Nebraska Newspapers

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Ruirell
Sa&e’s
Ghoul Proof
Vault.
Any Person AfayHave
On eJor^lOO, But the
Disappearance of the
Resurrectionists
Has Lessened the Demand.
Boston.—One need not have the
wealth of the late Russell Sage In or
der to purchase a ghoul-proof casket,
for the same thing, or at least one
equally burglar-proof, can be secured
here for from $100 to $200. They are
not in great demand hereabouts, for
the same dangers do not exist as for
merly, or exist at all, save for men of
such prominence as this late eccen
rric millionaire, said a member of a
prominent Srm in speaking of this
type of sarcophagus:
“I cannot see how any such sum as
that mentioned in the newspapers
could possibly be paid for a steel cas
ket. They can be secured for a little
over $100, and even if made to order
could not be brought above a cost of
$1,000. They are of simple construc
tion, consisting only of a steel case
which locks from within with spring
locks. The ordinary kind cannot be
opened without the use of a steel
chisel, and then the heads of the bolts
would have to be cut away.
“They are an absolute protection
ror such as possess the fear of body
snatchers, but they are not used very
-uuch here in the east. Now that the
medical schools are well supplied, un
der the law, there is little incentive
for this type of criminal to operate.
In the south and west, however, they
tre in quite common use.”
“Do you ever have a request for a
'asket which shall be provided with
safeguards against burial alive?” was
asked.
No More Burials Alive.
“No. Under our present methods
aurial alive is an impossibility. To be
sure, there are some eccentric lndi
agreed that it would be impossible to
expend this amount of money on the
steel inclosure. Te said:
“Our prices range from $100 to per
haps $500, and should such a thing be
made to order, of heavier steel and
with special arrangements, it might be
brought up to over $1,000, but scarce
ly more. I have heard nothing to the
effect that Mr. Sage’s sarcophagus
was bought of our firm, but if it was it
is scarcely probable that any such
price as this was paid for it.’’
“Have you in ordinary use especial
arrangements like electric bells or
other means of safeguarding against
burial alive?’’
“No; although, of course, such
things could be made, to supply a
whim. The steel casket is common
enough, especially in countries where
there is a great deal of rain, or in
remote regions where the grave can
not be watched.”
If as big a sum as $22,000 was ac
tually expended on the burial arrange
ments of Mr. Sage, it must have been
in other directions than for the mere
inclosure. Local undertakers doubt it,
and maintain it is absurd.
Grave Robberies Common.
Although the danger from grave
robbing never became so acute in
Massachusetts as elsewhere, up to
within 25 years the crime was of com
mon occurrence here. But in New
York a series of startling exposures
revealed the fact that there was a
well organized body of men engaged
in the work of supplying medical
schools with the necessary cadavers
for dissection. Until 1883, when the
so-called anatomy bill was passed in
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viduals who make odd requests, but in '
my long experience I have never come j
across one. This steel casket is as i
far as they ever vary In their ex-!
pressed wishes."'
A member of the local branch of the \
company, from whom it was reported
the $22,000 casket was bought, also
that state, there was but this one way
in which bodies could be secured. The
prices paid for them were high, and
in consequence a group of men about
Syracuse Medical college and the Buf
falo Medical college did a thriving
business as “resurrectionists.” Of
them all. no one was more famous
If there was some eco
nomic scheme or plan by
which the thousands of
the underpaid and over
worh'ed men and women
of our large cities could
be given a. week away
from the surroundings
that become so monot
onously impressed on the
mind and nerves, and have that week in a locality where diversion would
be a practical probability without the usual attendant loss of time and
money, it would be a most commendable move.
The plan I have in mind is outlined much ns follws:
To have an institution that had as its object only the purpose of giv
ing to every one a vacation without any idea of profit to itself, and to never
have any surplus except that which was held against just claims.
To arrange that by the payment of a small sum weekly or monthly a
person might lay up sufficient with the institution that would give him
with no further concern, the chance to leave his work and have a week at
’ a place in the country, with a sum of money equivalent to his weekly pay,
and with no charge for his accommodations.
Platt to <£tur iEuerg
Worker a Paratinn
By SAMUEL S. KOENIG.
New York Politician.
than Dr. Hervey W. Kendall, who at
last was mysteriously murdered.
In more ways than one Dr. Kendall
was a remarkable man. His temper
ament was such that he seemed to de
light in things that horrified other
men. He was a student at the medi
cal college, where he was known as a
man who was not a brilliant student,
but as one who could do things better
than most men when he made up his
mind to do so. To look at the man
was to see that he was out of the
common. One who knew him well de
scribed him as follows:
"If Hervey had lived in the days of
pirates he would have been a rival to
Capt. Kidd. In the first place, he
looked the part. Nine out of ten men
would turn to get a look at him on
the stieet. Almost six feet tall, he
was sinewy and lithe to a degree.
There was not an ounce of fat on his
body, and his muscles were magnifi
cently developed. His neck was un
usually long, and surmounted by a
head that was remarkable. His fore
head was high and intelligent, his
eyes deep-set and sparkling black. A
mustache of metallic blackness ap
peared blacker than it really was, by
reason of hiij waxy complexion, which
was almost corpse-like in its yellowish
whiteness. This mustache, which was
long and flowing, gave him an air of
officer testified that he did not believe
there were a dozen graves in the
cemetery containing bodies. But these
ghouls even visited neighboring vil
lages and thje aristocratic burying
ground at Oaxwood. So bold did they
become, and so powerless were the
police to check them, that many citi
zens buried relatives and friends in
distant cities.
Kendall was suspected, but he
adopted a hundred ruses to throw the
sleuths off his track. Time and time
again he was almost captured in the
act, but always made good his escape.
Cemeteries were guarded and patrols
placed about tombs, but still the med
ical school was supplied, and Kendall
remained at large.
His end was as tragic and mysteri
ous as his life had been. On May 8,
1882, Thomas Powell, an attendant at
the county courthouse, looked from
o te of the windows and saw through
the morning mist the body of a man
lying in an adjacent field. There was
a bullet hole between his eves, but he
was still conscious. He gave his
name, but refused to divulge the name
of the man who had done the deed.
He died a few hours later, with his
lips still sealed.
Near him lay a piece of carpet, two
shovels and a satchel containing a
cant-hook, a rope, a dark lantern, a
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ferocity which was really startling. He
wore in winter a long ulster that
came almost to his heels.”
Skilled in Use of Weapons.
A glimpse of his living rooms in
Warren street, Syracuse, was a reve
lation of the tastes of the man. The
walls were hung with foils and a reg
ular armory of weapons. An expert
fencer and a dead shot, he led an ex
istence that drew him away from all
but a very few intima.te freinds.
His skill with the revolver was
noteworthy. As an illustration of
this, an acquaintance of his said:
‘‘I never knew a surer marksman:
he was absolute lightning. On one
occasion he and I were in the old
medical college one night, and had to
go downstairs into the cellar, where
the cadavers were kept in huge bar
rels of brine. I went ahead, carrying
a candle, while Hervey followed me.
He had a cigarette in his right hand
and a package in his left. When half
way down the stairs, in the inky black
ness, I heard a noise in one of the coal
bins. Almost before I had time to
catch the gleam from a pair of yel
lowish eyes, and to realize it was a
prowling cat, I heard the report of a
revolver. I jumped, and when I re
covered myself looked around, to see
this man kicking aside the dead body
of the cat. He was laughing at my
fright.”
To a man of this morbid nature and
one who, moreover, was absolutely
fearless and who courted adventure,
this grewsome work of body snatch
ing had its fascinations. It was il
legal, and the best brains of the police
force of the country were busy trying
to stop it, which added another in
centive to this man. It was a con
test of mind and pluck, as he looked
upon it. And so, while still a student,
he organized a small gang of men who
supplied cadavers to colleges even as
far west as Michigan.
Emptied Numerous Graves.
The poo-house graveyard was their
favorite hunting ground, and at the
inquest over the body of Kendall an
! bit and stalk, a screwdriver and a
burglar's jimmy. Whether he was
shot in a quarrel with a pal or by a
member of the vigilance committee
which had been organized against the
ghouls, no one knows. With his death,
and the passage of a law giving the
schools a legal means of securing ca
davers, grave robbing ceased in Syra
! cuse.
Family of Ghouls.
At about this time the country was
startled by the weird story which fol
lowed the arrest of the McNamee fam
ily. Some three miles from the city
there had lived for five years the fa
ther, two sons and a daughter. But
little was known of them, although the
neighbors frequently speculated on
their means of earning a livelihood.
One night a farmer named Goodrich
was returning to his home late from a
visit to a distant relative, when he
met in the dark road a team. The
road was narrow, so that in passing
he was able to see the occupants of
the other vehicle. He recognized
them as the old man McNamee am’
his daughter. He was somewhat sur
prised to notice that the girl ws
dressed in man's clothes, but stil
more surprised to see that a muffle
figure sat between them. He stoppe
and asked a few commonplace ques
! tions, to which he received surly re
plies. At this point McNamee’s horse
started, and as he did so threw the
hat from the head of the third figure.
Goodrich nearly fell from his wagon
as he recognized the set features of
young Wilbur Hill, who had been
buried a few days before.
Goodrich, pale from fright, hurried
home and roused the neighbors. Ti ey
! opened the grave, which had but late
I Iv been filled, and found it empty. A
search of the house of the McNamees
j revealed spades, ropes and all the
i other paraphernalia of grave rob' ig.
Further investigation of the g ive
yard showed that many other b lies
were missing, and some of these were
-ater discovered at Ann Arbor Medical
■ school. The McNamees were arrested
and imprisoned after a speedy tr.al.
Assuming that a man was getting $15 a week he could, with no sreat
loss in his weekly comfort, pay 25 cents a week toward a week’s keeping
in the country, his total would be $12.50, which would pay his fare to and
from the place, and keep him in comfort for the week.
Few men there are who cannot spare that much out of the weekly
savings, and how few men there are who can spare the $15 or $20 neces
sary at one time to take a couple of days away from the grind of *t>e vcar’s
work. W here a man had a family an increased weekly payment won,., get
the same result, and where a man was an earner of sufficient capacity he
should be able to pay enough weekly so that he might have not only the
benefit of an easily taken, well-conducted visit to recreation, but receive
the amount of the week’s wages as well.
Such plans are worked by some of the big employers of labor in the
world, and they work to the entire satisfaction of every one concerned.
One big plant in Germany gives an employe who has been with it a
! year a rest cure in the mountains at its expense with full pay.
Out in Ohio a firm taxes its employes a small bit each week, with
their permission, and sends them away for two weeks to a farm in the
country, where they are entertained as well as one is at the ordinary high,
priced summer boarding-house.
That the idea can be made practical and of the greatest benefit to the
small wage earner I haven’t the least doubt, and I fL ta.y believe that it
will be done sooner or later.
iHE PHOTOGRAPH
AMO WILLIAM
By HAROLD WHITE
(Copyright, l&Oti, by Joseph B. Bowles.)
"William,” I said, as kindly as pos
sibly, "It will either have to be found
or we part company—that ih the right
expression, 1 think, isn’t it?”
"Yes, sir,” said William, scooping ui
the luncheon crumbs.
"How the deuce it could be lost
passes my comprehension!” I added,
glancing at the vacant space on tht
mantelpiece where the photograph usee
to stand. I missed it. It was notonl}
pretty in itself, but I valued it; times
had changed, but I say I valued it.
“P'r’aps Mrs. Groom knows some
thing about it,” suggested William
without apparent interest.
“Nonsense!” I replied, irritably.
“You know as well as I do that Mrs.
Groom hasn’t been near the place since
nine this morning.”
William apparently gave it up, and
went cn with his crumb-scooping .
“Did I understand, sir,” he said,
after a pause, “that you was to be
back at tea-time with the young lady
and lier aunt, sir?”
William’s remarks generally have a
significance, and with practice it is
possible to gather what that signifi
cance is. This time I saw at once what
he mejnt by a certain pose of his head
and the meditative manner in which
he picked up the table-cloth.
“Confound your impertinence!” I
said. “Look here, William, I’m not
going to have you arrange my rooms
according to your notions of propriety,
or whatever it is. That photograph
will have to be produced and put up
exactly where it always stands.”
“As you please, sir,” said William
“I will see that it’s looked for.”
"Do you think I want you to man
age my matrimonial affairs?” I went
on. I was angry with him.
“I shouldn’t take the liberty, sir.”
“Who’s going to notice the things?”
“Oh, I think they notice ’em, sir.
It’s my belief the women see with the
backs of their heads. Besides, sir, it's
natural that they should take stock,
coming for the first time.”
“And suppose they do?”
-well, sir, said u imam, in my
opinion what the eye doesn’t see the
heart doesn't grieve after, and least
said soonest mended. Of course, sir.
that may be only in my station in life,
sir.”
“Do you imagine that any woman
would think that I have lived for three
and-thirty years without the diversion
of feminine society?” I put it to him.
“They may not think it, sir, but
they like to believe it”
“But that’s nonsense.”
“Very likely, sir. It's my belief it's
very much this way. A woman don’t,
no more than a man. imagine things
in a general wray; but if she finds a
hook, she hangs a deal on it.”
"But don't you see, William,” I
said, "that this entails a life of per
petual deceit?”
"I don't see. sir, begging your par
don, that any man is bound to incrim
inate himself.”
“That is casuistry,” I said. “Where,
William, where are your ethics?” -
“I don’t know, sir. Perhaps I never
had any, sir. I’m not familiar with
the word.
“If you had,” I said, “you would
see that the one great condition of
happiness between a man and a wom
an who are, or who are to become
man and wife, is perfect confidence.
There should be no secrets. Nothing
should be kept back.”
“Some have tried it, sir,” said Wil
liam, and paused thoughtfully. “I
think if I was to look, sir, I might
find the photograph in the wardrobe
in your bedroom. Shall I look for it,
sir?” he asked, walking to the door.
“Stop!” I said. “You say some have
tried it. In your experience?”
“I’ve lived in married families, and
I have come across it,” said William.
"How did it work?”
“Oh! lor!” said William, and said
nothing more.
“How often,” I said, “are our natu
rally good impulses checked by the
knowledge that if we let them go, they
will only lead to harm in the end?
My natural impulse is to befriend the
beggar in the street, but I know that
I shall only be encouraging vagrancy
and drink, and things. My natural im
pulse under the present circumstances
is to have no skeleton in my cup
boards, and no photographs concealed
in the wardrobe of my bedroom—and
then a man of experience tells me
that if I let that impulse go, the re
sult will very likely be appalling. I
gathered, William, that the results in
the other cases were appalling?”
Willi? m lifted his eyebrows and
nodded.
“Then your advice, as a man of ex
perience, is to arrange the mantelpiece
without including the photograph?"
"Seeing what’s written on it—”
"Seeing what's written on it, you
think that on the whole it would be
as well to—er—exclude the photo
graph?”
If K isn t a liberty, sir,” said Wil
liam.
“The mantelpiece will look very
pmpty without it,” 1 suggested.
"Yes, sir; that’s in the nature ol
things I suppose, sir,’ said William.
“Pernaps it is as well to get used to
It sir, if I may make so bold.”
“Yes, yes. And are there any other
improvements you would suggest?”
"No, sir,” said William, glancing
round. “I think we shall show up
pretty well as we are."
“1 will take yorr advice, William.”
I said. "And when I am married,
William, you shall come and arrange
my ma+’-'monial souabhies for me.”
“Thank you, sir.” said William, “I
couldn't vn^rtake it."
Labor Unions in Old Days.
Labor unions are no new invention.
Accurate records of their existence
In Roman times have been dug up in
Pompeii.
Which Wat the Bigger Man?
A slap on the face restored a dying
man in Fasten. Pa. A man would sim
ply have to fecover after that in order
to get souare for the insult
Has Some Good Points.
Every mv" *n a while something
harpens *'■ <• ~~st that the Chinese
Idea of * the officers of a
ailed ’ -’1 bad. ,,
America’s Rusted
Goddess to be Painted
After Twenty Years of Neglect the Statue of Liberty Is
to Make Her Toilet.
Better days are ahead of Barthol
di's Statue of Liberty, which was re
ceived with so much ceremony from
France over 20 years ago. Since
that gala day in 1886, when the fair
goddess in bronze received the plaud
its of the nation, and was the cen
ter of admiring throngs, she has
been neglected. Nothing has been
done to stay the ravages of time, and
the corroding of the salt-steeped air '
of the upper bay, and as a result, to
day she is a “perfect sight,” as she
undoubtedly would exclaim, if en
dowed with speech, and could see her
self mirrored in the surface of the
surrounding waters.
But her days of poverty and neglect
are over, and now as ward of the na
tion and special charge of the war
department, she is to be taken in hand
and such toilet as befits her station
in life and her physical conditions is
to be given her. The report is that
she is to be painted, and in this
she undoubtedly displays a feminine j
weakness, for when the tell-tale !
marks of time intrude their unwel
come presence, where is the woman
who is not eager to take refuge be- I
I don’t know just how' many there
w'ill be, but about one for every
turn of the 3tairway, I think.
“The torchlight will be increased,
both as to number and power. As
things are now the poWer we are
able to generate in the post power
house is insufficient for our needs,
but one of the improvements, as you
see by the bill, is a new illuminating
plant. Of course, the electric eleva
tor w'ill be run by the power from the
same station, which will be ample for
all the needs of the island.
That there- is desperate need of
such appropriation is painfully ap
parent to any one who takes the lit
tle steamer out to Bedloe Island and
inspects the statue. The very spirit
of ruin har.gs over the place. It
meets one on the wharf where the
boat lands—for that matter it is to
be seen on the boat itself before you
land; it is in the walks leading up
to the pedestal, which are weather
beaten and rotten planks that give as
the foot or hand touches them. The
old cannon on the facade of the fort
have not escaped, but are pocked
marked by the flying spray and in
THE STATUE OF LIBERTY.
(Salt-Steeped Air Has Corroded Badly the Great Bronze Figure.)
hind the powder puff and the rouge
jar?
But Capt. Burnell, who is in charge
of the statue, and under whose su
pervision the work of repainting is
being done, denies that the outside
of the statue is to be painted, but
says the inside may be coated with
some light-colored preservative after
the rust has been scraped off.
It is only three years since the war
department was given control of the
statue, and up to the present year
the department has been hampered in
its work by the lack of funds. But
j congress at its last session came to
the rescue with $62,800—$62,800 for
the renovation of the national goddess
after 20 years of neglect.
But that there is a new era opening
up for the goddess is certain. Jus
tice is to be done her at last. Capt.
Burnell is very enthusiastic over the
outlook for the improvement of statue
and grounds, which is a matter he
has had at heart for a long time, and
in speaking of which he showed his
enthusiasm strongly.
“I have been overwhelmed with let
ters,” said he, “for some time past,
particularly since a rumor became
current that the statue was to be
painted. Where this originated I
don't know. I certainly have re
ceived no official communication as
yet regarding the painting of the
outside of the statue. The inside cer
tainly will be scraped to remove the
rust and repainted with a light colored
preservative that will protect the
walls of the statue and reflect the
light, making the interior easier to
illuminate. The lights, which we
hope to install by the first of next
year, will be ample for their purpose.
crusted salt of the bay. Even the
big concrete base of the statue has
come In for its share of the general
dilapidation and is marked by great
star-shaped seams and cracks show
ing vividly against the white walls.
Most unseemly of all is the state,
bordering s.s it does on the danger
ous, of the “temporary” stairway up
which one must climb to the main en
trance of the pedestal. This is of
wood, weather scarred wood, patched
and shored in innumerable places by
the signal corps people since they
came into power, and was originally
put up for the purpose of hastening
the day when the statue could be
thrown open to the public. It was
meant for a week’s or a month's use
at the longest, but it has stood there
for the best part of 20 years.
There is another phase of the mat
ter that deserves mention, the more
so that no camera can give any idea
of it. The inside of the monument
is totally and absolutely black. It Is
impossible to see the next step, and
one must “feer’ one's way during the
entire climb. There are possibly two
or three lights, of the oil lamp variety,
swung between the crown chamber
in the head and the sandalled feet
which rest on the pedestal. Nothing
more in the shape of illumination save
the tiny gleams of light that struggle
through pin holes in the bronze
plates of the statue itself, and do
but serve to show the darkness. Of
these latter holes there are fully 500.
"ust what caused these holes no ono
'ins to know, but the general opin
■vas that they are rust marks. As
they are on the side of the statue it
was impossible to reach them and
examine them carefully in order to
ascertain their character exactly.
TRAITS OF FIGHTING BULLS.
In Spain accidents to bull fighters
are of frequent occurrence, and It is
Interesting to see the hero of many
fights swing into the chapel attached
to the bull ring and kneel before the
effigy of the Virgin Mary before enter
ing the arena.
Bull fighting is the national pastime.
Boys play at it in the gutters, and
there are bull fights for amateurs all
over the country, at which only two
year-old bulls are used, and young
and old descend Into the arena. As
tounding is the enthusiasm, says the
Nineteenth Century.
Interesting, too, is the psychology of
bulls. When herded together they are
docile enough, and it is a picturesque
sight to see the bulls brought into the
paddock, prior to the fight, through
the streets of the city when all are
sleeping. A cow trained to the busi
ness, with a bell around her neck, is
all that is necessary, and the bulls
follow quietly behind her.
In the plains where the bulls are
reared men on horses manage them
quite easily so long as they are
massed together. Three bulls in the
ring together would be useless for a
fight to the death.
Bulls literally see red. Were it not
that a bull will always dash at any
thing red the men in the ring would
have no chance whatever. Occasional
ly bulls have what is called the evil
eye, and remain indifferent to the red
capa extended to them, and then the
list of casualties is generally high.
Sometimes a bull which has shown
prodigious power and fight is par
doned by the populace. A cow, kept
for the purpose, is then sent into the
arena, and at sight of her the bull for
gets man and the fury of the battle
and gently trots behind to the pad
dock, as meek as any heifer.
Many are the curiosities about bulls,
which sometimes refuse to attack a
particular horse, and when a man is
down, motionless, disdain even to paw
him. Some bulls make instinctively
for one man, and will chase him all
around the ring, leaping the barrier if
he vaults over it, and if he falls will
kneel upon his body and gore him to
shreds. IThere is nomercy in bulla,
and none Is shown to them.