Nebraska Newspapers

    The Frontier
D. H. Cronin, Editor and Proprietor
Entered at the Postoffice at O’Neill,
Nebraska as Second Class Matter.
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tween publisher and subscriber.
A great battle rages in most weekly
newspaper offices perpetually and it is
a fight of which the public has little
or no knowledge. It is an attempt at
getting news in to the office early, to
have enough on hand Monday night
to keep the Linotype operator busy the
following day, then another hopeless
quest for enough to keep him busy
Wednesday. Material rolls in pretty
fast Thursday or Friday. The public
keeps in mind the press day and news
is habitually offered just before time
to go to press. Often there is an
nvalanche of material and always a
gruelling fight to get in type in a few
hours work that could and should be
spread over half a week. It is highly
appreciated by any newspaper to find
either news or advertising in the office
at the earliest possible moment.
Economic Highlights
Thu end of 1933, so far as business
is concerned, was characterized by
marked improvement in some basic
lines, smaller improvement in others,
and retrogression in only a few. The
business indices covering the year
present a strange, confusing picture.
When the summer upward surge start
ed, in direct opposition to usual seas
onal tendencies, it was hoped and be
lieved that it would continue. An un
looked-for fall drop, which was also
opposed to the seasonal experience of
other years, followed. Gloom was
deepest at that time. Then business
started, up again, and December was a
good month. Early reports indicate
that department store sales shot up
beyond expectations. Commodity
prices were strong. Consumers’ goods
industries, especially, were uctive.
In brief, 1933 did not see the pro
gress thut was hoped for. The emerg
ency relief measures have been some
thing of a disappointment to even
their creators. The Agricultural Ad
justment Act has been particularly
unsuccessful. But during the year a
start toward recovery was made, and
the public morale strengthened—a
strengthening which has never been
more evident than it is now, with
1934 opening.
Notes on business follow:
Commodity Prices—In January the
commodity price index stood at 61.
By July, it had, moved up to 68. The
advance has continued without a
major break.
Domestic Trade- Every effort of the
Administration since March has been
given to moving more goods into the
hands of consumers. It has been
moderately successful, In the face
of definite consumer-opposition to
higher prices. Of late, trade in
urban areas has been less satis
factory than in the major agricul
tural centers. Most striking ad
vances in sales have been made by
mail-order houses.
Employment—Here is where the great,
est achievement of the year has
been made. Every month has wit
nessed definite advances in both
workers employed and compensation
received. Factory employment was
20 per cent higher this October than
last—payrolls 33 and one-third per
cent higher. In the non-manufact
uring industries, employment gains
were reported for 11 out of 16 in
dustries reviewed. Only in the bi
tuminous coal industry has there
been a significant late drop, and
that was largely due to labor dif
ficulties, with attendant strikes and
lockouts.
Finance—Generally speaking, excel
lent work has been done in strength
ening the bank structure. Banks
which were closed before the mora
torium have been opened by the
hundreds, millions in frozen assets
have been thawed out. Excess re
serves of Federal Reserve banks
recently reached an unprecedented
total of close to $000,000,000. Gov
ernment credit has been extraordin
arily strong, with issues being sold
out as soon as announced.
Foreign Trade—Lately United State*
foreign trade has expanded sharply
both in volume and balance. Ex
ports have increased over imports,
leaving us with a sizeable balance of
trade. The recognition of Russia,
recently effected, is expected to pro
duce a considerable inflation of our
export business.
Real Estate—In October, for which
complete figures have been issued,
construction contracts awarded were
with a single exception, the best for
any month since November, 1931.
The industry had a bad year, but
improvement is setting in.
Railroads—1932 brought many rail
roads to the verge of bankruptcy,
endangered others. In 1933, busi
ness was better, profits were up.
Most encouraging of all to the rail
road managements is the friendly
attitude of the Administration.
Utilities—Here the experience was not
as favorable as was hoped. Sale of
power in many localities ha3 risen.
But profits have dwindled, due to
tax and legislative policies which
increased costs, made it impossible
to meet them by raising the price
of power to the public. Still an
other threat is government competi
tion.
Agriculture—The farmer was cheered
by the AAA when it was passed.
Then he was drastically violently
disappointed. Strikes and disorder
followed. A few months ago agri
cultural income, when adjusted to
living costs, was lower than ever.
Now improvement has started in
muny fields, more optimism is evi
dent in both Administration and
farm circles.
Lumber—No important industry ex
perienced so sharp an advance in
prices as lumber—and none was
more at sea over what to do with
them. Generally spenking, the price
advance was close to 50 per cent
during the year. Orders have like
wise been good, for the most part—
but not as good as was hoped. Cost
of operation has materially risen.
Steel—Here is another industry which
hit the top, bounced back to bottom,
then started up again, during the
year. Last summer it reached the
best peak in a long time-—then
started steadily down. In the second
week of November it was around 26
per cent of capacity. Heavy in
dustries, which are the only im
portant steel buyers, have been
purchasing lightly.
Excavation Shows Holt
County Was Once The
Home of Many Indians
By J. B. O’Sullivan
(In last weeks paper, where it was
stated, “than the measley 300,000
Indians in America when Columbus
first trod the soil,” should have been
“in the part of America that became
the United, States.” There were some
If),000,000 in Old Mexico at the time,
the Spaniards reducing that number
by 12,000,000.)
(Continued from last week.)
Professor Earl 11. Barbour, Univers
ity of Nebrasku, stated recently there
are more elephant remains in Nebras
ka than there are human burials. It
is believed the number is above one
million. Glaciers may have deeply
buried many. Here near O’Neill,
Harry Bowen, while drilling a well
pulled a agatized tooth, about buffalo
size from a point 40 feet below the
surface. A river may have buried
it. The rivers, including the Missis
sippi, at one time ran north and, there
once was a sea here extending from
the artic circle to the Gulf of Mexico.
Things have changed. There is even
record of several earthquakes here in
Holt county and a few persons here
who remember one, and it is reason
able to believe great upheavals have
occured which could have buried men
and beasts by wholesale.
It would look like one of the most
fascinating pursuits boys could en
gage in would, be to explore the re
mains of homes of those who lived
here many hundreds of years ago. It
would be interesting work, fathering
such relics for a school collection cer
tainly would not be wasting time.
It is highly educational and would not
get one in trouble. But be sure to ob
tain permission of land owners before
making the dirt fly. Promise to fill
and level the holes when the w’ork is
finished and you will be surprised how
many owners will more than meet you
half way.
Farmers are just as interested as
you are in those who lived on their
land so far back it makes one dizzy
to realize it.
In digging out a home ruins, auth
orities suggest a trench be dug thru
the center. Watch for signs of ashes
and rock and bone materials. If these
are found, widen the trench and when
it is thoroughly explored, photograph
the finds and the excavation and send
the photo to the Nebraska Historical
society at Lincoln.
If the home should be of Mound
Builder making you may not find
much, a few bone needles, an awl,
perhaps a few arrowheads and maybe
nothing. Now and then a piece of
copper is found and a doll or other
toy is not unusual.
Later dwellers often left several
hundred artifacts in their homes. The
Mound Builders invaribly had a cache
hole exactly in the center of the room,
deep down. Some of the later comers
kept their spare belongings in a sep
arate ‘‘wallow" hole, smaller and near
the home.
At least part of the old homes here,
and there are hundreds, many even
within the corporate limits of O’Neill,
were made by first digging out a cir
cular pit from 12 to 18 feet wide and
about four feet in depth. The later
Pawnee at least always had their
door exactly at the east side and
where the prairie is undisturbed the
footpath may be seen now. Several
types of stone spades used in this ex
cavating have been recovered here and
pne of them, a two-hander, weighs
about 20 pounds. The one hand spades
weigh about four or five pounds. With
the spades was one of the finest hoe
heads ever found in Nebraska and an
axe-head so crudely worked that one
wonders why, and finds the only
answer a mental question mark that
may taunt one unceasingly.
, The next move in constructing a
residence was the setting up of four
or more poles in the center, several
feet apart according to the size of the
excavation. Southeast of here, Paw
nee homes were much larger, at leas'
when the Panis republic was first
found by explorers, running from 40
to fiO feet wide. Often several families
lived in each with rush matting screen
between sleeping quarters.
A fireplace was built to one side of
the poles and of course the lower
portions of the center poles were fire
proofed with heavy coatings of clay.
Along the outside of this excavation
shorter poles were placed. Each pole
had a crotched top and in these were
placed “rafter” poles, from the outer
rim to center.
The roof now was in shape to re
ceive a heavy matting of brush, care
fully placed. Next there was put on
a layer of thin sod which kept out all
save rain. Sturting wide and tapering,
was a wall of thick sod on the ground
and reaching to the edge of the roof.
Some of the workmen piled, on any
kind of earth now until the home re
sembled the winter residence of the
muskrat.
To waterproof the roof, a heavy i
dark brown clay, a gumbo, found here,
as any workman can tell you, unex
pectedly in varying width and depth
stratas, tough, hard and a fright to
penetrate with modern pick and shovel,
was placed over all on the roof, wet,
smoothed and shaped to as steep an
angle as the dweller thought neces
sary to keep him and his family from
frequent soakings. Often the door
was a buffalo robe. Some were split
poles neatly sewn together with
thongs. The floors are believed to
have been made by mixing buffalo
grease, wood ashes, perhaps a temper
of fine sand or soapstone d.ust, spread
and hammered until ready for the
polishing stones. The women polished
floors by rubbing stones over them
and many of these stones, worn and
discarded, have been recovered hew.
The house now was ready for oc
cupancy and thru the smokehole in
the center of the roof curled the pale
blue signal in the early prairies of
Nebraska that Mr. So-and-so was at
home to everyone but members of
some tribe who would be delighted to
give permanents, perpetual hair-cuts,
to the entire family, free of charge.
The tipii, or tepee, tents of the
Indians, were used principally when
they took their summer and winter
buffalo hunts. Often these last months,
and they are known to have traveled
up to 1,000 miles hunting, killing,
skinning, tanning hides and jerking
'the meat obtained.
1 he moot was cut in strips, hung in
wind and sun until it was as hard as
a piece of board. This could be buried
and brought out and soaked for cook
ing at any time. Jerking meat now
would bo almost impossible because of
certain flies which appeared here with
the coming of the white races.
The so-called summer hunt was tak
en just after the women folks finished
hoeing their corn for the last time.
Corn was raised on fertile spots here
and there nnd soldiers in Nebraska
saw squaws walking from perman
ent lodges in villages at sunrise to as
far as eight miles to do a days hoeing.
The whites bought 12,000 bushels of
corn at one time from a tribe near the
Missouri river,', so their production
was on no small scale.
Ear corn was stored in bottle-shaped
holes in the ground, the mouth neatly
covered with earth and covered with
grass until wandering tribes could not
find the cereal. It is a fact the Dela
ware Indians, their home on the east
coast, used to walk entirely across the
United States, pillaging any village
or subduing any band they encount
ered. There is record of their burning
one Pawnee village in Nebraska after
the whites arrived. Undoubtedly it
- —- - -■
was the actions of such wandering
bands of hoodlums that caused such
hiding of stores and the practice of
stealthy movements which were a part
of an Indian’s daily routine.
Here is a good place to state the
Indian men were anything but lazy.
Soldiers came to villages and saw
women doing work such as scraping
hides, making pottery, cutting wood
and other tasks. The men, if any
were about, were stretched out rest
ing. The soldiers and explorers re
ceived a false impression. The truth
was the men had been out fighting or
hunting, had traveled on foot perhaps
hundreds of miles, living on a handful
of parched corn each 24 hours, sleep
ing in a bunch of grass, crawling in
cacti-strewn wastes or burr-covered
lands of some enemy tribe, out in cold
rains and colder snows, Zero and in
ferno temperatures and when they did
reach home, they naturally rested.
There have been enough stone ma
terials gathered here alone to indicate
the men were not lazy.
(Continued next week.)
1934 TIPS FOR DRIVERS
As 1933 ends, early reports indicate
that there was an increase in motor
vehicle fatalities and injuriefe over
1932 in spite of the fact that fewer
cars were operating during the year.
The last quarter was especially bad.
Predictions are that fatalities will
approach 30,000 and injuries, 1,000,000.
This is a record that certainly should
not be repeated.
A set of New Year’s resolutions for
ihe motorist, prepared by the National
Bureau of Casualty and Surety Under
writers, is a good starting point for
a safe 1934:
1. Drive at speeds suited to traffic
conditions; slowly, in the city, mod
erately on the open highway.
2. Use better judgment in passing.
Wait until there is fi00 feet of clear
distance ahead before attempting to
maneuver.
6. Slow down at intersections.
4. Obey traffic signals.
5. Watch out for pedestrians.
These are the five most neglected
rules of the road. Obedience to them
would have saved, a majority of the
lives and limbs lost during 1933. Re
member them in 1934.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
Sunday School 10:00—R. M. Sauers,
superintendent. We use the best
graded materials available. Our teach
ers are in training and receive some
supervision.
Morning Worship 11:00 — “Going
Forward With God.” A children’s
sermon will be preached.
Intermediate C. E. 0:45—Ralph
Johnson, leader.
Evening Service 7:30—“A God Who
Cares.”
Our leaders insist that our present
great need is spiritual. If this is true
wo cannot afford to neglect the church.
II. D. Johnson, Pastor.
WHEAT ACREAGE AND THE
CORN HOG CONTRACT
Nebraska farmers need not worry
about their present wheat acreage in
signing up the corn-hog contract, W'.
II. Brokaw, state administrator an
nounced at Lincoln today. In agreeing
to reduce corn and hogs in that con
tract they also agree not to increase
the acreage planted to wheat in 1934
over that planted in either 1932 or
1933, whichever is larger.
Harold Hedges of the Nebraska col
lege of agriculture, who is now work
ing in Washington, cleared up the
question for the Nebraska administra
tion when he wrote, “Please note that
the corn hog contract does not say
‘planted for harvest in 1934.’ ”
Hedges referred to a statment in the
corn-hog contract which reads, “The
producers shall not increase on this
farm in 1934 above 1932 or 1933,
whichever is larger, the acreage plant
ed to each crop for sale designated as
a basic commodity in the Act—
Wheat is one of the basic commodities.
The statement has worried hundreds
of farmers who now have more wheat
in the ground than they planted in
1932 or 1933. Some of these men had
signed a wheat contract, which be
cause of their rapid reduction in wheat
acreage since 1928, gave them a right
to sow more wheat this last fall than
in the last two years.
Another ruling from Washington
says that farmers who sign up and
comply with the wheat contract need
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not worry about their wheat acreage
in signing the corn hog contract.
Farmers who have not signed a
wheat contract can adjust the wheat
acreage they plant during the next 12
months to the requirements of the
corn-hog contract, if they sign it up
and reduce com acreage and hog
numbers. The wheat acreage now in
the ground was seeded in 1933 and
does not affect the corn-hog agreement.
Nebraska News Items
Messages from Washington have in
formed authorities that Harry L. Hop
kins, federal emergency relief direct
or, has allotted South Dakota $500,000
for unemployment relief and Nebraska
$450,000 for unemployment relief and
civil works service.
State Tax Commissioner W. H.
Smith has warned Nebraska county
officials that there is no assurance
there are to be federal relief funds
available to counties after next July
1. He has no information, he added,
that additional CWA jobs are to be
available after that date. He stressed
the point that his warning be brought
to the attention of county officials.
All those who ^hatched poultry to
sell have been asked by Henry Walz,
of Battle Creek, to attend a meeting
to be held at Norfolk today. This
meeting is for district No. 2 and in
cludes the following counties: Brown,
Boyd, Keya Paha, Boone, Antelope,
Knox, Holt, Rock, Madison Platte,
Pirce, Nance, Wayne, Cedar, Dixon,
Colfax, Stanton, Cuming, Dakota,
Thurston, Burt, Dodge and Washing
ton. J. R. Reddit, state extension
expert, is to speak. The hatchery
men’s code is to be discussed.
Milton Bower, 21, of Ainsworth, was
injured fatally by a motor car at
Butler, Mo., while walking along the
edge of a road with a young woman
companion. They were on their way
to a garage after their car had stalled
near Joplin. The physician said the
driver of the car which struck Bower
was not held responsible, as visibility
was poor because of falling rain. The
driver turned his car quickly to avoid
hitting Bower and, his companion. The
rear bumper of the car struck Bower
and threw him off the road, causing
concussion of the brain.
Alex Peil, 23, of Gering, was sent
enced to one year in the reformatory
by District Judge Carter, at Gering,
after he plead guilty to running away
after his motor car hit and fatally
injured John McDaniel, of Clinton,
Minn., near Gering on November 1st.
Arrested at Omaha last Friday
night, Verlin Hardstock, 18, Fremont,
has confessed to stealing 10 auto
mobiles in Omaha and Fremont, police
say. In Hardstock’s possession when
arrested was a car stolen from a
resident of Fremont. Officers had lo
cated. the car some hours earlier and
had “planted” for the thief. When he
came along and climbed in the car he
was arrested. He confessed, accord
ing to officers, to taking five cars from
Fremont, all for joyriding. Usually
he would abandon a car stolen in Fre
mont in Omaha and steal one in
Omaha to drive back home. He said
he wanted the machines to “show off"
to a girl friend in Omaha.
Near Creighton, while the William
Thomasson family attended church,
someone stole 100 jars of fruit from
the cellar. Several farmers of north
Nebraska say they have a home-made
code in effect this winter which calls
for some member of the family re-j
«— 1 ——
training at homo every hour of the
day and night.
A Stanton county farmer, Webster
Olson, while shapening a saw on an
emery wheel, lost his nose when the
wheel exploded, a chunk severing the
member. He was taken to a Norfolk
hospital.
The Nebraska Farmers Union may
have its own bank in the near future.
President H. G. Kenney, of Omaha, of
the Union, said last Saturday that the
application of the union for a state
bank charter will be proposed at the
union convention in Omaha this week,
and, will receive strong support.
“Reorganize or liquidate’’ was the
ultimatum served on 60 restricted
state banks by Governor Bryan, last
week. His remarks in the form of a
statement dictated to reporters, did
not apply to about 60 other banks
likewise under restriction but with
good prospects of new financing in
their own communities or in the form
of preferred stock purchases by the
R. F. C. “The state banking depart
ment finds it necessary in order to
protect the depositors as well as the
stockholders,” he said, “to require the
banks on restricted basis to immed
iately put themselves in solvent and
legal shape or the state will have to
put receivers in charge and liquidate
their assets.” The banks have been
under restriction since the bank holi
day last March. About 130 others
originally under restriction have made
their finances sound since then and
now are operating without restrictions,
so that the total of unrestricted state
banks in Nebraska now approximate
265.
Charles W. McDonald, 37, former
convict, was sentenced to 12 years in
the state penitentiary in Omaha last
week for the abduction of Robert
Walsh, Jr., of Omaha. McDonald said
that his reason for taking the bo7 was
that he intended to have him assist
him in getting a position in the home
! of a prominent Omahan and then rob
the home. 143
Three Lawrence farmers were in
jured, one seriously last Friday morn
ing when the car in which they were
riding skidded after hitting a pave
ment dip a mile and a half west of
Lincoln and went over a ditch and
chrashed into a telephone pole. The
four men were Henry Beucher, 73,
who suffered two deep cuts in the
scalp, shock and possibly a fractured
skull and who lost considerable blood;
Henry Brokcman who suffreed a brok
en collar-bone; John Kersbach, 68, who
suffered bruises.
When a fly wheel on a corn shredder
exploded a part of it struck one leg of
W'illiam Fosterman, Verdigre, with
sufficient force to crush bone and flesh.
The leg was amputated, near the ankle
at the Lynch hospital.
Bandits made bold by Jack Frost
held up and kidnaped John J. Eesar, a
butcher shop operator at Omaha in
the daytime. Three men waited and
as he got out of his automobile to
open his shop for business in the
morning, another automobile drew
along side. He was covered with a
pistol and ordered into the machine.
He was asked for money and he said
he had none. He was then knocked to
the ground with a pistol butt, and
then struck on his head a second time.
He was forced into a car, taken a mile
and one of the bandits went thru his
pockets, removing $8f0. The men told
Tcsar they were the same men who
failed at robbing him last Thanks
giving at his home.
.. .—■
A BANK account is a fin
ancial lubricant that keeps
thebusiness moving smool li
ly and without friction.
THE
O’NEILL NATIONAL
BANK
Capital, Surplus and Undivided Profits,
$125,000.00
This bank carries no indebted
ness of officers or stockholders.