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CHAPTER IV—Continued.
For answer Dick steps up to the
first vehicle at the curb; the driver
has crawled inside, for the night air
is cool and there can be no telling
how long his patron may be detained;
some people seem to enter that office
and never come out again so far as
the public knowledge goes.
“Is this the vehicle that brought the
two ladies from the Grand Continent
al?” he asks, in French.
The driver answers in the negative,
and they pass on to the next, where
the same question is repeated and
another disappointing reply given.
Thus a third and fourth vehicle goes
in review', without any success. Only
two more remain, and the last of
these happens to be their own fiacre.
So Dick takes the remaining chance,
and wins!
When he puts the same question
to the man the Jehu replied in the
affirmative: he brought two ladies
from the hotel mentioned, and is hired
to wait for them.
“Is there anything wrong about
that?” he demands, feeling a trifle
alarmed, perhaps, because he may
have brought as a fare here some an
archist people who have designs up
on the prefect’s life.
“That’s all right, you are to wait
for them,” with which curt remark
Dick w-alks on, accompanied by his
friend, entering their own vehicle and
riding away.
"What do you suppose brought Miss
Westerly to the prefect’s office to
night?” says Dick, slowly.
“We agreed she was hunting some
one in Paris, and wondered why she
had not thought to visit M. Marquand
before. She has evidently come to
the same conclusion herself, hence
her presence at the seat of law and
order. As plain as day-, my boy.”
“Well. I hope she may find what
she seeks,” remarks Dick, with a
“Indeed! Now, you tell me news.
I am all attention, Mademselle Wes
terly.”
“A younger sister, by name Beulah,
was believed to have been drowned
years ago when a child, with her
French nurse. Recent events have
aroused my interest anew—I have
learned that this nurse is alive, that
she has been seen in Paris. I seek
her now to discover the truth—wheth
er my sister was rea'ly drowned, and
she fled in deadly fear, or perhaps
kidnaped the child, hired by some
enemy of my father.”
“You interest me, mamselle. Was
your father a man to make enemies?”
holding a pencil with which he oc
casionally makes memoranda in short
hand upon a tablet of paper.
"He was always inter^s-ed in Mexi
can mines, and met all firmer of
men, making numerous trips to Mexi
co and the Soutt-west.”
“I see. Now, the name of the
nurse.”
“Antoinette Duval.”
“Can you give a description of
her?”
“Only as I remember her. She was
a woman of middle age then, and had
a peculiar droop to one eye.”
"Which eye?”
“The left, if I remember correctly,
monsieur.”
"Ah! go on, my dear young lady."
“There was also something peculiar
in her gait—I believe she limped a
little. You see I was but five, mon
sieur, when Antoinette and Beulah
disappeared.”
“No signs of either were ever
found?”
"Nothing.”
“Your father exhausted every
means to discover the missing ones,
I presume?”
“Nothing that a father’s love for
his child or a wealthy man's gold
could do was left undone; but with
out success. We never heard any
really favorable reports—all clews
proved to be false, and finally the
search was given up in despair. The
blow had much to do with my poor
mother's death a few years later on,'
and Miss Pauline presses a dainty
n/n/xceum: «■ mm a i , ni;
zvzzz*2W H'Mv "1|™J
77HT n\\U'
JZ&TZTT ar^Qt/CZ- /^r
queer little chuckle, as they alight in
front of their lodging-house, pay the
driver, and retire.
CHAPTER V.
Folio One-Seventeen—Page Forty
Nine.
Dick Denver makes no mistake
■when he believes the two ladies wait
ing in the anteroom are Miss Paul
ine and Dora.
He and his comrade have hardly
set foot upon the street, when a stout,
very gentlemanly official bows before
the taller of the ladies and requests
her to follow—that the prefect is
ready to receive her.
Upon entering the room where the
prefect sits, surrounded by papers,
Miss Pauline feels a natural timidity,
because of his greatness and the pow
er he wields: but she soon overcomes
this. Toe man himself looks kindly
at her. Instead of a large, pompous ;
individual, she sees a rather small
man. with a face that is inclined to- !
ward roundness, with something of
Napoleon’s look about it, though the
prefect wears glasses.
“Ah! be seated, Miss Westerly,” he
says, in the best of English.
“You know me?” she stammers.
“That is a small thing for us to
know. It is our business to find out i
all we can of our own peop’e, and the i
strangers within our gates.”
“I have come to seek your aid.”
“Certainly. You have been sub- ;
jecteri to a rough experience. But for i
the coming of the young American i
last night I do not know what the ;
men who attacked your carriage I
would not have done—possibly they
were after your diamonds—possibly
another motive prompted the attack.
I am inclined to think Senor Lopez
has something to do with it. especially 1
since his attempt to secure the pa
per your maid so cleverly recaptur
ed.”
Miss Pauline is amazed at the ex
tent of his knowledge that this same
“young American" occupied the very
chair in which she now sits, not more
than five minutes before, and gave !
this shrewd leader of the Parisian i
police an outline sketch of the man- I
ner in which the Mexican hidalgo
plays his game to get possession of
the mine.
“Monsieur, what you have said is
all very true, but I have not come
here to ask your protection. I am
a woman, but my father taught tie
how to defend myself. Although a
New York girl, accustomed to the fill
lies and gayeties of the great city,
I have traveled much, and feel no
fear. It is on another account I seek
you to-night—to solicit your assis
tance in finding a certain person.”
“Ah! yes. Richard Danvers, the
missing owner of the ten shares,"
pursues monster, glibly.
“Senor Lopez has looked and failed
to find him: how much better success
could I have? But it is not Monsieur
Danvers I am seeking now, but a
girl."
kerchief against her eyes as the mem
ories thus aroused almost overcome
her.
"Can you give a description of the
child?” pursues the prefect.
“I can do better. Fortunately they
had this photograph taken some
weeks before.”
The man carefully examines the
picture.
“A bright looking child.” he re
marks. writing; "quite a contrast to
yourself, mamselle.”
"Yes, Beulah took after my father,
who was black-eyed, while I resemble
my mother.”
"Pardon, but your mother must
have been a very handsome woman,
mamselle.”
"She was—I—that is-” in con
fusion as she catches the pointed com
pliment, "she was a sweet lady whom
every one loved. My father idolized
her, and was a different man after
he lost her.”
“Is there anything more? How old
would this lest girl be had she
lived?”
“Just eighteen a week ago.”
“There was nothing about her by
means of which she could be dis
tinguished—it is an old joke, this
birthmark business, but we depend
upon it very much in such cases
Think for a minute of your friends,
there is hardly one of them who has
not some distinguishing mark by
means of which they could be identi
fied."
“What you say is the truth; I had
never thought of it before. I cannot
remember anything peculiar about
Beulah—she was only two years old
—unless it might be the fact that
hpr left thumb nail was a little dis
figured because of the thumb being
crushed.”
“That is enough to distinguish her.”
says the grave official, writing. "You
spoke of your father having enemies
—do you know whether he had ever
injured any one particularly?”
"So far as I know, his enemies
were all business, ones, for he was a
keen though accredited an honest
business man. These parties were
really rivals, and perhaps strove to
outwit him, even as this Senor Lopez
thinks it no wrong to endeavor to
work ag3inst me.”
“Ah! how long have you known
him?”
“The senor—since I was a child—
his family once owned the El Dorado,
until his father, I believe, sold a lit
tle more than half, mostly to my fa
ther, though a few shares went to an
other party, finally falling into the
hands of this missing Mr. Danvers.
At the time the mine was believed
to have been worked out, when, truth
to tell, it was only tapped; and grows
richer every year.”
The prefect nods his head; he Is
thinking.
That brain is accustomed to deal
ing with intricate questions, and can
quickly master problems that might
stagger ordinary persons.
Pauline watches the prefect with
both curiosity and eagerness; she |
wonders what he thinks, and if he
has already an idea that will prove
advantageous to her. ft seems in
credible, and would be altogether too
good to be true.
“Mamselle, you have done well to
put your case in my hands. I prom
ise nothing—it is my way—but I have
a belief that I may aid you. Perhaps
you might not be averse to learning
where the owner of the ten shares
may be; my agent may run across
him in his labors,” with a twinkle in
his eye.
“I should be pleased to meet him
before they get hold of him, although
he may turn out to be the very sort
of person they want. Of course, you
do not work in this way for nothing.”
The prefect shrugs his shoulders as
only a thorough Frenchman can. '
“Ah! we are employed by Paris,
mamselle—what we do for you will
cost you nothing except the pay for
incidentals”—the emphasis employed
is significant enough to Pauline, who
immediately takes out her pocket
book and extracts two bills of a hun
dred francs each.
“If that fails to cover the incident
als, let me know, I beg of you, and
I will double it,” she says, sweetly.
"Ah! mamselle, it will be a pleas
ure for the gentleman whom I shall
put upon this case to serve you,” he
says, with a smile of admiration, for
the woman who can be bewitching
and yet adhere strictly to business is
not met every day.
“Then I will return to the hotel,”
rising.
The prefect is a gentleman: he
springs to his feet, and opens a door.
“This way out, mamselle; your maid
will join you in the passage way be
yond. We never allow visitors to de
part the same way they entered,” and
while Miss Pauline cannot grasp the
reason for this just at the time, latei
on she sees things in a different light,
and recognizes the fact that the po
lice officials of Paris know their busi
ness, considering that they deal with
a very clever class of rogues and
swindlers, the keenest in the world.
(To be continued.)
PARLOR MAID TOO ECONOMICAL.
Had No Idea of Wasting Fresh Water
on Fish.
Mrs. M. W. Swift, the president of
the National Council of American
Women, was making a brief address
on the subject of Christmas gifts.
“Don’t give presents.” she said,
“that demand on their recipient's part
a certain special kind of knowledge.
Don't, for instance, give a Japanese
toy dog to a woman who scarcely un
derstands fox terriers. Don’t give a
white Persian monkey to a womai
who can't keep a cat. Don’t give an
aquarium of Ceylonese gold fish to—”
Mrs. Swift bit her lip to hide a
smile.
“A friend of mine in Santa Barbara
got from her husband last Christinas
a superb aquarium of goldfish,” she
said. “The fish did well till my friend
changed her parlor maid.* Then they
began to thin and to weaken.
“One morning, finding two of the
fish afloat on their backs at the sur
face of the aquarium, my friend called
the new maid to her.
“ ‘Harriet.’ she said, ‘have you given
the fish any fresh water lately?’
“ ‘No, ma'am.’ Harriet answered.
‘They haven’t finished the water 1
gave them last month yet.’ ”
The Colonies of England.
They wish to be on the most cordial
terms with the home government. As
in 1887, 1897 and 1902, they will send
delegates to confer about common In
terests. In a crisis like the Boer war
some of them will vote money and
send men to aid England. In all ques
tions relating to peaceful develop
ment they are more than willing to
confer and co-operate with the Eng
lish ministers. But they do not pro
pose to bate a jot of their control over
their own affairs. “Our lady of the
Snows" only speaks for all the great
self-governing colonies—nations, they
might better be called—when she
says;
‘•Daughter am I in my mother’s house.
But mistress in my own!”
It means something when this fail
ure of a misdirected British imperial
ism falls in with the assertion of
old-fashioned principles of self-gov
ernment elsewhere. Signs multiply
that the wave of empire is receding.
Woman's Idea of Success.
A Kansas woman. Mrs. A. J. Stan
ley of Lincoln, has been awarded a
prize of $250 by a Boston firm for
the best answer to the question,
“What constitutes success?” She
wrote: “He has achieved success
who has lived well, laughed often and
loved much: who has gained the re
spect of intelligent men and the love
of little children; who has filled his
niche and accomplished his task; who
has left tbe world better than he
found it, whether by an improved pop
py, a perfect poem or a rescued soul;
who has never lacked appreciation of
earth’s beauty or failed to express it;
who has always looked for the best
in others and given the best he had;
whose life was an inspiration; whose
memory a benediction."—Kansas City
Star.
Much Ado About Nothing.
While the commander-in-chief of
the British fleet was superintending
battle practice recently on board one
of the cruisers of the Mediterranean
fleet, one of the guns missed fire.
Mindful of recent accidents, the
crew preferred to wait half an hour
before opening the breech. As an
extra precaut on Lord Charles Beres
ford ordered the gun to be well se
cured and waited an hour. At the
end of that time, with great care and
numerous orders as to caution, the
breech was opened. Then it was dis
covered that the men had forgotten
to put in the ammunition.
A Bad Break.
“I hear that English nobleman has
discontinued his attentions to Miss
Nuritch.”
“Yes, he queered himself with old
Nuritch; the chump asked the old fel
low if he ever followed the hounds.”
“Well?”
“Well. Nuritch was a dogcatcher be
fore he made his pile.”—Catholic
Standard and Times.
]
I/f THE OniffOCO WILVETtJfESS
u is doubtful tr the Orinoco coun
try will be properly opened up during
the present generation unless a radi
cal change of administration takes
place," writes a South American trav
eler. "Its population to-day is believ
ed to be actually less than it was
nearly four centuries ago. The In
dian stands in such fear of the Vene
tuelan and his government that he
frequently prefers to follow the small
er waterways of the Guiana region or
take overland trips through the virgin
forest rather than use the broad high
way that is his rightful heritage from
countless ancestors. This disappear
ance of the Indian has greatly imped
ed the gathering of rubber, tonka
beans and other natural products, and
since immigration is not encouraged
and continuous revolutions have scat
tered or killed the settlers of Euro
pean and mixed descent it would
seem that the country is steadily ret
rograding. There is a project on
foot at present to establish a colony
of Boers upon the llanos and Gen.
Castro is said greatly to favor it; but
the Venezuelans assert that this is
because he sees a chance to augment
nis army with tried fighters, not be
cause he favors foreign colonization.
"I sailed 200 leagues down this
giant waterway and was amazed at
the primeval condition of the country.
Between San Fernando and Ciudad
Bolivar, which are about the same
distance apart as are Minneapolis and
St. Louis, it is estimated that there
are fewer than 2,000 permanent set
tlers, apart from the inhabitants of
Caicara and one or two other small
villages. Most of these settlers,
moreover, live among such wretched
surroundings that one wonders that
they find life endurable. The only
evidence of modern progress that I
witnessed during the entire trip was
a windmill and of the various craft
we sighted not one was propelled by
steam.
“Yet the natural wealth and fertil
ity of this region are boundless. The
cattle of the llanos, as is well known,
yield the finest hides that the shoe
manufacturer can procure, and with
cheap river freights the traffic in
hides from San Fernando alone
should employ a fleet of steamers.
During my visit to that town, how
ever, the cattle industry was so de
pressed that animals on the hoof
brought only $5. The rubber forests
of the upper Orinoco are as yet al
most untouched, except on the mar
gins of the streams, and the valuable
balata rubber, which is comparatively
new to commerce, is found at various
points from the delta to the Rio
Negro.”
TIELICS OF FA MO VS FTUGATE
interesting relics from the frigate
Constitution, the proposal by Secre
tary of the Navy Bonaparte to destroy
which was defeated by vigorous pro
test, are in the possession of J. A.
Murphey of Philadelphia. They are
the logbook and ledger kept during
the command of Commodore Charles
Stewart, says the Philadelphia Led
ger.
It was the intercession of the Miss
es Stewart of Philadelphia, descend
ants of the commodore, that was
most instrumental in creating a sen
timent for the preservation of the
old hulk.
The logbook embraces the period
from December, 1813, to May, 1815,
including some of the most important
naval battles of the war of 1812. It
is in one handwriting, presumably
that of Commodore Stewart himself.
It tells in a concise and most mat
ter-of-fact style the thrilling incidents
of that historic time. Among the
more interesting stories is the recital
of the capture of the Levant.
The ledger contains the roster of
officers and men, and is an account of
the advances to them to pay. etc. Its
early entry is August 19, 1803. The
officers of the Constitution at that
[ ume were: Commodore, Charles
■ Stewart; lieutenants, James R. Cald
well, Michael B. Carroll and Joshua I.
Maxwell; midshipman, Clement Bid
dle, and sailing master, Alexander C.
Harrison. The name of Dr. Samuel
R. Marshall also appears.
The book is an example of old
fashioned thoroughness. It is hand
ruled in red ink with the precision of
a lithograph. The entries are in bold,
| clear script, as legible as if they had
been written yesterday.
In contrast with the luxurious cir
| cumstances of an officer of a modern
I man-o’-war is the entry against Lieut.
I Caldwell. He evidently had recourse
to the slopchest, from which at the
present day the ordinary seaman only
is fitted out with clothing and other
necessities. Under the heading*" oi
j "Advance of Slops,” Lieut. Caldwell
is charged on the dates Jan. 31, and
July 31, 1804, with eighty cents and
$1.13.
It had been Mr. Murphey’s intention
to present the old records to some ap
propriate historical society. In view
of the fact that Old Ironsides will
probably become itself a national mu
seum. he now thinks that their most
appropriate resting place will be on
the old vessel.
ADOl/r THE "BA.LKjy HOUSE
One of the queer sights of a down
town street the other day was a balk
ing horse hitched to a hearse.
“I have seen a good many stubborn
horses in my time,” said a man wTho
happened to be one of the bystanders,
"and likewise a good many funerals,
but Sunday’s exhibition was the first
combination of the two I ever came
across. It was a curious spectacle.
Nobody seemed to know what to make
of a horse who would so far forget
his good manners as to delay a
funeral. If the horse had been any
color other than gray, I should have
been even more surprised at the dis
play of cussedness.
“A short while ago a horseman im
parted to me some very interesting
deductions of his own in regard to
balky horses. According to him. fully
two-thirds of the horses that balk are
gray horses. Just what affinity there,
is between gray coloring matter and
a predisposition to delay general traf
fic for half a day at a stretch is a
question too deep for me. Perhaps
some scientist can figure out the an
swer.
"Another thing worth noting is that
a horse traveling toward the north
seldom balks. When going east, west
or south he may, on occasions, sud
denly take root in the pavement, but
if northward bound there seems to
be an irresistible current that sweeps
him along, no matter how strong his
inclination to stop and ruminate
Furthermore, according to my in
formant, a horse hitched singly is
more apt to balk than when driven
with a mate, and also much harder
to reduce to an amiable frame of
mind.
“It is strange, too, what a boundless
respect most horses have for certain
kinds of freight. Very seldom does
a horse hitched to a milk wagon stor
to think things over unless given per
mission to loiter. Bakers’ carts are
likewise immune, and no self-respect
ing horse ever thinks of going into a
tantrum when drawing a load of flow
ers. The drivers of pickle wagons
also give a good account of their
teams, and nobody ever heard of a
candy wagon being held up by an un
ruly horse. Up to last Sunday I had
supposed that hearses were equally
fortunate, but the escapade of t!.e
gray horse smashed that illusion.”—
New York Press.
TUGGED SAIL Off SLEIGH
A remarkable adventure befell a
Tolley, N. D., man last week. While
the Tolley Topics did not have a re
porter on the spot, it secured and
printed the story, but without those
sidelights and highlights that the inci
dent seems to demand.
Michael Pattison, a young farmer
near Tolley, was driving home in his
sleigh across the prairie. The wind
had beaten down the snow, the warm
wave had melted the top layers and
the cold nights had frozen them until
there was a crust on the snow that
would bear a man’s weight. The
horse, remembering the barn, was
making rapid time for home when the
sleigh went into a thank-you-ma’am
and remained there. The horse and
shafts went on home.
Pattison stood in the road, stamped
his feet and cussed the luck. A fierce
wind was blowing in the direction of
home and he had about made up his
mind that it would be fairly easy to
walk the ten miles when an idea
struck him. It was a life saver.
Pattison pulled the sleigh out of the
rut and dragged it out on the prai
rie. The wind was so fierce that the
sleigh would almost skid along of
itself. But Pattison, with two slats
and some wire, rigged up the lap robe
as a sail, gave the craft a running
start, jumped in and was at once
slipping across the prairie like an ice
boat. The only trouble was that there
was no certain way to guide the craft.
. But Pattison hung one leg out behind
and did some little steering with it.
Fortunately the wind was in exactly
the right quarter or we would have
to do some lying about how Pattison
“tacked."
Facts compel us to admit, however,
that the wind was right. The craft
quickly overtook the astonished horse,
who had now reduced himself to a
trot, and soon left him hull down in
the distance. In fact, the sleigh and
occupant arrived home twenty min
utes ahead of the brute and in snub
bing up banged into the barn so hard
that it frightened the cow\
When the hero of this tale told it on
the streets of Tolley the Tolleyans
started a little and looked surprised.
Some of them whistled softly and
looked meditatively away at the hori
zon. Others doubted. — Minneapolis
Journal.
THE GAME OF LIFE
This life is but a game of cards.
Which mortals have to learn;
Each shuffles, cuts and deais the pack.
And each a trump doth turn.
Some bring a high card to the top.
And others bring a low.
Some hold a hand quite flush of trumps.
While others none can show.
Some shuffle with a practiced hand.
And pack the cards with care,
So they know they are dealt
Where all the leaders are.
Thus fools are made the dupes of rogues,
While rogues each other cheat.
And he is very wise indeed
Who never meets defeat.
When playing, some throw out the ace.
The counting cards to save.
Some play the deuce and some the ten,
But many play the knave.
Some play for money—some play for fun—
And some for worldly fame.
But not until the game's played out
Can they count upon their gain.
When hearts are trumps we play for love,
And pleasure rules the hour.
No thoughts oi sorrow check our joy
In beauty’s rosy bower.
\ve sing, we dance, sweet verses make.
Our cards at random play.
Ar.d while one trump remains at top
Our game's a holiday.
Whe:; diamonds chance to crown the top.
The players stake their gold.
And heavy sums are Let and won
By gamblers >oung and old.
Intent on winning, each his game
Doth watch with eager eye.
How he may see his neighbor's cards.
And beat them on the sly.
When clubs are trumns. look out for war.
On ocean and on land.
For bloody horrors always come
When clubs are held in hand.
Then lives are staked, instead of gold.
The dogs of war are freed
In our dear country, and we see
That clubs have ~ot the lead.
Last game of ad. is when the spade
Is turned by hand of Time,
He always deals the closing game
In every age and clime.
No matter how much each man wins.
Or how much each man saves.
The spade will finish up the game
And dig the -amblers' grave.
—New Orleans Times-Democrat.
OMAHA GRAIN EXCHANGE
V/HAT IT HAS DONE TOWARD
MAKING a MARKET.
Address Delivered by Gurdon W. Wat
tles. President of the Exchange, at
the Third Annual Meeting of the
Farmers Co-Operative Grain
and Live Stock Associa
toin at Lincoln, Jan. 17
At the first meeting of the co-op
erative grain and live stock men held
in Lincoln, Jan. 17th, there were 250
present. President J. S. Casady of
Minden presided.
G. W. Wattles, president of the ,
Omaha Gram Exchange, at the even
ing meeting addressed the co-opera
tive men on the subject of the Omaha
grain market. He said:
It is indeed a pleasure for me to at
tend this meeting of the producers of
the state and address you on a subject
of much interest to myself, and 1 am
sure, of great importance to you—The !
Omaha Grain Market. Fortunately for
me my early life was spent on a farm
in the new and growing west. I was
there taught by experience those les
sons of frugality and economy which 1
must be practiced by farmers and their
families. I there learned the lesson 1
have never since forgotten, that the
farms are ^he source of all the wealth
in the nation, and that those policies
of government or customs of commerce
which affect the producing classes are
of the most vital importance to the
general business interests of the coun
try. So that when the proposition was
made to establish a home market for
the grain of Nebraska it met with my
most earnest support. In its establish
ment I saw the opportunity to increase
the value of the grain produced in Ne
braska. and incidentally to increase the
commerce of the c-.y in which 1 live.
The advent of an independent line of
railroad to Omaha from the markets of
the north and east and the encouraging
words of its president inspired the
grain merchants and business men of
Omaha to organize the Omaha Grain
Exchange and it was opened for busi
ness on February 1st, 1904.
It was the firm purpose of the pro
moters of this exchange to compel the
recognition of this market by the
transportation companies and to get a
readjustment of railroad rates on grain
throughout the state so that shipments
to Omaha and from Omaha on to other
markets could be made for the same J
tarifT as the through rate from place
of origin to those markets. In other
words, we demanded that the sum of 1
the two locals should not exceed the
through rate. This demand was re
fused by those roads which had lines j
running to the east and wTest of Omaha,
and the war was begun by one of these
roads cutting their through rates to j
Chicago on grain 2 cents per hundred, j
This cut was met by the Great Western
Railway and all succeeding cuts, until
the rates from Omaha to Chicago were
reduced to 1^ cents per cwt. for corn
and 2U cents per cwt, for wheat. At
the same time a suit was commenced
by the officers of the Exchange in the
Federal Court to enjoin this road from
further discrimination against the
Omaha market. The jobbers and large
shippers of merchandise in Omaha
were organized. and they readily
agreed to route their freight into
Omaha over those roads that were
friendly to our market. By such de
termined efforts and with a fighting
fund of nearly $100,000 on hand the
battle was soon won, and on May 10.
1904. rates were adjusted by all roads
entering Omaha in accordance with
our demands. Briefly stated. local
rates on wheat from Omaha to Chicago
were reduced from 21 cents per cwt.
to 17 cents per cwt., and the propor
tional from 21 cents per cwt. to 12
cents per cwt. The local rates on corn
were reduced from 18 cents per cwt.
to 16 cents per cwt., and the propor
tional from 18 cents per cwt. to 11
cents per cwt. A similar reduction
was made on other grains to Chicago
and on all grains to other markets. At
the same time local rates from points
tributary to Omaha wfere reduced from
298 stations and through rates from
725 stations. While this general reduc
tion of rates has been very beneficial
to the producers of Nebraska there
have been frequent special rates to
gulf ports and to eastern markets
which were unknown before the estab
lishment of the Omaha Exchange. Dur
ing nearly all of last winter a cut rate
from Omaha to the gulf of 11 cents per
cwt. on corn was in force, while for
the past two months we have had a cut
rate from Omaha to Baltimore of 18
cents per cwt on corn. This is the
same traffic we formerly paid from
Omaha to Chicago before our Exchange
was established. So that I am safe in
saying that the advantages in railroad
rates alone, secured by the Omaha
Grain Exchange, have during the past,
two years been equal to 2 cents per
bushel on all the grain shipped from
Nebraska. But this has not been the
only advantage of this Exchange to the
state. No less than ten terminal ele
vators have been built or are in course
of construction. These elevators range
from one million bushels down to 50.
000 bushels’ capacity. The present
storage capacity of our terminal ele
vators is about 5,000.000 bushels, and
this will soon be increased by the Nye
Schneider elevator with 1.000.000 bush
els’ capacity. The storage of large
quantities of Nebraska grain near at
home makes it possible to sell to ex
porters or large consumers to better
advantage than before we had a home
market. Until recently no such large
purchasers came west of Chicago for
grain. Since the Omaha Grain Ex
change was started many such pur
chases have been made from our grain
merchants, and rates direct from
Omaha to Liverpool and other foreign
markets have been secured. In some
cases these rates have been very ad
vantageous to our market..
It has been conceded by close ob
servers for many years that the soil
and climate of Nebraska are admir
ably adapted to the production of good
marketable corn. Our corn is always
well matured and generally grades
higher than the corn of other western
states. By storing our high-grade
corn at a convenient home market and
keeping it free from the lower grades
from other states, we will soon estab
lish a special demand for Nebraska
corn at an advanced price. The lec
turers. who have been sent out by our
State University for the past few years
to instruct our farmers in the import
ance of careful and intelligent selec
tion of seed corn, have done an invalu
able service to the state. In promoting
this worthy work the railroads of Ne
braska are entitled to credit and
praise. I believe that within a few
years Nebraska corn will be sold at a
premium throughout, the world.
The Omaha Grain Exchange was or
ganized to increase the value of grains
produced in Nebraska and to increase
the commerce of Omaha. There can
be no question as to the benefit it has
bronght to Omaha, the metropolis of
our state, of whose commerce, enter
prise and greatness we are all so just
ly proud. Everv man. woman or chilo
in that city who has seen the great
elevators sprang up as by magic, or
the busy scenes around the Exchange
building, crowded to overflowing with
commission merchants and brokers,
knows of its benefits to our citv. The
great hanks there that hold the surn
lus funds of the smaller banks through
out the state have had the onortunifv.
unknown to them before, of loaning
their surplus on grain in store—the
best security in the world. Enterpris
ing grain merchants from eastern mar
kets have established offices and sent
representatives to live and labor in our
city. Elevator owners throughout the
state are building terminals to be neai
the central force which commands rail
road rates and attracts the attention
of exporters: for wherever large quan
tities of produce is stored th*»re the
best purchasers mav be found This
purpose of the business men ot Omaha,
who started this Exchange, has been
accomplished. The commerce of our
citv has been Increased.
But the benefits have been even
greater to the producers of the state,
Balmy Sleep.
“Blessed be he who first Invented
sleep.” Dear old Saneho Panza. You
were quite right. A monument im
pressive as Bartholdi’t to liberty in
New York bay ought to rise to that in
ventor of “balmy sleep.”
A Rockland schoolboy’s composition
an Whittier, handed in the other day,
reached the following conclusion: “He
was never married. He hated slav
ery.”—Rockland, Me.. Satr.
which, if you bear with me. I shall
attempt to prove. According to the
government reports, issued by the De
partment of Agriculture, the average
farm value of corn in the state of Ne
braska for 1903 was 28 cents per bush
el. winter and spring wheat 54 cents,
oats 27 cents. Comparing these val
ues with those in Kansas, a state simi
larly situated, and we find that the
farm value of corn for that year in
Kansas was 36 cents, or 8 cents over
Nebraska, winter and spring wheat 59
cents, or 5 cents over Nebraska; oats
30 cents, or 3 cents over Nebraska. For
some vears previous to 1903 a similar
discrepancy existed against Nebraska
in favor of Kansas. Compared with
other western states we find the Ne
braska producers did not receive, up
to and including 1903, as much for
their grain by several cents per bush
els as the producers of other states,
even after making a liberal allowance
for distance from Chicago and eastern
markets. Kansas has had a home mar
ket at Kansas City for several years.
Since the Omaha market was estab
lished the discrepancy in the farm val
ue of corn has almost disappeared, so
that by the government report for
1905. just printed, we find that the
farm value of corn in Nebraska for
this year was only 1 cent per bushel
l*ss than in Kansas. This only amounts
to about the difference in the cost of
transportation to the gulf ports. While
the discrepancy against Nebraska in
the farm value of wheat and oats still
exists, it may be explained by the su
perior quality of these cereals last
year in Kansas. If it be true, as in
dicated by the government reports,
that the Omaha Grain Exchange has
increased the farm value of corn in
Nebraska by 7 cents per bushel, we
can place to the credit of that institu
tion the enormoys sum of $18,500,000
saved to the farmers of Nebraska on
the crop of 1905 alone. It cannot be
denied that the Omaha Grain Exchange
has added at least 2 cents per bushel
to all the grain produced in Nebraska
by securing lower rates of transporta
tion to eastern and foreign markets
and by establishing better grading and
opening better markets. This saving
to the farmers of this state amounts
to $7,500,000 per annum on a full crop.
Even this has justified the existence
of the Omaha market. Two cents per
bushel adds one dollar per acre to the
income of land which will produce fifty
bushels to the acre. One dollar per
acre additional income is 5 per cent on
$20 per acre additional value. The
claim therefore is not unreasonable
that the Omaha Grain Exchange has
been one of the important influences
"hich has caused the enormous in
crease in the values of our farm lands
in this state during the past two years.
Before the Omaha Grain Market was
established very little of our grain was
exported by way of the gulf ports. But
one of our grain carrying railroads
published rates to southern and gulf
markets, and last year nearly all the
corn exported from Nebraska went by
way of the gulf at lower rates of trans
portation than ever before known. Let
me repeat then, and if possible em
phasize my claims tor the Omaha
Grain Exchange. It has greatly in
creased the commerce of Omaha. It
has secured better transportation rates.
It has opened new and better markets.
It has increased the value of all Ne
braska grains. It has a central force,
a compact organization necessary in
these times for effectual work. It
should therefore command the support
and co-operation of all who seek to
improve the condition of the producers
of our state.
When I hear of projects to establish
other markets in Nebraska. I am re
minded of the advice given by a father
to his seven sons. He bound together
a number of sticks and offered a re
ward to the one who would break *
them. They all tried and failed, but
when he unbound them, he broke them
one by one with east. There are those
in Nebraska who would be glad to see
numerous grain markets established in
order to dissipate the central force of
one powerful organization, but those
who favor this plan are not working
for the producers* interests. It mat
ters little to the men who earn their
bread by the sweat of their faces, who
■work in the fields and who are the
bone and sinew of all our greatness,
whore they sell the results of their toil.
It matters much to them and to us all
that they shall receive the highest pos
sible reward for their labors. One
creat live stock market in our state
has been of inestimable value. One
great grain market will be of equal
benefit.
That which has been accomplished
in the two years existence of the
Omaha Grain Exchange should be an
inspiration to us all. The receipts for
the first eleven months of its existence
amounted to 15.370.000 bushels. The
receipts for the nast twelve months
have been 34,523.500 bushels, divided
as follows;
Bushels.
Corn .19.771.000
Wheat . 6 518.200
Oats . 7,776.000
Barley . 208.000
Rye . 250,oo<»
.» ne increase during its second year
has been over 100 per cent. Our mar
ket has in less than two years become
the third primary corn market in the
United States. It now ranks seventh
in receipts of all grains. A good home
market is perhaps more important to
Nebraska farmers than to those of any
oth*»r western state. Owing to the un
satisfactory condition of the cattle
feeding industry in this state our
farmers sell a greater proportion of
their corn than those of other states.
I make the statement without fear of
successful contradiction that Nebraska
produces more marketable corn than
any other state in the Union, and that
we sell more corn in the markets of
the world than any other state. To se
cure better grading, lower transporta
tion and the best ultimate markets to
be found in the world for Nebraska
grain is the ambition of the officers of
the Omaha Grain Exchange.
Nebraska is pre-eminently a grain
producing state. The annual income
from the surplus products of the farms
and ranches of this state exceeds the
sum of $200,000,000. It is this income
which has in the past forty years con
verted a barren nlatn into a garden,
that has replaced the sod houses of
the pioneers with modern dwellings,
that has been the fountain which has
supplied the commerce to build the
cities and towns within our state. It
has been truly said. ‘If we destroy the
farms, the grass will grow in the
streets of the cities." It is therefore
of vital importance to every loyal citi
zen of our state that we guard well
the rights and interests of the produc
ers on whom all our property depends.
On the shield of Nebraska is em
blazoned the motto. "Equality before
the law." This motto has been con
densed by our able and fearless presi
dent into three words, which all west
erners understand. "A Square Deal.’*
No citizen has a right to expect more,
no one can afford to accent less If
in the past the producers of Nebraska
have been deprived of a part of the re
sults of their toil by unlawful combi
nations formed to prevent fair com
peition for their products, such combi
nations should be forever ended bv all
the lawful forces at our command. If
we have not sufficient laws on our
statute books to insure every producer
of this state "a square deal" in the
marketing of his products, such laws
should be speedily enacted. Every
young man. whether he lives on the
farm or in the city must have an eoual
chanoe with his fellows in the battle
of lif®. This is the principle for which
our forefathers fouebt: against it no
combination nor cornoration ran suc
cessfully contend. The railroads of
this state must be compelled to grant
the same rights and the same rates to
the small shipper as to the large. Se
cret rebates, which destroy the weak
and increase the strong, cannot be jus
tified either in law or morals, and must
be stopped. The right to engage in the
grain trade and to erect elevators at
all stations in the state must be con
ceded. The right to maintain a home
market for the grain of Nebraska,
with equal privileges, equal rates and
"a square deal" with other markets is
a purpose which will appeal to the
great army of producers throughout
the state and no corporation nor in
dividual. however powerful, can afford
to withhold or abridge this lawful and
just purpose. The Omaha Grain Ex
change asks no charity nor unfair con
cessions. It desires peace, but is able
and willing and ready to fight for its
rights and the rights of its patrons, if
necessary.
Buried in Favorite Work Basket.
In accordance with her will, Mrs.
Constance Miller of New Rochelle, N.
Y., was cremated, her ashes placed in
a work basket, of which she had been
fond, and then buried in her own
yard.
i
“You replace Dr. Franklin,” said the
Count de Vergennes to Jefferson when
they first met “I succeed, no one can
replace him,” said the newly appoint
ed minister to France.
