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About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 2, 1899)
MTES OF THE DAY. HARRISON PRESS-JOURNAl GEO. D. CANON. Editor. HARRISON. - - NEBRASKA NEBRASKA NEWS. Several day ago a 3-year-OL? son of William Greve of Fairbury fell and badly lacerated his throat with a toy trumpet held in hU mouth. The boy died Tuesday from the effect of the wound. B. A. Small'! hardware store at Fair mont was entered by burglars Sunday night and 1100 worth of pocket nives and razors were taken. Entrance waa through a rear window. C D. Woodruff, residing near Tecum seh, suffered a broken rib and other in juries while attempting to ride a wild horse Wednesday. Lorenx Richling. a farmer about 72 years of age. waa taken suddenly 111 on last Sunday, died on Monday and was buried in the Catholic cemetery at Crelghton Thursday. Mr. Richling leaves an aged wife aad a number of children. Ex-Mayor Bernard King of York has publish d a circular offering I'M re ward for information that will lead to the arrest and conviction of the par tie who set fire on Monday night to his store at Central City, Neb. The Nebraska fish car was at Sid. ney Thursday and made Its Semi annual distribution of fish. Black bass and rock bass, croppies, perch, cat and German carp were In eager demand and thousands will be planted in tha numerous streams of western Nebras ka. The car was in charge of Super intendent Adam Bloup and Commis sioner Oberfelder. Frank R. Wlngfleld of Crawford was In Chadron Thursday with a view of taking out his first papers toward be coming an American citizen. Mr. Wing field has been a resident of this county for several years, but Is a subject of the queen of England, and has the British flag hung up In his office at Crawford. Court did not convene and he Is still a British subject. He Is a regular republican nominee for district clerk. His party is all disorganized over the affair. During a heavy rain storm lightning truck the large two-story frame ho tel at Gresbam, almost demolishing the front from roof to foundation. - Heavy beams were torn out and scattered in fragments, pieces of siding were thrown 1M feet, loth and plaster was torn off la several rooms, three of which were occupied. How the occupants escaped Injury or death and the bouse total de struction from Are are miracles) beyond iprehenston. William Erwln, a farmer, living eight miles south of Fairbury. was killed by lightning. He waa threshing whea at James Smith's and started home on horseback when the storm oame up at 6 o'clock. His horse waa also killed. The body was found in the morning near his home by his wife. Be leaves four smalt children. lira. John MJttcham. of Fairbury. aged 74, while starting a fire Sunday, Ignited her clothes and when the Ill I SS WBIC CAIUIUIICU www iw- tally burned. She died after suffering Intensely for several hours. She leaves a husband and three sons. John Ottersbunr. well known fann er living near Adams. Gage county, was killed recently while helping a neighbor move a house. He crawled under the house, which was elevated on jackscrews, when one of the rotten His gave way, crushing his body so that he died on Sunday last. The big sugar factory of the Standard Beet Sugar company at Ames Is about completed. The heavy machinery Is an placed, the big steel smokestack has Just been erected, the brick work Is about finished, and the placing of the shafting will complete the work. The company haa been shipping In help from eastern cities to rush the work as much as possible. Reuben Miles of Rock Bluffs brought to Plattsmouth a report of having found the dead and decayed body of an unknown man across the river from tk Bluffs half burled In a 'sand bar. The unfortunate Individual had evi dently been dead for months, and pos sibly since the high water of 'June and July. A portion of his face had drop pe daway and Identification will be difficult unless his pockets contain some evidence of who he la It was so lata when the report cams In that the coroner did not go to the scene until the next day. All the streets crossing the Union Pacific tracks In Columbus are now protected with an automatic alarm system. The wiring and electrical part of the work were done some time ago, but the wires were not connected with the gongs until Thursday. Under this system the gong Is sounded when a train approaches within 200 feet of the crossing and continues until It has passed. Red and white lights are au tomatically displayed at night In ad dition to rlngng the gong. The system has been tested and works well. One of New York's "yellow Journals" to referred to by a Philadelphia con temporary as having "published more exclusive rumors than any other paper la the country." Since the opening of the free em ployment bureau In Chicago six weeks ago MM persons have applied for em ployment, and of this number work for S.MS has been secured. During the same time (.0U people have endeavored to employ labor through the offices and t,W!t of the applications have been Officials of the Brooklyn Rapid Tran sit company say that rosy have been robbed of nearly SS0.0M In the last six weeks by the new conductors who bare taken the place of the strikers of last July. The new men are said to have been "knocking down" fares In dustriously, but the leakage has at last bees stepped. Dremsdsrtes have a great lore for - - hi nil a aad can be made to do almost anything under Its Influence, aad m Egypt they rely more on It than asj anything else to control these hg basis la esses where the drome arte have to work night and day to wattt st?tt and day to acconpHsh Jsarasy in the abertest possible time Oey kt rng with clears. The cfrtvs ratrtt triangular piece of ft! liisnil at one point like a cigar M-jr. tato Cat moot ef the animal, ripbsa netted aad pressed tm t-a ia the faction followed 1 rwm. lb inmttwr lawsisw wawaBBBJW' SJ u lssw w. ssw saw wwsaw ww. r-M. js arpear t fairest It aad ta ua a f t w Are I ?rJLo of K M VVA'e J ffl"'" I R.L.,n I tfhere .y I r jO menpf&rvadJfehivtka, t I cUomihe Cities andrtt plains. rtndmA rier vwt. "What have the pops done for Ne braska?" shouts the republican orator. "What has the tripartite partlon of fusion and confusion .done for Ne braska?" sneers J. Sterling Morton, as he searches among his files of old let ters. "What, Indeed?" echo a hundred or more little republican editors who never had a dozen original thoughts in their lives. What have the "pops" done for Ne braska? What has fusion done for Nebraska? Well, the people of Ne braska know what has been done and they have time and again expressed their approval thereof. In matters of legislation, beneficial to the whole peo ple, the populist legislature of lMil, the demo-pop legislature of 1893 and the fusion legislature of 1897 can Justly point with pride to their several rec ords. The fusion executive Btate offi cers, beginning with Governor Holcomb In 1895 and extending down to the pres ent, have every reason to believe their duties have been faithfully performed and In the bet possible manner. These matters of legislation and administra tion have been discussed In hundreds of columns of print, and the mere enumeration of the various Items would occupy more space than I care to use In the present sketch. There is, how ever, one little amendment enacted by the populist legislature of 18!U which 1 purpose to discuss at this time. A republican legislature In 1871 en acted a law prescribing "the duties of the state treasurer,"! etc. (General Statutes, 891.) Section 1 of that act prvolded that "all warrants upon the state treasurer . . . shall be paid In the order of their presentation there for." And the quoted words have been the law ever since. Section I required the state treasurer to "keep a warrant register, which register shall show. In columns ar ranged for that purpose, the number, date and amount of each warrant pre sented and registered as hereinafter provided. . ." And this section, so far as relates to the state treasurer, has never been changed. But section t deserves to be quoted In full. Inasmuch as the administration of the state treasury thereunder has cost the taxpayers of Nebraska many thousand dollars of needless expense In the way of Interest on state warrants: "flee. t. it shall be the duty of every such treasurer, upon the payment of a FEB of TEN CENTS by the holder of sny warrant, or by any person pre senting the same for registration. In the presence of such perron, to enter such warrant In his 'warrant register for payment In the order of presenting for registration, and upon every war rant so registered, he shall endors 'registered for payment.' with the date of such registration, and shall sign such endorsement: Provided, that noth ing In this act shall be construed to RBQUBME the holder of any warrant to BXOtSTER the same, but such war rant gear be presented for payment aad eadorsed, 'presented and not paid for want of fuads,' and shall DRAW IJfl'f atT from Dm DATS of such PftXaauCTATIOK, as ow provided by law. WHAT HATE Tl POPULISTS DOM? Cm ZZtfjir 17) sleeping n theirA )irihatte thnu U , j rfs or s&fofi Be uforldgHsmpvgro.! j nlnn. on UOLL. ue men oniaiihem. isworkforjfou to do allot &UJ(IGHTY ana marxn rtdhton ' Nebraska. Nine republican legislatures convened and adjourned without taking any steps to correct the mistake made by the legislature of 1871, and it be came incumbent upon the populist leg islature of 1891 to make such amend ment thereto as would result In a sav ing to the taxpayers. Not much change wag necessary, but that little was of vital importance. The fee of ten cents for regismtering a warrant was cut out, as was also the proviso, and pro vision was made "that all warrants outstanding at the time this act takes effect shall be presented for payment or registration by August 1st, 1891, and shall not draw Interest after such date unless so presented." The full Intent of this latter clause will be made clear er later on. For some years prior to. and Includ ing part of, the year IKM, the state general fund had always money suffi cient on hand to pay any warrant pre sented and registration of general fund warrants was, of course, unnecessary. But the legislature of 1W7 had made appropriations exceedingly generous, it not extravagant, with the result that about September, 1&84, the balance In the general fund began to diminish rapidly. On the 20th day o October that year, warrants were Issued by the auditor to Kails, Reynolds at Sprecher, certain contractors for the erection of public buildings, aggregating over 138, 000. Of these warrant No. 4,717, for 112,090.60, was presented to the state treasurer and Paid October 20. t the close of business that night the general fund balance was only W. 495 99. Two days later warrant No! 41.718, for S26. 249.40, was presented, but State Treas urer Wlllard had not enough funds to pay It The holder did not care to Invest ten cents to have It registered for payment In fact, he preferred to have It endorsed, "presented and not paid for want of funds," because, under the law. It would draw Interest at the rate of 1 per cent per annum from the date of such presentation, and there seemed to be no provision In the law whereby a warrant so endorsed could be "called" by the treasurer and Inter est stopped. Apparently all the holder of such a warrant had to do was to keep It away from the state treasury and It might draw Interest for an In definite period, terminable only at the option of the holder of the warrant Be sides, If he should run short of ready money, the treasurer would cash It at any time. If be had sufficient funds on hand. Not to exceed six warrants were reg istered In the year IMS. The ten-cent fee waa burdensome to the holders of small warrants, and the holders of the large warrants knew that those regis tered would be called and paid In a very short time and they wanted s safe Investment at 7 per cent Section 1 of the law provides that all "warrants shall be paid In the order pf their presentation therefor," but section I and I, as then existing, ren dered strict compliance with the law Impossible. If all were compelled to register their warrants, compliance would have been easy: the treasurer would have stopped cash payments on ths Ret ef October, ins, registered all taa warrants aa las as pre V. rill sented and used all the available gen eral fund balance from time to time in the payment of principal and Interest on the registered warrants, taken In the order of their registry numbers. But the alternative of having war rants stamped with the endorsement, "presented and not paid for want of funds" threw the state treasury In con fusion. From the 2th day of October, 18X8, to the 21st day of January, 1&S9. the auditor Issued 1.166 general fund warrants, being numbered from 48,716 to 49,881 Inclusive, and aggregating the sum of 169,630.62. Nearly all these warrants were presented to the treas urer within a few days after Issue. Six hundred and three of them, aBgregat Ing t96.100.26, were paid in cash upon presentation, and 563, aggregating $173. 630.34, were endorsed "presented (giv ing date) and not paid for want of funds." No attempt was made to pay these warrants "In the order of their presentation therefor." On January 7. 1889, J. M. Stewart presented warrant No. 49,410 for 1375; It was not paid foi "want of funds" and received the cus tomary endorsement Stewart then disposed of It to a warrant broker, who in turn sold It to an eastern banking house; when it was finally paid, July 22, 1891, the taxpayers of Nebraska, through their tate treasurer, were obliged to pay 164 79 Interest, although at various limes during the years 1889 and 1W0 more than 1200 000, belonging to the general fund, was lying idle In tbe state treasury. (Theoretically "In the treasury" In fact In Nebraska banks.) The eastern bank was not obliged to send In the warrant for pay ment and held It until almost the last moment Two days after Mr. Stewart presented his warrant Governor John M. Thayer presented warrant No. 49, 418 for 1426, and was paid In cash the same day. On that day, also, D. B. Howard presented warrant No. 49.46S for 8411.01; his warrant receiver tne usual endorsement, and when It finally came back to the treasury on July 24. 1191. the taxpayers of Nebraska were mulcted for 173.20 Interest January 7, 1X1. Effle Lewie presented warrant No 49.411 for IM0. and had It endorsed. The eastern banking house which event. ually came Into possession of her wsr rant sent It to the treasurer for regis tration, complying with the populist amendment to section t. It was regis tered as No. 44ft and was not paid until February t, 1892. on which date the treasurer paid 34.7t to redeem it. Nearly tt per cent Interest These Illustrations will suffice to show the chaotic condition of the state treas ury In 188 and 1890, caused primarily by defective republican laws, and sec ondarily, by an unbusinesslike sdmin Istrstloa thereof. The people of Ne braska paid tS7.7t.M In Interest to re deem the 1171,60.14 of warrants here tofore mentioned as having been en dorsed In compliance with the proviso to the old section I, or something ovei 14 per cent The balance In the general fund Oc tober M, in, was M.4M.M. Recelptr from that date to January tl, Ittf, werr l.7M.ls, making a total of tllf.SM.17 Now the total general fund warrant Isewed durlnf that 09s9iv9ew4sw aleswt3kj that penod amounted te u tne present pop- I Rift ullst law had then been in force there would have been, on January 21, 188f, about I1M.4M.15 of registered warrants outstanding, every dollar of which could have been paid In three months or less. In proof of this, I submit the fol lowing table of balances in tbe general fund: February 1, 1889 S 61.154. 14 March 1, 1R89 49,734.34 April 1, 18X9 98.851.11 May 1, 1889 155,501. 95 June 1, 1S89 135,665.2 July 1, 1889 248,889.98 August 1, 18S9 228,822.67 September 1. 1889 180,790.1 October 1, 189 105,544.59 Three months' Interest on the total Issue for the period under consideration would be only $4,718.28. The Interest on warrant No. 48,716 alone was 15,844.14. But suppose the period of registration to be extended over a longer period, with warrants running full three moaths before payment, 127,878.90 would pay such Interest, at 7 per cent, on SI, 593.080. Republican extravagance and dishon esty, beginning with 1889, have saddled a great floating debt on Nebraska, suon honesty and economy are lifting that debt although not so rapidly as could be done under more prosperous conditions. CHA8. Q. DE FRANCE Reese's Rake-off. A list of state warrants Issued to C B. Reese, wife, and H. A- Reese, sod of Chief Justice Reese, tbe "father of nepotism In Nebraska:" March SI. 188. H. A. Reese, warrant No. 44670, amount S32. September 13, IMS, Hi A. warrant No. 48341 amount $10. January 4, 1889, H. A. Reese, war rant No. 49121, amount S2. April t, 1889, H. A. Reese, warrant No. 62031. amount S24. May 31, 1889, C B. Reess, warrant No. 62952 amount $4. June 14, 1889, C. B. Reese, warrant No. 63188, amount $40. June M, 1889, H. A. Reese, warrant No. 61311, amount $48. August 12. 1889, II. A, Reese, warrant No. 64013, amount till. August SO. 1889, C. B. Reese, warrant No. 64164, amount $44. September 16, 1889, C. B. Reese, war rant No. 64344, amount $3. September 30, 188, C. B. Reese, war rant No. 64431, amount $40. October IS, lttl, C. B. Reese, warrant No. 64166, amount $44. November 1, UN, C.B. Reeas, warrant No. 66324, amount $44. November 17, ISM, C. B. Reese, war. rant No. 66464, amount $44). December 10, ISM, C. B. Reese, war rant No. 6417S. amount $40. January , ISM. C. B. SUtsi.ewar raat No. mn. asaoust $44). New Tork Is fighting its so.'t coa' smoke. Cleveland ranks as the greatest Iron ore market in the world. In Germany a tramp is called a "chausnlergrabentapestierer." There are thirty-seven gold-ptoduc-Ing counties In the 150,000 square miles of California's area. For every 1,000,000 Inhabitants In Russia there are only ten newspapers and Journals of all sorts. Cattle raising in Georgia has reached a point where tl ere is a surplus, and the surplus Is coming west. Italy has bought the Durghese Mu seum and Gallery In Home tor 3.0OU.OU0 francs, to be paid In ten annual In stallments. While plowing on his farm near Pe tersburg, Ind., Joshua Dean unearthed nlnty-four flint spearheads and two skeletons. Siberia and the Amur country pos sess advantages very similar to those of North America, Australia and parts of South Africa. The newest "lucky piece" Is a carv ed ivory rabbit, not blKfter than a bean, which must be carried In tht palm of the hand. The savings of the enlisted men In the British navy amount to nearly S2, 000,000, all of which Is on deposit with the government. The Italian cruiser Garibaldi, recently launched at Genoa from the yards of the Ansaldos, was launched nine months after the keel was laid. The American Distilling company has a concession from the Venezuelan gov ernment covering the right to make whisky and other liquors. A fruit grower in Mendoclna county, California, has this season shipped 69, 63 pounds of Bartlftt pears, which were raised on four and one-half acres of ground. The mineral resources of western Si beria are vast. Between Tomsk and Koojtneck lie 60,000 square kilometers (23,167 square miles) of coal lands which have never been touched. Kalel(fh, N. C, has the largest pair of oak trees In the United States, when symmetry of trunk and top Is taken Into consideration. They stand 300 yards north of the capital. The opinion that malaria Is conveyed to human beings by mosquitoes has long been held by the Bomall of East Africa, according to the Information given In Wlckenburg's "Wardtrungen Ostafrlka." Tallahassee, the flower-bedecked cap ital city of Florida, boasts that It is the only American city founded by a member of the Immediate family of Napoleon Bonaparte, Colonel Charles Iouls Napoleon Achllle Murat. A woman with pale ears can be safe ly set down as one whose heart Is hard to reach, while she whose ears are pink along the curled rims and downy lobes is a creature of sympathetic and re sponsive temperament A New Jersey man haa patented a hitching post which will accommodate bicycles as well as horses, the portion of the post nearest the pavement be ing provided with slots of sufficient width to admit the wheel of the ma chine. A 5-year-old boy of Brentwood. Eng land, has received the Royal Humane society's diploma for Jumping Into the water and saving the life of his baby brother, lie Is believed to be the youngest certified life-saver on record. A fly so minute as to be almost In visible, ran three Inches in half a sec ond, and was calculated to make no (ess than 510 steps In the time a heal thy man would take to breathe once, A man with proportionate ability could run twenty-four miles In a minute. Fingers are valued at a high price in Australia. A Melbourne boy of 8 had his fingers crushed in a gate at a level crossing, and one had to be amputated. An action on his behalf was brought against the state railroad department The Jury awarded the full amount claimed, 15,000. An Ingenious person residing In Lit tle Rock. Ark., has patented an Inflat able boat. One gets into It sits down, fastens a sheet of rubber about his waist and blows the thing up. The craft, moreover, may be adapted for the use of two or more occupants If desired. A notice In the London Times of Au guest 31 Illustrates the simplicity of the English system of preparing the final lists of the persons liable for Jury duty. "On and after tomorrow for twenty-one days," says the notice, "the lists of persons liable to serve as Jury men In England and Wales will be ex hibited on the doors of the churches and chapels and othrr place of public worship over the country. These lists are open to public Inspection. Unless objection Is made to the overseers of 'he various parishes during September by persons who are exempt and whose names appear on the lists, their names will be returned to the clerk of the lace and they will be liable to serve special and common Juries for the nailing year. During the laft week of September the Justices hold a petty elon to correct the lists Hnd to allow he notices of objection to the over ers." V. D. Hunter, a special agent, has st reported to Dr. Howard, the ento iiloglst of the agricultural depart ent. in resard to a recent statement ) the effect that It wns considered by nomologists that the Turtle mountain crlon, In North Dakota and Montana, robobly was a permanent breeding round of the destructive mlxralory rasrhopper, a statement which occa-onf-d much alarm and Indignation on e part of railroads and other land wn-rs. This region, therefore, was carefully scrutinised by Mr. Hunter, who reports that the mlgrstory grass hopper does not breed permanently In the Turtle mountains nor In that vi cinity. The ground I perfectly unsulU ed to breeding, and. moreover, swarms descending farther east have been traced from far to the northeast of that place. The probable breeding ground, he thinks, Is on the Asslnlboln river, north and east of Rfglna. A system Is to lie estsbllshed In Phil adelphia this fall, whereby teacher' will be given permission to take their classes for one-half day, twice a yesr. to Falrmount park and to the Zoolog ical Gardens, such visits to be ragerd ed as a part of the regular class du ties. In Germany such an arrangement Is a regular part of the program In many of the schools. Bpeaklng on the subject, Superintendent Brooks of the Philadelphia schools said thHt one of the prlnclpol subjects of Instruction In the elementary schools Is nature study, including lessons on bott-, ani mals ad plants. Through the gener osity of the managers of the Zoological Gardens, the superintendent Is furnish ed annuslly with about 125.000 tickets, which sdmlt both teachers and pupils to the gardens, snd to make th visits of greater benefit to the children, the teachers, he said, should accompsny their pupils, while the Information ob tained by such visits can be utilised In subsequent Instructions In the class room. Like advsntsges, he clslmed, will result for a visit of the pupils to the psrk, under the supervision of a , teacher who Is qualified lo point out 1 the objects of Interest I