JOHN FURSE, secretary to the governor, is something of a joker. A few days ago he received a letter from a resident of Lancaster, Nebr., asking that his sentence be shortened a few months so he could get out and hustle a job before cold weather set in. "You know my sen tence expires in January," wrote the prisoner, "and you know how hard it is for a fellow to land a job at that time of the year." Mr. Furse replied and suggested that the writer of the letter ask for a continuation of his sen tence until spring opened up. SPEAKING of the penitentiary reminds us that there is nothing doing for the "sob squad" since Governor Shallenberger assumed the reins of office. The governor has acted on the assumption that the courts and juries know their business, and except in rare instances he has refused to be swayed by maudlin sympathy for convicted prisoners. It did not take Governer Shallenberger long to decide the Taylor matter. He gave Taylor's attorneys a hearing, but before Judge Hamer had resumed his chair the governor notified Warden Smith to proceed with carrying out the sentence. Governor Shallenberger has used his power to parole very sparingly, and his pardoning power so little as to please the people who have been ac customed to seeing governors abuse it too often. THE candidacy of S. R. McKelvie for the legislature commends itself to the younger element. Mr. Mckelvie is one of those young, energetic business men who does things. He has built a huge publishing business here in Lincoln and has made the Nebraska Farmer a winning proposition. He is also president of the Lincoln Ad Club. Furthermore, Mr. McKelvie's candidacy should appeal to union men for he is a large employer of labor, and you'll find nothing but union men in the mechanical departments of the Nebraska Farmer. The Wageworker takes pleasure in commending Mr. McKelvie's candidacy to the voters of Lancaster county. nABOUT MEN AND MATTERS J It is a pleasure to make acknowledgements of the services of a public official who has done his full duty. By an unwrit ten law never but once disobeyed in the history of Nebraska, a state official is allowed but two terms, no matter how good his record. Sometimes they are allowed only one term, as in the ease of Governor Shallenberger, who was turned down forje-nomination, not because he was not faithful and efficient, but because he was both. Attorney General Leese broke the record once by serving three terms as attorney general. Law son G. Brian is soon to retire after having served four years as state treasurer. With the exceptions of some acts, performed as a member of various state boards, which actions appeared to us as narrowly partisan, Mr. Brian has made an excellent record. As state treasurer he has handled the business of the office in a methodical, business-like manner, and there has not been a breath of suspicion against him, nor a trace of scandal connected with the office. Always courteous, always affable, and always ready to accommodate, it has been a pleasure to thousands to transact business with Mr. Brian and his efficient office force. What lias been said of Mr. Brian may be said with equal truthfulness concerning Mr. George A. Junkin, secretary of state, with a little emphasis, perhaps, on the partisan feature thereof. While Mr. Junkin has never failed to emphasize his partisanship, it must be admitted that he has been tireless in his work and exacting in his methods. We have enjoyed some little tilts with Mr.-Junkin, but there has, we hope, nothing hap pened to make impossible a warm and permanent personal . friendship in the future. The niggardliness of Nebraska in the matter of remunerat ing her public servants is notorious. William T. Thompson, who has just resigned from the attorney generalship, received a salary of $2,000 a year, and for this pitiful salary less than many a poorer lawyer gets for handling a single case Mr. Thompson was expected to meet the princely salaried attorneys of the big corporations and beat them on their own ground. His ability as a lawyer has been evidenced by his uniform success in making the attorneys of the big corporations, especially the railroad and express corporations, come to time. They have all learned to respect him as a man and fear his ability as an opposing counsel. The legal work he has performed for Ne braska has been prodigious and of far-reaching benefit. He has accepted a position under Uncle Sam at a salary 150 per cent greater than Nebraska paid him. Mark the prediction : WTilliam T. Thompson, ex-attorney general of Nebraska, will not long be , buried in a department at Washington. The big corporations are looking for men of his ability and resource. 1 1 " 1 ' Arthur Mullen, who succeeds Mr. Thompson at attorney gen eral, and will act in that capacity until January 1, accepts the position for two reasons. One is that he is vitally interested in some of the litigation now under way ; another is that he appreciates the honor. That he is deserving of it is admitted by unprejudiced observers. Having been active in politics it is only natural that Mr. Mullen should have made enemies, not all of them careful in observing trutli when they refer to nim and his work. But one thing they will have to admit : Mr. Mul len's administration of the oil inspection department has been beyond criticism, and it has been vastly more profitable to the state than the administration of any of his predecessors. ; ii hi in i i 4.. It is not at all surprising that the fine Italian hand of Guerdon W. Wattles has been discerned in all this Howard-Bartley-Hitchcock controversy. Mr. Wattles has that fine Ital ian hand of his on more business interests and in more combi nations than any dozen men in the state. And don't you worry about his not being able to manipulate things his way, either. He is a natural born organizer and leader. It is just as natural for Mr. Wattles to take hold and manage everything he be comes connected with as it is for a fish to swim or a swallaw to fly. Less than two decades ago a little banker in a little Iowa city, Mr. Wattles is today a millionaire, the head of one of Oma ha's biggest banks, the high;mogul of the street railway system, interested in a score of mercantile institutions and manipulat ing wires that make the political marionettes dance as he pleases. Guerdon W. Wattles, in addition to being a successful man of business, is somewhat careless of who he steps on when he starts in any given direction. Yet for all that he is a very companionable and affable gentleman with the ability to say "no" easier and stick to it longer than most men. . . If you have been at all interested in Nebraska politics du ring, the years gone by you are acquainted with the Oberfelder boys Bob and Joe of Sidney. There's a pair of enthusiastic Nebraskans for you. They not only boost for Nebraska day in and day out, but they have shown their faith by their works. For years on end they felt so sure of Nebraska's future that they invested every dollar they could get hold of in western Nebraska land. Men laughed at them, and touched their foreheads in a knowing way every time the Oberfelder boys sunk a few more thousands in the raw land of the "arid" district. Now those same knowledgeous gentlemen are telling of how they "could have bought that whole township for a dollar an acre once," and then hesitatingly admitting that they couldn't raise money enough now to buy an acre of it from the Oberfelder brothers. There were times when the future looked pretty blue, but the Oberfelders could always see a little sunshine. Today they are able. to ride on plush cushions from ocean to ocean, take an oc casional trip across the herring pond, joy ride around in their own autos and enjoy any old luxury that happens to appeal to them. And those who know them well rejoice in the vindica tion of their faith in Nebraska real estate. If Col. Ed. Bignell performed all the feats attributed to him he would be one of the most remarkable men of this generation. He is not oniy division superintendent of the Burlington, hav ing jurisdiction over more mileage than many trunk lines can boast of, and manages it with consumate skill, , but he is charged with exersising political authority that would, if true, make him a worthy contemporary of the czar of Russia or the emperor of Germany. That the charge of political mastery made against him is little short of an insult to the thousands of sturdy and independent employes of the Burlington seems never