A ruling of great importance to money loaners as well as borrowers was made by the supreme court in the case of Allen against Dunn , from Gnrfield County. It is , in brief , that the taking of interest for more than one year in advance is un authorized toy law , if by such action i. ore than 10 per cent is received on the actual sum loaned. There is a statute in Ne braska which says : "Any rate of inter est , agreed upon , not exceeding $10 per year upon $100 shall be valid upon any loan or forbearance of money , goods or things in action , which rate of interest so agreed upon may be taken yearly or for any shorter period , or in advance , if so expressly agreed. " In the case in question a loan of $000 was made at 6 per cent interest. The note that was signed , however , called for the payment /of / $090 , and the effect of it was that the borrower paid $0.30 interest more than 10 per cent. The supreme court , in this opinion , says that "it is quite clear that under the statute the taking of in terest for more than one year in advance is unauthorized , if by such actiou more than 10 per cent is received. " * * * The generous response from ail over the state to the request from the depart ment of labor for statistics to be includ ed in the annual bulletin to be used by Labor Commissioner Bush some time in July indicate that this report will contain much valuable information. Among the new features of the work will be the report of the packing houses , which have made complete returns. Among the oth er new features of the report will be tha fraternal statistics , railroad statistics , county statistics and more complete re ports of land sales and demands for land. The railroad statistics will include the number of employed of various classes , the salary during the year , wrecks , num ber of persons injured and killed , tha mileage by counties and a good portion of the returns required by the state board of equalization. The fraternal statistics will include the number of lodges , mem bers , officers , location , etc. The county statistics will include eccleciastical , pro fessional and criminal statistics , number of saloons and number of educational in stitutions. * * * Gov. Mickey Saturday morning grant * ed his first pardon to a convict. The ob ject of executive clemency is Souey Ford , sentenced to the penitentiary for four years from Cherry County for shooting and killing Allen Rothchilds in June , 1903. The original sentence was seven years , the supreme court having cut this down to four years. The governor gave Ford his freedom only after there had been filed with him an affidavit from Dr. A. N. Compton to the effect that Roth childs just before dying had told the doc tor that Ford had shot him accidentally. Rothchilds said that Ford was showing birn the revolver and that it was dis charged when he attempted to break tha breech. Dr. Comptou was not a witness nt the trial in the district court , other wise Judge Harrington , who sat on the case , wrote to Gov. Mickey that he waa sure the verdict would have been differ ent. Besides the aflidavit a petition with ihe names of many prominent people of Cherry County attached was filed with the governor. * * * * It is now up to the supreme court to de ride whether the district court has juris diction to decree a divorce to a non-resi- di-ut defendant his upou cross-petition wlu-n the facts show him clearly entitled to it. The question is raised in a brief filed by Attorney George Loomis in be half of Charles C. Pine , in a suit for di vorce from Nettie S. Pine. Charles Pine lives in New Jersey and Mrs. Pine lives in Fremont. She brought suit iu the dis trict court court for divorce , alleging cru elty and failure to support. Pine filed a cross-petition , alleging infidelity. Ac cording to the brief filed , he proved hla allegations against his wife , but , being a non-resident , the district court held it had not jurisdiction to grant him the di vorce. Consequently his cross-petition was thrown out of court and the woman also was refused a divorce. * * * The census bureau at Washington in a report on irrigation in Nebraska in 1902 , says that water was artificially ap plied to 245,900 acres , an increase of al most GO per cent since 1S99. There were 2,932 farms irrigated and the 527 sys tems employed were constructed at an initial cost of $2,403,748. This sum in cludes the cost of the necessary hydraul ic works and of the 1.SG1 miles of main canals and ditches. The increase since 1SS9 in number of farms is 52.8 per cent , and in total construction cost SS.O per cent. The average first cost per irrigat ed acre increased from 8.82 in 1899 to 30.02 1902. Of in the total irrigated area 244.GS9 acres were watered from springs and 1,021 from wells. * * * J. Howard Hunter of the department Jot insurance of Toronto , Can. , has writ ten to Secretary Royse of the state bank ing board for information as to how best to deal with the "Home Building Asso- ciatious. " Mr. Hunter refers to a para graph in the report of the banking board for 1902 , in which Mr. Royse called at tention to an English company which had tried to start a home association , and the promoter had died in the asylum. Mr. Hunter requests that Mr. Royse send him further details of this case , and also oth- cr information that he may have. * * * The Nebraska Telephone Company in Lincoln exclusively has returned its property to the county assessor , without its real estate , at a valuation of $152- OOO. In Lancaster County its property was returned at a valuation of $170,000. Mr. Bryan's Commoner returned its property at a valuation of $18,985. * * * Just now it looks like competition will do for Lincoln what its former city coun cils have failed to do in the matter of securing a reduction in gas rates. The Lincoln Traction Company has got in the game , and it was learned that about twenty families , among them being seme of the best customers of the gas company , had signed five-j'ear contracts with the traction company for electric lights at prices much' lower than these families have been securing light. As a result , 0 it is claimed , the gas company intends to disregard its former price schedule jaiid meet competition. THE WAR IN THE EAST JAPAN'S SUCCESSES ON LAND AS NOTABLE AS ON SEA. Mikado'a Forces Seize Feng-Wans- ; Chans : and Cut OfT Port Arthur RUB- elans Retreating to Concentrate Their Armies General AVar News , S\vift is the procession of events in the war in the Far East. After their defeat of the Russians at the Yalu , May 1 , a defeat which cost the Czar's forces a loss of 2,394 men in killed , wounded and prisoners , the Japanese boldly pushed forward to Feng-Wang- Cheng , where it had been asserted the Russians would give battle. Tlie Rus sians , however , did not dare risk an engagement and the place fell into the hands of the Japanese , the enemy beatI1 ing a retreat to Liao Yang , in the vi cinity of which , it is now said , a bat tle will take place , should General Kuroki follow up his advantage. It is probable , however , that General Kuro- patkin , the Czar's comiuander-in-chief , may find it necessary not to make a stand before the Japanese reach Mukr den. It is said that he has not enough troops to meet the Japanese in open fight and hence his policy of retreating until he is sufficiently reinforced. Meantime the Japanese have landed in heavy force on the Liao Tong pen insula and Port Arthur has been cut off by land and sea from all communi cation with the outside world. The landings were effected on the east and west coasts of the peninsula and with in a short time the actual investment of Port Arthur should be made. Simul taneously with the forward movement of the Japanese army under Kuroki and the landing on the Liao Tong pen insula , the Russians began the evacua tion of New Chwang , the chief town of Manchuria. The place , with General Kuroki advancing on the road to Liao Yang , was untenable by the Russians , unless they elected to remain and undergo a siege , and so the place was abandoned and the military' stores sent northward to Liao Yang. With the exception of Port Arthur , the whole of the Liao Tong peninsula now remains in Japanese possession and probably another week will see all of Manchuc ria , south of Mukden , in the grasp of the Mikado's soldiers. It is probable that a Japanese army will take possession of New Chwang and march forward toward Liao Yang to effect a junction with General Kuroki. The Russian retreat , however , greatly strengthens the position of General Kuropatkin. Formerly his forces were scattered from New Chwang , in the west , half way up the Y'alu River , in the east Ignoranre of the Japanese plan of campaign and the uncertainty of where the Japanese would strike rendered necessary this disposition. Now the Japanese plans of action are fairly well revealed and General Kuropatkin is concentrating his forces to meet the enemy's ad vance. With the exception of the garrison risen at Port Arthur there are now no Russian soldiers further south in Man churia than Liao Yang. What force General Kuropatkin has at his disposal is carefully concealed. It is said by some that 150.000 men , outside the gar risons , constitute the fighting forces of Russia in the Far East and from Paris comes the rumor that it will be July 21 before the last of the reinforcements which Kuropatkin needs for offensive operations shall have been dispatched from Europe. By that time it is assert ed he will have 500,000 under him. Meantime 100,000 reserves have been called to the colors and Russia in fur ther preparation for the struggle has placed a loan in Paris for $150,000,000. Much interest centers in Port Ar thur , which the Japanese will soon for mally besiege. Before they can strike the place it will be necessary to force the strong earthworks defending the narrow neck of land forming the en trance to Kwan Tung promontory. These works , owing to the shallowness of the water , cannot be attacked from sea , while the railroad , which trav- erses the promontory , will enable the Russians to move troops rapidly to any desired point. Just now the fortress is prepared to stand a siege the world in general knows little. It has been said that it is provisioned for a year and that 50.000 men defend it. It has been said , too , that the place is actual ly short of provisions , and that the number of men defending it is only 7,000 some say 4,000. It doesn't seem natural that with three months' time , since the outbreak of hostilities , to provision it , the Russians would have been lax in tnis particular , and it may be assumed that the garrison is suffi ciently strong to make a stubborn de fense. Meantime the rumor of sending the Baltic fleet to the Far East is again revived. It is said in St. Petersburg that the fleet , consisting of eleven iron clads and seventeen cruisers , will leave Cronstadt in July and will round Af rica in its voyage. If this report is true , the Russians are evidently san guine that Port Arthur and Vladivos tok will be standing Tjy that time. Russia's First Line Smashed. The overwhelming advance of Gen. Kuroki's army , after its victorious pas sage of the Yalu , compelled the Russians to give up Feiigwangcheug without strik- jng a blow in its defense. Newchwang has been Evacuated and the Russians admit that they cannot hope to hold Haicheng. Thus Russia's first line of defense has been shattered almost with out the firing of a gun. There seems to be nothing left but Liao-yang and then Mukden , and after that Harbin. Old papers for sale at this office. BLOW UP DALNY DOCKS. Russians Repqrtcd to Have Destroyed Improvements Costing : Millions. Viceroy Alexiefi : telegraphed to the Cx.ar Thursday announcing that the Rus sians have blown up * he clocks and piers at Port Dalny , Liaotung peninsula , pre sumably to render more difficult a Jaijaa- e.so landing at that point. Port Dalny , on Talienwan bay , on the east coast of the Liaotung peninsula , was intended by Russia to be the chief commercial emporium of its eastern do minions. An edict providing for its con struction was issued by the Russian Em peror July 30 , 18SO , and Port Dalny , fully equipped with all modern improve ments , docks , warehouses and railroad , facilities- , was opened to commerce in December , 1901. Talienwan bay is one of the finest deep-water harbors 011 the Pacific. It is free from ice in winter and ships ( lra\ving thirty feet of water can enter at low tide Avithout difficulty , and without the aid of pilots con sail or steiim alongside the immense docks and piers , where their cargoes can be loaded into railroad cars and run direct for 0,000 miles into the city of St. Peters 0h burg. Five large piers had been con structed , each supplied with numerous railroad tracks and immense warehouses and elevators , gas , electric lights and water , and a large breakwater was being constructed so that ships could lie at the piers ami load and unload regardless of weather. Docks for foreign vessels , steam and sail , extended between the piers and along the sliorp for two miles. There were two first-class dry docks , one intended for ordinary ocean steam ers and the other designed to accommo date the largest vessels of war or com merce. Over $0,000,000 had been ex pended on the harbor system before the end of 1002 and it was estimated thai the cost of completing the works would be $20,000,000 , but this does not in any way represent the total cost of the erec tion of this great commercial port , which , with Port Arthur , distant about twenty miles , was leased by the Chinese government to Russia in 1S9S. Nearly 25,000 men were employed daily on the work of constructing the port and town. .The total population is estimated at about (50,000 , mostly Chinese , Japanese , ECorenns and Russians. JAPANESE HEROES HONORED. Decorations for Living : and Dead Who Blocked Port Arthur. The casualties in the attempt of the Japanese fleet to block Port Arthur , which took place on May 3 , are one offi cer , Commander Takayangi , command ing the steamer Yedo Maru , and six men killed ; four men seriously and five offi cers and eleven men slightly wounded. Fourteen officers and seventy-four men are missing and eight officers and thirty- six men were Vescued uninjured. All the officers of the blocking ships , including Commander Takayangi , who was killed , have been decorated and granted annui ties by the Emperor. Every supplemental report received fiom Gen. Kuroki , commanding the first Japanese army , increases the Russian casualties in Sunday's battle at Cliin- tien-cheng , on the Yalu river. The Jap anese have buried about 1,400 Russians and have 503 of the enemy's wounded in the field hospitals. It is estimated that the total Russian casualties exceed 2,500. Over 300 Russian prisoners were sent to Matsuyama. The official report of the Japanese cas ualties shows that the guards lost one officer and twenty men killed and had seven officers and 122 men wounded. The socoml division lost one officer ami eighty-four men killed and thirteen offi cers and 305 men wounded. The twelfth division had three officers and .seventy- si : : jiien killed and five officers and 203 men wounded. CZAR CALLS RESERVES. Imperial Ukase Orders Out Troops in Six Provinces. An imperial ukase issued in St. Pe tersburg calls out the reserves of sev eral districts in the governments of Pol tava , Kursk , Kharkoff , Ryazan , Kaluga and Tula , with the view of the comple tion Of the units to be sent to the far East from the military districts of Kief ? and Moscow. There is a complete absence of offi cial information. The authorities are as silent as the grave concerning Gen. Kuropatkiu's plans , only declaring that his tactics will be vindicated. The re port of the appearance of the enemy at Kwantieusien , on th Mukden road , from the Y'alu , causes some disquietude. If the Japanese could get on this road , above Liao-yang , the Russian' position there would be threatened. The St. Pe tersburg papers seem more concerned about the effect of the Japanese suc cesses upon the Chinese than about the ultimate result of the campaign. According to advices from the north , cables a Pekin correspondent , the native Chinese are becoming excited , owing to reports which are reaching them of con tinued success of the Japanese arms. ij WAR NEWS IN BRIEF. J ! Viceroy Alexieff refuses to receive anj more foreign war correspondents. It is admitted that half a million mer would have been required to hold south ern Manchuria. Three thousand bandits are camped outside of the walls of Newchwang ready to begin looting. The increasingly threatening attitude of the Chinese also is a serious factor in the situation which may contribute to induce Gen. Kuropatkin to evacuate Liaoyang. Red placards all over Moscow and Kharkoff provinces summon the reserves of the Tenth and Seventeenth army corps to the colors , and these two corps will be dispatched to the far East as quickly as possible , thus adding 100,000 men to Kuropatkin's forces. Admiral Togo' is hoping that Russia may succeed in dickering for a few more warships. Business in Admiral Togo's line is likely to be rather dull otherwise. Liaoyang is expected to be the scene of the next battle between the Russian and Japanese armies , unless Gen. Kuro patkin shall decide to continue his re treat northward to Mukden. The Russian authorities are complete ly in the dark as" to what is happening in the territory occupied by the enemy , except such news as comes from the newspapers abroad and originating from Japanese sources. raw One Hundred Years Ago. Discontent prevailed in Egypt at the ascendency of the English in that country , and in Alexandria , much anx iety was felt lest the English should send a garrison to that city. The acquisition of Louisiana by the United States was celebrated in all of the thirteen States. Thomas Young , claimed to be the first decipherer of the Rosetta stone , died. The population of Washington , D. C. , waa less than 5,000 persons. The Dutch surrendered the Island of Surinam to the British. The Boston Board of Health issued new regulations for farmers who kept live stock in the toim limits. Seventy-five Years Ago. The market of Philadelphia was said to be the finest in either Europe or America , being fully a mile long and well supplied. Venice became a free port The Turks were preparing for an attack on Sizebold , the Russian strong hold , on the Danube. A law for the expulsion of Span iards from Mexico was promulgated a * Tampico , and thirty days was allowed them to embark. Fifty Years Ago. Garibaldi arrived at Genoa in com mand of an English coal vessel from Newcastle. A German professor fell into the crater at Vesuvius. News reached New York of the evac uation of lower California by Colonel Walker. The New York and London Cable Company was organized to lay a cable from New York to Liverpool. The Bank of England raised its dis count rate and the Bank of France re duced its rate , as a result of the Crimean war. A severe earthquake shock was felt at Acapulco. Forty Years Ago. General R. E. Lee made his famous blunder over the Edmunds."I army at Spottsylvania , which led the Confederates into an almost impregna ble position. The first day's battle of Spottsyivu- nia was fought between the armies of Grant and Lee , including Colonel Em ory Upton's capture of the "bloody an gle" in the Confederate line. The indecisive battle of the Wilder ness , one of the bloodiest of the Civil War , was fought between the armies of Grant and Lee. General Grant made his flank move ment from the Wilderness battlefield to Spottsylvania in the effort to get between Lee's army and Richmond. The army of the Potomac was under marching orders , with seven days' ra tions , ready for a decisive blow aganist Lee. General U. S. Grant wrote his fa mous words , "I * * * propose to fight it out on this line if It takes nil summer , " in a letter to Halleck on the Wilderness campaign. . Thirty Years Ago. The Republican House Committee on Postoffices was criticised for not or dering an investigation of alleged Postoffice Department frauds. The trial of Professor David Swing for heresy was begun by the Chicago presbytery. A New York newspaper declared Chicago was destined to collapse as a commercial city because it had built enormous stores and hotels that could not be filled. The House of Representatives re fused to appropriate ยง 3,000,000 for the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. The congressional investigation of boodling in District of Columbia con tracts ended , Governor ( "Boss" ) Shep herd publicly assuming responsibility for all acts of his subordinates. Twenty Years Ago * . The banking firm of Grant & Ward , composed of General U. S. Grant and Ferdinand Ward , and the Marine Na tional Bank of New York failed forever over $1,000,000. Supporters of Chester A. Arthur in Illinois and Wisconsin were said to be planning to throw their influence to Robert T. Lincoln for President The first news was received that the steamship State of Florida had been sunk in collision off Bird rocks , 13j lives being lost Out of a total of 820 delegates chosen , to the Republican national convention 378 were pledged to James G. Elaine for President , 271 for Chester A. - Arthur thur , and 70 for Senator Edmunds. "I always liked Gladys , " said1 the troman In the silk gown. "But she has been awfully unfortunate , poor girl. I think she was engaged four times. "The first time it was to young Law rence Corbin. He got into trouble at the bank , you remember gambling , of course that and other things. Well , her people were opposed to it from the first her aunts particular ! } * ; they al most went down on their knees to her and implored her not to marry him , but she only said he needed her all the more to steady him. At last he met May Rossiter from New York and be came infatuated with her and he just plainly jilted Gladys. I know she felt awfully bad about it , poor girl. "A year after that , though , she met Max Devenish. He didn't satisfy the parents , either. They said he was a low politician. He was in politics , of course. Gladys said that almost every great man in history was a politician and she was proud of it. She talked about his career in the most enthusias tic manner , but that engagement was broken off , too. No , I never knew what it was. He was the Devenish they sent to the penitentiary for boodling. "Then there was Harding Jacobs. It was certainly the queerest thing in the world what the girl saw In him. He was bald and undersized and had no money to speak of and four children one girl nearly as old as Gladys. But she just seemed to think he was every thing that was noble and great. Well , would you believe it ? That miserable little man wrote her a noble and great letter 'renouncing his happiness' when the date of the wedding was set and I THE CADDY DOG. Good-by to the much maligned small boy caddy. His work "has gone to the dogs. " Miss Maud M. Pottle , of Minneapo lis , now residing in New York , pos sesses a remarkably fine greyhound of unusual intelligence. Miss Pottle is an enthusiastic golfer , and "Bob , " her dog , is her devoted slave. One day last fall Miss Pottle was playing a swift game on the links , with Bob at her heels barking his admiration. Be coming overheated she doffed her golf jacket , and , buttoning it across Bob's back , proceeded with the game. Bob carried the jacket so well that to Miss Pottle came the inspiration : "Why BOB IN" GOLF HABXESS. not make the dog a golf Blanket with pockets to carry the sticks and a pouch for the balls ? " To think with Miss Pottle is to act , and the following week Bob appeared on the links of the Marine and Field Club , of Brooklyn , proudly bearing slung across his back his mistress' drivers , lofters and putters. And Bob from that day went down in the his tory of golf as the first caddy dog on American links. Bob is learning to retrieve , and his quick eye enables him to unerringly follow the course of a ball while his nimble feet fly over the ground to its rescue at a gratifying speed. By means of a simple harness , which Miss Pottle herself invented and which she is having patented , Bob can carry six clubs , three on each side. When he was initiated into his work of cad dy Miss Pottle led him around by a chain ; but one lesson , however , was needed to teach the dog what was ex pected of him , and now he follows his mistress from point to point , always ready to provide her with driver , lofter or putter or to have her take from the ball pouch , which is attached to his neck , a fresh white sphere. 'NATURE NRVER GIVES UP. " Fact that Should Encourage Us inFighting -Fighting Disease and Evil. A phrase from a recent magazine article is so suggestive and so full of encouragement that it seems worth while to make it the text for one of our small sermons. The phrase is , "Nature never gives up. " You may with profit say this over carefully and thoughtfully and let its full meaning come to you , "Nature never gives up. " Nature is on the side of health and sanity , and consequent happiness. Hard as your case may be , the great Mother is fighting the battle with you. Has disease got into your bones ? Na ture has marshaled her forces to com bat it , and with marvelous strategy has set engines to work which are en deavoring to circumvent the enemy. Nature is working in conjunction with the physician and yourself. That is a thought which ought to cheer you. Gladys had half her trousseau bought He said he had been selfish In urging her to link her lot with him and he feared the duties and responsibilities that would devolve upon her as his wife would' be too arduous for one so young. She was nearly 30 then. Oh , it nearly killed her. "Naturally , people began to talk then and when she announced her engage ment to her baron I never saw the town so excited over anything. He waa n German and the title may have been genuine or it may not. I'm sure I don't know as to that But he was an in ventor and he had some wonderful in vention a hot airship , her people called it that needed just a little capi tal to make him wealthy and famous. Well , that foolish girl let him take all her little fortune and go to Europe with it. Her friends just begged her not to , but she said if she could trust him with her life and happiness she surely ought to be able to trust him with her fortune. So he went and she never heard another word from'him. ' Gladys had to go to a rest cure after that. "Now ? Oh , she's married. Yes , she's been married for three years now. Her husband just adores her and they say he's one of the most handsome and ; fascinating men you ever saw. Money ? I wish you could see their home. It'a a palace , and there isn't a thing she wants that he doesn't give her. She seems to think just as much of him as he does of her. You never saw a hap pier pair. " "It just shows what perseverance will accomplish , " continued the other woman. Chicago Daily News. You have been imprudent , possibly have done and left undone. You have taken such ill care of your God-given body that your friends have set you down as hopeless or worse. You have told yourself that there is no help for you. Nature has not given you up. She wants you to live and work and ! be healthy and happy , and in the event of your neglect of yourself , she is still fighting for you. She has no moral idea in doing this. She just does it. Perhaps you deserve to be given up- Many of us do , it sometimes seems. But Nature is blind to that. Of course , she is not all-powerful. She can be overcome. She fails often. But you will do well to remember that in every case while there is a spark of life left , she is trying. Let that thought brace you. Buck up , and give Nature some help. I should like to think that we could carry the analogy into the moral world as well. Do you not believe that there are forces as yet unvalued which are fighting the fight for good in the souls of men ? Bad a man or woman may be there Is exterior pressure to make him or her better. There is law ; there is education ; there are all the societies and institutions whose object Is to help the downfallen and the unfor tunate. But are there not other forces , too ? Does not the great Mother of Souls fight continually for the spiritual health and sanity of all people ? The thought is comforting , stimulating , en couraging. It is the business of every individual to add all his personal strength to all encounters with evil , physical or spiritual. He can do so more heartily and with better faith for suc cess if he remembers that "Nature never gives up. " Woman's Home Companion. A Good Cat. A good cat the kind you want to Mve in the house , if any will have a round , stubby pug nose , full , fat cheeks and upper lip , and a well de veloped bump on the top of the bead , between the ears , betokening good na ture. A sleepy cat that purrs a good deal is apt to be playful and good-na tured. By all means to be avoided Is a cat with thin , sharp nose and twitching ears. It must be remembered , also , that a good mouser is not necessarily a gentle or desirable pet , although any good cat will catch mice if she is not overfed ; quick , full , expressive eyes generally betoken a good mouser. The greatest mistake and probably the most common one in the care of domestic cats is overfeeding ; particu larly , too much meat. In wild life the cat has exercise which enables her to digest her food. In the lazy house life the same full feeding leads to stomach troubles and to fits. Unerring Foresight. Ben Jensen was at work on one of his plays. "What you have concluded "on , " he wrote , "make good , I pray you. " , He stopped to 'chuckle over it "I like that phrase , 'make good , ' " he said. "Three hundred years from now they'll be using it as the latest choice bit of slang. " Novel Motor Race in France. The most curious motor race ever or ganized was held in Paris. The com petitors were taken to the top of Eiffel tower , and a distant church spire was pointed out to them. Then they had to descend , get aboard their machines and find their way through the maze of streets to the church ; Just about the time the average man gets his political shaft down to coal , he strikes water.