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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 24, 1914)
GERMANS SHELL ENGLISH CITIES Dude Vigilance of British War Vessels and Wreak De struction. OEATH LIST MAY REACH 150 Immense Amount of Property De stroyed in Raid, and Kaiser's Ves- ' sets Escape Unharmed—Believed to Be the First of a Series of Devas tating Raids Planned by German Naval Board of Strategy. Berlin. Dec. 18.—It Is officially re ported that the German vessels which bombarded Hartlepool. Scarborough and Whitby were hit several times by the coast batteries, but that the dam age was slight. Berlin. Dec 17.—An official an nouncement issued here says: “Parts of our high seas fleet made aa attack on the English east coast and bombarded December 16, early in the morning, both fortified and coast place* at Scarborough and Hartlepool. Regarding its further course of action no information dan yet be given ” Loo don. Dec. 17.—Germany daring ly attacked England herself early in . the morning. After n dash across the North sea on a misty night, s German flotilla bombarded Hartlepool. Scarborough and Whitby, unfortified cities on the east coast of England, early in the morning Some thirty women and men were killed. Churches were ruined, hotels, dwelling* and stores were destroyed by the bombardment, which endured *• minutes, after which the Germans steamed northward from Scarborough and escaped pursuing British cruisers. The gun flashes indicated that four big warships were firing. One shell that has been picked up was 12 inches in diameter and 33 inches long. Hundreds fled in panic while the in vaders' projectiles thundered and burst, setting on fire the structures they had left in ruins. Others, af frighted. took refuge In cellars. The exploding shells of the bold cruisers who slipped through the Brit ish fleet snd the guard ships and dodged the mines thickly strewn in the North sea. dug holes in the streets of Scarborough so wide and deep that a railway truck could pass through them. warsmps Hepei Haiders. Hurriedly railed by wireless, British warships hastened from the nearest points to attack the enemy. But the German cruiser force, made up of their fasted cruisers, escaped in the mist from the British squadron. The squadron which shelled Hartie Spool where the bombardment was V»o«t destructive to life and property, *as composed, the admiralty an / trounces. of two battle cruisers and an armored cruiser, while from four to six light cruisers attacked Scarbor ough and Whitby. The number of the attacking force has been variously estimated at from three to six cruisers. Some had a submarine Necessarily there is no in formation on this point yet The attack began at Hartlepool about five minutes after eight in the morning when most of the people were at breakfast. It was like a thun derbolt from a clear sky, most persons thinking a thunderstorm had arisen. The first shell exploded near a man who said afterward he though' a Brit ish squadron was practicing gunnery and was making bad marksmanship of It Gc maos Escape In Fog. The German squadron escaped prac t rally unharmed The organizer pur Futt that drew England's great ships from their stations at sea could not catch up or cut off the fast raiders. The Germans had in their favor a heavy mist, which covered the sea. and they made a rapid withdrawal after dropping shells on the coast towns for about thirty minutes. The only official mention of damage to the raiders Is contained In an offi cial British statement which said the batteries at Hartlepool had damaged at least one of the vessels which ap peared there. The Yorkshire Evening News prints a dispatch to the effect that two Ger man cruiser* have been sunk, and that British warships were damaged Most Oaring Raid of War. It is the most daring and success ful exploit the Germans have per formed In the war. amazing in its sav age thoroughness All England is V. alarmed and enraged because a squad rfig of Germany's most dangerous war craft was permitted to escape from the Kiel carnal and remain undetected long enough to give Englishmen even a light experience of the horrors of war that have come to Belgium and France There is fear that an invasion will be attempted, but there is more reason to believe that the devastating raid was the first stroke of a great coup. Germany, it is positively known, has been planning for week* a concerted rush of battle cruisers and dread naughts from Helgoland and the mouth of the Elbe. In an attempt to ruin British commerce on the Atlantic. The mayor of Tynefouth has issued a notice declaring that the local emer gency committee has been advised by Ike military authorities to have the gas in Tynemouth turned off at once for military reason*). The civil popu lation have been advised to remain in doors, but if necesary to leave their dwellings they are advised to go in the direction of Newcastle, eight miles away. Started on Monday Night It was supposed that the admiralty was thoroughly prepared to prevent such a raid as occurred, and German threats that a successful attack would soon be made on the English cbast were taken as mere boasts. From all that can be gathered from the official news and such detailed re ports as have come from the 50-mile stretch of coast that suffered from Ger man shells it would seem that the Ger man cruiser squadron left its base at Helgoland probably on Monday night, since it could hardly have made the distance between Helgoland and the northeast coast of England oa Tues day night alone. Warship Fight Off Coast. London, Deo. 18.—A short, fierce battle was fought in the fog off the Yorkshire coast yesterday morning between a mosquito fleet of British light cruisers and destroyers and the powerful squadron of the German fleet which was fleeing from the wrecked cities of Hartlepool. Scar borough and Whitby. Racing to the coast in response to the fervent wireless appeals that were sent out from the bombarded cities, the destroyers encountered the Ger man battle cruisers before their near ness was realized. In the mist that veiled the sea the Tyne flotilla fairlv ran into the Ger mans and did their best to delay the flight until the British battle cruisers and dreadnaughts could come up. They were not successful and they suffered heavy punishment from the heavy, long range guns of the Ger man cruisers. The light cruiser Patrol and the destroyer Doon were among the Brit TOWN OF SCARBOROUGH. Among the buildings damaged are the Balmoral hotel, St. Martin's church and the coast guard station. !*h ships which attacked the German cruisers. They lost five men killed and 15 wounded. Germans Aided by Spies. The Germans had the range of the new defenses perfectly, and this fact is only one of many evidences that they had information from spies as to the location of defense works and im portant buildings. A story indicating that the German ships were directed by spies on the coast as to where to strike is fur nished by L^'iis Tracy, the author. "The whole coast was excited on Tuesday night by a brilliant sky sign, which shone over the moors for half an hour.” Mr. Tracy said. "It was an electric lamp fixed to a kite, and as it floated high in air it marked the position of Whitby.” ”1 saw it and I can name dozens who saw it flaunting over our heads at 9:30 p. m., telling the German sub marines and ships exactly where we were. It twinkled in defiance of our authorities.” Germans Fire 200 Shells. Army officers who examined the ruins caused by the bombardment es timate that the Germans fired 200 shells, chiefly of the 9-inch and 12 inch variety, into Hartlepool. Many destroyers were visible be yond the Germans during the bom bardment. At the first these were be lieved to belong to the hostile squad ron, but observers say the Germans fired both seaward and toward the shore, which seems to indicate that the Germans slipped between the English flotilla and the coast during the heavy fog that prevailed just be fore the bombardment. Two large German cruisers and one small cruiser did the shelling. The shore guns acquitted them selves creditably and were not in jured by the German fire. Persons who witnessed the fighting between the shore guns and the cruisers say the smokestack of one of the cruisers was smashed. Killed May Total 150. The revised figures of the govern ment show that the loss of life and the number of injured in the three cities bombarded was greater than was indicated last night. According to the oflicial press bureau statement there were 82 persons killed and 250 wounded at Hartlepool alone, while at Scarborough the number of dead is at least 17, with 19 seriously wounded At Whitby two were killed and two wounded. The total casualties, there fore, wrere 101 killed and 271 seriously hurt. It may be shown, when the whole truth is known, that 150 were killed and at least 300 injured. HAVE GUARDS ALONG BORDER Canada Take* Elaborate Precautions Against a Possible Raid by an Enemy. Baffaloi— Extraordinary precautions j here been taken to guard against a possible raid by Germans or German sympathizers across the Niagara river. A permanent guard of 30 militiamen : had* been stationed at Fort Erie, di reetly opposite Buffalo, and the whole fleer front from there to Niagara Falls is partolled day and night by between five hundred and sis hundred members of the newly organized home guard regiments. Automobiles and motor cycles are used by the men on patrol duty. These measures, it is said, were taken in response to demands from civic organizations along the Canadian side of the Niagara, who insisted, in communications to the department of militia that a raid similar to the Fenian raid was by no means a re mote possibility. NEWS OFJHE WEEK CONDENSATIONS OF GREATER OR LESSER IMPORTANCE. A BOILING DOWN OF EVENTS National, Political, Personal and Other Matters in Brief Form for Ail Classes of Readers / - WASHINGTON. The senate has passed a bill appro priating $1,000,000 for eradication of the "foot and mouth" disease. * # * The interstate commerce commis sion has granted the 3 per cent ad vance in freight rates asked by the eastern railroads. • • * Former President Taft has promised j the senate Philippine committee to ; testify after the Christmas holidays > on the call for ultimate independence of the Filipinos. * • • An appropriation of $2,286,000 for a i five-year census of productions in the j United States was stricken from the i legislative and judicial appropriation bill by the house. • • • An amendment to the war tax bill providing that no penalties shall be imposed for failure to make returns on or before January 1, 1915. from De cember 1, 1914, was passed by the senate. • * • A 200 per cent increase in exports of foodstuffs from the United States, due principally to the European war, I characterized the foreign trade of No vember. compared with that month a year ago. * • • Orders issued by the Department of Agriculture lifted the live stock foot and mouth cjuarantine against Greene county, Iowa, and modified the quaran tine against a number of Wisconsin counties. * • * The $135,000,000 cotton loan fund plan to finance the surplus cotton crop was approved unanimously by representatives of committees which are to aid in handling the fund in the southern sta es. * * • France, in a note to the State de partment. through Ambassador Jus serand, gave assurances that it would not interfere in any manner with American cotton shipments, either to belligerent or neutral countries. * * * President Wilson promised to recon sider an application for a pardon of W. Burt Brown of Kansas City, former secretary of the structural iron work er:1^ sentenced to three years for com plicity in the “dynamite conspiracy.” * * » Senate democrats in caucus deter mined to speed up the legislative pro gram to avoid the necessity of an ex tra session at the end of the Sixty third congress. March 4. It was de cided to abandon a long holiday re- j cess. Published charges that congres sional efforts to prevent the export of munitions of war from the United States w’as designed to aid Germany were indignantly denounced in the house by Representatives Bartholdt, Vollmer and Lobeck. * « • Assurances have been given the British government by the State de partment that the bill introduced by Senator Hitchcock to prohibit the ex port of munitions of war and war sup plies to belligerent countries was not fathered by the administration. » * * After months of deliberation and repeated failure to get action, the foreign relations committee has or dered the Nicaraguan treaty reported to the senate for ratification. The United States would pay $3,000,000 for a Nicaraguan canal route and na val bases on the Bay of Fonseca. DOMESTIC. Fire in the heart of Atlanta's busi ness district caused damage estimated at $100,000. • • • The American governmen has de cided to send American warships to the Panama canal zone to guard against violations of neutrality there by the ships of the belligerent powers. * * * Heavy seas roiled up by a forty mile wind along the southern Califor nia coasts cost one life and wrought damage amounting to more than $100,000 at Long each and at Hue ncme. * • • Baltimore letter carriers are plan ning to send twenty-one delegate* and the famous letter Carriers' band, one of the mo3t popular musical or ganizations in the south, to the na tional convention in Omaha next fall. • • • Two masked bandits at St. Louis en tored a jewelry store in the heart of the city, seized $4,000 worth of dia monds and. after exchanging a dozen shots with the proprietor of the store, escaped. • • • Three lions, used in an animal act. escaped while performing at Loew’s theater, on East Eighty-sixth street. New York, and dashed into the aud ience. A panic ensued and police re serves were called out. No one was seriously injured. • • • Ten thousand employes of the Crane company in Chicago will share in a $650,000 Christmas gift this yey as a partial recompense for the shrinkage in wages that resulted from lost time during last year. It is stated by Chicago charity peo ple that one-tenth of the population of that city receives public charity. • • * New Year’s revelers in Chicago may drink far into 1915 if they order their drinks before 1 a. m.. Mayor Harrison has announced. * * * Suits to have the Arizona state pro hibition law declared invalid were filed at Phoeniz in the United States district court. » • * Four million eggs, the largest single shipment ever sent from this country, were loaded on the steamer Anglian sailing from Boston for London. The eggs come from cold storage houses in Chicago and are valued at $80,000. * * * Self denial was observed by thou sands of Baltimoreans who denied themselves luxuries and in many in stances necessities, in order to con tribute to the community relief for the poor. * • • Five years would be required to put the United States navy in the highest state of efficiency to meet a hostile foreign fleet, according to a statement by Rear Admiral Fiske before the house naval committee at Washington. • » * A resolution approving President Wilson’s attitude toward national armament and expressing the hope that congress will sustain his stand was adopted by the Church Peace union at its meeting in New York to formulate plans for the expenditure of $100,000 for the cause of peace during the coming years. * • • A test of the Arizona anti-alien la bor law amendment enacted at the November election was begun at Tuc son in a suit filed in the United States district court. The law provides that at least 80 per cent of the employes of any concern employing more than five persons must be American citizens. FOREIGN. A squadron of German cruisers raided the Yorkshire coast of Eng land and bombarded three towns with effect. * • • The cost of the war to France for the first six months in 1915. is offic iaily figured at 5.929,442.865 francs ($1,185,888.57:5) or about $209,000,000 monthly. » * * Vienna has admitted officially, ac cording to dispatches from Rome, that 100,000 Austrians were killed or wounded in the unsuccessful cam paign against Servia. » * * King Albert of Belgium, in (hank ing the American commission for a nameday message of good wishes, congratulated the commission on its generous and enlightened initiative. * « * An explosion occurred in a coal mine at Fukuoka. Japan, as a result 800 laborers were imprisoned in the workings of the mine. Fukuoka is on the sea coast, sixty-five miles to the north of Nagasaki. * * * The United States government has instructed Ambassador Morgenthau at Constantinople to make inquiry about and use his good offices for the protection of the British and French consuls at Hodeidah, Arabia. * * * Egypt, has been-proclaimed a British protectorate and Lieutenant Colonel Sir Arthur Henry McMahon, who has served in an official capacity for many years in India and other parts of the east,, lias been appointed high . com missioner. » * * Mme. Curie, the famous woman scientist, has installed at her own expense in a Paris hospital a radio graphic apparatus by which bullets and shell splinters are instantly lo cated. The apparatus is said to be a powerful aid to saving life. * * * The St. Petersburg Retch, it is re ported in Berlin, says that the Rus sian government has dissolved the Moscow Association of Typographers. The decree of dissolution proves there is an increase in the revolutionary movement among Russian workmen. * * * General Baden-Powell shares the opinion of many English military ex perts who believe that Germany fully expects to invade England if possible and will direct its activities toward the commercial cities in the north of England rather than towards London and the resort cities of the south. « • • Berlin Is celebrating the news from Poland of what is termed “one of the greatest victories of history.” Berlin headquarters announces that the Rus sians have been clearly beaten and that the Russian offensive against Si lesia and Posen has been broken. A general retreat of the Russians in Po land. with the Germans in pursuit, is claimed. • • • That Warsaw, which has been the German's objective for weeks past, is not particularly disturbed over the outlook ,is indicated by dispatches from the Polish capital which de scribe the city as gaily decorated crowded with shoppers and prevadcd with the Christmas holiday spirit. • * » • No fewer than 54 per cent of the French wounded returned to the firing line before December 12, according to interesting figures supplied by the surgical department of the ministry of war. • • • The Canadian government steamer Sharon, bound.from Sydney. C. B..' to Newport. Wales, with a cargo of coal and a crew of thirty men, is a month overdue and is believed to have been lost somewhere in the Atlantic, ac cording to information that reached Ottawa. * • * A message received in Amsterdam from Antwerp says that eighty sol diers who participated in the recent mntiny among the Bavarian troops garrisoned in that city are to be courtmartialed. ROADS GET RAISE EASTERN CARRIERS GRANTED IN CREASE BY COMMERCE BODY. WAR CONDITIONS THE GROUNDS Lines From Atlantic to Mississippi North of Ohio and Potomac Are Effected. Washington, D. C.-—Increases in freight rates, approximating 5 per cent on all the railroads between the Atlantic seaboard and the Missis sippi, north of the Potomac and Ohio rivers, were granted by the In terstate Commerce commission in a divided opinion, excepting upon cer tain heavy commodities, which com prise a large bulk of the traffic. The increases will further apply to the railroad west of Buffalo and Pitts burg. which were granted partial ad vances in the decision of last Au gust, which denied them altogether to the roads east of those points. It is estimated that advanced rates will increase the annual income of the roads about $50,000,000. The commis sion made its decision upon the show ing of the railroads that in addition to conditions from which they pre viously asked relief, they now are con fronted with an emergency because of the war in Europe. The carriers are permitted to make the advances in rates except the rail-lake-and-rail, lake-and-rail and rail-and-lake traffic; rates on bituminous coal and coke; rates on anthracite coal and iron ore, and rates that are held by unexplred orders of the commission. After further consideration the commission permits advances to be made also on cement, starch, brick tile clay and plaster. On these commodities no ad vances were permitted by the decision of August I. Joint rates between of ficial calssification territory and ter ritory south of the Potomac and Ohio and east of the Mississippi may be in creased not to exceed 5 per cent. In- j terstate rates to and from New Eng- | land also may be increased not to ex- j ceed 5 per cent. While present ex isting differentials among various At- ! lantic ports are preserved the rates j between any two of them also may j be increased 5 per cent. Common Sense to Rule. Washington, D. C.—President Wil son has let it be known that he had j made "common sense" the chief quali- ] fications of the five men he is to j nominate as members of the new trade commission within the next two i weeks. He does not desire theorists for the commission, but men who will be able to intelligently deal with busi ness conditions in the United States. Polities, it is said, will not govern the make-up of the board, although at least one republican probably will be named. — Stands in Cold Ten Hours. Litchfield. Neb.—Alfred Debruler, a i veteran of the civil war, in order to | prove that the soldier of '61 is still j capable of service made a wager that 1 he could stand guard upon the main street square for ten hours. He made good although the day was stinging cold, and walking back and forth in the twenty-foot space allotted him with his old musket over his shoulder was the cause of much comment.' U. S. Won’t Interfere. Washington.—Determined that the United States shall continue unin volved in the controversies which have arisen between the European belligerents over alleged violations of The Hague conventions. President Wi’ son and Secretary Bryan will make no representations to Germany concern ! ing the bombardment of the east coast of England by German warships. Cuts Bills in Half. Lincoln. Neb.— By reason of the ef fective competition of the electric light p’.ant operated by this city, householdefs are now getting their electric "juice" at the rate of 5 cents per kilowatt, with a fixed charge of 50 cents for the meter. This reduction on the part of the two companies, which are selling tight will save the people of this city somewhere- between $6u.000 and $100. 000 per year. The price charged by the private concerns before the city started in the commercial business was 15 cents per kilowatt. • _ Two Millions’ Fire Loss. Pottsville. Pa.—Fire in the business section of Pottsville wiped out prop erty valued at nearly S2.000.1MH). An entire block of buildings stocked with holiday goods was burned. Report Two British Ships Sunk. Berlin.—Two British destroyers were sunk during the running fight in the North sea between English patrol ships and German cruisers, following German bombardment of Hartlepool. Scarborough and Whitby, says an offi cial statement issued here. Lower Rates on Coal. Grand Junction. Colo.—A reduction of fifty cents a ton in freight rates on i coal from Mesa county mines to Ne braska. will be made early in January by the Colorado Midland railroad. Cruiser Finished in Ten Months. London.—What is described by the admiralty as a record in ship construc tion was announced. The light cruis er Caroline was delivered complete and placed in commission, ten and one half months after her keel was laid. Tennessee at Alexandria. Alexandria. EgypL—The American cruiser Tennessee, which has been in the eastern Mediterranean for some weeks charged with the surveillance of American interests has arrived here. CONDENSED NEWS OF INTEREST TO ALL. Ice is being cut on Silver Lake, near Hastings. Talmage has started a boy scout or ganization. Palmyra was visited by a $40,000 fire last week. Peru has shipped 35,000 bushels of apples this fall. The town of Talmage has signed for its first Chautauqua. William Underdown was killed by a Burlington train at Ashland. Fire destroyed the I. O. O. F. build ing at Humboldt. Loss $8,009. Wvmore is planning to send a car of flour to Belgium war victims. The Fort Calhoun State bank has opened for business in their new building. Citizens of York contributed 2S6 sacks of flour toward the relief of the Belgians. The annual session of the Cuming county farmers' institute was held at West Point. Omaha was selected as the next, meeting place of the State Teachers’ association. Snow all over the state is believed to insure the safety of the winter wheat crop. W. K. Strode has bought the Blair Tribune, which was formerly owned by W. R. Williams. State university reports the sale of $162,955.73 hog cholera serum during the past two years. Workmen are just finishing up the painting of the Cedar county court house at Harlington. Joseph Wells of Kimball, stumbled with a shotgun in his hand and in stantly killed his son. Three hundred and fifty-pound sacks of flour will be forwarded to Belgium from Tecumseh. The Ainsworth Odd Fellows dedi cated their new building. Many out of-town visitors attended. Frank Rustler of Lushton had his right arm badly mangled by getting it caught in a corn shelter. The perjury cases against Dan Jacobs, former night marshal of West Point, have been dismissed. Otto Bellows, who shot and killed his mother at McCall Junction, died from a self-inflicted wound. Harvey Wulonpel of West Point was instantly killed when his auto mobile turned over near Scribner. Burglars entered the clothing store of Leiner & Simon at Bloomfield and | carried off 300 pounds of merchandise. John Cottish. an escaped inmate of the Norfolk hospital for the insane, has been returned to the institution. Fire, of an unknown origin destroy- | ed the T. B. Hord elevator at Monroe, j Platte county, and 5,000 bushels of | Siam. James P. Baker of Dunbar was seri ously injured when struck by a part of a gasoline engine being 'used, to pump water. Work on the laying of new iron be tween Omaha and Weeping Water on the Missouri Pacific “low line" is now well under way. A systematic campaign is being car ried on in Gage county to raise funds for the purchase of flour to be sent to the Belgians. While working on an actylene plant at the home of J. H. Kemp, at Fuller ton. the tank exploded, throwing one of the men tl distance of twenty feet. Clara, the 6-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Ford, died as a result of using matches while alone in the house, six miles northeast of Weeping Water. % A public meeting to organize for navigation of the Missouri river has been called by the trade extension committee of the Omaha Commercial club for January S. The associated retailers of Omaha are in favor of the movement for a Missouri river barge line that would open river navigation between Omaha and the Gylf of Mexico. The Pacific Fruit Express company of North Platte has 100 men storing away the ice crop that is coming from Wyoming, where cutting has com menced at I,aramie and Gvanston. Railway commissioners of five western states in session at Omaha decided to raise funds for the em ployment of expert accountants to analyze the freight rate situation. Both the Presbyterian and Method ist churches and Sunday schools of Lyons passed resolutions requesting Congressman Dan V. Stenhens to vote for the nation-wide prohibition amend ment now before congress. A farewell reception was given by the patrons of the Hawthorne school at Hastings in honor of Miss Carrie Sullivan, who resigned her position as principal, after being elected county superintendent of schools. Walter Sammos. convicted of rob bing the Kearney postoffice of >5,000 last Christmas, was denied a new trial by Fnited States Judge Morris after an all day's argument by attor neys for the convicted man at Omaha. Albion high school students gave a benefit concert last week. The pro ceeds were turned into the Belgian re lief fund. Kditor -Mutz ot the Utica Sun. who sued Editor Shields of the Tamora Lyre for $10,000. alleging libel, was awarded 1 cent. Amanda H. Brown and Anna L. Hams ar» two more O'Connor rela tives to file transcripts in the district cor.-t at Hast nes to appeal the de cision of the county court awarding the O'Connor fortune to John Cullivan of Omaha. Five contestants have ap pealed. J. L. Wells, a farmer and we.l drill er, living eight miles east of Kimball, was accidentally shot and instantly killed by his son. Verne, the small son of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Syndenham of Broken Bow, is recovering from an injury sus tained when a broken pen point pen etrated his eye. A draft for $3,229.57, together with currency and checks, bringing the to tal to nearly $4,000, was found on the person of William J. Kelly, wealthy cattle man from Banner county, who was fined $1 and costs in police court in Hastings. LIFE MEN RELEASED FEW CONVICTS SPEND LIFE IN STATE PRISON. -*_ HALF SENTENCED THERE NOW Governors, Death, Insanity and Courts Have Released the Remainder. Lincoln. -Ninety men have been sentenced to spend their lives in the Nebraska, state penitentiary and ; few of tlie ninety have done so. Half of thf men sentenced to life impris cnment are now in the penitentiary. Tiie najoriiy of the “other half owe debts of gratitude for liberty to pardons, commutations of sentence or “furloughs'’ issued by various gov ernors. Furloughs seem to have come into style - during Governor Morehead’s administration as the word was not utilized by other gov ernors. According to the prison records of the ninety men sentenced to serve life imprisonment, nine have been transferred to insane asylums, eight ; were pardoned or paroled by the laie John H. Mickey, former governor; one was released by ex-Governor | Dietrich, seven by ex-Governor Shal | ieuberger; three by ex-Governor Sav age. one by Acting Governor Hope j well, two by ex-Governor Aldrich, i four by Governor Morehead. one by ex-Governor Sheldon, one was killed | by another convict; one man senten ced to from twenty years to life was i killed while attempting to escape j and one man died in the prison hospi tal as a result of drinking wood alco hol. These thirty-nine men. the forty five now- in the prison and six whose sentences have been reduced by the courts make up the total “lifer'' roll at the Nebraska institution. I Grain Sorghums Promising. Some of the most talked of new crops which promise to have great value in western Nebraska are the grain sorghums. Some of the most promising varieties of these are Kafir, feterita, dwarf milo and kaoliang. These crops are well known for their ability to withstand dry conditions. In fact they have been adopted as 'standard grain crops in large por tions of western Kansas. Oklahoma and Texas, where they yield better than corn. One reason why they have not been introduced more extensively in western Nebraska is because of a lack of sufficiently early maturing va rieties. Nebraskans Suffer. The attention of Governor More head has been called to the con dirion of poor people in McPherson county by a letter written by Sirs. Hattie I. Leusk of Brighton in which she contends that Nebraska people should first look after their own suf fering and hungry before sending stuff to the Belgians. Mrs. Leusk gives the names of several families who are in needy circumstances because of crop failure and urges the governor to look into the matter. Will Contest Election. J. W. Kelley more widely known as ‘‘Platform Kelley,” though defeated for the legislature in the Sixty-fourth district by J. F. Fults, his republican opponent, will contest the election be fore the legislature. Fults received a majority of five votes over K< lley. ac cording to the latter, and he will base his grounds for a contest on irregu Iarity in counting the 2.600 votes cast in the election. Epidemic Attacks Cornhuskers. The intense cold of the last few' davs has eradicated the germs of per haps the most unique epidemic in the history of the state. A vegetable poisoning has created a disease among farmers that in mihl weather is highly infectious. It affects the finger nails of cornhuskers. causing pain, bleeding, loss of nails, and in many cases serious blood poisoning. Test Case Dropped. Merchants who utilized trading stamps as business stimulants will not have to sufTer threats of prosecu tion under the "gift enterprise" act of the 1911 legislature. A case brought bv the William Gold Go., in federal court to test its constitu tionality. has been dropped. Hog Cholera to Be Studied. Hog cholera, its prevention and control, will he discussed on the aft ernoon of January 19 at the meeting of the Nebraska State Swine Breed ers’ association at the state farm. Rural School Patrons to Meet. An open forum on school law re vision will be a feature of the meet ing of the rural school patrons in Lincoln (luring the week of Organ ized Agriculture January 13-23. Mem bers of the legislature have evinced considerable interest in this meeting. Superintendent-elect Thomas will read a paper on "The Democracy of Education.” J. D. Ream of Broken Bow is president of the Rura'. School Patrons and W. H. Campbell of Clarks is secretary. Vaudeville Show at Prison. Members of the coining session of the legislature are to be the honor guests at a vaudeville performance and prison show given by inmates of the state penitentiary, according to the promise of Warden Fenton. The date of the affair will be fixed to suit the lawmakers. The members of the troupe are already preparing for the event. A number of their Jokes they will try out on the Christmas eve audience, while the most fetching ones will be saved for the solons. \
