THE NEBRASKA INDEPENDENT
11
STANTON county Is still going into
jgJ debt according to the., mortgage
records for M;neh. The report show?
leased, ri. $116,107; city mortgages filed,
mortgages filed. 4S, $19,97S.K); released.
C, $8,325.25.
After a visit to Columbus EdRor D.
J. Poynter of the Albion Argus evolves
this biography of the town: Columbus
hi a pretty little city down on the
Platte, about forty-five miles southeast
of Albion, at the junction of the Al
bion branch with the main line of the
Union Pacific railroad, 'where all the
trains stop to take water.' It Is no'ed
(In our estimation) for having three
sewer systems. In the estimation of
some others for having a little court
house out in the suburbs. To others
two breweries and fourteen saloons- Ir
addition to these notable things they
have some other things to be thankful
for and proud of vis: A lot of beauti
ful sidewalks and gutter paving, a
beautiful park, lots' of shade trees,
many nice buildings, a hospital of more
than local fame, good school and many
others things. They also have a com
mercial clug that does things some
things at least."
i ".
Charles S. Hughes, who recently be
came proprietor of the Pender Repub
lic, will combine the pastorate of a
local church with his editorial du'ies.
The lack of lucratice reward in the
ministry has something to do with his
decision to branch out. He says; "I
spent a great deal of money in going
to school, and in trying to fit myself
for my life's work, and since I got cut
of school there has been scarcely a
year when I have not run behind finan
cially. At my age it would seem I
ought to soon get to the point where
the balance would be on the ledger,
but with the increased cost of living,
and the retrogressive tendency 'of min
isterial salaries it does not seem that
that condition of things is every .to
be realized by me in the church ex
clusively. Hence my resolve to devote
at least part of my time to something
else. While money-making is not my
absorbing ambition yet I am not loath
to making a little more money than I
have ever made in the ministry." Mr.
Hughes Is moved also by other mo
tives. . "I am in the newspaper busi
ness because I like it," he says. . "Ever
since I was old enough I have dabbled
in the newspaper business and have
always enjoyed it." Moreover, "It is
an opportunity for doing good. I am
just as much devoted to the cause of
righteousness today as ever, and be lieve
the press may be made a power
for the pro notion of uprightness."
Teaching and preaching have always
been more or less related . and . com
bined occupations. If there is any vKal
reason why the Treac her and the press
should not work as cue this experiment
ought to bring it io light.
The Nebraska inheritar.ee tax law
was passed in 1901. The first tax under
tha law to be paid in Thayer county
was paid into the treasury this month.
The tax on the estate of A. M. Miller
amounted to $51.03. Amendments to
this law enacted by the. late legislature
will bring a larger number of tstates
within its provisions. Under the old
law all inheritances up' to $10,000 are
exempt; over that amount a tax of $1
on every hundred Is assessed on prop
erty 'inherited from a, direct relative,
as a father, mother, husband or wife.
But property inherited frcm an indi
rect relative, as an uncle, aunt, niece
or nephew, requires a tax of 2 per cent,
or $2 on every hundred.
For the month of March the post
master at Ravenna remitted to the de
partment at Washington J3.S53, repre
senting the excess of receipts over ex
penditures in the money order busi
ness. During the month nil incoming
orders had been cashed with funds re
ceived for outgoing orders, 50 this
mean that Ravenna sent away by
mall $3.sr3 more c.lsh than ramc Info
the town by mail. The m til order busi
ness no doubt accounts for the dis
crepancy. Some of the range farmers foil that
I hey arc not sharing the general ag
r!cuMrnl" fMHty. A country eorre
H'riri nt for a western Nebraska ra
rer reports: "There sermn to 1k no
pence of mind for the md hrtyrred.
K!ht n the heels of the land In.-p -r-tor
n 1 the cattle Inspector cornea the
tbnber Inspector. The lind laws pro
hlt.lt the cutting of thn).,-r nn 6rvirn
inent land, nr., J iinnvvtcnd n.t ifovnl
up on. and it npf tr t S t Vwt. r;im
tl Rt'ttiUR l tl x ion ' V ll.r Hit!
tnalritnc tlmltt H N'!.r. 4, i: Wo ut
derlind thU 'j'i'te a nalty H ;it
tiielu , to the T- J ", fn-th pHilng and
buyinir from mlur thmn 1! d I l.r.n'i "
On a d rt ilii Uv an entlr carl ftd
of .-? cam wr unloaded at IlnwHU
for th 11 "f 1otl merchant. Th
Journal aura th it: "A I th rat
are coming in it will not take to ex
ceed ten days to fill the cases. The
egg business is an important factor in
the prosperity of the country, and
Queen Hen Is ranking up pretty well
with King Corn."
Blue Hill school children go to school
seven days out of eight on the average.
Statistics for the month of March show
this and the following:
Total Av.
Whole number enrolled to date.. 497
Total enrollment for-month 4G2
Number of days absence .4S1.5
Number of cases of tardiness S3
Number of cases of truancy 19
Number cases of corporal punish
ment .. 10
Average daily attendance ..; 342.2
Per cent of attendance W.9
Per cent of punctuality 93.9
Number of non-resident pupils 25
Seventeen Custer county banks
showed deposits of a million and a
ouarter dollars not long ago, and these
were not all the banks in the county.
Below is the list and the amount of
"drought insurance" in each:
Bcrwyn bank $ 9,63.. 42
Broken Bow State 223.1CS5
Broken Bpw Security ....... 76,768.76
Farmers' state, Oconto ...... 37,fM).21
Oconto State r.r.r.fiS.7!5
Arnold Slate 27.S3C.17
Callaway State 80,204.50
Seven Valleys 93.623.1J1
Farmers' State, Callaway... 23,031). CO
Mason City Banking Co CI, 21 4.02
First ' State of Mason ...... 19,722.67
Anselmo State 59.738.5-1
Merna Home Bank 45,562.82
Farmers' State, Ansley 2S.207.2t)
Custer National 188,SS7.13
Sargent National 135,613.00
Comstock State 48.Q13.00
Total ..... .; $1,214,938.86
The assessor's returns from Custer,
particularly that portion relating to
"cash on hand or in bank" will be
awaited with Interest.
THE LEGISLATURE.
APPROPRIATION bills recently
T passed - make provision for new
office equipment for the governor's of
fice and the railway commission is also
to have the task soon pf . selecting office
furniture and adornment. The gover
nor's office particularly will be im
proved as the sum of $3,000 was given
to renew worn out and out of date fix
tures. Visitors to the capitol generally
inspect the offices of the chief execu
tive and these have been rather shabby
owing to the tread of ho many office
seekers but when the rooms are over
hauled thoroughly, possibly being
treated to hard wood floors and an
oriental rug or two and paper is put
on the walls that does not remind one
of the Interior of an Egyptian temple,
sightseers may sit up and take notice.
The walls are decorated with the por
traits of former governors. "I sup
pose," said Secretary Allen to a caller
who was asking how the offices would
be refitted, "that you will want motiem
faces put in these frames, too."
The scramble for quarters In the
state house incident to the re-assignment
of rooms by the board of public
lands and buildings makes apparent
the need for more room in the capitol
building to accommodate the boards,
commissions and departments already
created. The need of a new capitol
building was discussed this year for
the first time with some earnestness.
The amount of improvement the next
legislature will feel called upon to'Uu
thoiize will ail depend on the figures
Jn thfr assessment roll. The next valu
ation of real property in Nebraska will
have far-reaching consequf-nce.
It has been Intimated that County
Asseor Miller this year will Investi
gate thoroughly the valuer of Omaha
ral estate and persona', assessment
before he certifies to the state board
the values in Lincoln. .The comparison
between the assessment! of the two
cities has always been In favor of Lin
coln and this year It has been deter
mined to take the problem In hand in
time and obviate any possibility of a
wide diversity In figure.
Th coal men of tho mute- do not
view with tiny particular grut Miration
the presence of nn nmndnicnt l th
measure n qtitrins trek :.i l weight
on rrriUn whi.'h was not ad-opt rd tv tie
nenult Tl U Mil win tfie ir,rra of three
hud ,rj ft ,n th floor of tho hoi
om th" n.id! n of Coin; of Haundi th who
Nttiuhi tt' e mu el th lailroad t to fur
nl.di tr.uk wriii.tn on fcntlrt. The ht
tory vt bill IndHsUe. how ever. tJ4l
tho meamjio "'. drift' d orlr.HV ty
th" roal oh n Abo ddre I to Kt ft rtwck
011 tho orn tars sent aeror the stnte.
Irti!-lou Cor wljfht on grain ww in
corporated with th view of gfttlnjr
farmer nurpfrt fur th meaauni. Tho
Ucator rn-n then tumid In mnd mubt
to prove that there was no crying need
for track weights on grain and the leg
islature cut k out. But now the provi
sion for weighing grain "exists in
the bill and is likely to invalidate th
measure.
The experience of the legislature with
the faulty enrolling of bills may result
some time In the Introduction of more
business like methods. It always hap
pens at the close of the session that
the big appropriation bills with a host
of other eleventh hour measures pour
upon the enrolling rooms fairly swamp
ing the committees. These bills, thu
most important of the entire session,
must be hurried out with scarcely time
to proof-read properly. Either the leg
islature should provide against the final
rush by the employment of experts and
plenty of them or there should be a
change in the provision that permits
the appropriation bills to lag till all
other business is over. No session
escapes without the promise that the
appropriations will be disposed of in
time and there has not been an in
stance within the memory of man
when a session did not have to wait
from one to two days for the enrolling
of the big bills. Legislatures and courts
are the last to take up an innovation
anel it may be a long time before ny
change in the procedure will be made.
Professor C. R. Richard of the en
gineering department of the university
has ben advanced from tho position
of professor of mechanical engineering
to the post of associate dean of the
industrial college in charge of all en
gineering Instruction. This is u step to
ward grouping all the engineering sub
jects in the university into a compact
ly organized school. With a new engi
neering building jnd a man like Pro
fessor Richards at the head of the
work, Nebraska will without doubt
take a front rank in engineering among
western universities.
When the university people discuss
the legislature they have a good deal
to say about Senator King and his at.
titude toward the appropriations. Tho
marked thing about his record was the
fact that he took pains to inform him
self about every point before speaking
or acting upon it. That is all the frienda
of the university ever ask of a mem
ber. If more of the senators had
lowed the example of Senator King the
pains and worries connected with
amending the bills in the closing hours
would have been avoided.
It turns oat that the Union Pacific
politicians played a mean practical Joke
on the people of Grand Island by mak
ing them believe that It wouldn't pay
to send W. II. Harrison back to the
senate. The counsel and work of that
veteran legislator would have been in
valuable during the whole winter. As
it was, he was sent for toward the close
of the session' by people who didn't
want to see Hall county lose out all
around, and he spent several days here
helping out the soldiers' home and the
terminal taxation bill, both of them of
direct financial advantage to Grand
Island. The next time the railroads
kindly advise Hall county to leave Mr.
Harrison at home, the voters may be
too wise to enter the trap that snapped
on tbfn in 1DG6.
MOTE THE TRADE-MARK!
for perfection in men's chtkes tsaKiai ?
as lomerait iraae
MarK is a g jarartee cf
excellence. It is pnt en
every Clothcraft garment
to insttre yeu that the
materials tre all wool,
tkcrcofjfcljr sbruKU and
tLe tailoring it v;ht yoa
tare a rlM te cipsct,
An cxperiance ef half a,
cantnry ii behind th u.
ctllence of Clothe r f t.
The most expert cotters,
tailors and worH people
produce Clothcraft
Clothes and they do
Xhtit vor2n?t In street
thO
reeitj.
WA
vA
i
EIER 6 SIMON,
Business is coming Into Ihe new Lin
coln division of the federal court in a
way to disprove the old Omaha conten
tion th.H the Lincoln lawyers didn't
want to try their cases here. They went
to Omaha because the court mudc it
convenient for them to go there. When
equa'f facilities are offered at both
places, the Lincoln court is bound to
make a rapid growth. It is nrf unlike
ly, in fact, that in less than fivo years
as much business will be done lure aa
by the parent court at Omaha.
Before the two cent fare went into
effect In Nebraska knowing people who
wished to travel from Schuyler to Om
aha on the Union Pacific saved twenty
nine cents by buying a. ticket to Fre?
mont, there buying a ticket to Omaha,
or paying fare on the train the rest of
the way. The explanation Is that the
Northwestern line between Fremont
and Omaha is nearly ten miles shorter
than the Union Pacific. The Union Pa
cific had to make the same rate as
the Northwestern from Fremont Lut
charged its full mileage on tickets
bought west of Fremont. Whether this
constituted a case of discrimination
against such of the public as had not
happened to make a special study of
deviceo to get the minimum fare would
have been a point for the railroad com
mission to examine had there been
such such a body in those d.iys.
The early movement among thu old
fashioned machine men of Kansas In
favor of Fairbanks has already been
fro.st bitten. The. prevailing sentiment
of the state seems to be overwhelming
in favor of Secretary Taft, "or any
body President Roosevelt wants." In
due time that will be found to be, the
sentiment la Nebrarka. The republi
cans of this state are in a mood to
take hold of the president's coat tails,
Fhi't their eyes, and walk straight
ahead.
Representative Keifer of Nuckolls
county had a bill passed, H. R. 537,
that will reform tho manner in which
the cash funds of state institutions are
handled. It requires each state lnstN
tution to pay into the state treasury
all funds derived from the sale of
property and the money so derived Is
appropriated for the use of the institu
tion paying it, but the money cannot be
drawn until vouchers are regularly is
sued and warrants drawn on the state
treasury, approved by a state board.
State Auditor Searle has not yet ruled
on the-provisions of tho bill, but it is
said he believes it applies to all state
institutions, including .the state univer
sity and the state normals. -The-provisions
of the bill are somewhat in
doubt.-' One of the errors that appears
to have crept into it is that it requires
the approval of vouchers by the board
that purchases supplies for state In
stitutions, whereas the board of public
lands and buildings is required to ap
prove vouchers upon which warrants are
drawn upon the state treasory. As the
two boards are the same with the ex
ception that the governor is a member
of the board of purchase and supplies
and is not a member of the board of
public landj and buildings the difference
may be bridged over without serious
difficulty. One board awards contracts
for supplies and the other approves
claims foi supplies. The bill Is in
tended to remedy what has been be-
fm.
rMWfl:-i'H.
T
