A MERRY HEART
auU w
A WEEKLY
JOURNAL
OF
: CHEERFULNESS
Printed primarily for people
who look upon life cheerfully and
hopefully. Also for people who
ought to do so. The promoter of
all good things and good people,
of whieh first Nebraska is chief
and of which second Nebraskans
are mostly.
DOLLAR A YEAR
Volume 8
WHAT WE THINK ABOUT IT
'It never rains but it pours." Also,
(lessings never come singly," and;
erything comes to him who waits.
ward Bitting of Brooklyn, N. Y.,
a box die maker, but has been out
work since the middle of last De
iber. Instead of sitting around and
sing the government, Bitting
stled for a job. It was rather dis
iraging, for work was scarce. But
;ting hustled, just the same, and
Jpt smiling all the time. Last Satur-
he turned up in New Haven, Conn.,
d landed a good job. ... Filled with
, he hurried back to Brooklyn and
e to take the good news to the
I. He was met at the door by a
rse, who said: "We've named 'em
Jina, ra.nl ana wrignt a gin ana
o boys." Whereupon Bitting danced
jig having just landed a job and a
of triplets. Here's hoping the job
s, and that the three little Bittings
w up to be just as good and cheer-
I hustlers as their daddy. ,
A Scotch verdict of "Guilty but not
oven" has been rendered in the case
Senator Stephenson of Wisconsin.
was charged with having corruptly
d money in his '.senatorial campaign?
was shown that he put up about
25,000 to secure election, but failing
prove corrupt intent he was cleared.
course a man couldn't spend that
uch money honestly in a campaign
r a senatorship at least he couldn't
end it honestly and sensibly.
ually, ' of course, the senate is not
ing to scrutinize senatorial cam
tign expenses too closely nor draw
te lines too tightly. It wouldn't do
Hinder the circumstances. That sort
thing would vacate about two
irds of the senatorial chairs.
When Mr. Utermeyer told us that
b great enterprise requiring vast capi-
kl could be successfully carried out
Hthout the consent of the money
trust, he told us no new thing. But
le told it to us in such a way that we
lave a better understanding than ever
f the power of that iniquitous trust.
All of which reminds us that the
tariff is the mother of trusts. '
"We have heard from just two sources
complaints because billiard and pool
ables have been installed in the Y. M.
A. - One source of complaint is the
idebound folk who class the innocent
ame of billiards as one of the inven-
ions of the devil ; the other source is
'e men who conduct public pool halls
nd who find their revenues sadly de
leted. All of which reminds the edi-
or of Will Maupin's Weekly of a
tory, which he may have related be
bre, but which is worth repeating
Iven if he has :
When this editor was "devil" in a
printing office in a Missouri town,
nore years ago than he likes to recall,
e was sent to a lawyer's office with a
roof. On the way he happened to
lass an open door leading to a club
loom maintained by local merchants
nd where a billiard table was in-
jhooting the balls around and noting
e Interested gaze of the lad, invited
im to take a cue. The lad did so,
ut ere he had stabbed the balls more
iauntered 'by and saw him in the act.
v : ).
The lad quit and hastened on his way.
That evening the lad came in for a
mighty serious talk about the deprav
ity of .the game, and was warned
against it; also warned that the next
offense would be met with something
more serious than a mere reprimand.
About two weeks later that same lad's
preacher father spent an entire day
playing croquet in the court house
square for the county championship,
and won it. And to this day that lad,
now showing quite a bit of gray in
his hair, is unable to see the difference
between shooting ivory balls around
on a green cloth and knocking wooden
balls around on the green grass.
It makes us feel good to see the
great Y. M. G. A. institutions coming
to a realization of the fact that the
average boy has red blood in his veins.
Steel rails have remained steady at
$28 a ton for years. WhyT O, the
higher the price the more profit to the
big interests that hold the stock in the
steel trust. And the dear people can
be forced to pay freight rates based in
SOME VALENTINES WERE LATE
i
Last Wednesday was St. Valentine's
day. If you had a gnatbrained enemy
he seized the occasion to send you a
scurrilious picture and a vile bit of
doggerel and the chances are you
have just such enemies as above de
scribed. But not all the pretty valentines
were delivered last Wednesday. From
one cause or another a lot were left
over, and the same have been given to
Will Maupin's Weekly for publication,'
the reason being two-fold to insure
quick delivery and widespread pub
licity: , A
: V
To Sumner H. B-
-m.
The Aldrich plan may be all right,
And good without a doubt;
But ain't Nelse apt to git us all
If we don't watch outt
To Silas H. B-
-m.
With bugs in the water and dirt in
the milk,
And short-weight scales that the pur
chasers bilk; '
With more gas in the council than car
ried in mains,
And streets ankle deep in mud when
it rains
There's cut out for you an almighty
big task
Go to it your best that's all that we
ask. ,
To Richard L. M-
At any old time, under any condition,
You're able to fill any honored posi
tion. And sooner or later men '11 come and
say: "Met,
We need you because you're the best
we can get."
Not this year, perhaps ; that remains
to be seen
But we need men like you to make
politics clean.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, FEBRUARY 16,
part on the price of $28 a ton for steel
rails. But just so long as the people
stand for that sort of thing, that is
the sort of thing the people should
have handed to them.
I Of course, if the voters of Nebraska
allow the insurance companies to se
lect the auditor of public accounts,
who is the real insurance commis
sioner, the voters will deserve just
what they will get under the circum
stances. Congressman Dies of Texas is an
other one who has found out that a
sure way to break into the slug heads
is to attack Bryan. A lot of men who
couldn't earn a six-line paragraph on
merit managed to get a lot of notoriety
by attacking Bryan. But Bryan seems
to thrive on it, and for the life of us
we can not remember the names of his
assailants the next day after the as
sault. , Anyhow, you ' don't have to guess
long on what President Taft really
thinks. You may not agree -with the
results of his thinking, but you 11 have
to 'admit that his frankness and hon
esty are unusual in . the case of a
high official.
To Chester H. A-
Whether Roosevelt or Taft,
Or even Bob La Follette,
Progressive or standpat, we don't
Care one bit what you call it.
Such things will matter not a bit,
But some folks say it's time you lit.
To Col. John 6. M-
From Swansea, Maine, to Frisco town,
From St. Paul down to Rio,
We hear a swelling cry come down
. For Harmon of Ohio.
And every day that passes he
'Will see his chance grow brighter,
For he is backed by bold John O.
And his far-famed typewriter.
To Dr. P. L. H-
Along in June when democrats
Are met dn Maryland's chief city, '.
Those from your state will see you on
Their national committee.
You're square on party orthodoxy
Though some still grumble "bout, that
proxy.
To Paul C-
-k.
They tell me, Paul, that you aspire
To place now held by John Maguire.
If that be true, go to it, Paul;
The raee will be a free-for-all.
But if you win in days to come
You surely will be going some.
Yet, judged by talk upon the street,
You're pretty swift upon your feet.
To William E. S-
Your traction problems worry you,
But they are easy of solution.
I'll tell you, William, what to do,
Thus saving each 'brain convolution :
Just build a track to each man's door,
And have a private car e'er ready.
No more youH hear the people roar,
But see them always boosting steady.
Until 'tis done from here to Hel
Ena theyH roast you mighty well.
1912
WATER POWER
In season and out of season, for the
last decade, the editor 'of Will Maup
in's Weekly has been talking about '
the development - of Nebraska 's' many
water . powers. Enough water power
may be developed in Nebraska to turn
very wheel in the state, including
railroad wheels. These power sites
are scattered all over the state, from
the White river in Dawes county to
the Nemaha in Richardson ; from Howa
creek in Dixon county to the Repub
lican in Dundy and nearly . every
county . in between. With improved
methods . 6f transmitting electric cur- '
rent this power may be transmitted
many, miles without appreciable loss.
' Time after time, during the last
eighteen months, Will Maupin's Week
ly has asserted that a big power pro
ject was brewing, with men of ample
capital behind it, and with every
prospeet of its being undertaken im
mediately. ; And now comes the vindi
cation of this newspaper's prophecies.
Kountze Bros., the great bankers,
whose capital is unlimited, have se
cured the rights formerly held by the
""V
I
To Dr. J. H. tr-
If microbes come from Ireland,
And germs from Germany;
And corpuscles come from Corpus,
Tex.,
Then, doctor, pray give me
Some information that I need
As swift the days now roll on:.
Dp typhus germs mean I must come
To a full stop at the colon T .
To. Benjamin A-
Why don't you plan to save expense
By closing down your plant immense,
Then lead your mains to U. S. square
And pipe the, council gas that's there?
To Theodore R-
This silence on your part, dear Teddy,
Has gotten on our nerves already.
Speak up ! Or by the great horn spoon,
We'll call it "Clam Bay" pretty soon.
To Hon. John H. M-
-d.
I'm sure that grand Nebraska would
Welcome a man who has made good.
She needs a business man to run
Her big affairs, and you are one.
So let's have done with fuss
feather
And for Nebraska work together.
and
To William J. B-
"Three strikes and out" was the rule
heretofore,
But. being it's you we'll make it one
more.
Well give you a chance to bat a home
run,
And whoop for pure joy if the thing
can be done.
To Col. Charles J. B s.
The man who said that "talk is cheap"
Could easily be taught a heap.
With 'phoney schemes with fancy frills
The publie has to foot the Bills.'
"MEDICINE
But a broken spirit drieth the
bones. That's what the Good
Book says, and we'll bank on it,
sure. Will Maupin's Weekly H
works to make cheerful the hearts
of its readers, and thus do medi
cal duty. Fifty-two consecutive
weekly doses for a dollar.
GUARANTEED '
NUMBER 47
in Nebraska"!
Fremont Richards project, and plans
for pushing it have reached the stage
when we may expect work to begin,
as soon as the frost is out of the
ground. . This project is to tap the
Loup river just above Columbus, carry
the water in a canal to the top of the
bluffs north of TVemont, and thus se
cure a fall sufficient to develop about
15,000 horsepower. They are also
planning to take over the old Rose
water project, which is ; to , tap the
Platte near Waterloo and carry the
water, in a canal to South Bend, thus
developing about 20,000 horsepower.
The latter power plant .would be -within
about 20 miles of Omaha.
. The power plant at Fremont would
furnish power for Fremont, Lincoln,
Wahoo, Columbus, David City, Seward,
Schuyler, York and other thriving lit
tle cities. The South , Bend plant
would supply' power to Omaha, South
Omaha, Plattsmouth and 'other cities
in ; the extreme east end. The con
struction of these two great power
plants would mean more to Nebraska
than anyone can imagine. . It would
give & wonderful impetus to manufac
turing in Nebraska, and already Nebraska-
is taking a, .foremost pjace in
the ranks . of manufacturing states.
These two great projects will mean the ,
mvestiueui, ox. luortr tuau two wuimuv
of dollars to put them into operation,
and this would mean employment to
thousands of men for a year or two.
Those who sneer at the possibility
of developing water power in Nebraska
merely advertise their own ignorance.
It has already been developed.; A few
years ago a water power plant, at
Kearney turned the wheels of a 30,000
spindle cotton mill, operated a line of
street cars, run a flouring mill, turned
the wheels of every printing press in
the city, operated a paper mill, a plan
ing mill, and small machines without
number. The only, trouble ! with this
power plant was that it was developed
twenty years ahead of its time. But
the power was there is still there, for
that, matter and some of these days
Kearney is going to rank high in the
list of manufacturing centers. What
Kearney has done by tapping , the
Platte at Elm Creek and carrying the
water for about twenty miles through
a j? t .i x ...i-x .. : mi,
ana ox crop naniuijig musi uuiam. j.uc
old system of shipping the raw, ma
terial out in bulk and shipping the fin
ished product back, subjecting our
selves to freight tolls both ways, must
give way to the plan of working up
the raw material at the point of pro
duction. For many years Massachu
setts held primacy in the manufacture
of cotton goods. Today the cotton is
a canal, Columbus can do by tapping
the Loup and carrying the water less
than ten miles. Superior can get a
plentiful supply of power from the
Republican; Grand Island and Hast
ings can get a' plentiful supply of
power from the Platte; Fairbury may
get her supply from the Little Blue ;
Beatrice is already, utilizing the Blue,
and may obtain even more power. In
short, the opportunities in Nebraska
for developing water power are pracr
tically inexhaustible. .
The time is at hand when Nebraska
capital and genius will turn more and
more to manufacturing industries.
Land is becoming so 'valuable that
more scientific methods of agriculture