No act of vio
lence can touch tho honor of the Ger
man peoplo" as If anything cnuM
touch u thing so Illusive, not to my
nonexistent.
If thero were such n thing as tier
man honor, tho vlolonco of the Ger
mans themselves would hnve touched
It twlco the other day. First, when
tho crews of tho surrender u.,r
ships sank them In Scnpa Flow, and,
second, when a mob took from a mu
seum nnd burned the captured French
flags of 1871 which Gonnuny uus
pledged to return to France. In these
acts they are accused of violating
both tho armistice and the treaty and
will bo called to account. Also, the
allies, or nt least tho French, will de
mand reparation for tho destruction
of tho wnr vessels. Tho surrender of
those vessels wns part of the prlco
pnld by Germany for the armistice,
nnd In sinking them tho Germans de
liberately stole that which they had
paid. Tho fact that thoy apparently
settled what might hnve developed
Into a dispute among tho allied na
tions ns to the disposition of the ships
does not mitigate the crime. Tho ling'
Incident, small In Itself, was charac
teristic of the low-minded Hun.
The recalcitrant spirit of tho Gor-
mnns exhibited Itself In various ways
during the week, nnd the several fnc
tlons took advantage of tho conditions
each In Its own miumer. Tho radicals
nnd the mobs thnt always support
them turned Berlin Into a Bedlam,
rioting , and plundering nnd fighting
tho troops that wero sent to suppress
them. Shops wero pillaged nnd cltl
zens robbed by nrmed bands of ma
rnuders, while agitators Incited them
to further outrages. At Inst accounts
the bnttle was still going on nnd bnrrl
cades had been erected In the streets.
In Hamburg, too, thero wero bloody
riots In which many persons wero
killed. Representatives of tho Indus
trial councils seized the political and
military power thero, but Gen. von
Lettow-Vorbeck wns sent with strong
forces to restore order.
In military circles in Berlin It wns
asserted that as soon ns a real com
munlstlc revolt was started thero
would be a counter-revolution. The
Junkers nnd militarists everywhere
wero lnylng plans to regnln control of
tho country on the expected early fall
of ,the present government, nnd thero
wns a story that HIndenburg wns to
be the leader of an Independent Prus
sia that would defy the allies nnd the
rest of Germany. The Poles Inter
cepted messages thnt rcvcnled a plot
to reopen the war on the eastern front
with the secret support of the govern
ment at Berlin. The peace conference'
thought this of sufficient Importance
to warrnnt the sending of n note to
President Ebcrt wnrnlug him that his
government- would bo hold strictly
responsible for unolllclnl support of
nny movement against Polish authori
ty In tho territory given Poland In
Poson and East and West Prussia.
The bluff that Germany would "go
bolshevik" If not trentcd leniently Is
no longer heard. Much greater Is tho
probability that she will revert to her
nnturnl 'condition of autocracy and,
stewing In the bitterness of her defeat,
devote herself to schemes of revenge,
On Thursday (ho report reached
Pnrls thnt the former crown prince
hnd escaped from Holland and en
tered Germany with members of his
staff. This was olllclnlly, denied by
the Dutch government. There wns also
n report that the former kaiser, in
tends to return lo Germany In the near,
future. The sentiment In Germany In
favor of William lias revived markedly,
but there Is little fear that the reac
tionary elements will rally around his
unpopular eldest son.
If the civilized nations of the world
have learned their leason, they will
take the advice of Olcinenceau: "Be
careful; keep your powder dry." In
cidentally, the "Tiger." having seen
the day for which he snys he wnlted
forty-nine years, has announced his
onrly retirement to prlvato life. He
has ' greatly accomplished n great
task.
' Austria will follow Germany's lend
and accept the terms Imposed on It.
and Italy's new government, headed
by Nittl, has given nssurnneo of Its
adherence to the treaty prepared. DIs
patchos from Vienna said n political
rapprochement wns materializing be
tween Italy and Austria, especially
concerning Tyrol. At home Nlttl is
having a hard row to hoe, his political
opponents, especially the nationalists
headed by D'Annunzlo. attacking him
fiercely for his attitude on tho Adri
atic question.
Bulgaria remains to be dealt with,
and so does Turkey. Tho latter hns
not helped her cause any by her recont
actions. Strong bodies of Turkish sol
diery have attacked tho Greek forces
In Asia Minor nnd forced them buck
toward the coast. Of course Greece
hns made protest, and so far as Is
known the Turks havo not explained
their action.
Slowly changing sentiment in tho
United States senate has caused the
opponents of the Lengue of Nations
In thnt body almost to abandon hopo
of Its defeat, but enough of them still
demand the amendment of tho cove
nant to prevent Its ratification as It
stands. Senator Borah Is unremitting
In his fight against both tho covennnt
nnd the trenty, nttncklng them on
every occnslon. In talking against
tho proposed American army of 400,.
000 men he said the lcnguo covenant
offers no hope of disarmament, but In
stead makes certain an era of tho
greatest armaments tho world has
over seen. Tho senate passed this bill
which carries an nrmy appropriation
of ?SSS,000,000. Tho bill as passed by
tho house provided for .100,000 men
and appropriated $718,000,000. The
hotiso majority In opposing tho lnrger
temporary army Is seeking to hasten
the entire reorganization of tho army
and the ndoptlon of a permanent mili
tary policy. Tho naval bill presented
to the sennte also Is larger thnn thnt
passed by tho house, carrying nn ap
propriation of $040,272,000 nnd In
creasing the personnel to 101,000 men.
Pinna for President Wilson's speech
mnklng tour In support of the treaty
and Lengue of Nations covenant nro
not yet completed, but It is snld ho
certainly will go ns far as to tho Pa
cific coast. His return to America will
not be much longer delayed, and as
soon as ho hns spoken In Washington
nnd New York ho will start on his
trip. Tho opposition senators also are
arranging tours In which, It Is under
stood, they will both precede and fol
low tho president
Tho agitation In this country In be
hnlf of "Free Ireland" 1 Increasing,
and tho movement hns renched such
proportions thnt it ennnot bo Ignored,
The propaganda Is carried on ener
getically nniT openly nnd tho govern
ment could not do anything to check
it If it would. Eamonn Do Vnlern,
"president of the Irish Republic," who
hns been In America for several weeks
vjsltlng Washington nnd other cities,
has emerged from his privacy and Is
publicly working for tho Independence
of his country nnd nrrnnglng for n
bond Issue of ?5,000,000. Ho gave out
tho text of a letter his "government"
sent to tho peace conference wnrnlng
It that Ireland would not bo bound
by nny trenty signed In Its bchutf by
English commissioners. His main pur
pose In coming to tho United States Is
to compel our government, by force
of public opinion, to recognize official
ly tho Irish republic. In tho scuute
ho has a number of supporters who
assert tho principlo of Eolf-dotcrmina-Hon
should npply (o such countries us
Ireland, India, Egypt and Korea as
well as to tho countries of central
Europe. At least, they declaro, these
people should have the chance to pre
sent their claims to Independence to
tho peace conference. The American
peace delegation was taken to task
for not complying with tho resolution
of the senato requesting tho president
to procure n hearing for tho Irish
representatives.
The great sympathy strike In Winni
peg came to nn end Thursday, being
culled olT by tho strlko committee. Tho
terms rf settlement woro left to a
government commission. On the
whole tho strlko was a failure.
Chicago and New York both hnd
serious and embarrassing labor trou
bles last wool:. In the former cltv the
street cleaners, garbage and ash han
dlers and Job foremen nnd tho team
sters and chauffeurs working for the
city nnd on city jobs went on strlko.
and many other city employees made
demands for more pay. In Now York
a strlko of teamsters almost denrlved
the city of Its supply of vegetables and
fruits.
An Interesting Innovation wns tlm
organization of a labor union of nn w
officers, begun in tho Atlantic fleet,
for the purpose of obtaining ineronKoii
pay and other concessions from tho
government. It Is planned to nfllllato
with tho American Federation of La
bor and to extend tho union to includo
tho Pacific fleet nnd the Euronenn nnd
Asiatic squadrons. A clause In tho
navy regulations virtually forbids the
formation of such oreunlzntinns hut
tho facts that their pay hns not been
increased since 1008 and thnf tho
commutation of nunrters to nflWm nt
sea now is In dnnirer of hni
apparently havo mnde the officers dc-
uant or tno rule.
DADDY5 EVENING
3 FAIRY RLE
4HAjRY" (5RAJ1AN BONNER
THE BIRDS TALK.
"Wick, wnw, wick, wnw, wuw, waw,
waw," shrieked tho bird of pnradlso
and tho lesser bird of paradise mndo
exactly tho same noise.-
"What Is It?" asked Mrs. Heron
from her cage.
"You ask, whnt Is It, do you 7" an
swered tho bird off pnradl.se.
"I do," said Mr?. Heron.
"Then I will tell ju," snld tho bird
of paradise. "We Just saw two peoplo
go by and ns they went by one snld:
"Oh, don't you wish you could havo
thnt bird of paradlso for your hat?
Either of them would do beautifully.'
"Oh," continued the bird of para
dise. "It made mo snd. But I was
thankful that I was In the zoo. I lovo
tho nlr nnd I lovo freedom nnd I lovo my
wild home nnd everything that goes
with It, but hero I am wife, safe nnd
oh, how people havo gono aftor my
family of Into."
"Thoy'vo nlwnys gone nfter my fam
ily," snld Mrs. ncron sadly.
"Thnt's so," tho bird of paradise an
swered, and the lesser bird of pnrndlso
nodded.
"You see." continued thn bird nf
paradise, "wo'vo become fnshlonnblo
lately, in fact, we've become very
scarce because no mnnv of nn hnvn
been killed. Of course, wo don't got
our long and perfect plumage until
we nre five years old. But we are
bonutlful birds: wo enn't heln hut nd-
mlt It, though we're sometimes very,
yory sorry we're beautiful.
"We havo wonderful feathers
brownish, reddish, tannlsh feathers;
our throat nre of soft blnck nnd green
feathers, our eyes nro soft and yellow
and our Ponds and beaks oro yellow,
though our beaks aro edged with black
and also fihnded with bluo nn.d gray.
"But It's our long pluiuo feathers,
our wnvy, beautiful feathers thnt peo
ple like ladles like to wear them In
their hats, and whllo my neighbor, the
lessor bird of paradise, Isn't ns per
fectly mnrked ns my family Is, nnd
though our fenthers are lovelier, her
family is benutlful, too, nnd they've
gono after them."
"Oh." snld Mrs. Heron, "thnt Is. too
dreadful. "But do they go after you
nny special time? Is thero somd month
perhaps when you're not so much on
your gunrd and they cau get you more
easily?"
"Yes," Bald the bird of paradise,
"thero is. When wo'ro mating, when
we'rc'danclng In tho trees, dancing nnd
chirping nnd shrieking with delight,
then the men with their arrows slioot
up nt us because we're not paying any
attention.
"We're gay then, gny and glud, but
nlnsl thoy kill us for Indies' huts.
They take us when we're Joyous and
merry nnd happy, for trimming for
lints which can't talk and which can't
have little blrdllng3. Oh, It's terri
ble I"
"I should say It Is," said the lesser
bird of paradise. "They wait until
we're really happy and gny, when wo
havo our mntes nnd nro having happy
dnnclng pnrtlcs In the trees nnd when
ive're chirping nnd whispering secrets
to each other about the llttlo blrdllngs
wo'ro going to have Inter on then It
Is that they shoot us down!"
."And nil for hats," snld the bird of
paradise. "Yes, nt least wo'ro safe
In the zoo ; but, oh, the people who go
by nnd sny thnt thoy would like to
When We're Whispering Secrets.
hnvo us on their lints I But tho keeper
Is telling everyone ho henrs muke such
n speech about the sorrow which hns
come to our families because of fash
ions. And If they don't look out
there'll bo no more of us left."
"It's something I can't understand,"
said Mrs. Heron. "You know, I'm of
the family known as tho Snowy Her
ons. That Is because my feathers aro
white, and they'ro called aigrettes.
Peoplo like to wear them on their
lints; women, yes, mothers of boys
nnd girls, for, listen, birds of para
dise." Thero was u hush In tho bird house
of tho zoo and the heron began to
speak.
"Thoy go after you when you're mat
ing, but they go nfter me nnd my
friends and cousins when our llttlo
ones nro born and can't oven feed
themselves. Wo moult In the autumn
and nro beautiful all through the win
ter, but in April, when we have our
llttlo blnillngs wo'ro not so much on
our gunrd. We mean to be, but can't
help thinking only of our children.
We havo to bo quiet and' watch over
them nnd feed them. Then It is that
we nro killed. But hero we are safe,
safe."
Uncle Eben.
"nope foh do best," said Uncle Eben,
"but don' be greedy an' try to -grab It
oil foh yohse'f."
r