0
JANUARY U, 1907
The Hcbrastta Independent
MORE OR LESS PERSONAL
BOOK at the difference. Aside from
a small group of lobbyists who
ha vent been able to sleep since elec
tion day over the imminence of the
success of Norris Brown, the people
near the legislature have had no worry
over the senatorial election. A ballot
on Tuesday, a joint session of less than
an hour yesterday, and It was.all over.
No fuss, no swapping of votes for
promises of office, no direct or indirect
bribery, no hard words, ho suspicion.
Everybody happy.
The other thing happened eight years
ago and again six years ago this win
ter. In 1899 D. E. Thompson, a Lincoln
gas and insurance and railroad man,
wanted the senatorship and asked for
it on the ground that he had helped
bo many of the members get elected,
just as Simon Guggenheim demanded
a toga in Colorado this winter because
he had put up for the campaign ex
penses of the legislators. From the
first day the session opened until
March the state was kept in a turmoil
ever his attempt to break into the sen
ate. The legislature was a bedlam,
and most of the members were either
thoroughly mad or under suspicion of
wanting to trade their votes for office.
Even after the republicans nominated
Hay ward, Thompson jumped to the
fusionists and offered to stay out of
republican caucuses and do certain
other things if they would elect hlra
with the help of a few republican bolt
ers. Not until the vote was actually
taken at noon on March 8 did the re
publicans finally feel that it was safe
to close their eyes in slumber.
This bolting Incident lasted over to
1901 and furnished the chief cause for
the turmoil that made the session the
most notorious in the history of the
state. Senator Hayward was virtually
killed by the long strain connected
with his election, dying in the follow
ing December. Then Thompson, who
had sold out his interests here and was
moving to Omaha, jerked his citizen
ship back to Lincoln and again became
a candidate. This time, the row lasted
until March 28. The whole session was
given up to it, in fact, as the final
vote was taken on the last day fixed
by the constitution. The town was
jammed with lobbyists sent here on
passes to work on the members. If
there was an office in the world that
wasn't dangled before some legislator's
eyes, it was because it was overlooked,
that was all. On the night before the
dosing there were probably more pri
vate cars in the Lincoln yards Ulan
had been there on any night for yearsr
and to end the whole agony, the Bur
lington and Union Pacific managers
were allowed to pick out as "com
promise senators" two men who had
ncarcely been thought of for the place,
Millard and Dietrich. The private cars
virtually appointed 'em. The present
method of making senators marks the
reaction from that old system.
Ki LACK travel always follows the
IjJ holidays, but people come in from
the road now with tales of an unusual
dearth of fellow passengers. A couple
of Lincoln men who enjoyed a Pull
man all by themselves nearly all the
way from Chicago the other day said
that the condition was charged by the
trainmen to the disappearance of the
pass. When the pass was blooming in
full vigor a dozen years ago it was
common to see one-half of the Pull
man passengers flash free transporta
tion. Up to last year about one-third
of them had it. Now the pass is
really becoming extinct, according to
all accounts, and the surprising thing
about it is the general agreement
among railroad men and the people
who have been deprived of the privi
lege that its abolition is a good thing.
All of the pass bills allow railroad
employes to ride free, but it is not so
easy to get exchange courtesies of this
kind on other roads as it was for
merly. For example, the interstate
commerce commission believes that to
be entitled to a pass over another road,
a railroad man must give his entire
time to the railroad service. This
shuts out the railroad lawyer who is
engaged In private practice. He
may get a pass over his own road
without much trouble, but when he
wants to travel In some other territory
he finds his way blocked. An effort Is
now under way to modify the severity
of this rule. Unless something la ac
complished In that line the railroad
lawyer In the smaller cities will con
fine their traveling pretty closely to
th road they do business for.
On ft remt day when the editor of
the Kail (Mtv Tribune- rod from Lin
coln to Falls City, but one paw was
presented to the conductor In the en
tire dlManm Purine previous legis
lative uriwlon. according to the Trib
une, this train averaged fortv annual
passes a day. henc the editor con
elude that a tw cent paenger fare
bill would I Jut nnd should be
The'fflalatur nt Wf'1 not '
In , lot o f" a tt effect on the
lac of the city U concerned. V aually
the air I full of legislative electricity
at atmt thh time, but IhU winter th
cnt'tl N almoit n tame n a Sunday
whocd, Thi re are a few lobbyist he r,
but the folks who pay their salaries
are throwing the money away.
An eastern physician who visited
Lincoln not long ago said that he was
impressed by the vitality of the peo
ple as he encountered them on the
streets. He felt that he had never seen
so large a proportion of the entire vis
ible public so free from signs of tuber
culosis as in Nebraska. That the cli
mate is favorable for warding off and
even curing consumption has been
known since the early settlement of
the state. It has also been known that
many diseases thrive but poorly here;
and yet old time Nebraskans rarely do
any bragging about the climate. They
are mildly surprised, in fact, when
they see highly eulogistic references to
the weather as one of the charnw of
Lincoln. They are just beginning to
realize that their cljmate is better
than they have thought.
DRIFT WOOD
This date in history: Forty-two years
ago Horace Leet, lather's hired man,
went to Mantorvilie (Minn.), seven miles
away, to mill. He returned after night
with bis feet so badly frozen he couldn't
get out for six weeks. During that time
we occasionally enlivened his lonely hours
by the recitation of tnis original couplet:
. "Horace Leet, take a seat:
Never mind your frozen feet"
The decision of Congressman Pollard to
send garden seeds only to those wo ask
for them is wise. In the past little good
has ever resulted from the foolish cus
tom which was first inaugurated as a
scheme for solidifying the support of the
agricultural element at no cost to the
members of congiess. Much of the seed
purchased for free distribution Is worth
less trash that won't grow and would do
more harm than good if it did. There
are things in universal demand, sugar
for instance, which might be delivered
free to the infinite delight of every re
cipient of a ten-pound package. Why
not sugar, tea, coffee, or the newest and
most approved varieties of breakfast
food?
If Uncle Sam now has a lot
Of things I need and haven't got,
And think? It is the proper thing
To send supplies out in the spring,
I wish he'd hear to my request' '"''
And send out what I like the best.
Iast spring some one supplied my needs
With lettuce, beet and turnip seeds,
While that for which I had to scrap
Was buckwheat cakes and maple sap.
This is my prayer to Uncle Sam:
"Send me a keg of nails, a ham;
Send something that I really want.
Some maple sugar from Vermont,
A sack of good self-rising flour
(I need a biscuit every hour);
Send that for which my sad heart bleeds,
Send anything but garden 'seeds."
Had I the gift, developed strong.
Like Uncle Crofts or Nathan Griggs,
Today I'd like to write a song
About Nebraska's boar black pigs.
Here is a state where plenty's horn
Is running over all the time;
The almost bursting cribs of corn
Have oft been written up iu rhyme.
Of pastures green and rippling rilli,
Of babbling brooks and lake and pond
Of cattle on a thousand hills,
And horses on the hills beyond;
Of everlasting ricks of hay,
In valleys minus swamps and bogs,
We've always had a deal to say
Now jusr one word about the hogs:
His value on tne bill of fare
'Twere worse than idle to discuss;
Our tables groan with pork to spare
Roasted or stewed its good for us.
And, in the markets to the east.
And to the south, and north and west,
You catch the flavor of the beast
Nebraska grown it is the best.
A benefaction to the race
We must confess with one accord;
A profit on the market place,
A pleasure at the festal board.
And there is glory for the men,
And very much of wealth In store.
Who make two pigs grow In the pen
Where only one pig grew before.
A Lincoln subscriber who writes to re
fute an argument sent in from Silver
Creek, near the Platte, asks this ques
tion, or the two in one: "Who la Charley
Wooster, anyway, and what la his trade
or calling?" What a question to ask In
the face, at it were, of Nebraska his
tory. Charley Wooster is himself,
and there la nobody like him under the
nun. He is a combination farmer-statesman,
who homesteiuled In Merrick county
almost thirty years ago. He came from
the effete east, armed with an educa
tion nnd a fine nlde whiskers an were
ever tanned br favoring breee In any
state north of Tennenae. If somebody
has not been trtoitinir u he wm trn
Id ol! Kentucky, of thoroughbred tock.
He served his country in the union nrmy
when treason utalked red-hand. t uvr
Columbia and was dtaeharged with an
honorable record. He was a fighter be
fore uA well as durtne the war, and ha
Urn a fighter aver alnce. If u doubt
It nt p m hla coat tall and nee Mn Jump,
Thirty yer ago. coming i.ext June, h
brok prairie tn hU homestead near Bu
yer Ctek. You altould have Keen tint In
bin har feet, blue dnlm overalls and
aloveplpn hat. Kver and anon a breath of
wind rustled through hi Me wh.b-k.er.
ever and anon he Mopeed to pull a livr
out of hN foot, ever nnd anon he nwnre
at the oil OX for moving out of the fur
r.w after n buneh of hnurtart and
tempting form?". That wa Wooater, the
rTieilturlt. The plug hat wa nutter
c( hWtor) when tu roll of Nebraska
statesmen was called and Wooster an
swered, "Here." He was elected to the
lower house of the legislature, if we
mistake not, in the fall of 1896, and he
made a record of, which neither he nor
his friends have ever been ashamed.
Inclined to be an off horse, with a strong
penchant for kicking, you always knew
what to expect and about how much.
One of the men whom I admired
Was Wooster;
One of the men who made me tired
Was Wooster.
One of the men and that's no dream
Who could detect a rotten scheme,
And be depended on to scream,
Was Wooster.
The roll was called, then some one rose,
'Twas Wooster;
One dealt at wrong sledghanimer blows,
'Twas Wooster.
Whenever schemers smooth and slick
Made their attempts to turn a trick,
One man was right on hand to kick
'Twas Wooster.
And this fa all I have to say
Of Wooster ;
Few men there are who have .the way
Of Wooster.
But it is strange, upon my word,
In fact it is almost absurd .
That one man lives who hasn't heard
Of Wooster.
But it's almost like summer down here
Morris K. Jesup of New York is an
Interesting character. He Is said to be
a God-fearing man, of somewhat gener
ous and philanthropic impulses. Certainly,
if he may be Judged by his looks, he Is
an eminently respectable gentleman.
But he is one of the long list of very
wealthy men of New York who has the
art of dodging the tax-flxer down to a
fine point. His personal property is
listed at $100,000. He could check twice
that out of the bank any day and never
miss it. He has often been held up as
an example of the better class of mil
lionaires, but while he has manifested a
loftier public spirit in some ways, It is
doubtful if a more foxy grandpa could be
found in the entire galaxy of grizzled
tax-shirkers. Friends may plead in ex
tenuation that he was nurtured from in
fancy in an atmosphere of graft and is
simply doing as the rest have always
done. That may be an excuse, but it is
a mighty poor Justification,
If you will quit tobacco for a few years
yon will wonder what in the world ever
possessed you to acquire the fool habit
in the first place. ,
A man is dead in Delaware '
Gas Addicks;
He isn't in it anywhere
Gas Addlckg
Is in a devil of a fix
In that he's out of politics;
A target for all sorts of kicks
Is Addicks.
It is snowy and cold to the., north , And
, , the .east, I .
But it's almost like summer down here;
In St Paul it is ten below zero at least,
But It's almost like summer down here.
In the land by the lake where I onoe
used to dwell,
And of pieasures had more than I ever
can tell,
It is cold as the deuce and Is snowing
like the mischief,
Sometimes a bowl of corn bread and
milk for puppet is more tatislylng than
a banquet. -in preparing, this repast . take
a pan of milk from which none of the
cream has been eliminated and turn Into
the bowl the amount you think you need.
If more than your share of the cream
rolls into your dish, don't pretend to no
tice it, but crumb in the johnnycake and
get busy at once.
NEBRASKA
WHEN you die will any such gap In
your community be left as this,
pictured by a Minatare reporter:
"Since the death of S. D. Cox, Mina
tare needs a good citizen, a gentleman,
a neighbor, n friend, a brother, a law
yer, a notary public, a newspaper ed
itor, the North Platte water users as
sociation a secretary, and the Nebras
ka Central Building and Loan company
a representative, and the Presbyterian
church a pillar. It also needs back
The West Point Republican reports
among the first things that happened
in that town the following:
The first log house was built by the
townslte company In 1857.
The ilrst frame house was erected
by Ed Pallow in 1853.
The first birth was a son to Mr. and
Mrs. A. Babbitt.
The first female child born was to
Mr. and Mrs. John D. Nellgh, now
Mrs. Allco Sims.
The first death was Mrs. Gaul In
1857.
The first marriage was that of John
P. Nellgh nnd Ml Catlmrlnm Probst
of Omaha, March 13. 1S60.
Thrt flrut aehv wtl tSURht by Miss
bone to cnfrce jdntute ugalnst HleKnl
liquor selling, boot. legging and gam
bllng of all descriptions. Abo a city
marshal."
Allca Buckley In a brick school houi
on Lincoln street.
The Mrt town lot wan given away
to John Meyer. He built a ntore on t:
In t7.
The flrnt g'todn were sold by A II.
IVnke hi 1167.
Th first IdickKtnlth wji l-l l;Um,
In 151
Thi. Ilrt name shop wa 4 n !
by Jojm .h Pworuck, In
Th fir brick were burned br Ne
!l'h, tr;iwftnl ml llour, In 1K!.S
' The first livery stable was conducted
by Gt-orge Gallen, in 1869. ;
The first postofflce was established
in 1858, J. C. Crawford being appointed
as first postmaster.
The United States land office was
moved from Omaha to -West Point In
1869. E. K. Valentine made register and
Uriah Bruner rtceiver.
The first saw mill was erected in
1857. and the first grist mill began to
grind in 1869, the foundry by Wobig
& Schwarts in 1886 and the West Point
Butter and Cheese association in 1878.
The earliest of these dales indicate
that this is the year of golden jubilee
for AVest Point, and the Republican
suggests: "There is no reason why a
celebration of this kind should not b?
held and many why Jt should. It has
been suggested that the. matter be
taken up by the Commercial club nnd
this suggestion seems to be a good one,
if that organization can be quickened
into life. It is Important that the en
tire city be actively and earnestly be
hind a movement of this sort." Ac
cording to this paper, "In May 1869,
West Point Was incorporated as a vil
lage, the first board of trustees being
J. B. Thompson, John D. Nellgh. John
J. Bruner and Herman Kloke. It was
Incorporated as a city of the second
class in 1873,vand in the spring of
1874 J. C. Crawford was elected the
first mayor and F. W. Vostrovsky
clerk. During the year 1880, owing to
the passage of a new state law requir
ing cities to have a population of at
least 1,500. West Point fell back to a
village government and remained In
that class until 1886, when It wfis in
corporated ns a city the second time,
John D. Nellgh being elected mayor in
the spring of 1887."
Perhaps the murder of Sum Cox has
had something to do with it. From
whatever cause there lias been an un
usual manifestation of anti-saloon feel
ing in the state. In Chadron this takes
the form of enforcing the laws, as the
following notice, served on all saloon
keepers one day recently ,by , Muyor
Donahue, witnesses: "On and
after Sunday, the 13th day of January,
1967' you are hereby -notified"-and re
quired to remove all screens, blinds
and other articles from In front of
your windows and doors, and all paint
from the glass in such windows so as
to afford an unobstructed - view from
the outside of said windows and doors
to your bar, and the whole of Raid
bar, and to the interior of your sa
loon. In case of your failure to do so.
prosecution . wllL. be brought against
you. an,d, .profieedjngs,. for th revoca
tion of yotr license will be taken.
And you are required to close your
saloon Sundays and nights, as pro
vided bv ordinance No. 39 of the said
city." At Exeter a move for a higher
tax on the single saloon licensed in
the place is advocated by the Enter
prise. Had such a thing as a wolf bounty
never been agreed to by the state leg
islature JV' H. ' Young- of Nemaha
county would not -have.' sufertd-'-the
severe dissappointment ; and , ultimate
embarrassment of a humiliating mis
take. The Auburn Herald tells the
story.
One day, a fortnight ago. Mr. Young
while crossing the pasture saw a grey
animal making a sudden "get away,"
and he immediately gave chase. He
finally cornered the "varmint" and
yelled loudly for the hired man to
bring the pitchfork. The later person
made , a hurried run with the fork,
which once in the hands of Mr. Young
he soon made an end of the animal.'
Bringing the hide to the house the
hunter rang up a neighbor. "What are
grey wolf scalps worth?" he asked
over the 'phone. "You haven't any
grey wv)lf scalp," was the reply, "there
alnt any in this part of the country."
Mr. Young Insisted that he had the
goods and Incidentally mentioned that
ho had killed the brute with a pitch
fork. The receiver was suddely hung
up at the other end of tho line, and
the conversation ended abruptly.
The next morning on his way to Au
burn, Mr. Young met t'has. Bebuck
who hailed him and asked whither he
was bound.
"I killed a grey wolf with a pitch
fork yesterday and I'm taking him to
Auburn to get the bounty," promptly
replied Young.
Ucbuck's ourvdty wis around, and
going to tno wagon, l.e looked at tho
It'll. He Rave one yell nnd then
doubled up in a fit of laughter, vhlch
promised convulsions. Young I.HkM at
him uerlouxly until Bebuck got no ha
could fpcuk and then nked If he
might inquire the cause of the la tier
mirth,
"You tulsrht tin well turn back home,
Young, for you've killed no nuiv grey
wolf than t have; that's u c.mii liln,"
And vt It proved.
One hundred dollar an acre for a
Buff ad county farm In the lateat n.
nation In the "nernl.arid belt," Ti e VI
Wjman farm near fchelton, on tied by
Bavld Neely, un-t h lately to .tnnt
Uurvl.i kr of odeMa f.,e fKi.euo UH
a farm of ltU acre. Mr. .W, y r,ad
llO.t'OO fur the place thin year EO.
