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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (March 29, 1907)
J flftorton's authentic, Complete (Cowrifhted 19M. All rights resorted.) tij courteir o( I'.dltors and Publishers ol Morton' History, the Publishers Newspaper Union of Lla coin, Nebraska, Is permitted its reproduction in paper of their issue CHAPTER VII CONTINUED (2C) "Mr. Cuming snyB ho expects to bo romovod from the offlco of secretary winks wisely, as all such birds do, when they have feathered their Indi vidual nests Intimates that ho doesn't oaro a d n for tho president and all the removals ho may, can or will, might, could, would or should make," Unfortunately thcro seems to be no ther contemporary uccount of the closing scenes of tho capital struggle r squabblo than that or tho not Im partial Palladium: "Action was had upon tho bill from tho house. Mr. Mitchell moved to In sert after Douglas county, 'two and one-half miles north of Omaha.' This extraordinary movement was received with great surprise, except by the knowing ones. But they were relieved by Mr. Mitchell's stntcmont that he had met tho Omaha peoplo In a spirit of compromise, and In consideration f his going for tho capltol at this point ho wan to bo appointed sole commissioner to locate the capitol. "Mr. Richardson of Michigan offered a resolution to appoint Mitchell said commissioner. Whereupon a llerco discussion arose upon tho question. "Mr. Sharp of Iowa made a long; speocn against tno location 01 mo cap itol at that point, giving a lengthy description of tho geography of the territory, from whonce ho inferred that that point was not central, or convenient. "Mr. Mitchell replied to Sharp; said he, Mitchell, had been for any place except Omaha; that the recreants from Cass, In tho lower house, and tho demagogue Sharp in tho upper, had by their own corruption and base ness, lost to themselves the capltol; that thoy might havo had It had they not. been Btich superlative rascals. "Judge Bennct followed Mitchell, en dorsed all ho Bald, revised, improved and 'Intensified upon the eminent and unapproachable course of scoundrel Ism which had been pursued by Sharp, clearly exposed how often ho had lied, and how fluently he had exprossod hlmsolf and with what effect. "Tho bill has passed. Mitchell has the promlso of tho commlsslonershlp from Cuming & Co., which vory much reminds us of an offer of tho wholo world once made by a sulphurous gen tleman from below who didn't own. It. "Wo rejoice In tho downfall of trai tors and aro happy In tho reflection that Sharp, Latham, Thompson and other vipers havo gnawed a file." Tho Palladium did not fall after tho work had been done to credit Mr. Pop pleton with efficiently following up Cuming's primary work. "No evidonco of political corruption can bo more unmistakable In a legis lator than was displayed in tho suc cessful effort of Androw Jackson Pop pleton to obtain tho passage of a rule by which all evldenco of a right to a seat in tho houso should be excluded except tho governor's certificate. "Thcro were those present prepared to prove that the governor had given certificates of election to those who had loss votes than others from whom thoy woro withheld prepared to prove that he had boon partial towards his friends In tho bestowment of certifi cates that another rule had been adopted bealdo tho organic law but alas! they could not be heard." It w.ould be difficult to withhold ex pression of regret that tho faithful optimism of tho Pnlladium, however short-sighted, should have received so rude a shock. After Governor Cuming had designated Omaha as tho meeting place of tho legislature it insisted that tho location of tho capital was yet to be made, and expected and awaited vindication for Bollevuo: "Tho peoplo aro to control Its loca tion, and thoy aro going to locato It where it suits them best, as thoy havo an undoubted right to do. As wo have repeatedly said, tho capital Is not lo cated and cannot bo located by tho governor any more than by a private citizen." Nevertheless tho govomor had lo cated tho capital virtually and was to be a very great factor in locating It actually. And thus It befell that. Thomas B. Cuming was tho founder of Omaha. And oven after tho doclslvo victory had, been won by Omaha tho faith of the? Palladium remains unconquered. On tho 2Sth of March, but two weeks beforo Its own final broath Is to bo drawn, it utters this confident, defiant prophecy: "The vile speculators that under took to locato tho capital of Nebraska tried to buy this slto for tho purpose of locating it hero. Thoy wero un willing to pay tho price sot upon It, and the capltol was taken to a place having no historic Interest, and com paratively no natural charms or nd vantages simply becauso thoy could make a bettor bargain with tho spec ulators In that place than thoy could hero. "Bollevuo, although defeated now, will win the prize In tho end. Her natural advantages cannot bo Hod down or legislated away. Tho God of nature has placed It near tho Great Platte and Missouri rivers guaran teed her the convenience thoy afford, and sot the groat signot of beauty and grasdour upon her brow." Quite true, excepting tho prophecy. Tho Bellevue of today, In size and condition, suffices oaly to Illustrate the truth that moro righteousness and aauty are not In the reckoning against .western hustle with all that it implies; Mtetor of Tho original missionary's residence and tho building which was occupied by tho Indian agency aro still stand ing, tho first on tho edge of tho pla teau immediately overlooking tho river. Tho walls aro a concrete of mortar and small stones, and tho houso is rectangular In shape, two stories in height with a voranda ex tending between the two stories along tho entire eastern, or river front, thus commanding a magnificent viow of tho river valley and of tho distant bluffs and groves on the Iowa sldo. A hall oxtends from east to west across the middle of the house. Tho mission houso Itself was long since removed. Tho first church (Presby terian) and the residences of Chief Justices Tenner Ferguson and Augus tus Half are still standing and In use. The natural town slto of Bollevuo comprises a level plnteau of about throo thousand acres In the angle be tween tho Missouri river and Papil lion creek. It rises on the north to a high hill which seems to havo been especially designed by nature for the capitol of tho commonwealth; but though selfish and short-sighted man has disposed where God so magnifi cently proposed, still the eminence is fittingly crowned by tho main build ing of Bellevue college. The journal of tho council tolls us that "Mr. Richardson (of Douglas county) nominated Mr. Sharp of Rich ardson county for president of the council, whereupon, on motion of Mr. Mitchell, Mr. Sharp was declared dulv elected." This is suggestive that both sides in tho capital contest depended upon Sharp, and that ho was ready to disappoint either. Surviving con temporaries of these men and times insist that Sharp agreed for a valua ble consideration to support Omaha In tho capital struggle, and that, mis trusting him, tho consideration was recovered through strategy by an omlssary of Omaha (A. J. Hanscom). Though Sharp appears to havo fa vored Omaha Interests in tho appoint ment of committees of the council, ho for some roason lost interest In the causo of Omaha, and afterward voted ngalnst locating tho capital in that place. On the 5th of February, after tho capital campaign had ended In tri- umph for Omaha, friends and bene- flclarles In tho council moved resolu- tlons vouching for tho uprightness and purity of motivo, and commend ing tho efficiency of tho Napoleonic loader in so rapidly organizing the territory tho first doubtless becauso it was felt that he needed It, and tho second becauso ho really deserved it. A resolution declaring tho right of tho council to Inqulro into the acts of pumic omcors, anu another declaring . explicitly that the several acts of Act ing Governor Cuming In tho organ! zatlon of tho territory woro proper subjects of Investigation by a com-: mltteo had been rejected January 24. 1 Mr. Bonnet now insisted that the vote to the now and ardent prohibition of confldenco could not bo properly 1 sentiment which was then prevalent awarded in tho face of tho denial of in tho far eastern states, and whoso tho Investigation; but after a fierce influence had touched tho fancy or fight tho resolution was carried by a omotlon of somo of the Nebraska 1m voto of 8 to 5. Those voting nay were I migrants from that section. It hardly uonnet, Bradford and Cowle3 of Pierce. Mitchell of Washington and Nuckolls of Cass. Wo find Mitchell's enmity or conviction unabated by his capital commlsslonershlp, and tho Palladium's perfidious Sharp, in this instance, In 'tho enemy's camp. Council file No. 1 was a joint rcso-!tho lution by Richardson providing that tho style of tho laws should bo as follows: "Be It enacted by the coun ell and houso of representatives of tho territory of Nebraska." Mr. Rog- ers would have amended it into this moro democratic fashion: "Bo It en acted by tho people of tho territory of Nebraska In general assembly con vened," but his amendment failed and both houses passed Richardson's res olution. Tho cnactmonts of tho 1st legisla ture wero classified in elKht narts. Tho first part was Intended as a com- ?, ? 1 ' nr1UTl wns alS1l,r,nt" from tho code of Iowa. The second fourth located and established terrl torlal roads. Tho fifth defined tho boundaries and located, or provided for tho location of county seats. Tho sixth Incorporated Industrial compa nies and towns, or cities rather. Tho soventh Incorporated bridge and ferry companies, and authorized the keep ing of ferries and tho erection of bridges. The eighth consisted of joint resolutions adopted at the ses sion. Tho first onactment, in part second, as arranged in tho statute, provided for taking another census to bo com pleted by October 11, 1855, for a new apportionment of members of tho houso of representatives, and tho tlmo when annual elections should be hold and the legislature should convene. Tho second prohibited the manufac ture or sale of intoxicating liquors in tho territory. H. P. Downs of Ne braska City took tho first stop in a prohibition movement in Nebraska when ho obtained eighty signatures, bosldes his own, of peoplo of tho town namesj, to a petition for a "pro hibitory liquor law," and lodged it in the council. Tho petition was pre sented by Mr. Bradford on the 6th of February, and was referred to tho judiciary committee. On tho 9th of February Mr. Rogers of that commit tee made the following unique report: 11. , .. u ? Justice and two associate justices, prepared by ho legislature Itself. who woro (o hol(1 a torm nnmmliy ftt , .?J 1,,"w1a? 11,0 criminal code, also the Beat of government. In accord- appropriated from tho Iowa code. Tho mi m, ,,n.,i m, iiD IRebraska "Your committee, to whom was re ferred the petition of H. P. Downs and eighty others, praying for a pro hibitory law against traffic In Intoxi cating drinks, and against licensing dram shops and other drinking houses, report: "That in their opinion, where the people are prepared and public senti ment nufflclently in favor of a pro hibitory law to fully sustain and en force It, such a law would be pro ductive of tho best results to the community. "That In tho opinion of this com mittee, tho traffic In Intoxicating drinks Is a crime, and they would be unwilling to legalize this crlmo by the solemn sanction of a law grant ing license for Its commission. They aro unwilling to elevate to respecta bility by legal sanction any trade or traffic, that tends to demoralize the community, retard the progress of ed ucation, Impoverish tho people, and Impose on tho sober and Industrious part of tho community, without their consent, a tax which must necessar ily bo incurred to take care of pau pers and criminals manufactured by tho traffic. "They are unwilling to make a traf fic creditable the evil effects of which do not stop by besotting and bank rupting the heads of families, but which cause hunger, shame, distress and poverty to bo imposed with ten fold severity upon the Innocent wife and children of their families. As much, however, as we may be In favor of a prohibitory law until tho com munity by petition or otherwise may fully manifest their determination to sustain such a law S. E. Rogers." Tho legislator or tho politician of today would scarcely be found to ad vocate tho legalizing of a crime. He would call tho traffic by a more con venient if not a truer name. It, more over, excites tho special wonder of tho Nebraskan of today that prohi bition should havo been born In Ne braska City, and afterward legiti mized by tho vote In the legislature of all but one of the members from that place and of all tho members from Omaha. The original bill was Introduced Into the council by Good will of Douglas county, and it passed that body with only two members, Mitchell and Nuckolls, voting against It In the houso It passed by a vote of 18 to 2 Hall of Pierce county and Smith of Washington being the op posing members. This law stood un til the fifth session in 1858, when it was repealed by the enactment of a licenso law by a voto of 15 to 6 In the house and 6 to 3 in tho council. Men still living, who woro familiarly ac- qualnted with the public affairs of tho lermory at mat time, 'are unable to explain why a law, almost grotesquely out of placo on tho western frontier, should then have been passed; and so it seems necessary to attribute the adoption of this incongruous measure need bo said that nono of these old Inhabitants has any recollection of attempted enforcement of tho law. The revenue law required the audi tor to distribute tho territorial ex pense authorized to bo paid out of I tho territorial treasury according to assessment rolls which wero to bo transmitted to him by tho judges of probate of the sevoral counties. This territorial tax was to bo paid In spe,cle or territorial warrants. Tho P'obate judgos levied tho county taxes' and tne drifts woro at onc assessors and tax collectors In their respective counties. In addition to tho ordinary duties of "such officers the sheriff also acted as coroner of his county. A register of deeds was pro vided for, with tho ordinary duties of such officers. Tho organic act nrovlded that the judicial power should bo vested in a supremo court, district courts, probate , courts, and justices of the peace. Tho sj,rcmo court consisted of a chief game act tno icgi laturo divided tho territory into three districts, and fixed tho times and places for holding tho courts therein. A judge of tho supromo court pre sided over each of thoso district courts. Tho judges woro nppolnted by tho president, and tho salary of each, $2,000 a year, was paid from the federal treasury. Tho district judges acted in a federal capacity also, hav ing "tho same jurisdiction In all cases arising undor tho constitution and laws of tho United States as Is vested in tho circuit and district courts of tho United States." A marshal for tho territory was also appointed by tho presldont. Ho executed tho pro cesses of the district courts when ex orcising their jurisdiction ns circuit and district courts of tho United States; In addition his duties were tho same as thoso of tho district court of tho United States for Utah, and he rocoived tho same fees as that officer and an annuul salary of $200. Each of tho courts appointed its own clerk, who was pftld by fees. TO BE'. CONTINUED. I v w ' V 1. 1 VJ UIKIllllt t V V tllU lV,klO- Mara- "It has been said," writes Walde- mar Kaempffart in his article, "What Wo Know About Mars," in McClure's "that when our Earth has so far wast ed away that its inhabitants will de pend for tholr water supply upon the melting ico and snow of the Arctic and Antarctic oceans, a gigantic effort will bo made to devise somo means of con ducting tho polar spring and summer floods to the parched equatorial and temperate zones. To Mars the unlock ing of polar seas is of as much mo ment as tho annual inundation of Egypt by tho Nile. Assuming that Mars Is inhabited by beings aa intelli gent as ourselves, It is reasonable to infer that thoy would dig huge trenches to guide tho freshets of tho poles to those regions where water is most sadly needed. If we would find signs of Martian intelligence, we must accordingly look for trenches and sluices. In tho hands of Schlaparelli, Lowell, Pickering, and a few others, the telescope has revealed to us long, dark stripes which Schlaparelli called sanals, and tho discovery of which may well bo numbered among tho most noteworthy astronomical achievements of 'modern times. They are in truth the life lines of tho planet. Their exist ence was doubted for years because no astronomer, with the exception of Schlaparelli, who saw them first, had been able to catch even a glimpse of them. Long after, a few painstaking observers at last succeeded in discern ing them (for they appear only in flashes, ns it were, by reason of the currents of our atmosphere), their reality was doubted. Some of the very men who had seen them refused to be lieve their own eyes, arguing that tho Btrlpes were merely optical illusions Induced by eyestrain. Two years ago, Mr. Lampland, of Professor Lowell's staff, performed the very remarkable feat of photographing them, thereby forever disposing of tho assumption of their illusory character." The City Versus lhe Country. The injurious effect of city life con sists not merely In over crowding or the increased development of infec tious diseases but especially In tho out rageous and abominable overworking of tho laboring classes. Overwork and underfeeding have been recognized for half a century as the chief causes of the large death rate of tho laboring classes as compared with the well-to-do. Even with all tho Improvements that have been effected in the condi tion of the laboring classes, the last United States census (1900) still shows the highest deathrate among them of any "earning" class 20.2 per thousand. Farmers came next with 17.6, as compared with mercantile and trading classes at 15.1 per thousand and clerical and official at 18.5. Thus laborers have a death-rate sixty-six por cent higher than that of business men, and farmers forty-five per cent higher. Overwork and overcrowding aro alike responsible for the frightful tribute paid by these same classes to tho Great White Plague. The Improve ment that occurs In most of our hos pitals In patients of the laboring classes, who aro not suffering from somo injury or acute disease, simply from being put at rest In a well-ventilated room and given a moderate amount of nourishing food, Is really astonishing. It Is an open secret that In most of tho chronic dlsoases brought to our hospitals in the large cities, it makes little or no difference what medicine Is given during tho first week or ton days tho patient will improvo on any medicine or on nono at all. Woods Hutchinson, M. D., in Harper's. He Coached Kipling. Rudyard Kipling spent a winter in Washington somo years ago. Ono day ho was found peering around In the corridors of the state, war and navy building. "What is It, Mr. Kipling?" a man irho knew him, asked. "I want to find tho person here who knows tho most about steam engineer ing." They referred him to Chief Engineer Uelvlllo, tho great steam expert. "What is it?" asked Melville after Kipling had been introduced. "I want to find tho man who knows tnost about steam engineering." " 'Jim' Perry's your man," said Mel ville, and ho gave Kipling a cahd to Perry. Kipling went down to see Pr ry, talked with him for half a day, and then wrote his story, "Between the Dtvil and the Dep Sea." Satur day Evening Post. Gown of Veiling. Tho Illustration shows a street frock of dark blue veiling, trimmed with bias folds of satin-finish taffeta of tht same shade.' The skirt had a plaited panel in tho middle of tho front and back, the fullness at tho sides being laid In small gathers. A group of tucks finished tho bottom. Tho cor sage was trimmed with shaped bands of tho silk, a pleco of embroidered veiling connecting the rounded ends of two of these straps In tho middle of the front. Narrow dark blue velvet ribbon also runs in vertical lines be tween some of tho straps in the front and back. Tho yoke was a chantilly lace, tho undersleeves being of net, shirred to bands of lace matching the yoke. Hunting the Florida Sea-Cow. Ono morning just after we had start ed on our dally cruise, a series of swirls in the water near us, tho lan guage of which was then unfamiliar, seemed to tell of a frightened croco dile and that the hunt was on. Wo followed the zigzagging trail of mud dy water ns fast as we could scull and pole, getting occasional glimpses of a fleeing something, until tho full view of t under the bow of the skiff gave md the chance I was seeking. As tho harpoon struck a broad back, which was not that of a crocodile, the crea ture rose above the surface, and a big heaverllko tall deluged mo with half a barrel of water as it struck and nearly swamped the skiff, and told me that 1 had at last found the manatee which I had vainly hunted during many years. For hours wo chased the creature, keeping a light strain on tho harpoon line, frightening him as he came up to breathe, until, exhausted, he rose more and moro frequently, and I mado a score of unsuccessful casts of a losso at thl specimen of the wild cattle of the sea. Finally the manatee came to tho surface to breathe so near the skiff that I put my loft arm around his neck as far as it would go and tried to slip the nooso over his head with my right The sudden lifting of his head threw mo upon his back, while a twist of his big tail sent me sprawling. We were swamped four times while working tho manatee into shallow water, where wo sot over board, fastened a line around him and soon had him under control, although when the captain got astride of the creature ho promptly made a buck som ersault. Docile as our captive had be come, he was yet eleven foot long, of massive proportions, and a weight which was difficult to handle. Wo tore tho seats out of tho skiff, sank It, and succeeded In getting tho areaturo over it. Then, having bailed out the water wo paddled the overladen craft out in the bay when a cataclysm left us swimming side by side, while a sub merged skiff was bolng towed Gulf ward by a rejoicing manatee. Wo soon recaptured and persuaded him into shallow water, where I horded him while tho captain wont to tho big boat for an anchor and cable, with which we made our captive fast, giving him two hundred feet of ropo in an excel lent sea-cow pasture. A. W. Dlmook, In Harper's. Tho knlser soldom appoars now without tho Red Eaglo and tho Hoh enzollern houso order, and in addltioa an Austrian, an Italian and a Russia! decoration. Although he is tho po sessor of four British orders ho set dom "sports" them except when in the prcsonco of English royalties or when on a visit to England. About halt of a popular man'a tin is devoted to funerals.