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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 24, 1935)
j N*h- St8te Iri»toric«l Society • I : ' • ;•* *'■ '■ *** The :>ey • If VOL. LVI. O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24. 1935. No. 23 - —- -■ — -■ — - . .- - ■ 1 - ^ARTHUR RYAN DIES OF HEART AILMENT IN OMAHA HOSPITAL Funeral Services Held At Catholic Church Iti This City On Last Wednesday Morning. Arthur Ryan died in a hospital in Omaha at 1 o’clock last Sunday morning, after an illness of sev eral months, of acute dilation of the heart, at the age of 53 years, 1 month and 13 days. The body was brought to this city Monday night and the funeral was held from fthe Catholic church at 9 o’clock Wednesday morning, Rev. B. J. Leahy officiating and burial in Cal vary cemetery. During the funeral services the business places of the city were closed as a tribute to the departed. Arthur Ryan was born near Am azonia, Mo., on Sept. 7, 1882. He grew to manhood in that section and. then attended a business col lege at St. Joseph, Mo., and after graduation worked for a time in St. Joe. On June 5, 1906, he was united in marriage at St. Joe to Miss Laura Carmichael. Four children were born of this union, three sons and one daughter. The children are: Arthur Leo, Omaha; Clarence J. and Hugh D., of this city, and Gladys, of Omaha. Mrs. Ryan pas sed away on Feb. 27, 1923, and on June 12, 1929, he was united in marriage to Miss Nelle Ryan, who with his children survive and are left to mourn the passing of a kind and affectionate husband and father. Arthur Ryan came to this city shortly after his marriage in 1906 and had been a resident of this city ever since, a period of 29 years. He was engaged in business here for many years and was always an active booster for this city and y community and always ready to contribute time or money to furth er the interests of the city be had chosen for a home. He was a genial and companion able man and had a host of friends in this city and county, where he was well known, who will regret to learn of his sudden death, as it was generally understood that he was getting along nicely, and would shortly be able to return home. For several years he has been a rural route carrier out of this city, on route number 2 south and south east of here until the consolida tion of the routes a couple of years ago when he was named as carrier of the route, being compelled on account of failing health to have a substitute driver the past three .months. Several years ago he suffered a spell of heart trouble and for sev eral months his life was dispaired of, but he recovered and the past few years he has appeared as well as he ever did. But the old trouble came back and it was thought a rest would rid him of the ailment, so for about three months he had. another looking after his duties as carrier, while he rested. He was apparently getting along nicely until the latter part of September when he had a couple of heart at tacks and he was taken to Omaha on Sept. 25, where he could be treated by a specialist. He was taken with a sinking spell the lat ter part of last week and he passed away Sunday morning, surrounded by his wife and children. The Frontier joins the many friends of the family in tendering sympathy in their hour of sorrow. Relatives from out of the city who were present at the funeral were: Walter Ryan, of Amazonia, Mo., a brother; Mr. and Mrs. R. A N. Ryan, of Jackson, Nebr., father and mother of Mrs. Ryan; Mr. and Mrs. William Ryan, of Emerson, uncle and aunt of Mrs. Ryan; Mr. and Mrs. Raymond Walsh, of Jack son, sister and brother-in-law of Mrs. Ryan. 271 Ask Old Age Pensions There are now on file in the office of the county treasurer the appli ^ cations of 271 residents of the county asking for old age pensions. That is the number that was on file on October 17 and there are several other applicants who have secured blanks, but their applications have not yet been filed. Alberta Van Every went to Ains worth last Sunday where she vis ited with friends and relatives.1 She expects to return next Sunday. Architect’s Drawing of Proposed Court House To Be Constructed For Holt County • HOLT- COitm*'cSiEj: • Hfcksl taajfr -gwmj,. »ea»A3R& • __. The above picture is the architect’s drawing showing how the pro posed Holt county court house would look when completed. The plans call for a building 106 feet by 70 feet and four inches, of brick stone and concrete construction, and fireproof thruout. The building plans have two full stories and a full basement, with the jail and Sheriff’s living quarters above the second floor. -1 FACTS ABOUT PRESENT COURT HOUSE SHOW A NEW BUILDING IS NECESSARY On Nov. 12, there will be sub-i mitted to the voters of Holt county the question of voting bonds for the erection of a court house at an estimated cost of $110,000; $49,000 of which is to be a grant or gift by the federal government and $61,000 to be raised by a proposed bond issue by Holt county. The bonds are to run not to exceed 15 or 20 years, the date of maturity and other details incident thereto to be fixed by the Board of Super visors, and to bear interest not to exceed four per cent per annum. It is the purpose of this article to set forth in detail, in simple language without oratorical flour ish, the facts and questions to be considered by the voters of the county that they may vote intel ligently on the bond question. THE PRESENT COURT HOUSE The present court house was built in 1885—just 50 years ago. Its construction is of soft brick and lumber. The brick is of very in ferior quality having been made from so called clay found near O’Neill and burned in a kiln located here at that time. It is little less than a miracle that it has with stood the rigorous weather and usage this long, say nothing of the fire hazard. Nearly twenty years ago, after an examination by a competent architect, the building was then pronounced unsafe and insecure. To relieve some of the peril and hazard at that time there was then removed from the roof the cupola or dome and iron brace rods were put thru the center of the building to support the outer walls from further spreading. The washers or discs on some of the ends of these brace rods- are now imbedded into the bricks from one-half to three quarters of an inch, thus showing the walls are still spreading, which is much more in evidence of late. To say that the building is now un safe and unfit for occupancy is but putting it mildly. Realizing this unsafe condition the Judge of the District Court has on several occasions instructed the Sheriff to limit the number of spec tators in the court room in the trial of cases that attracted any great numbers. Notwithstanding this precaution it has been discov ered that the attendance at the trial of a case rather recently, was such, that the floor in two corners of the court room sunk away from the mop boards as much as one to one and a half inches. There are many other evidences of rapid deterioration and. wholly unfitness of this building for oc cupancy which are too numerous to here mention but which can be pointed out to any voter or tax J--« payer who will take the trouble to investigate. The District Court, the county officers and the Supervisors are now charged with knowledge of the present condition. Let us suppose that during the trial of a case or any other meet ing at the court house attended by numerous persons that one or more of the tottering, rickety old walls or floor should collapse, killing or maiming numerous persons. In such an event it is not unreason able to suppose that the county would be liable in damage cases in excess of what it would cost to build a new court house. In that event who would pay the judg ments? The answer is the taxpay ers of Holt county! Furthermore in addition to being unsafe and unfit the building is not large enough to furnish office space for all the offices. At the present time the county is paying $900.00 per year for rental and heat for office space outside the court house for the following officers: County Attorney,County Agent, Reemploy ment Agent and Relief Agent. Last but not least among the numerous defects of the present structure is the matter of vaults for the safe keeping of the public records. Not only are the vaults inadequate to hold all the records but, as startling as it may seem, they are found to be, on investiga tion, nowhere near fire proof. The walls instead of being concrete and fire proof as generally supposed, are of soft brick and plaster the same as in the main walls of the building. THE VAULT HOLDING THE RECORDS OF THE COUNTY CLERK AND REGISTER OF DEEDS—THE MOST VALUABLE RECORDS IN THE COUNTY HAVE CRACKS THROUGH THE WALL SO THAT YOU MAY STAND IN THE VAULT AND SEE DAYLIGHT THROUGH THE CRACKS. As before stated this vault con tains the most valuable records of the county. In these records are shown the transfers and title rec ord of every piece of real estate in Holt county. RECORDS DESTROYED! WHAT THEN? The loss of these records by fire would be almost irreparable. It would mean that owners and mort gagees of real estate would have to go into court to establish their titles and liens. Think of the ex pense and confusion this would, en tail property owners! It would be a harvest for the lawyers. It is almost criminal careless ness to let the title to taxpayers property to be thus jepordized 3-— I longer. It would be well for any doubting Thomases to investigate these vaults for themselves or send a representative committee from various parts of he county. In case of fire these thin, soft brick vault walls would collapse and crumble and the combustible materials within the vaults would precipitate a conflagration little short of a minature inferno. THE PROPOSED NEW COURT HOUSE The plans and specifications of the proposed new court house are on file in the County Clerk’s office and can be seen by anyone. Its construction is to be of brick, stone and concrete, and to be fireproof thruout. The outside dimensions being 106 feetlong; 70 feet and four inches wide; 46 feet high; two stories with full basement. Jail and Sheriff’s living quarters on the upper story. THE COST AND HOW IT IS TO BE PAID The question of cost and how it is to be paid is the one in which the taxpayer is primarily interest ed. As has been stated the federal government has agreed to donate $49,000. The balance of $61,000 to be paid by the county by the issu ance of bonds in that sum. Assuming that the bonds will be issued for 20 years, one half of which to be paid within ten years, the figures presented below present a very close estimate as to w.iat it will cost each taxpayer pe. year, based upon what their assessed valuation may be for the respec i tive vears. The total assessed valuation of the county for the year 1934 was $17,991,775, in 1935 it is $17,918, 825. The years immediately pre ceding 1934 the assessed valuation of the county was considerably higher. Assuming, for the purpose of this computation, that the as sessed valuation of the county for succeeding years will be, in round figures, $18,000,000. Deducting 15 per cent for taxes levied and not collected, (This is the percent the law contemplates as it permits the Supervisors, school boards and municipalities to issue warrants up to 85 per cent of the levy), leaves $15,300,000 assessed valuation on which it is assumed taxes will be collected. Bonding houses and oth er financial institutions have in dicated that they would take the bonds on a yield basis of 314 per cent and probably some less. On this basis a levy of one-third of a mill will raise $5,100 per year and by retiring one-half of the bonds within ten years, the levy of one third of a mill, will pay all the bonds, both principal and interest, in less than 19 years. J— The levy of one-third of a mill means to the taxpayer just this: For every $100 assessed valuation he would pay 3 and one-third cents; on an assessed valuation of $1,000 it would cost him 33 cents and on $10,000, $3.33 per year. The as sessed valuation of non-resident corporations and non-resident real estate owners is approximately $5,361,145, or 30 per cent of the assessed valuation of the county. These non-residents, of course, will have to pay their share of this tax. Attached hereto is a list showing the percentage of the taxes in each precinct that will be paid by non-residents of the county. Let is be understood that this is not an O’Neill project. If built it will be owned by Holt county, oc cupied and supervised by officers elected from all partsof the county. It resolves itself into a strictly business proposition among the taxpayers of the county. The ex pense of this election is being paid for by the county and whether you are either for or against the pro position every taxpayer should go to the polls and vote. It is a question of accepting the $49,000 offered by the government now or in the near future the tax payers of the county paying all the expense of building a new court house. It is almost inconceivable that the present structure can be occupied much longer and should not be if for no other reason than the fire hazard alone. If we do not accept the government’s offer of $49,000 at this time we are out so far as getting any assistance from that source in the future. The allotments by the government for such building projects are closed and if we do not accept its offer now the money will be allotted and spent elsewhere. Une ot the arguments being used against the bond issue is that the Supervisors are not competent or qaulified to supervise the construc tion of the proposed building. As suming this to be true, the Super visors, being all farmers are like most of us, inexperienced in build ing construction. This contingen cy has been amply provided for however, by employment of one of the outstanding architects of the state, Mr. Frank Latenser, of Om aha. In addition to this the county will have the benefit of an engineer employed and paid for by the fed eral governmentwithout expense to the county. This government en gineer will be on the job all the time to see that the building is constructed in accordance with the specifications. It is frequently charged, and with soipe merit, that there is great waste and extravagance by the ex ! penditure of money by the federal . government. In the matter of pub lic buildings, paving etc., however, it seems that they exercise reas onable care and business judgment as evidenced by the fact that with in the past five months the gov ernment has on two occasions re jected the bids for the proposed Post Office building at O’Neill for the reason that the BIDS WERE TOO HIGH. In the proposed court house con struction the bids and construction contract would have to have the O K of the federal government. With these safe guards it would seem that the taxpayers would have reasonable assurance that their interests will be amply pro tected and that their money will be spent judiciously. The architect estimates that of the amount of the cost, $37,020 would be paid for labor. This would make a substantial saving for the county in providing employ ment for many now on relief. This article and the figures pre sented have been compiled under the supervision of a committee, all of whom are substantial taxpayers. They invite or brook no quarrel with, or impugn the motives of any individual or community that may oppose the bond issue. It has been the committees aim to present the facts and questions to be consider ed in an honest and fair way with out exaggeration or misrepresenta tion. We invite investigation or verification of facts presented here in by any taxpayer or committee of taxpayers from any part of the county. Following is a list of the various precincts of the county showing the total assessed real estate and eor porationvaluation of each precinct; the approximate assessed valuation of the corporations and non-resi dent real estate owners in the re spective precincts and the percent age of the real estate taxes in each precinct now paid by corpora tions and non-resident real estate owners. The valuation of cities, towns and villages are not included in this computation. Percent Paid by Assessed Non- Non Precinct Valuation resident resi Valuation dents Antelope $188,770 $117,050 62 Atkinson 673,178 306,198 45 Chambers 375,740 83,875 22 Cleveland .. 358,480 139,520 39 Coleman_ 221,435 65,945 30 Conley 251,115 113,205 45 , Deloit 348,240 91,250 26 Dustin ... 249,745 109,218 44 Emmet. 416,411 232,746 45 Ewing 284,397 167,447 55 Fairview 183,375 86,930 47 Francis ... 137,940 34,225 25 Golden 487,051 281,506 58 Gr Valley 325,605 53,150 16 Grattan 1,108,011 627,106 57 Holt Creek 130,415 6,100 4 Inman ...... 707,701 386,771 56 Iowa 284,230 154,555 54 Josie. 73,115 67,585 79 Lake . 265,080 109,795 41 McClure 211,055 111,800 53 Paddock 375,705 108,845 29 Pleasant V. 279,955 75,685 27 Rock Falls 265,875 111,270 42 Sand Creek 245,665 130,375 53 Saratoga 215,315 68,145 32 Scott 258,375 135,940 53 Shamrock 195,725 - 49,900 25 Sheridan 551,201 156,196 28 Shields _.. 480,600 129,250 27 Steel Creek 267,035 75,910 28 Stuart .... 1,278,548 390,183 31 Swan 148,630 72,145 49 Verdigris 689,262 266,002 39 Will’wDale 356,740 216,825 61 Wyoming 191,710 60,605 26 Senator Brady Files For One House Legislature Senator F. J. Brady, of Atkinson, has made his filing for a seat in the unicameral legislature, which will take over the law making duties for the state in January, 1937. Brady was elected to the state senate a year ago last fall on the republican ticket. In the contest for membership in the unicameral body he will run on the non-part isan ticket as the membership of that body is to be non-political. Representative L. G. Gillespie, who represented this county in the last session of the legislature, has also filed as a candidate for election to the unicameral body. This makes two candidates so far from this county for the position. Change In Milk Prices CHANGE IN MILK PRICES The following dairies will, after November 1, charge for milk: 1-qt., 10c; 2-qts„ 18c; 3-qts., 25c. WEINGARTNER DAIRY, KURTZ DAIRY, JOHN DTJMPERT, LAWRENEC DAIRY. LAST RITES HELD TUESDAY MORNING FOR M. R. SULLIVAN Postmaster Dies At Stuart Hospital After An Illness of Nearly Two Months Duration. Michael R. Sullivan, O’Neill post master, died in a hospital at Stuart last Sunday morning, after an ill ness of about two months of a blood stream infection, at the age of 60 years and 3 days. The funer al was held from the Catholic church in this city Tuesday morn ing at 9 o’clock, Monsignor J. G. McNamara officiating, and burial in Calvary cemetery. During the hour of the funeral services all the business houses in the city were closed, as a token of respect to the departed. Michael R. Sullivan was taken ill about two months ago, but at the time it was not considered that the illness was serious. After a couple of weeks he was taken to the hosp ital at Stuart, the family and friends believing that a good rest would hasten his recovery. For a time he improved, then had a short spell when he was not so well, but for the past two weeks he seemed to be getting along nicely, and hopes were entertained that he would soon be able to return home, completely recovered. In fact on Friday and Saturday he felt better than he had at any time since his illness and when his family were there on Saturday evening they were very much encouraged as he seemed to be getting along so well. Then he had a relapse in the early hours of Sunday morning and his family here were called. They left at once for Stuart, but he had passed away before their arrival. Michael R. Sullivan was born at Hancock, Mich., on Oct. 17, 1875. In the spring of 1879 his parents moved to this county, coming in with a large settlement of people [from the copper mines of North ern Michigan, and they located on the Red Bird creek, one mile and a half east and three miles north of this city. There Mr. Sullivan grewr to manhood, attended the country schools and later the high school' in this city. On June 27, 1911, he was united in marriage to Miss Agnes Clark at Omaha, Nebr. To this union three children were born, one son and two daughters. The children are: Cletus V., Helen Clare and Mary, of this city, who with his loving wife are left to mourn the passing of a kind and indulgent husband and father. He is also survived by two broth ers, Joseph, of Laramie, Wyo., and Patrick, living on the old home farm northeast of this city. His sisters are, Mrs. W. L. Hanley and Miss Mayme, living northeast of this city, all of whom were present at the funeral services. His nephewr, Joseph Sullivan, of Omaha, was also in the city for the funeral services. When a young man he entered the employ of the First National bank of this city, where he spent many years, then going to Atkin son where for several years ,he held the position as bookkeeper and as sistant cashier of the First Nation al bank. While there he was nom inated and elected county treasur er of Holt county, a position he filled very acceptably and credit ably for two terms. At that time the law limited the county treasur er to two terms in office. After retiring from the office of county treasurer he was appointed bank examiner by Governor Bryan and he ably and creditably filled this position for two terms, once under Governor Bryan’s first ad ministration and he was again in the employ of the state banking department in August, 1933, when he was appointed Postmaster of this city, a position he filled very ably and creditably and which he held at the time of his death. Perhaps no man in this city had more friends than Mike Sullivan. Of a genial and jovial disposition he was the friend of everyone. A good story teller he was always able to entertain his friends with many quaint and almost forgotten anecdotes of the days that are gone, and his passing will be mourned by a large circle of friends outside his family circle. The Frontier joins the many friends of the family in tendering1 its sympathy to them in their hour of sorrow.
