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About The Loup City northwestern. (Loup City, Neb.) 189?-1917 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 7, 1916)
CONGRESS HEARS [WILSON’S MESSAGE 9 President’s Address to Both Houses Is Quite Short. RAIL TROUBLES COME FIRST i -, Further Legislation on That Line Is Strongly Recommended—Bill Giv ing Foreign Commerce Promo ters Free Hand Necessary. ■Washington, Dec. 5.—President Wil son. today delivered his message to both houses of congress in joint ses sion. The address was as follows: Gentlemen of the Congress: In fulfilling at this time the duty laid upon me by the Constitution of com municating to you from time to time Information of the state of the Union and recommending to your considera tion such legislative measures as may be Judged necessary and expedient I shall continue the practice, which I hope has been acceptable to you, of leaving to the reports of the several heads of the executive departments the elaboration of the detailed needs of the public service and confine myself to those matters of more general pub lic policy with which it seems neces sary and feasible to deal at the pres ent session of the congress. . I realize the limitations of time un der which you will necessarily act at this session and shall make my sug gestions as few as possible; but there were some things left undone at the last session which there will now be time to complete and which it seems necessary in the interest of the public to do at once. In the first place, it seems to me im peratively necessary that the earliest possible consideration and action should be accorded the remaining measures of the program of settle ment and regulation which I had occa sion to recommend to you at the close of your last session in view of the pub lic dangers disclosed by the unaccom modated difficulties which then existed,' and which still unhappily continue to exist, between the railroads of the country and their locomotive engineers, conductors, and trainmen. Railway Troubles First. I then recommended : First, immediate provision for the enlargement and administrative reor ganization of the interstate commerce commission along the lines embodied in tlie bill recently passed by the house of representatives and now awaiting action by the senate; in order that the commission may be enabled to deal wtth the many great and various duties now devolving upon it with a prompt ness and thoroughness which are, with its present constitution and means of action, practically impossible. Second, the establishment of an eight-hour day as the legal basis alike of work and of wages in the employ ment of at! rtdlway employees who are actually engaged in the work of oper ating trains in interstate transporta tion. Third, the authorization of the ap pointment by the president of a small body of men to observe the actual re sults in experience of the adoption of the eight-hour day in railway trans portation alike for the men and for the railroads. Fourth, explicit approval by the con gress of the consideration by the in terstate commerce commission of arv Increase of freight rates to meet such additional expenditures by the rail roads as may have been rendered nec essary by the adoption of the eight -fceur day and which have not been off set ,by administrative readjustments and economies, should the facts dis closed justify the increase. Fifth, an amendment of the existing federal statute which provides for the mediation, conciliation, and arbitration of such controversies as the present by adding to it a provision that, in case the methods of accommodation now provided for should fail, a full public investigation of the merits of every such dispute shall be instituted and completed before a strike or lockout may lawfully be attempted. And, sixth, the lodgment in the hands of the executive of the power. In case of military necessity, to take control of such portions and such roll ing stock of the railrouds of the coun try as may be required for military use and to operate them for military purposes, with authority to draft into the military service of the United States such train crews and adminis trative officials as the circumstances require for their safe and efficient use. Renews His Recommendations. The second and third of these rec ommendations the congress immediate ly acted on: it established the eight hour day as the legal basis of work and wages in train service and it au thorized the appointment of a com mission to observe and report upon the practical results, deeming these the measures most immediately needed; but it postponed action upon the other suggestions until an opportunity should be offered for a more deliberate con sideration of them. The fourth rec ommendation I do not deem it neces sary to renew. The power of the in terstate commerce commission to grant an increase of rates on the ground sty ferred to is indisputably clear and a recommendation by the congress with regard to such a matter might seem to draw in question the scope of the com mission's authority or its inclination to ! do Justice when there Is no reason to doubt either. The other suggestions—the Increase in the interstate commerce commis sion’s membership and in its facilities for performing its manifold duties, the provision for full public Investigation and assessment of industrial disputes, and the grant to the executive of the power to control and operate the rail ways when necessary in time of war or other like public necessity—I now very earnestly renew. The necessity for such legislation is manifest and pressing. Those who have intrusted us with the responsibility and duty of serving and safeguarding them in such matters wc lid find it hard, I believe, to excuse a failure to act upon these grave matters or any unnecessary postponement of action upon them. Not only does the interstate com merce commission now find it practi cally impossible, with its present mem bership and organization, to perform its great functions promptly and thor oughly, but it is not unlikely that it may presently be found advisable to add to its duties still others equally heavy and exacting. It must first be perfected as an- administrative instru ment. The country cannot and should not consent to remain any longer exposed to profound industrial disturbances for lack of additional means of arbitra tion and conciliation which the con gress can easily and promptly supply. And all will agree that there must be no doubt ns to the power of the execu tive to make immediate and uninter rupted use of the railroads for the con centration of the military forces of the nation wherever they are needed and whenever they are needed. This is a program of regulation, pre vention and administrative efficiency which argues its own case in the mere statement of it. With regard to one of its items, the increase in the effi ciency of the interstate commerce com mission, the house of representatives has already acted; its action needs only the concurrence of the senate. For Control and Operation. I would hesitate to recommend, and I dare sa.v the congress would hesitate to act upon the suggestion should I make it, that any man in any occupa tion should be obliged by law to con tinue in an employment which he de sired to leave. To pass a law which forbade or prevented the individual workman to leave his work before re ceiving the approval of society in do ing so would be to adopt a new prin ciple into our jurisprudence which I take it for granted we are not prepared to introduce. But the proposal that the operation of the railways of the country shall not be stopped or inter rupted by the concerted action of or ganized bodies of men until a public investigation shall have been instituted which shall make the whole question at issue plain for the judgment of the opinion of the nntion is not to propose any such principle. It is based upon the very different principle that the con certed action of powerful bodies of men shall not be permitted to stop the in dustrial processes of the nation, at any rate before the nation shall have hnd an opportunity to acquaint itself with the merits of the case as between em ployee and employer, time to form its opinion upon an impartial statement of the merits, and opportunity to con sider all practicable means of concilia tion or arbitration. I can see nothing in that proposition but the justifiable safeguarding by so ciety of the necessary processes of its very life. There is nothing arbi trary or unjust in it unless it be arbi trarily and unjustly done. It can and should be done with a full and scrupu lous regard for the interests and liber ties of all concerned as well as for the permanent interests of society itself. Other Legislation Urged. Three matters of capital importance await the action of the senate which hat e already been acted upon by the house of representatives: the bill which seeks to extend greater freedom of combination to those engaged in pro moting the foreign commerce of the country than is now thought by some to be legal under the terms of the laws against monopoly; the bill amending the present organic law of I'orto ltico; and the bill proposing a more thor ough and systematic regulation of the expenditure of money in elections, com monly called the Corrupt Practices Act. I need not labor my advice that these measures be enacted into law. Their urgency lies in the manifest circum stances which render their adoption at this time not only opportune but neces sary. Even delay would seriously jeopard the interests of the country and of the government. immediate passage of the bill to reg ulate the expenditure of money in elec tions may seem to be less necessary than the immediate enactment of the other measures to which I refer; be cause at least two years will elapse before another election in which fed eral offices are to be filled : but it would greatly relieve the public mind if this important matter were dealt with while the circumstances and the dan gers to the public morals of the pres ent method of obtaining and spending campaign funds stand clear under re cent observation and the methods of expenditure can be frankly studied in the light of present experience; and a delay would have the further very se rious disadvantage of postponing ac tion until another election was at hand and some special object connected with it might be thought to be in the mind of those who urged It. Action can be taken now with facts for guidance and without suspicion of partisan purpose. I shall not argue at length the desir ability of giving a freer hand in the matter of combined and concerted ef fort to those who shall undertake the essential enterprise of building up our export trade. That enterprise will presently, will immediately assume, has Indeed already assumed, a magni tude unprecedented in our experience. We have not the necessary instrumen talities for its prosecution; it is deemed to be doubtful whether they could be created upon an adequate scale under our present laws. We should clear away all legal obstacles and create a basis of undoubted law for it which will give freedom without permitting unregulated license. The thing must be done now, because the opportunity is here and may escape us if we hesitate or delay. Porto Rico’s Needs. The argument for the proposed amendments of the organic law of Por to Rico is brief and conclusive. The present laws governing the island and regulating the rights and privileges of its people are not just. We have cre ated expectations of extended privi lege which we have not satisfied. There is uneasiness among the people of the island and even a suspicious doubt with regard to our intentions concerning them which the adoption of the pending measure would happily re move. We do not doubt what we wish to do in any essential particular. We ought to do it at,once. There are other matters already ad vanced to the stage of conference be tween the two houses of which it is not necessary that 1 should speak. Some practicable basis of agreement concerning them will no doubt be found and action taken upon them. Inasmuch as this is, gentlemen, prob ably the last occasion I shall have to address the Sixty-fourth congress, I iiope that you will permit me to say with what genuine pleasure and satis faction I have co-operated with you in the many measures of constructive pol icy with which you have enriched the legislative annals of the country. It has been a privilege to labor in such company. 1 take the liberty of con gratulating you upon the completion of a record of rare serviceableness and distinction. Bound to Make Good. The well-dressed stranger stepped into the drug store nnd> passing by the boy who usually attended to casual customers, approached the proprietor, who was arranging some goods in the show case. “Mr. C-, I presume?” he re marked, pleasantly, and the druggist turned and bowed gravely. “I have heard my l'riend, Mr. Quorn, speak of you often,” said the brisk man. “He told me if ever I needed anything in this line to come to you. He spoke of you as a man on whom one could rely with perfect confidence, who had only the best of evrything and with whom it was always a pleasure to deal.” “Mr. Quorn is very kind,” answered the other, beaming with gratification. “He is one of by best customers. What can I do for you this morning?” “Well—er—this morning, as it hap pens,” said the stranger, with just a little briskness, “this morning I should like, if you will allow me, to consult your directory.” “Certainly,” was the calm reply. “We also have a good selection of one and two-cent stamps as well as railway time tables, if you need anything of that kind.” Franklin Objects Seriously. She isn’t very large, that’s true, but being a county seat, and boasting of a college, several factories, flour mills, railways, interurbans and her lately acquired Masonic home, Franklin feels that she is not a town to be passed lightly by, in fact, she knows her im portance, and thought that everyone in the state realized it until she was taken down a bit lately. During the big conference of the Methodist churches held recently in the town a meeting of the Indianapolis presbytery was in session at the same time at Hopewell, a country church in a pros perous farming community a few miles out. One of the Presbyterian delegates, on leaving the train joined In the throng headed for the Method ist church. When it came to regis tering, some of his inquiries caused someone to suggest that probably he was in the wrong place, and he asked innocently: “Isn't this Hopewell?” “No, this is Franklin,” was the proud reply.—Indianapolis News. Rather Embarrassing. Irvin Cobb, the war correspondent, home from Europe long enough recent ly to get his breath and look over the proof sheets of a new book, attended an authors' banquet in New York. A deaf man sat next to Cobb. Far ther down the table another man told a funny story, and when he finished, the deaf man laughed and applauded louder and longer than any of the rest. “Good old boy I” shouted the deaf man. “That reminds me of a story,” he added to those near by. “Get up and tell it, Charlie,” cried several. The toastmaster sanctioned the suggestion. Then the deaf man got up and told the same story the other man had told. He Was on the Job. The undertaker arose and said to the mourners assembled: “If anyone present wishes to say a few words of tribute to the deceased, now is the time, when the family will be glad to hear such.” A stillness prevailed, and after a few moments of silence it was broken by a young man, who arose and asked: “Do I understand that no one wishes to make any remarks?" “It would appear so,” replied the undertaker. “Then,” asked the young man, as n light came into his eyes, “may I be permitted to make a few remarks about southern California and its won derful climate?” Largest Peanut Fields. The largest peanut fields in the world are in Guinea, on the west coast of Africa, where peanuts are grown !>y hundreds of tons. Most of the African peanuts are shipped to France. No Ambulances in London. , London still clings to a very old cus tom in case of an accident. The victim is carried away to the hospital on a kind of stretcher on two wheels. No ambulances are used. It All Depends. Smiting his lyre a mighty blow Giick Fockele sings, “What is one man's sweet is another’s sour, and it always will be so; when the cold days make the ice man dour they make the coal man dough."—Kansas City Star. Willing to Go Half Way. Wife—“Tom, won’t you give up smoking for my sake?” Hub—“Cer tainly, my love, If you’ll allow me to smoke for my own sake.”—Boston Transcript. Never Thought of That. If a man will cbnfine liis diet to bananas alone he may live to be 250 years old. That’s what a scientist says. But just imagine what would happen if there should be an unex pected shortage in the banana crop.— Cleveland Plain Dealer. Pish Industry Large. The value of all kinds of fish land ed in England and Wales in one year Is over $35,000,000, and the number of men and boys employed over 40,000. HAVESERVEDBEFORE MANY LEGISLATORS HAVE SEEN PRIOR SERVICE * ' ARTHUR COUNTY LOSES OUT ' Items of General Interest Gathered From t Reliable Sources Around v - the State House. VVestern Newspaper Union News Service. Nearly one-half df the membership of the coming legislature will be men who served in the 1915 session and were re-elected by their constituents. This is a much larger proportion of experienced members than has been the rule in the past. There will also be a number of senators and represen tatives who have seen legislative serv ice in former years, but were not in the session of 1915. In the senate, fifteen members were re-elected and eighteen seats will be occupied by new men. The house will contain forty-five of its old members from two years ago, as against fifty five others. The democrats will have eighty-four votes and the republicans forty-nine on joint ballot. In the house, the di visions wrill be sixty-one democrats and thirty-nine republicans. The sen ate will comprise twenty-three demo crats and ten republicans. Arthur County Loses Out. Nebraska's “baby county,” Arthur, which was set aside and organized by the legislature of 1913, has lost its suit against Garden county involving the government of and taxing authority over a strip of laud twenty-five miles long and three miles in width, which has been in dispute between Arthur and Garden counties. In an opinion rendered by the state supreme court, it is held that Garden county has obtained complete juris diction over the territory in contro versy through having exercised such jurisdiction for more than ten years without any attempt being made by anyone to prevent it. Garden county ! has levied and collected taxes, organ ized voting precincts, conducted elec tions, fotmed school districts and per formed other functions of government within the disputed area. The legislature of 1895 undertook to make Arthur county an independent division and passed an act fixing its boundaries. However, the act was re garded as unconstitutional and Arthur | county was not organized at that time but continued to be a part of McPher son county until 1913. In the mean i time, the state recognized a certain ! range line as the west boundary of i what was then McPherson county and is now Arthur county. This line is the one which Garden county claimed in the suit Is the correct boundary. Arthur county’s contention was that the boundary line was located three miles farther west. The supreme court opinion, written by Judge Barnes, affirms the holding of the district court of Garden county, In favor of that county. The decision will practically settle similar litiga J tion pending between Grant and Gar den counties. Want to Change Coal Contracts. Coal dealers under contract to sup ply state institutions with fuel this winter have lately been calling upon the board of control and pouring into the ears of its members various tales of woes about their inability to secure coal from mines, chiefly on account of car shortage. They have proposed several expedients for meeting the situation, among which is the supply ing of higher priced coal than that or iginally contracted for, if the state will pay the difference. The board of control recently called upon the dealers holding contracts at half a dozen of the largest institutions to stock them up with adequate stores of winter fuel to guard against a pos sible shortage. Now the dealers say they can’t get enough coal to take care of all their trade. Tkrr want the board to take a certain percentage of the kinds of coal contracted for—say 50 per cent—and buy other fuel for the balance. Searching for a Model. In anticipation of action by the com ing legislature to provide for the erec tion of a new capitol building, State Engineer Johnson and Representative elect J. H. Craddock of Omaha, who is an architect by profession, have \ started to obtain plans of capitols built in other western states during the recent years, or which are now In process of construction. Among the states from which such material is being collected are Minnesota, Wis consin, Missouri, South Dakota and Washington. A printed bulletin which will con stitute one section of the annual re port of the state board of agriculture is being distributed from the office of Secretary W. R. Mellor, showing the live stock, cereal, vegetable and hay production of the state, by counties, j It also gives tables exhibiting the re sults of the 1916 farm census in Ne j braska, as taken by assessors, giving : the acreage and value of farm lands ! by counties. Other portions of-the bulletin give statistics on the dairy and poultry industries of the state, ! the number of automobiles and simi lar data. Looking Into Cold Storage Matters. Food Commissioner Harman has wired cold storage houses to forward to him at once a report on all goods held in their possession under the cold storage act of this state. Butter and eggs held for more than sixty days and Intended for sale here are covered by the request. Mr. Harman stated that In his knowledge little of the produce which will be reported upon is owned by concerns in this state. Practically all of it, he stated, was purchased weeks ago by out-of-the state firms and held for orders. SETTLEMENTS ARE SLOW Claims Employers’ Liability Act Needs Amending. F. M. Coffey, chief deputy labor commissioner of Nebraska, in an ad dress to the Nebraska Manufacturers’ association at Omaha, advised the necessity of amending- the employers’ liability law for the purpose of bring ing about prompt and adequate set tlement of claims. Now, he said, set tlement drags into long negotiations. He proposed a commission, or single paid commissioner, preferably a law yer, familiar with the law, to adminis ter its provisions. He said such a provision will be of as much benefit to the employer as to the employe. He said he had had to return papers to one insurance company in sixty dif ferent cases, where effort had been made to trim down payment for a shorter length of time than that al lowed by law. He said that in ten months of this year 4,609 cases have been settled un der the compensation law. The total benefits paid have been $110,779, an average of $24.03. Hearing on Demurrage Matter After considerable testimony had been introduced before the state rail way commission last week the hear ing of the application of carriers for an increase in demurrage charges on intrastate traffic in Nebraska was con tinued indefinitely. The carriers were asked for much testimony which they did not have and which cannot be col lected for some time, so the hearing was postponed. It is alleged that the carriers ad mit privately that they probably should not have filed their applica tion relative to intrastate traffic when the same question is pending before the interstate commerce commission. The roads filed tariffs and a request for increased demurrage with the in terstate commerce commission. The federal commission suspended the re quest and the tariffs and will hold a hearing at a later date. Usually about ten months’ time is required to dis pose of such a case before the inter state body. When the interstate com merce commission suspends tariffs in such cases the burden of proof is then upon the carriers to prove their case. Without a ruling on the question from the federal body the carriers filed a similar application with the Nebraska state commission. Discussed Car Shortage. “If the railroads of this state could get all the cars they need for trans portation of grain from Nebraska towns they would flood the Omaha market,” said Railway Commissioner Taylor, who immediately followed it with another statement—to the effect that no such flood need be looked for, as there is no danger of any railroad In the state having enough cars to handle its traffic for some time to come. Mr. Taylor has returned from the east, where railway commissioners of thirty states and the interstate com merce commissioners sat for days upon the ultra serious problem of the continental car shortage. Two plans for relief are suggested. One is to affix an emergency demur rage charge of considerable propor tions and the other is to increase the daily rental cost of cars during the period of stringency. Both measures, it is believed, would hasten the un loading of cars and would compel rail roads to turn back other companies’ cars to them just as soon as shipments reached their destinations. Eight-Hour Day Legislation Labor Commissioner P. M. Coffey has written a lengthy treatise on the history of eight-hour day legislation, which goes back to the year 1S44 and traces the growth of the movement to the present time. He says it grew out of the earlier agitation for a ten-hour, workday in the United States and Great Britain. The greatest advance made by any country so far in the direction of a universal eight-hour day, Mr. Coffey finds, has been in Australia. He de tails what has been done by the fed eral government and the different states in this country, relative to eight-hour and ten-hour day laws. The evident purpose of the contri bution is to aid in the campaign now being inaugurated by the American federation of labor to make the eight hour day universal in all crafts throughout the United States. Delegates to the Nebraska farmers’ congress, which is to convene at Om aha December 12, have been named by Secretary W. H. Smith of the Ne braska Association of County Fair Managers. Those chosen were: George Jackson of Nelson. ,J. G. Crinklaw of Neligh, G. C. Doehling of Rising City, Jacob Weiss of Geneva, H. V. Reisen of Beatrice, S. B. Otto of Aurora, W. T. Parkinson of Pawnee City, T. C. Beck of Seward, F. H. Ball of Osceola and S. C. Blackman of Madison . The question that is bothering legis lators who propose to give it serious consideration this winter is the prob lem of a new state house for Ne braska. Most of those who have expressed themselves so far in the matter say they are for a new building, l’he only problem, therefore, is settlement upon a plan for raising the money. Two suggested plans are apt to be the only ones considered by the law makers. One i3 to provide by law for the sale of some o£ the $10,000,000 of state bonds and the immediate conver sion of ths proceeds into a state capi tol fund. The other is to affix a levy upon the taxpayers of the state and to raise the money gradually for the new edifice, probably starting the work after the first two years’ fund has been gath ered. Officials of the Dnion Stock Yards company of South Omaha are seek ing permission from the railway com mission to increase the charge for corn from $1 to $1.50. They say that in some instances the corn is now costing more than $1, and that the company is lOBtng money. I CONDENSED DEWSl OF INTEREST TO ALL. The expense of waging the demo cratic campaign in this state was $21,151, according to the report filed by Treasurer A. V. Johnson of the democratic state committee, with the county clerk of Lancaster county. The committee emerges from the conflict with, a $444 balance. The national ! committee contributed $10,022 to the ! state committee. Senator Hitchcock j and Keith Neville were the heaviest individual contributors. In all there were over 2,000 donors from among ! Nebraska democrats. Several Sarpy county farmers who i have lost all the way from 150 to 200 I hogs from cholera after they were in I oculated, have laid the matter before j Senator Hitchcock, Congressman Lo beck and several state officials and legislators in an effort to interest them in the serum for cholera which, they claim, has been faulty in many cases. An investigation is promised in the serum business. One farmer near l Gretna has a suit pending against a i serum company for $5,000. Weeping Water’s stone quarry has just closed a contract for 10,000 tons of sugar stone to be shipped to a large sugar refinery, which has plants in operation at Fort Morgan and Brush, Colo. This order will keep a large force of men busy at the plant most of the winter. One mile of new paving has just been completed at Plattsmouth and there is some talk of trouble resulting from objections of property owners abutting the paved streets. It is said an injunction may be applied for to prevent the city from collecting the tax. According to a letter received at Beatrice from one of the company C boys doing duty along the Mexican border in Texas, there is a possibility that the Nebraska regiments will be relieved from service before Christ mas. Box Butte county is entitled to the office of clerk of the district court, ac cording to the number of votes cast at the recent election. The figures show a 17 per cent increase in population in the county during the past four years. At the instance of the woman’s club all the churches and the Commercial club of Friend have decided upon a community Christmas tree. A program will be arranged and it is the plan to make the program an annual affair. The Holdrege Ad club closed a suc cessful month’s “Buy in Holdrege” campaign when it awarded two auto mobiles to its trade. Awards were based on cash purchases during the month, which totalled a little over $125,000. Fire completely destroyed the Epis copal church located at the Ponca In dian sub-agency, a few miles west of Niobrara. The church was built for the Ponca Indians nearly thirty years ago, and was valued at about $1,000. Approximately $50,000 was spent by the Prosperity league in its fight I against prohibition in Nebraska, ac | cording to a statement of expenditures ' filed with Election Commissioner Moorhead at Omaha. The Beatrice Cold Storage company is building a concrete fireproof plant at Columbus, to take the place of the building destroyed some time ago by fire. The new building will cost about $15,000. Lincoln afternoon daily newspapers have increased the price from 1 cent to 2 cents a copy on the streets and at news stands. The advance in the price of print paper is given as the cause. Twenty thousand dollars was sub scribed during a three days’ campaign to secure a Boy Scout Master for Ne braska at Omaha. Fifteen thousand dollars was the mark set. Farmers in Gage county report win ter wheat looking fine and say that it is in good shape to go through the winter without being damaged by cold weather. The presidential election this fall 1 cost Lancaster county just $4,552.10. | according to a report compiled by Deputy County Clerk Miller. In the county court at Columbus two men were fined $50 for selling meat from two cattle which had been the victims of the cornstalk epidemic. It cost an average of $833.28 per j day to maintain Lincoln public schools during the first four months of the present fiscal year, July, August, Sep tember and October. The new well for the water system at Dixon is nearly completed and work was started on the new electric light plant, both being owned by the city. At the public sale of thoroughbred Shorthorn cattle at Tecumseh. fifty six head were sold at an average price of $179.20. Buyers were present from many states. Oxford is in the midst of the great est union revival in its history. Evan gelist W. D. Hamilton of Sabetha, Kans., is leading it. A frame taberna cle has been put up for the meetings. Already converts number nearly 200. M. E. Smith & Co.’s shirt and over j all factory at York is now in oper ; ation. Fifty girls are now employed, while the number will be increased to 200 in a short time. A1 F. McReynolds, a Johnson coun ty farmer, received $485.90 for a w’a gonload of clover seed. He marketed the seed in Tecumseh. The twc-nty-second annual meeting of the Nebraska state association of commissioners, supervisors and coun ty clerks, will be held at Alliance Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday December 12 to 15 inclusive, at the Alliance hotel. The National Farmers’ Equity Union will hold its annual meeting in Omaha Dec. 20 and 21. Delegates from seven surrounding states to the number of 500 are expected to attend. York will add to its school facilities three large and commodious ward school houses the coming summ" Alter twelve years of litigation a new drainage ditch, fifteen miles west of Dakota City, has been completed and the people of the community cele brated the occasion last Saturday. When the canal was first begun, .OC residents of Dakota county secured an Injunction against the project. The case was carried from one court to another and altogether it was tried in the district court twice, twice in th« Nebraska supreme court, in the- U. S. supreme court and in the federal court at Omaha. The case was finally settled when the U. S. supreme court sustained the district court to dis solve the injunction. The decision was written by Justice Charles E. Hughes, republican candidate for pres ident at the recent election. It Is es timated the cost of fighting the case amounted to $30,000. A model aero club of Nebraska— whose members will build toy aero planes and hold contests under the auspices of the Aero Club of America is being organized in Lincoln by Dr. F. W. Buck. It is the doctor's plan to have a “flying day” about January 13, when all contestants will compete in class and sweepstake prizes. His of fice will be open Saturday morning only, during the first three Saturdays in December, for contestants to call and get information. Those not living in town have been asked to write to him. Any boy in Nebraska can join the club. MRS. JOHN M. TANNER. Who died November 26 from the re sult of burns received on the 22nd. The tragedy was brought about by her dress catching fire from a gas stove when she turned h» use the ’phone. Mrs. Tanner was the wife of Senator-elect John M. Tanner, known to his friends as “Do«k.” Mr. Tanner has been editor and owHer of the Omaha (formerly South Omaha) Democrat for years, and is a past president of the Nebraska Press Association. Both Mr. and Mrs. Tanner took great interest in , the Press Association meetings, and ' did much to make the excursion last summer successful. Hog and cattle receipts at the South , Omaha stock market last month were tile largest for the month of November in the history of the yards. The cat tle supply for the month was 152,511 head, 8,000 more than during Novem ber, 1915. Thirty-five thousand more hogs were registered than any pre vious November, the total number being 276,638 head. After lying idle in the Omaha Na tional bank for twenty-one years, drawing no interest and practically un known to anyone, $7,643.62 has just been carried into court for distribu tion among the creditors of the estate of John W. McMenamy, who died April 8, 1890. Lincoln financiers are planning a new hotel project for the Capital City. Those backing the proposition have matde it known that the struc ture will cost around $1,000,000. The Hastings city council has au thorized negotiations for the purchase of the old Methodist church property for a new city hall location. The sit* is offered at $14,000. County Commissioner James A. White of Otoe county died at his home in Palmyra a few days ago. He was a pioneer of Nebraska. Complete investigation of the Bish op block fire at Norfolk shows that the loss will exceed $60,000. Saunders county is agitating the question of organizing a baseball league next summer. Several liv* fans of the county have undertaken the move of working up the proper sentiment with the intention of per fecting an organization during the winter. There has been some talk of including Fremont, located only * mile from the Saunders county border, in a circut. William J. Amos, an old resident of the Odell vicinity, has purchased eighty acres of land near Odell for which he paid $112 per acre. While Captain P. R. Halligan of company E, Nebraska National Guard, was on duty on the Mexican border his mother, Mrs. J. J. Halligan, of North Platte, conducted a vigorous campaign in his behalf and secured his election to the position of county attorney of Lincoln county. Isaac Pollard, one of the early pio neers of Nebraska, and a leading hor ficulturist of the west, died at his home at Nehawka. Mr. Pollard owned the largest single orchard in this state and was recognized as an expert on fruit culture. The Nebraska football squad return ed to its old time form last Saturday nnd defeated the Iowa state eleven at Iowa City by a score of 34 to 17. The Cornhuskers outplayed the Hawkeyes in every department of the game A new record was established at the Omaha army recruiting station when thirty-five new members were signed up during the week of November 25. This number is five in excess of the best previous record. It is reported that there are 185 cars of grain in the York county ele vators awaiting cars for shipment.
