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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (April 28, 1904)
TOPICS OF THE TIMES. A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTERESTING - ESTING ITEMS. Comments and Criticisms Based Upon the Happenings of the Day Histori cal and News Notes. What the Orient needs most of all things is a Monroe doctrine. A "war hero with a long name has a doubtful chance of its being handed down to posterity. The hunter who employs wounded ducks as decoys Is wholly without the pale of humane consideration. Few men are so finical as to refuse to grow interested in a war until they bave ascertained what it is all about. Now that a free pass does not mean accident.insurance , some of our law makers may not consider it a very val- liable asset. The Britisb naval estimates for 1904 call for nearly $200,000,000 for ne\v ships. A navy comes high , but , by Jingo , we must have it ! Dr. Kaylor is claiming that there are no female angels in heaven. We can- mot argue thnt proposition , but there are plenty of them on earth. If there is a man in the world who ran tell Just what Russian and Jap anese ships have been sunk , damaged or captured , what is his name ? A thrifty person who writes for the newspapers says un umbrella will last twice as long if you oil its joints occa sionally. Oil your umbrella and watch It. The Japanese bave no swear words In their language , but their navy has managed to give the Russians a pretty oed general idea of what Gen. Sher man meant A California horticulturist hns de veloped , si new variety of potato which is of an orange line. It can never be popular in tbe land where tbe sham rock grows. - Secretary Shaw says that the boy who sticks to the farm shows greai sense and good judgment. Secretary Shaw is one of the boys who refused to stick to the farm. Another feature of the Russian-Jap anese war that closely resembles the struggle in South Africa is tbe number of hitherto brilliant military records likely to be effaced before tbe time of peace arrives. Russia sureiy is not as bad as it Avas. For the lirst time in 500 years a person an now telegraph information out of the country without having the mes sage inspected by censors. That's one good thing this war has done. The New York courts have decided that a man who smoked three hundred cigarettes a day cannot be held guilt less of murder on the plea of insanity. "The courts may be wrong , but a man who smokes three hundred cigarettes a day ought to go to the electric chair on general principles. What a strange , incomprehensible thing is the behavior of human beings , and how little even the wisest know of It ! One reads of Thermopylae and Balaklava. and the calm , hopeless forti tude of men on sinking ships until his fclood burns and tingles with the tales. The next morning tbe story of a thea ter fire stares him in the face , and be learns how , in the twinkling of an eye , gentle-mannered , kindly men and - women en were changed to maddened cattle , shrieking with fear , trampling1 each other into the earth , absolutely sense less , absolutely reckless. Is there any thing stranger , anything more terrify ing than this contrast ? It is the same human nature which shows in the one case and in the other. Even the man who wears the Victoria Cross ou his breast cannot be sure that in to-mor row's crisis lie may not find himself fighting crazily with his fellows to es cape some terror which he has not even stopped to look in tbe face. There lies the horror the thought that each one of us carries this demon in his breast , to be aroused lie knows not where or when. Hns psychology any light to throw on the matter ? Is there any way in which a man may kill his own wild beast ? The only hope lies in eelf-study aud self-restraint It takes a body of people to make a panic , al though one person may start it ; and here , as " "in most affairs of life , the greater force rules. The thing to do , then , is to make reason that greater force , instead of terror. Every indi vidual member of a crowd which may become a panic-stricken mob is under obligation to see that his contribution , his strength , counts for reason and not for terror ; and the man who fails in such a crisis must forever after count himself a coward and a murderer. The whole country was horrified by the jChicago theater fire. Yet no man knows when the scene may be repeat ed. The danger of pnnic is always present and the moral of it is tbis : Never for an instant forget that you are one of the mob. Never forget that. your action may turn the scale. Re solve that come what may , and al though it cost your very life , you will raise no cry and use no violence ; and pray for strength to keep the resolu tion. When the school divorces Itself from the mother , or when the mother ceases to work with the school , a dark day dawns for the child. Two complaints have been heard of late years In regard to education. Mothers have been pro testing that lessons should not be brought home to be learned. "What ' are schools for ? " they have impatiently , asked. Teachers have declared , for : their part that they cannot take the place of the mothers and teach man ners and morals , as well as reading j and arithmetic. Both complaints are ill-founded. The mother and the teac er are partners , not competitors , in the p I great enterprise of making boys and girls Into men and women. Whatever i service can be rendered by one to the other should be done not grudgingly but eagerly for the good of the whole business is the advantage of each ori I the partners. "You teach too much j arithmetic , " said a Japanese visitor to an American school. "In Japan we , teach our children manners , then we teach them morals ; after that we teacl : them arithmetic , for arithmetic with out mariners and morals makes men and women sordid , " Whether we bave too much arithmetic may be a matter j for discussion , but there can be no doubt that our children will prolit more and better manners and morals To that end , the schools and the home ; need inore to be "mothered. " Says an Eastern proverb , speaking with the Oriental familiarity which is not irrev erence , "When God found He could not be everywhere , He made mothers. ' After years of contradictory and con flicting decisions by State and United States courts , the Supreme Court o the United States has finally decided the question of the common carrier's liability for damages on account oC in jury or death in cases where the pas senger is riding on free transports tion. The court , in the case of heirs of Jay H. Adams , formerly attorney at Spokane , Wash. , who killed by the Northern Pacific whild he was riding on a pass , holds tha * the contract which the deceased signei releasing the company from liability is a valid one. Justice Brewer declare that there is nothing in such a con tract which is contrary to public pol icy , and therefore the common carrie is free to contract against liability fo future negligence. It is strange tint although this has been a matter of al most constant litigation between rail roads aiid their patrons , it hns never reached the Supreme Court. The fac tlmt the tranportatlon mny be free does not of itself affect the liability o the carrier. Railroads , however , neve : fail to require the pnssenger's signa ture to a contract written upon the pass releasing the company from n ) liability. In declaring the legality o such a contract the Supreme Cour has followed the English decisions which have been uniform upon th subject. Elliott , in his book on rail ways , and the court in the case of tin Indiana railroad vs. Mundy , declare thnt in this country the majority o cases and the weight of authority ar < against the legality of the contract ; The American and English Encyclo pedia of Law comments at length upoi the great contrariety of judicial opin Ion passed upon the subject , and alse declares that "The argument of th courts opposed to the validity of th contract would seem to be well niglj unanswerable. " The Supreme Court's decision , therefore , mny be taken , a ; in a measure revolutionary as beinj agnlnst the weight of authority. I is also interesting to. know that SOUK States Iowa , for example hav < enacted statutes which declnre sucl contracts to be illegal and not bindinj upon the ground that the law canno permit a railroad to Iny down the pub lie character which the law has given if as a passenger carrier und becom < a mere private carrier at will. Th < case of ttie New York Central vs. Lockwood has been heretofore consid ered one of the leading cases upon the subject , and in this the court held tha behind any contract establishing the relation of carrier and passenger stands a public policy which even the courts cannot allow the parties to thwart. This public policy referred to la that requiring railroads to employ1 all possible skill and diligence in pro viding suitable and safe means for the transportation of passengers. The Supreme - preme Court , however , insists that the stipulation should be viewed iri the light of a contract between a pas' senger and a private carrier , and there fore not to be taken as an exemption of the rigid ryponsibility which the law imposes upon common carriers , the service being one which the car- rier is not bound to perform. It is held further to be unfair to compel carrier to present a gift and then pay for consequences , especially when thg gift has been coupled with a stipula tion to the contrary. e A Curious Prayer. 1t In the State of Ohio there resided a family consisting of an old man by the name of Beaver and his three sons , all of whom hard " " were "pets , who had often laughed to scorn the ad vice and entreaties of a pious though very eccentric minister who resided in the same town. It happened one n of the boys was bitten by a rattlesnake - . snake and was expected to die , when the minister was sent for in great e haste. On his arrival he found thfl young man very penitent and anxious to be prayed with. The minister , call ing on the family , kneeled down and prayed in this wise : "Oh , Lord , we thank thee for rat tlesnakes ; we thank thee because n rattlesnake has bitten Jim. We pray thee send a rattlesnake to bite John ; send one to bite Bill ; and , O Lord send the biggest kind of a rattlesnake to bite the old man , for nothing but sie rattlesnakes will ever bring the Beavei e family to repentance ! " la 3 "When a woman writes home aboul her card parties , and fails to mention her babies , her mother becomes very on ' indignant j-j SAY HIS STAR IS SET VICEROY ALEXIEFF NO LONGER IDOL OF THE RUSSIANS- Dismissal No Surprise to Those Who JHHTO Watched Trend of .Events SkrydloIT Soon to Start For Orient. ST. PETERSBURG , Viceroy Alexieff has applied by telegraph to- the emperor to be relieved of his position of viceroy in tbe far east. It is expected that the request willi be immediately granted. While no official announcement bas yet been made there is reason to be lieve that the above statement is correct. Ihe immediate cause of the vice roy's application is reported to be the appointment of Vice Admiral Skrydloff one of Admiral AlexiefTs strongest enemies and sbarpest critics as successor to i he late Vice1 Admiral Markaroff in command of tbe Russian navy in the far east. Vice Admiral Skrydloll had an in terview svith the emperor today and discussed with his majesty the question of his ( Skrydloff's ) relations with Alexieff. The relieving from command of Viceroy Alexieff would not surprise intelligent observers of the far east ern situation who are familiar with the gradual change in the emperors' attitude toward tbe viceroy and M. Bezobrazoff who represented the militant or advanced element which was anxious that Russia should ic-J main in Manchuria. It was to these two men tbat the Anglo- Japanese entente iirst lost its terrors. They believed that Great Britain would not go to war and that Japan could ) not do so. To the indignation ofi Japan they succeeded in turning the , policy of the empire from carrying out the treaty for the entire evacuation - ' tion of Manchuria pending further demands on China. Will Railroads Escape. LINCOLN Nebr. An increase ol more than 82,000,000 in net earnings , ! having been reported by the Chicago , j Burlington & Quincy railroad lines' iu Nebraska , tbe state board of , assessment will be confronted witn1 the question of how much to increase - ( crease the valuation of the lines for taxation purposes. The ooard will ] meet May 2 to consider valuation. ! Tbe members are Governor Mickey , , Treasurer Mortensen , Auditor Weston - } ton Land Commissioner Follrner , an retary of State Marsh. ' ' 1 addition to tbe question of an increased taxation , the board will be confronted with tbe problem' ' of its pnwer to say what property shall be cosidersd railroad right of way and wb-t shall be included in tbis list. Whether a road has a right to repoit town lots covered with bousesv' ' eh are rented to private parties arcl in no wjiy used for railroad purp'crs as a part of tbe right of way and therefore exempt from local t-xation , is one of the cases in point t at bas arisen at the town of Nebraska City. Tbe same to a greater degree is caid toNe apply to the towns of C ) 'Aa and Lincoln. Tbe question is : ' im portance to many commun. . . for the reason that right of way : ; not taxed locally , but is included in railrjad property and is supposed ' be "distributed" along tbe vain , lines on which such property i situated and is then assessed b'y tht state board. No Force to be Allowed. SAN DOMINGO. United States Minister Powell informed tbe minis ter of foreign affairs today tbat in tbe ( event of any foreign power at tempting to force a settlement of tbe claims of its citizens , thus ex cluding the claims of other nationali- tits , be would , in tbe name of bis government take immediate charge of tbe custom houses of tbe govern ment , place in each a military guard and protect the same in tbe interests of tbe United States creditors , bas ing his action upon the recent decision of the Hague tribunal. The energetic and decided action of Minister Powel bas greatly relieved tbe present grave situation. By such action all such foreign claimants will stand upon an equal footing. Entire Panel Thrown out. DETROIT , Mich. Judge Phelan ef the recorder's court , today announced - nounced that he will discharge the jury wbich has been hearing tbe evidence in tbe murder trial ot George W. Parker , and followed tnig acton by dismissing tba entire pres ent panel of jurors drawn for the recorders' court. There were 200 talesmen in the discharged panel. a Lot For Y. M. C. Building. OMAHA. Neb. After a long drawn-out contest between two K factions in the directorate of tbe d Young Men's Christian Association , frT site for the new building to be T erected for the organization has at f ( ast been chosen. It is tbe Turner l property at the nortbeast corner of lI Sixteenth and Howard streets. The t- price paid is 8115,000 with a donation the part of tbe owner of 85,000 , d E making the property net the associa tion 8130,000. c LOSS MOUNTS HIGH TWELVE MILLIONS IN PROPERTY IBURNED AT TORONTO- FOURTEEN ACRES SWEPT -IRE NOT FINALY CONTROLLED UNTIL. DAYLIGHT. Over a Hundred Business Buildings Destroyed and Several Thousand Thrown Out of Em ployment. TORONTO , Ont. Tbe total loss by the fire wbich destroyed the wholesale district of Toronto last nigbt will , according to tLe most conservative estimates , reach 812- ' 000,000. The total insurance is 88- 360 000. Tbe area swept by the 'fire em braces fourteen acres and from 6,000 to 7,000 persons are thrown out of employment. The work of tearing down dan gerous walls was begun this after- n'On. In the whole burned quarter the only walls that afpear to stand .intact are those of the W. R. Brock & Co. building. Tbe city council tbis afternoon placed all pubilc buildings and tbe exhibition grounds at the disposal of fire sufferers ; ' amended the fire regulations to al low of the erection of temporary structures and appointed a commit tee to wait on the legislature to se cure an act ordering all wires under- gronnd. Tbe total number of buildings destroyed were : Kay street , east side , 20 , west side 30 ; Wellington street , north side , 12 , jiutb side ? ; Front street , nortb side , 22 , sout ; side , 27 : Esjlanade4 ; Piper streetf 1. Secret Kept Back , WASHINGTON With the re- ooening of tbe investig ition in tbe Reed Smoot case , before the senate sommittee on privileges and elec tions tbe prosecution devoted con siderable time to drawing from Biigbam H. Roberts tbe character flf tbe oaths wbich are said to be necessary for a Mormon officer to take in order to have the support of the church for political office. Members of the committee showed an equal int-rest in tbe obligations which are said to be taken by Mor mons , who "go through the endow ment house. " Along both lines much evidence was brought out. It was shown by Mr. Roberts' testi mony that without the consent of the Mormon church he failed of election to a seat in congress and later * , with church recognition of his candidacy , he was elected. In re lation to tb.2 endowment house obli gations , Mr. Roberts was extremely reticent. He said that the sacredness - ness of the ceremony was such that be could not reveal it to the world and be could not reveal it to the world and that he did so , he would I se caste with tbe church as having betrayed a trust. Canrot Profit By Crime. SPRINGFIELD. 111. In the case of tbe supreme lor'ge ' Knights and Ladies of Honor , the state supreme court today entered a decision to the effect that a husband cannot be come the beneficiary of life insurance in his favor , carried on tbe life of bis wife if he has murdered her. The case is one appealed from the St. Glair county circuit court. The Knights and Ladies of honor con tested the payment of a thousand dollars life insurance poilcy in favor of Mrs. Eliazbeth Menkhausen , on the ground that her husband , Gust - t ive Menkbausen , had been convic ed ofhermu'der. Menkhausen is now serving a life sentence in Joliet. Tbe supreme court holds the Menk- bausen's children are entitled to the insurance. Makes Hint of Impeachment. WASHINGTON At a meeting today of tbe house judiciary com mittee , Mr. Williams of Mississippi , the minority leader , charged that the attorney had failed in his duty to conduct criminal prosecutions against those declared by the s - preme court in the merger case to have violated the anti-trust law and also have failed to institute legal proceedings against tbe antharcite coal carrying roads , although the at torney general had in his possession report favorable to prosecutions. Sharp Declines In Wheat. CHICAGO A sharp decline occur red in wheat prices today , the May ( ' delivery < showing a loss of 2 % cents frojn the high point of the day. Tbe wheat market has been heavy for the past two or three days , due largely to closing up of Mry deals. is generally conceded that the liquidation of May wheat today practically ends operations in that delivery. From 91 > " cents May de clined to 89 , cents a"nd closed at HE CALLS OATH SACRED VETERAN MORMON SAYS HE CANNOT REVEAL IT. I'olygamlst of IioncstnniUn , and Given Testimony No Less Sen sational Than That oC President Smith. WASHINGTON. The feature ot. today's hearing In tbe Smoot case , before the senate committee ou privileges and elections was the testimony of Angus M. Cannon , for twenty-five years president of tbo largest Mormon stake in the world. The testimony was of personal cuar- acter , dealing with tbe conviction of the witness on charges of polyg amous cohabitation , and was drag Eed from him under protest that ho be protected from any peril or liabil ity to prosecution for what he re vealed. When assured that bis plural marriages , under tbe statute of limitations , could not be used as evidence against him he rinswerul most of the questions asked. Tbe same frankness was not ap parent , however , when the witness was pressed to reveal tbe nature of the oath he had taken in the en-j dowment house. Like other wit nesses he declared that the sacredness - ness of that oath prevented him from proclaiming it to the world. His testimony was no less sen sational than that given by President - dent Smith early in the investi gation. He answered all the questions - tions ol a personal character but every admission was made reluctantly - tantly and replies to questions ii regard to his numerous marriages were as near monosyllables as it was pcssible to make them. At the afternoon session Angu M. Cannon was called to the stand. He said be had lived in Salt Lakt since 1849 , hut had been blessed in. i h e Morrpon church when be was' ' live years old. He is seventy years old and now holds the positon of patriarch in the Mormon cburcbi having been designated lor that position by President Joseph F. ! Smith about two weeks ago. Patriarchs , the witness said , rank next to the twelve apostles in dig nity. Mr. Cannon said that for twenty-eight years he bad been president of the Salt Lake stake of Zicm. Enjoins Bankers Union. LINCOLN , Neb Tbe supreme court filed a large number of opinions yesterday afternoon and adjourned until May 3. No clerk was ap- > pointed. The long looked for de cision in the casr ; of the Bankers' Union of the world , affecting tbe conduct of fraternal insurance com panies and testing the power of the state insurance department , as tiled. The opinion was written by Judge Sedgwick. The court enjoins tbe Bankers' Union of the World from continuing business until abuses comploined of by Auditor Westou aud Insurance Deputy J. L. Pierce are corrected , but says it is not a cas ? ; justifying tbe appointment of a .re- } ceiver to take charge of the busi ness. > Judge Holcomb dissenting , desired to reinstate the company so it could proceed with its business and to en join it from doing certain things which are violative of the law regulating - ; lating the business of such societies. If the abuses and irregularities are not remedied at the end of sixty , days the injunctions is to be ex tended. In the meantime either party to the suit has the privilege of asking for any order that may , bs deemed necessary. Mrs. Nation In a. Museum. CHICAGO. Mrs. Carrie Natior , the saloon smasher , arrived in Chicago today and will on next Mon day commence an engagement at a * dime museum. This is her first ap < pearance in such capacity. Her salary is $300 a week. Human Heads By The Score. NEW YORK. The Tibetan for there bas been emptied and parti ally blown up , says a Times dispatch from Gyang-Tse. Among the strange j i d scoveries in the fort was a roomer containing scores of heads , some recently cut off. Tbis is unusual , in view of the Buddist prohibition against taking life. Tbe Tioetans * were supposed to avoid literal infraction of the com mandant by allowing victims to starve to death , but this discovery points to regular executions in Gyang-Tse. Buried By An Avalanche. TURIN , Italy. About 100 miners a have been buried by an immense v avalanche near the village of Prage- lato. A violent storm is sweeping ' over that locality , and it is feared ja that other avalanches may result. | ' The whole population of the village ; and a detachment of forty soldiers * have gone to the scene of tbedis- ' aster , hoping to save some of the. . . buried m iners. i I NEBRASKA NOTES Mrs. Gilbert , wife of City Engineer Gilbert of Aurora , died after a lonff illness. Sne was 70 years of age. Fire at Beatrice Friday destroyed the meat market of William Trump. The loss was 82,500 , covered by in surance. The remains of Percy Agnew who died at Phoenix , Ariz. , arrived In Plattsmouth Friday and 'the funeral was held Sunday. Owing to the lack of official busi ness at Dakota City , Sheriff H. 0. liansen bas dispensed with the services - vices of a deputy. George Kindler was re-elected sup erintendent of the Albion scboolt Friday night at a meeting oC th $ board of education. Warner Hale died at his home In Battle Creek. He was 85 years ol < J and leaves ten children and thirty * one grand-children. Contractor Livesey of Omaha ha * secured the contract on toe nevt residence to bo erected at O'Neill by T. F. Birmingham. John Elberbeck , a farmer Jiving near Beatrice , found a den contain * ing eight cub wolves , all of which b succeeded in capturing. The home of W. H. Kellamds , neai Sidney , was damaged by tire and 8504 in money wbich was hidden in an upper room , was burned. Afc tbe home of Edward Grossnick * lause , near Osceola , Ferdin and Kohl and Miss Anna Elizabeth Amachel were Joined in matrimony. The Nebraska Workman just lssue $ at Norfolk , shows that theNjbrask * jurisdiction of Ancient Order oi United Workmen reached almost t < 40,000. A petition was presented to th $ board of supervisors at Beatrice ask ing that tbe village of Virginia ba incorporated. The petition will bl granted. John Arnn , a German aged 45 yean committed suicide in his room a tbe Deerson & Spethrnann boarding bouse at Elkborn by shooting him self In the head. ; August Raa ch and August ; Doer * ing , two of the pioneer German set > tiers of Norfolk , died tbis week , They came up into Eikhorn valley with the first colony. Frank Hadenburger a pioneer resl * dent of Auburn , died recently. Hq was over 80 years old. He was bor * in Germany , bub came to thli country when a child. Saturday night burglars entered the Union Pacific depot at Yutan. The safe was blown open and th contents taken. It is not known. how much was taken. The barn of Henry Eicke , near Eikhorn was destroyed by tire TUBS * day. Two horses , two cows and soma calves were burned , as well as a quantity of hay and feed. Joshua B. Palmer has brought suU at Fremont against the Union Pacifl for 81,999 personal damages alleged to have been sustained by being struck by an engine. ' The L. C. Parker property af ! Beatrice was purchased Tuesday bj 1. B. Howley for 82,100. There an seventeen acres in the plat. Otbej si property Is selling well. Miss Stella Moore of Hevley , Neb. , died suddenly at Sheridan , Wyo. , while enroute from the depot to th | home of her brother in Sheridan , The remains .were sent to Hevley. The city council at Fremont vetoed the application of tbe fire depart * ment to increase the pay of the chiei 8250 a year. Tbe petition to In crease the pay of the policemen bj 810 a month was also turned dowr by the city fathers. The Wayne National bank has sola out its business to the other three banks in the town. The Citizens /ank purchased tbe business of th < Institution , while the First National and tbe State bang purchased thi building and the furniture. Miss Louise Keys a professional nurse died at Norfolk from tuber * culosis. Miss Keys came to Norfolk to care for her young niece , whi was 111 sixteen weeks before she did. Ex haustion followed and shortly aftei Miss Keys was attacked by tuberco * losis. John Puls , aged 31 years , was foun4 drowned in a small creek on big father's farm. He was subject to epileptic fits and is thought to have taken one and fallen into tbe stream. The stream at the point where the body was found Is only two feel deep and eight feet wlds. Fire of unknown origin destroyed vacant frame building at Beatrice Friday. Tbe ouilding was one In which William Haeg , a huuter and trapper killed himself eighteen yearf 'ago. A tailor named H. H. Skelton was 'burned by gasoline while cleaning clothes at Kearney. There was no tire In the room and it is a mystery how tbe gasoline became ignited. He was badly burned about the faca and bands , _ _ . *
