Nebraska Newspapers

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Of»
WEEK'S EVENTS
Latest News of Interest
Boded Down for the
Busy Man.
• ••••••••••••••••••••Ml
Washington
7b» lurmal <eru&rate and return* ot '
New Urucai first ciwilut as a proa- ’
•metis* »lt'« has bare placed in the ■
bands at President Taft in Washing
ton A «*-»c*Uoo fre ta the s«« stale
<jofc the papers to tie White House.
• • •
No ting Ink death caa keep me
'•at at the fight now." I‘resident Talt
la repotted to have made this state
mem to White House callers and to
bate added that he had no objection 1
to the statement betas made public.
• • •
Becr»tary Nagel in bli annual report
•o President Taft at Washington de
lares that the Sherman law has been
prosed to he an efferUre statute and
'hat the neat step in the control of
cram industrial corporation* will be
■he establishment of a permanent fed
eral agency.
it-presectatlre I'nderwood. Demo
-alie leader of the boose, has re
timed to his office at Washington *1
mart recovered from the illness which
aroused apprehension last week.
Domestic
The Hitraejm refineries of lb*
Ascnat wng»r Refining coapui; at ,
M'lllismsburit. N I. have been closed
i»d i.M sh-c hare teen thrown out
of empkjyr.'Et Overproduct ion is I
said to hare mused the shutdown.
K.Ji»n hundred longshoremen. etc
‘ racing all the men employed in load
:ig and eri-aullag foreign vessels on j
'he Boctoa (Naas, j water front. I
•Track »he* t maadi for an increase 1
in wages were denied Schedule* of
mu Users are expected to be af- <
feeted.
* ' *
One mac was burned to death, rev- j
a other*, were injured, a score of men
and women were rendered uncon- |
actons by the suffocating smoke; j
property damage of oTcr KM OM was ,
rc.tailed and one of Chicago's oldest ;
landmarks was wiped oat. when the j
Transit house, la the stock yards sec- .
Mon. was msec} by fire
• e •
Kansas jack rabbits are feeding the
needy of Kansas City. Mo The city
ndfirtr Is are ps—tag out SCO of the
■ ntasli sent by K K Friaell. mayor
Two unmasked men looted the mail
car of the Oregon express, on the
fiewthern Pacific, of all registered nut
tar. and escaped, leaving the mail
clerks bond ia the car.
• • •
Will tats I Bryan's name has been I
advanced from a position on the Dem ;
ocratir primary ballot as a ; referee
rial candidate for he presidency by a
petit tea placed on fie with the secre- ■
(ary d state at Usoia. Neb
• • •
indict menu charging conspiracy
and c*o if the tilled States malls
to defraud in connection witb an ai
legad t&.eekiPM swindle aere re
famed b; the federal grand jurv at
Now York against Julian its* iborne,
son of Nathaniel Hawthorne, the
MUd writer; Jewish Quincy, former
mayor of isowtoe aid assistant secre
tary of state under Cleveland; Or.
VStian J. Norton; Albert Freeman
and John McKinnon
All he French societies of the east
adfi anus in a dfnnnr to bo given in
New York February i to commemorate
the signing of the first treaty of alii
tan between Fratce and the United
Statea in l7?t by Benjamin Franklin
and the Count de Ver*«mnes. Si Jus
nerand. ambassador of France, and At <
leraey General . Wickeraham will
affiliated
•1tk Sksxd GoKpm and the Amert
m r<4ttMtoa at Labor ««rt In
l«n^ t»o tears ago ty Charles A
BeaikwsJtar. rko aa mayor ot Indian
a*aOs at tbat tin* conducted a ao
rta* btwtlotloa. that John J. McNa
mara had directed a aeries a «1> ha mite
Tie lit. < at platinum baa rtaen tc
ft*n a pwcsdL 'be highest quotation
on recerd. Tbere u» ari a dearth at
•be met*! 'bat. afteral ‘ompames
targe mn at the metal, are making
sm'ernnftkr «9orta toward new diacov
erien.
The trial at Mayor Eugene Schmitt
at tan rnndneo on charges at brib
ery epenmd in the Ca.iloraia city, on#
at the wftneaaet subpoenaed being
Abe Ustf. the ore-time bora now
TW Western Brea era Shipping aa
aat at the tending trade or
in the rolled States. baa
It* office at Mil
waukee, ft he*eg deemed by come of
^a members, tbat it »*» la notation
Theodore Roosevelt In an Outlook
editorial warns against mastery of the
United Stales by the courts. He ad
vocates that momentous decisions of
the various state supreme courts af
fecting great bodies of people shall
not be accepted as Anal until they
have been affirmed or overthrown by
a vote of the people in the state af
fected. •■■■*1,i '
• • _; •
Henry Focbt. a Cleveland (O.J. elec
trician, who had his back broken in
South America and was rushed to the
north, has left New York for Cleve
land still alive, though paralyzed.
Leonard Rliss. the fat man. known
.he world over as “Baby." was found
dead at his home in Bloomington. III.
He was accidentally asphyxiated by
gas from a stove. He weighed 575
pounds.
* • •
Harry Andrews, a striking Illinois
Central shopman of Clinton. 111., was
tried before Judge Humphrey of the
federal court at Springfield and found
guilty of violating the order restrain
ing strikers from interfering with the
men employed by the company. He
was sentenced to thirty days in the
workhouse at Peoria.
Thefts from the large jewelry and
silverware stores of New York city
have been more extensive in the last
few weeks than In any other holiday
season in recent years, according to
the pol.ee One large establishment
elebraied the new year by dismissing
IS men from its staff.
President Samuel Gcmpers of the
I ederation of Labor denies most em
phatically that he stood on an Ameri
can flag while making a speech at a
labor meeting in Oakland. Cal. “I
would." he declared, "as lief insult the
memory of my revered mother as the
flag of my country."
Brought before United States Circuit
Court Commissioner O- S. Clark, H.
Montgomery Dearing. aged cashier of
the Albion (Mich ( National bank, and
bis son. Parmer M. Dearing, who were
placed under arrest at Albion, con
fessed that they had forged notes
la the came of the bank and of the
Cook Manufacturing company, of
which the elder Dearing was presi
dent and the younger Dearing mana
ger. to the sum of $144.0Q0.
• • •
Foreign.
Seven hundred imperial troops were
reported killed in a battle with revo
lutionists near Hankow, province of
Hu-Peh. China. The intpetial forces
were evacuating the city when two of
their trains were destroyed. From
these trains 1,000 troops were making
an effort to return to Hankow.
• • a
American Minister Calhoun at Pe
king cent-a cablegram to the United
States government at Washington
urging that American troops be sent
at once to the interior to protect the
Chin Wang Tao-Peking railroad.
a a a
Fire destroyed the Kxcelsior Mptor
works and garage. 25 automobiles, a
ten house terrace and several small
stores and ether buildings located in
the southern part of Winnipeg. Man.,
entailing i> lo.-s estimated ai $200,000.
Dr. Sun Yat Sen took the oath of of
fice as provincial president of the Chi
nese republic at Nanking. The cere
mony was simple but dignified. His
£rst official net was to change the Chi
ese calendar.
• • •
Sixteen Persians were banged at
Tabriz. Persia, by order of the Russian*
court mart ial in connection with the re
cent attack on the Russian troops. The
Russian court-martial is exacting a
heavy toil for the casualties suffered
by the Russia ntroops.
Personal
More than 100 Bulgarians and.
Croatlans, not one of whom can speak
Kuglish. have formed a singing class
at Kansas City which will try to learn
the national hymns of the United
States in the tongue of this land.' v
J. W. Yardiey, vice president of the
Night and Day hank of Kansas City,
Kas . which has closed its doors, says
confusion of the institution by its de
positors with the American Union
Bank and Trust company, formerly
the All Night and Day bank of Kan
sas City. Mo., and which closed re
cently. caused a run the bank was
not able to stand.
The remains oi the late Rear Ad
miral Robley D. Evans were laid at
lest In Arlington cemetery. A full
military funeral that equaled If ’not
excelled any seen in Washington was
accorded by the navy department.
President Taft, statesmen, warriors
and diplomats attended the funeral
services as a last tribute to. one of
the nation's greatest etna; fighters.
Mrs. William R. Day, wife of Jus
tice Day of the Supreme court, died
at the family residence in Canton, O.
At the bedside at the time of her
death were all .the .members aT the
Day family
• • •
Miss Anne Morgan's restaurant for
workingmen, at the Brooklyn (N. Yi)
navy yard, is proving so successful
the war department may take it ovei
from the daughter of the financier, J.
P. Morgan, according to a New York
dispatch.
• • •
Charles H. Lewis, champion double
scalier of the world with Edward N.
Tea Eyck as a partner, died at Wor
cester. Mass., afeer being confined to
the hospital for several weeks with
stomach ailment. Lewis was thirty
five years old.
ROMANTIC WEDDING
ARDENT LOVERS UNITED IN VES
TIBULE OF PASSENGER TRAIN.
NEWS FROM OVER THE StATE
Wifhat. la Going on Hera and Thera
That I# of Interest to the Read
ers Throughout Nebraska,
and Vicinity.
Lincoln—Earl Shock of Arapahoe
and Miss Rathe! Givens of Weston,
W. Va.. both twehfy-one years old.
were married in The “vestibule of a'
coach on a Burlington train by-Judge
Bmce Fullerton- T'he bride came In
on the train and Mr-Shock was‘wa'it
lng for her with the license, the judge,
and two witnesses, one of,them being
Earl O. Eager, graduate manager Of
athletics at the state .university.
Another Victim to Epidemic.
Lincoln,—Robert Ewart, ■eighteen
months-old child of Mr. and Mrs. J. S.
Ewart, died Wednesday evening, the
second victim of the epidemic of in
testinal disease which swept north
east Lincoln. The child was stricken
two weeks ago. at the time when a
majority of the epidemic cases de
veloped. For several days it was dan
gerously-ill. But improved somewhat
until the list few days.
Staplehurst Will Have Power Plant.
Staplehurst—A power planf will bo
built here by the Jacobs Electrical
company, a home concern. A daro
will be built on the Blue river sixty
feet long and eight feet high, with a
wing on each side. It is-the iateotion
of the new company , to furnish^ elec
tricity for the town of Staplehurst;and
surrounding territory. .v
Have Remodeled the Church.
Bradshaw.—The congregation of the
Harmony I’nited Brethren church,
near this place, have made extensive
repairs and additions! improvements
to their church house, converting the
old dilapidated room into a modern
and most beautiful auditorium.
-*.OJd Resident Suicides. >
Sewajrd.—Alexander Russnogle, an
old resident and well known citir.ee of
Seward county, committed suicide at i
his home in Germantown by shooting
himself , with a shotgun. Death result
ed almost instantly. -- ,
Fremont. — Michael „Gorey, the
North Bend man who was shot by
Albert Pruyn oT 'that place on Christ
mas day. ,died Wednesday evening.
He was . fifty years old and unmar
ried. P'huyn is now under arrest, hav
ing been in jail since the night of the
shooting.
NEWS FROM THE-STATE HOUSE.
Addison Wait, secretary of state,has
filed as a candidate for re-election on
the republican ticket. *‘:*_*;•
■There is a total'of $527,954.22' of
state funds on hand- In the. various
state depositories, according to the
end-of-t.he-year report, made by State
Treasurer George. ' '
L. A. Varner Of Sterling..one of the
standpat supporters of ..the recently
organized Taft club Iri tlys state, is to
come out' for lieutenant governor on
the republican ticket. ’ .
Although as yet not graduated from
Iowa state college at Ames, where he
will finish jiext.June, Phintyts S. Shear
er., of Marshalltown. Iowa, has been
chosen as an instructor in animal hus
bandry in the University of Nebraska.
Young,. Shearor • graduated from - the
high school in 1908.
The state prison board has ordered
the transfer of Jennie Geiger from the
penitentiary to the Hastings asylum.
The woman was sent 'up for life for
■murder committed In Kimball county,
and' has the halucination that 'shte Is
not Jennie Getger, but her slsfer. and
Is being held for a crime she; n£ver
committed. " ’ : •••' «- ,
It is said that LaPoliette managers1
intend to copy after the Yeiser peti-.
tion, which is signed by tirenty-five
persons, and also ‘ send a ■ copy to.
Roosevelt to ask him if he desires
his name placed on the ballot. It is
supposed that Roosevelt has no power
to keep his,{igme off the ballot when
twenty-five ejectors petition to have
It there.
Clarence E. -Harman, democratic
candidate at the last election <o Dll:
the unexpired term of ‘W. H. Co#gill’
on the state raUway‘.commission,*has
about decided to file for railway com
missioner at the primaries
Secretary Frank Odell of the State
Beekeepers’ association hks received
word from Washington that Dr. E. F.
PhiHtps. director of the agricultural
investigations' for* the ' government.
wjH attend the meetings of the Ne
braska association to be held in Lin
coln January 17 and 18. .,
Chief Fire Warden Randall has writ
- ten a letter to cotanfercial clubs so
liciting their co-operation in the pre
vention of loss by fire.
One of the largest educational un
dertakings ever placed before the citi
zens of Nebraska has been decided
upon by, the trustees of the Nebraska
Wesleyan university,, who have asked
that the Wesleyan endowment fund
be Increased from one hundred thou
sand to a,round., bglt, million.-dollars,
and a commission has been formed,
«under the -.-direction • of -Chas. M.
Strader, to push the matter to a con
‘elusion. . - *
BRIEF NEWS OF NEBRASKA
Ognlalla' had a $10,000 fire New
Years eve.
Three pastors at Ashland have re
signed their charges.
The state poultry show will be held
at'York .January.15, to 20.
The State Historical society ■will
meet at Lincoln, January 8 to 10.
The Kenesaw school board is plan
ning to build a new $25,000 school
building.
'Tecmnseh dry goods stores will
close at 6 o'clock in the evening un
til March.
Fremont business men have made a
c^sh gift of $104 to the Lutheran or
phans' home.
Norfolk turned down the $75,000
municipal electric light plant bonds
at a recent election.
A defective, flue in the residence of
John Pentococost at Sterling was the
cause of a $3,000 fire
Knox coupty will have the records
of its officials for. the last ten years
examined by an expert.
The farmers' Institute at DeWitt
was a great success, many farmers
taking part in the exercises.
W. M. Downs," a Wymore boy, is
under arrest at that place for calling
a prominent citizen a "banty.”
The court house at Madison is be
ing overhauled and much needed im
provements are being made.
The State Territorial Pioneers’ asso
ciation will hold their regular annual
session at Lincoln January 9.
The Beatrice Commercial club has
received overtures from an airship
company to locate at that place.
The Aurora school board has just
installed a very complete equipment
for its manual training department.
Broken Bow reversed the order of
things New Years day—the men kept
open house and the ladies did the call
ing.'
■Congressman Maguire has an
nounced the appointment of George
Chapline of I-incola to the naval acad
emy at Anapolis.
. ..Tames Bryce. British ambassador to
this country, will not be able to serve j
as commencement orator at the Cni
versity of Nebraska.
While out hunting rabbits Friday, I
near Lorton. a son of Mr. and Mrs. ;
Elkins Eden accidentally shot and in- !
stantiv killed himself.
A section of the concrete floor m j
the second story of the new Pawnee j
City court house gave way and fell j
several feet, fortunately injuring no j
one. w
Dr. and Mrs. Kelly, the Fremont j
missionaries, will sail from San Fran
cisco. Cal.. January 3, to resume their
charge at Hainan, oft the coast of
China.
State Geologist E. H. Barbour, upon
examining the vein of coal found on
the farm of Eph Johnson, near Hoop
er. pronounced it a lignite of good j
grade.
The deep well which Is being sunk
at Nebraska City is now down 2,STS j
feet and the drill has struck the hard- j
est rock encountered since the well j
was started.
Some one left a suit case contain
ing a quanttty of nitroglycerine in a
hotel at Stanton, and authorities
"won’t do a thing to him" when he
calls for it.
Federal and private detectives made j
a general round up of the bootleggers j
and gamblers at Walthill, raiding sev- I
eral gambling joints and capturing a j
quantity of liquor.
The new Christian church at Kene- ,
saw. the cornet' stone of which has .
just been laid, will have the largest i
seating capacity of any of the seven :
churches in the city.
Philip Hess, an Did soldier 67 years j
of age,- who .disappeared from his i
hoarding, house aV Beatrice several j
days‘ago, was found dead near Pick- j
erell. He had hanged himself to a j
tree.'
H. M. Bushnell. president of Ne- j
braska State Association of Commer
cial Clubs, will go to Fairbury. Janu
ary 12 and address the Fairbury club
on the snhject. "What Commercial
Clubs Can Do Without Money. There
will he a banquet after the address.
The third ’annual meeting of the
Nebraska Association of Fair Mana
gers will be - held at the commercial
chib room8 at Lincoln. January 16.
The session will be preceded by a
banquet Tho program will Include
an address on "How to Handle Fair
Work Rapidly and Cheaply," by Man
ford Horn, the Minnesota fair man.
The "banquet will be participated in
jointly by the members of the Ne
braska association and the state board
of agriculture.
J. E. Daltdii hanged himself in a
barn at the rear ef his boardinghouse
at Omaha Sunday afternoon because
he. could aot buy. Christinas presents
.Charles, Mussulman, twenty years
old. is, dead tU Lyons.- of typhoid fever,
supposedly contracted from letters re
ceived from, relatives in an infected
family in Pennsylvania.
George Parker, a negro, said to be
a-medical student of Creighton univer
sity at Omaha,is under arrest at St.
Paul. Minn., charged with the killing
of Mrs. Andrew Jackson of that place.
The coroner’s jury has decided that
David Stepsay, who was found dead
at Omaha, came to his death from nat
ural causes. - v
The young people of Elm Creek
have organized a class for the scien
tific study of the Bible. Professor
Odell is the Instructor. They meet at
the school building Thursday even
ings.
A fire in the- barn of Sherman Rog
ers, near Syracuse, caused the death
of six head of horses, and the loss of
a lot of Canning implements, harness,
etc., together, with nearly a thousand
bushels of corn.
REV. RICHESON SAYS THAT HE
KILLED MISS LINNELL.
IS MOST OEEPLY PENTENT
What the Final Outcome Will Be Now
Depends Upon Action of Gover
nor Foss.
Boston, Mass.—The Rev. Clarence
V. T. Rieheson confessed his guilt of
the murder of his former sweetheart,
Avis Linnell of Hyannis, in a docu
ment presented by his counsel. His
confession declares that the accused
is guilty "of the offense of which he
is indicted,” which is murder in the
first degree.
Whether Rieheson will pay the ex
treme penalty, which under Massa
chusetts law is death in the electric
chair, no court official cared to pre
dict today.
The confession was as follows:
•Tohn D. Lee, esq.
Wm. A. Morse, esq.
Philip R. Dunbar, esq.
Gentlemen: Deeply penitent, for my
sin, and earnestly desiring as far as
in my power lies to make atonement,
I hereby confess that I am guilty of
the offense of which I stand indicted.
1 am moved to tms course oy no
inducement of safe-benefit or leni
ency. Heinous as is my crime, God
has not wholly abandoned me, and
my conscience and manhood, however
depraved and blighted, will not admit
of my still further wronging her by a
public trial whose pure young life I
have destroyed. Under the lashings
of remorse 1 have suffered and am
suffering the tortures of the damned. :
In this I find a measure of comfort. In ]
my mental anguish I recognize that |
there is still, by the mercy of the Mas- i
ter, some remnant of the divine spark j
of goodness lingering with me. I could
wish to live only because within some
prison’s walls I might, in some small
measure, redeem my sinful past, help
some other despairing soul, at least,
find favor with my God.
You are instructed to deliver this to |
the district attorney or to the judge
of the court. Sincerely yours.
CLARENCE V. T. RICHESOX.
The indictment agaiflst Richeson
charged that he “feloniously, willfully
ar.d of bis malice aforethought" gave
Miss I.innell cyanide of pottassium
with dealy intent, and thai because
of her death he is guilty of murder in
the first degree.
District Attorney Pelletier declared,
after the confession had been made
public, that the trial set for January
15 would surely me called and that he
would accept no compromise in the
way of a plea for a lesser crime.
It was pointed out that if the dis
trict attorney maintafned this atti
tude, only an insanity commission or
commutation by the executive council |
and the governor could save Riche- j
son from the electric chair. It lies,
however, with the court and the dis
trict attorney to accept a minor plea,
such modification usually coming
through some weak link in the gov
ernment’s case.
To Reform the Currency.
Washington.—The monetary com
mission’s long awaited report, detail- j
ing a plan to reform the currency J
system will be laid before congress
Monday. It proposes a perfection of
Chairman Aldrich's original plan for
a national reserve association, j\&ich
is to b? a co-operative union of all j
the banks—in effect an evolution of
all the r’earing house Idea extended
to Include a central organization.
Rieheson’s Fate.
Boston.—Speculation was rife Sun
day as to what ultimately will be the
fate of RevK Clarence V. T. Richeson,
who in a written statement confessed
to the murder of his former sweet
heart, A'vis I.innell. From a source
close to Governor Foss the statement
came Sunday that the attitude of the
executive probably would be in favor
of a commutation of sentence of
death in the electric chair to one of
life imprisonment if the law’s fullest
penalty is imposed by the court.
Public Dance Houses Assessed.
Dcs Moines. Ia.—A yearly license ol
J100 and a monthly tax sufficient to
defray the cost of placing two peace
officers will be assessed against pub
lic dance halls in this city.
Eulogies Spoken for Senator.
Washington. — The late Senator
Stephen B. Elkins, as soldier, states
man. lawyer, friend and man, was
eulogized in the house of representa
tives Saturday.
-r
Carnegie Will Be on Hand.
Washington.—Andrew Carnegie has
been asked by tbe house steel trust
investigating committee to appear be
fore it and replied to Chairman Stan
ley that he would be present.
Former Bankers Arraigned.
Juneau. Alaska—Clem H. Summers,
former president, and Stuart G. Holt,
former cashier of the First National
bank of Juneau. Alaska, were arraign
ed in federal court upon indictments
returned by the grand Jury charging
fraudulent banking.
Many Killed in Collapse.
Seville. Spain.—A large number o<
children, together with their teachers,
were killed and maimed by the .col
lapse of the building of a private
school here on Thursday.
ABURSTED BEER KEG
LEADS TO BIRDS’JAG
Pigeons Drank of Intoxicant and
Then Did a Few Gutter
Stunts.
New York.—A heavy truck loaded
high with kegs of liquor was jolting
across a line of city car tracks When
one of the kegs toppled and fell from
the top of the pile into the street, it
was thoroughly smashed, so the
truckman whipped up his team and
went his way without stopping. The
rum flowed out over the street—one
little dent in the paving collecting a
visible puddle of it.
In a few minutes a pigeon came
fluttering down to drink at the pool
Pigeons on a Jag.
thus fortunately provided for thirsty
birds. The Initial taste was a sur
prise, but a second and a third soon
followed and soon the pigeon tottered
fluttering away, too overcome to fly.
Other birds, seeing him there and
anxious to wet their throats, followed
their brother in his path of wicked
intemperance.
Five minutes later a passerby was
astonished to see a dozen pigeons in
the gutter of the otherwise deserted
street, some dancing drunkenly, oth
ers already sound asleep. A few feet
away a hound of disreputable appear
ance was creeping up, slowly and a
trifle unsteady, on his unsuspecting
and bibulous quarry. As he was al
most among the birds his feet went
suddenly in several directions and he
lay in the gutter among the pigeons,
growling sleepily to himself, for he,
too, was drunk.
WAX FIGURE SHOCKS WORKER
Thought He Was Intruding While
Lady Waa Dressing and Re
tiree in Embarrassment.
Chicago.—An electrical worker
called at a South side home to repair
a defective light. “It's In that room
there,** the mistress of the house said,
pointing to a closed door.
The workman opened the door and
started to enter. Then, with a hasty
mumbled “Excuse me,” he closed the
Saw Dressmaker’s Model.
doof again, shutting out of view a
feminine figure in less than the cus
tomary costume.
The mistress of the house looked up
from her ■work.
“I heg your pardon, did you speak
to me?'* she asked.
"No." the workman said in confu
sion, “I was speaking to the lady in
there.”
“The lady In there?” the mistress
asked with a puzzled air, “I—-”
Then she appeared to remember
something. Going quickly to the door
she threw it open. The cause of the
visitor’s embarrassment was one of
ithose lifesize forms which women
are using nowadays to fit dresses on.
I
Pall* Dead Whipping Child,
i Monongahela, Pa.—While chastising
her ten-year-old son at her home at
Gelatin,. Mrs. John Yuscovitch, 36, fell
. dead from weakness of the heart She
had called her son to come into the
house from the yar^ and be refused to
Dbey her.
PUIS $6,500 ■
III WHiSOF STORE
Neighbors Demolishing 'Old Man’
McMullan’s Shack Discover
Gold and Silver Cache.
FORGETS A FORTUNE
Money Hidden for Years While Vil
lage Merchant and Postmaster Lives
Simple Life With Pipe, Plug and
Pup—Assists Banks in Panic.
Willow Island, Neb.—If a man has
a pipe, a plug of tobacco and a dog
for companions, what’s the use to
worry about money? That’s the philos
ophy of "Old Man” McMullan, Neil
McMullan, “80 years old and going on
100,” general storekeeper, telephone
exchange manager and postmaster of
Willow Island.
McMullan smoked and chewed and
clean forgot that he had stowed away
in the past forty years $6,500 in the
walls of his old store building. Every
day or so he was selling a garden hoe
for 45 cents, a suit of clothes for $7.50
or a few yards of calico, he being the
only storekeeper; he was drawing his
pay as postmaster and telephone man
ager; he was making plenty of money
to keep himself and his dog, for he is
a bachelor and lived in a room at the
rear of his store. Why, then, should
he worry his brains by remembering
money that he had forgotten years
and years ago?
Recently McMullan built a new
store. His old one, which 'has stood
Sot 40 years, became so weather-worn
than the rain damaged his stock and
caused the postage stamps to stick
together. The other day he removed
all his goods and the United States
postofSce and the telephone exchange
to the new building. Neighbors help
ed him to demolish the old store. At
was a reversal of the rural house
raising process. The neighbors chew
ed plug from McMullan’s tobacco
stock and worked diligently. They all
Find Hidden Fortune.
liked “Old Man” McMullan and work
ed for love.
“Jlmminy Chrie’mas!" cried one of
the men, “how'd this here big tin can
git in there betwixt the studdin’ and
the weather boardin’. I’d like to know.
Guess I’ll throw it at the dog.”
But the tin can was found to be too
hefty to toss aside. The finder lifted
it with both hands. Something metal
lic rattled inside. Other men gathered
about. The first man yanked off the
cover of the can. All took a peek
within.
“Dog my cats!" yelled the discover-*
er, “if it hain’t free silver! Look-ee
there, boys!”
The heftiness of the can was caused
by its contents—several hundred dol
lars in silver. None of the coins bore
date later than a score of years ago.
The can and contents were turned
over to McMullan, who said:
“By jings!" he said, “I’d clean for
got about that can. o’ coin.”
The neighbors returned to their
work and half an hour later another
man found a receptacle between the
planking that contained $1,000 in gold.
The willing neighbors, now thor
oughly aroused by the discovery of a
gold and silver mine right here in
town, all above ground and the metal
properly minted, returned -to their
work. The shingles and the weather
boarding and the floors planking fiew
apart. That day they panned out
$4,500.
Next day the villagers returned to
their treasure seeking. They had lost
interest in demolishing the building
per see. Willow Island had become a
bonanza. That day they mined $2,000
more from the odd corners and cran
nies of the old store, which by that
time had become a total wreck. Mc
Mullan was not at all excited by his
recovery of the $6,500 and says he
had forgotten all about the money,
which he slack away long ago.
It is recalled that during the panic
of 1907 McMullan helped several of
jthe county banks by lending them
money to tide them over.