The Valentine Democrat
Valentine , Neb.
1. M. Rice. Publisher
ANSWER FOE CASTEO
" IT IS IX THE FORM OI ? THREAT-
EXIXG WARSHIPS.
Castro's Coolness Toward the Amerl-
can Minister Complicates the SituaJ
tlon ancj Slay Call for Action by tho
United States.
A Washington , D. C. dispatch says
that three French warships are now
off the Venezuelan coast prepared to
deliver the answer of France to Presi
'
dent Castro's treatment of M. Taigny ,
.the French representative to Caracas ,
'by ' a naval demonstration in Venezue
lan waters. Two additional warships
will join them as soon as they can
make the trip across the Atlantic. Un
til the demonstration has been initia
ted the French government will share
with the president and Secretary Root
ithe'knowledge of the exact form which
ithia expression of her displeasure at
President Castro's action will take.
, In the meantime the delicacy of the
, situation at Caracas is greatly in-
( creased by news which has recently
( reached Washington from the Vene-
izuelan capital regarding the attitude
{ president Castro now appears to be
assuming toward Mr. Russell , the
American minister. Unless this atti
tude is radically modified it may
be necessary to dispatch an American
iwarship even nearer the Venezuelan
coast than , has already been planned.
( President Castro will be given to un-
.derstand that any treatment of an
( American representative such as thai
given to M. Tajgny will not be toler
ated by the' Washington government
The only cause which can be assign
ed for President Castro's coolness to-
jward Mr.'Russell is that the formei
insists upon regarding as personal
rather than official the efforts which
Mr. Russell , acting under instructions
from Washington , has made to assist a
peaceful settlement of the Franco-
( Venezuelan troubles. The request oi
{ the French government that its inter
ests in Venezuela be looked after by
Mr. Russell was immediately granted ,
for the.reason that such a request Ii
I
invariably granted by a friendly pow
er no matter how difficult the task.
France has adopted a simple pre-
gram for her treatment of the Vene
zuelan situation. It provides for an
( immediate and comprehensive apology
| by President Castro for his'treatmenl
|
of M. Taigny , which treatment tha
| Paris officials regard as "insulting"
tand "intolerable. " Until this apology
; is made discussion of the claims and
other grievances which France has
against Venezuela will be withheld.
CITY HONORS DEAD.
Chicago's Tribute to 3femory o Mar
shall Field.
Funeral services for Marshall Field
, -were held at Chicago Friday at his late
( home and in the First Presbyterian
church. The services at the home
were characterized by simplicity ana
[ brevity and none but those immedlate-
jly connected with the family and the
household were in attendance. The
cervices at the church an hour later
iwere attended by many friends of
Field. This service , too , was private ,
admission to the church being gained
only by the presentation of a card. In
the afternoon memorial services were
held In the auditorium , which was
packed to the doors by the employes
of Marshall Field & Co. Rev. John A.
"Morrison " , pastor of the First Presbyte
rian church , officiated at all three '
the services.
HANGING AT LOUISVILLE.
The Slayer of Fannie Foster is Legally
Executed.
William Vandalsen , a white man
'aged 23 years , was hanged at Louls-
jville , Ky. , Friday for the murder last
fall of Fannie Foster.
Vandalsen occupied his time in jaif
by making toys , among them being a
miniature gallows with a body sus
pended. For this he received an offer
from a Kansas City man , but declined
It and gave the trinket to the jail
steward.
Tackle Football Problem.
The faculty representives of tho
Western Intercollegiate Athletic Asso
ciation , known as the "Big Nine , " and
other western universities , met at Chi
cago Friday for the purpose of consid
ering what-shall be done with th *
presentxgame of football.
Sioux City Lire Stock Market.
Friday's quotations on the Sioux
City live stock market follow : Butch
er steers , $ 3.75 < 5 > 4.90. Top hogs , $5.35
Wright Goes to Japan.
A Washington special says : Luke
E. Wright , governor general of the
'
Philippines , has been named by the
preeld-ent as the first Ambassador tc
Japan.
Only One Was Killed.
One person was killed and a dotei
injured when a oar on the elevate'
railroad in Brooklyn , N. Y. , fell to the
jtreet. Friday. The car jumped tht
? i track at a switch.
18 MINERS KILLED.
Explosion Causes Disaster in West
Virginia 3Iine.
A Charleston , W. Va. , dispatch says :
Eighteen men are believed to have
be en killed in a terrific explosion
Thursday In one of the mines of the
Detroit and Kanawha Coal Companya
at Detroit , on Paint Creek , this coun-
ty , twenty-five miles from here.
That more men were not in the mine
at the time of the accident was due
to the fact that almost all of the day
men men consisting of miners , loada
ers and drivers , were eating their din
ners on the outside , and thus escaped
the fate of their comrades.The ex
plosion occurred at 12:30 o'clock. The'0
force J of the explosion was so great
that tons of wreckage and debris were
hurled from the mouth of the mine ,
i bloqking 1 the entrance and making the
I work of rescue difficult.
News of the disaster quickly spread
to nearby mines and hundreds of men
were soon at the scene , eager to join in
tho effort to rescue the entombed
miners if alive or recover their bodies
if dead.'r
The ventilation fan was blown out
of position by the explosion and it was
not until 4 o'clock in the afternoon
that it had been repaired and put back
in place. As soon as it was set in mo-
tion a fairly good current of air was
sent circulating through the entrance.
The first rescue party consisting of fif
teen men entered the mine at 5:30
o'clock. The work of replacing the
fallen brattices and removing the de-
bris which obstructed their pro"gress
was slow work.
i The first body reached was that of
G. P. Neal , which was discovered 150
yards from the entrance. _ The
other men were working much further
back than Neal and he has no hope
of reaching them until late. Even
though the men survived the explo
sion it is almost certain that they will
succumb to the deadly afterdamp.
Mothers , wives and children of the
entombed miners crowd about the !
mouth of the pit and declare they will
not leave until they know the fate of |
their loved ones.
The cause of the explosion is not
yet fully determined , but it is believed
that a blast ignited the dust which ac-
cumulates in the mines.
KILLED BY INDIANS.
Former Iowa Doctor Is Murdered in
Old Mexico.
An account of the murder of Dr.
Emil H. Klueber , formerly a promi
nent German physician of St. Louis ,
Mo. , by Indians near his home at To-
bolopampo , Mexico , is contained in a
letter written by Klueber's son-in-law
to St. Louis friends. ,
It states that on December 23 Klue-
; r was called to the bedside of a sick
idian , and next day his dead body ,
horribly mutilated , was found lying
on a cot In a hut in the Indian village.
EUueber was born in Germany. He
came to St. Louis shortly before the
civil war and served as a regimental
surgeon of an Illinois regiment. Lat
er Klueber went to Iowa and from
there to Mexico about twenty ears ago.
TO ROB STOCKMEN.
Light on Conspiracy at the Kansas
City Yards.
Evidence of the existence at the
stock yards in Kansas City , Mo. , of an
organization of men to defraud ship
pers by a system of overweights and
underweights was disclosed at the trial
there of Jay J. Miller , a trader , charged
with perjury.
Miller's trial is the first in the case'b
of eleven weighmasters and others in
dicted last year. Miller testified before
the grand jury that indicted the men
thah he knew nothing of the existence
of the alleged crookedness and the
prosecution is trying to prove he did.
Death Probably Natural.
At Philadelphia Coroner Jermon ,
who is making an investigation into I
tho death of Mrs. Anita Morrow , also '
known as the "Countess de Battan-
court , " who was found dead at her
home there under mysterious circum
stances , said Thursday that he be-
lieved the remarkable old woman j
came to her death through natural
causes.
To Honor Robert Fulton.
Several prominent men met at New
York Thursday to form an association
to perpetuate the memory of Robert
Fulton , the inventor of the steamboat.
Tt is proposed to do this by erecting a
.nonument to cost about $6,000 , the
money to be raised by popular sub-
scrlption.
jj
loxva Middy Is Accused.
Midshipman Chas. M. James , of
Grlnnell , la. , a member of the second
class at Annapolis , Md.t was served
Thursday with the charge of hazing.
The charge Is supported by eight spe
cifications , the greatest number of dis
tinct offenses yet charged against a
midshipman. tl
is
Anarchists Put to Death.
'
Six Jews , members of the Warsaw
anarchists' committee , were executed
Thursday In the court yard of the d
Warsaw citadel. They were arrested tl
Beef Trust Case Opens. i
The trial of the beef trust cases at
Chicago , which was set for Thursday ,
did not commence until late in the
day. The first session of the court
was occupied by the opening state
ments of the attorneys.
Socialistic Demonstrations.
Great demonstrations of socialists jj
were held at Hamburg , Germany , to n <
protest against the suffrage law. They Is
caused a complete block of traffic , cl ,
jc m
SENATE IS SHOCKED.
Tillman Makes Violent Attack on
Roosevelt.
The recent forcible removal from
the White House at "Washington of
Mrs. lilinor Morris was made the sub
ject of emphatic denunciation by Sen
, ator Tillman in the senate "Wednesday.
His remarks called out remonstrances
from Senators Hale , Hopinks and Dan
iel , and led to the very abrupt closing
of the doors and the sudden adjourn
ment of the senate in the middle of the
afternoon.
The speech abounded in Senator
' Tillman's peculiar expressions and
was characterized by many and ex
' ceptional personal thrusts at the pres
ident and at times he wept over what
,
' he regarded as the indignities to the
lady and his voice and eyes were full
of tears when declared in the face
of protests from his fellow senators
that he would demand an investiga
tion of the White House incident.
The reference to the treatment of
,
Mrs. Morris constituted the latter half
|
of a speech based upon the senator's
I resolution making inquiry of the pres
ident concerning the status of our
relations with the republic of Santo
Domingo , and was added to illustrate
his theory that the present adminis
tration is tending towards imperial
.
ism.
ism.In
In the first part of the address he
characterized the course of the United
States in Santo Domingo as a great
extension of the Monroe doctrine and
said that if pursued the policy would
,
lead the country into many serious
complications. He accused the presi
dent of putting the treaty into exe
cution in the face of the senate's re
fusal to act , denounced the senate as
willing to submit subserviently to all
that is asked of it and implored sena
tors to show their independence and
thus teach the executive a lesson and
at the same time serve the country.
With reference to the Morris occur
rence he declared that the president
.
had been derelict in failing to punish
.
his subordinates for their course , and
quoted 3 statements from persons said
3t
to have been witnesses to show that
the proceedings had been inhuman
He informally presented and said that
.
he would Thursday formally present
a resolution for an investigation of the
entire incident.
CADETS LET OUT.
,
Four Annapolis Hazers Are Publicly
Dismissed.
At Annapolis , Md. , at noon Wednes
day when the full brigade of midship
men were paraded for regular dinner
formation Midshipmen Patterson , Par-
to Marzoni and W. W. .Foster , of the
first class , and Tremor Coffin , Jr. , of
the third class , were publicly dismiss
ed from the United States navy for
hazing fourth classmen.
The order of the secretary' of the
navy was a short one and in each case
was addressed personally to the mid
shipmen directly concerned.
PILOT FOR FRANCE. '
Fallicres is Chosen President of the
Republic.
Paris advices state that M. Clement
Armand , president of the senate , was
Wednesday elected president of France
to succeed M. Loubet.
Fallieres was elected on the first bal
lot. The revised figures are as fol
lows : Fallieres , 449 ; Doumer , 371.
Fallieres was born Nov. 6 , 1841 , at
Mezin , department of Lot et Garonne.
The new president is a son of a magis
trate's clerk , and the grandson of a
blacksmith.
MURDER AND SUICIDE.
Man and Woman Found Dead in Chi
cago Hotel.
The dead bodies of a young man and
young woman were found Wednesday
morning in a room at the St. James
Hotel at Chicago. Each had been
killed by a bullet fired into the mouth ,
butit t is impossible to tell which of
the two used the revolver.
tlb The man registered as Ralph Rose ,
but his body was later identified as
that of Frank Kouba , of Algonquin ,
111. The name of the woman is not
known.
DISSATISFIED WITH PAY.
Engineers and Firemen on B. & O. to
Ask Increase.
The engineers and firemen on the
Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Ohio
systems , it is reported at New Yor ,
are dissatisfied with their pay. It is
said they are preparing to ask for an
increase.
In spite of the belief that the fire
men of the Lackawanna Railroad are
taking a vote on the question of a
strike the officials at New York still
think a strike is a remote possibility.
Sea "Reclaiming Its Otvn.
The changes now taking place in
that part of Southern California which
known as the Salton sink , Salton
sea , Imperial Valley or Colorado des
ert , have resulted in the director of
the United States geological survey or
dering ( an immediate survey of the en- j *
'
tire area.
Run on Bank Ends.
A run was started at Pittsburg , Pa. ,
Tuesday , on the Washington National
bank by foreign depositors and had
practically ceased Wednesday. Tho
deposits far exceeded the withdrawals.
| a
Hits Italy and Hungary.
The report of Immigrant Inspector
Marcus Braun "waa received by the
houseat Washington , Wednesday. It
severe In its strictures upon the gov
ernments of ItaSy ftad
| STATE j OF NEBRASKA
NEWS OF THE WEEK IN A CON
DENSED FORM.
Union Pacific Ice Houses . Burn Big
StructuresDcstroyed Through Work
men's Carelessness Will be Rebuilt
at Once Largest in the World.
A North Platte special says : Work
men on the two new ice houses of the
Union Pacific Railroad upset a bucket
of far between the two buildings and
this caught afire from the lamp which
was 'being used to heat the tar , and
immediately an enormous conflagra
tion began , which destroyed more
than one-half of the largest ice house
in the world. The fire occurred Sat
urday.
Immediately upon the starting of
the fire the alarm was turned in and
the firemen of both the city and the
Union Pacific were on the ground in a
very few minutes. The plant is In the
'western portion of the city and be
cause of not being adequate for the
enormous business of the road , two'
new additions were being built and
were well nigh completed when the
accident occurred. They were of new
lumber and the molten tar catching
ablaze started the fire with terrific
force , and it was evident from the
start that none of the buildings con
nected could be saved.
The fire burned all the afternoon
and evening and the firemen continued
to work with might and main. The
nine large houses , sixe 31x112 feet
each , were utterly and entirely de
stroyed. These nine buildings stood
side by side along the track of the
railroad , making a total length of
nearly 300 eet and a width of 112 feet
by about 40 feet high , and were well
constructed at a cost of from $50,000
to $75,00u.
All telepgrahic connections to the
west of here , except the Postal lines ,
were destroyed by the fire , but the
force got out extra wires and sur
rounded the burning buildings and so
made new connections.
The capacity of the houses burned
was estimated at 32,000 tons of ice
and their destruction is complete , al
though control of the fire was gained.
The melting ice and the water pour
ed onto the fire by the firemen made
almost a small river of water as it
coursed down the depression of the
earth along the railroad tracks.
Fully 2,00 people witnessed the fire.
3IAYOR STOPS GAMBLING.
AllCard , Tables Are Ordered Out of
Saloons at O'Neill.
Mayor Doyle , of O'Neill , has ordered
all cards and all tables removed from
the saloonsof that city. The order
followed a recent holdup in which
Laurence E. Peterson , from Madison
County , lost § 16 in a fleece game. Ed
Mahon was arrested for the work ,
tried , convicted and made to pay back
the $16 , together with other fines , and
was ordered out of town. After Ma
hon left Mayor Dowle ordered all ta
bles removed from the saloons , threat
ening to revoke licens'es in case the
order was not complied with.
Teachers to Meet at Norfolk.
The North Platte Nebraska Teach
ers' Association will meet in Norfolk
this year. The meeting place has been
in doubt , Columbus having been a can
didate for the meeting. Norfolk being
more centrally located , it was an
nounced Thursday by Superintendent
Bodwell that the convention will be
held there. Superintendent Wilson , of
Wayne , is president of the association.
Five hundred teachers are expected.
Woman Dies from Burns.
Mrs. Christ Nutzmann , wife of one
of the most prominent farmers and
stockmen of Bertrand , was terribly
burned at her home , and died as the
result of her injuries. Mrs. Nutz-
mann's clothing caught fire from the
stove while she was getting supper.
Every particle of clothing was burned
from her body , also the hair from her
head. The family were former resi
dents of Otoe County.
A Nexv Stone Plant.
A company of Omaha and Lincoln
stockholders has been formed for
erecting a crushed stone plant along
the bluffs bordering tho Platte River
between Ashland and South Bend on
the Burlington's old main line to
Plattsmouth. The timber has been
cleared , the formation uncovered and c
the material for the crushers has been
ordered. Two crushers will be install
ed and about eighty men employed.
a
Woman Killed by Train.
The Overland Limited , eastbound ,
struck and killed a woman who was .
walking on the track at a point one - .
mile west of Clark Saturday evening. E
A letter from the cashier of the bank
at Hinton , la. , indicates that her name
is Mrs. L. E. Frary , that she had a ,
4
son , Earl Frary , working near Correc- c'
tionvillela. . „ ,
Bad Nebraska Prairie Fire.
A prairie fire burned all night east
of Kimball and a number of ranches .
are reported to have been devastated ,
y
Thousands of acres of range have been
burned over. a
j
Reed Must Stay in Prison.
The life sentence of James J. Reed ,
of Douglas County , the murderer of
Glenna Hynes , has been affirmed by at
the supreme court of the state , Chief be
Justice Sedgwick dissenting. ;
New Hall Dedicated.
The feature of the series of meet
ings of the farmers and stock raisers
of the state at Lincoln was the dedica
tion of the new agricultural hall at
the state farm grounds Thursday af
ternoon. This structure cost $60,000 ,
and $10,000 was expended in its equip ic
ment.
New Farmers' Telephone.
The Nebraska Telephone Company
has just completed a new armors' line
running northeast from Beatrice.
t.j
PANIC NARROWLY AVERTED.
Fire in Basement of Oliver Theater
at Lincoln During Play.
Fire broke out In the basement of
the Oliver theater at Lincoln Wednes
day night during the rendition of "Ben
Hur. " It required several minutes
of hard work on the part of the fire
department , which arrived promptly ,
to control the flames , a greater part of
j
the audience , however , being unaware
or the danger. The fire started under
a room occupied by a drug store ad
joining the theater lobby.
A man with a seat near the door
smelled the smoke and heard the en
gines on the street. He left his seat
hurriedly and started for the door
way with a cry that the building was
on fire , but so indistinctly did he shout
that not over a dozen heard him. Be
fore he could repeat the cry a police
man grabbed him by the throat and
dragged him into the lobby.
A woman who followed fainted as she
reached the door and was carried out.
Not over half a dozen others left the
theater , a thrilling scene on the stage
opportunely occupying the attention
of the crowded house. The fire was
confined to one room and the damage
was small.
STATE WINS AT LAST.
.
Can Collect Railroad Taxes on Basis of
State Board's Valuation. j
Judge Munger , of the federal court |
at Omaha decided the railroads of Ne
braska must pay theirtaxes. Such is
the essence of his decision in the Bur
lington case , which has been fought
for the state by Attorney General
Brown. This decision will apply also
to the Union Pacific and to the collec
tion of taxes for 1905 , as well as 1904 ,
of both roads.
This suit was for an injunction
against the collection of taxes for the
year 1904 on the basis of valuation
fixed by the state board of equalization
and assessment. Another suit , identi
cal in character , had been brought
with relation to the taxes for 1905 ,
and the Union Pacific , as well as the' '
Burlington , had instituted the same
suits.
The total assessment for the Bur-
lington and Union Pacific for the two
years amounts to $2,056,482. Together
they have tendered $1,448,680. The
Union Pacific tendered or paid $256-
000 in 1904 , when its assessment was
$348,000 , and $275,000 , when its as
sessment amounted to $385,000.
WIFE DESERTER CAUGHT.
Runaway Husband Was Living with
Girl in Desolate Hut.
Hiding from the law and living in a
desolate hut with his 16-year-old girl.
wife , Morris McKibbon , after a year's
pursuit by the detectives of Nebraska ,
has been apprehended at Norfolk. He
was charged with eloping with a 16-
year-old girl and with deserting his
own wife and three small children in
Fillmore County for that purpose. The
little wife was formerly Frieda Frese ,
of ExeterShe left for that place ,
where she will live with her parents.
McKibbon has been living at Nor-
folk under the name of Johnson and
had been doing day laborer's work on
cement sidewalks.
Newspaper Changes.
A Fullerton dispatch says : As soon
as R. G. Adams sold the Fullerton
Post to A. B. Currier and the politics
of the paper was changed from a
Democratic to a Republican one , the
Democrats and Populists , not to be
outdone , combined and secured the
News-Journal , edited by J. W. Tanner ,
to represent their interests and princi
ples. About three years ago Mr. Tan
ner came into the Republican ranks
and became editor of the News-Jour
nal and he now remains as its editor
under the new management.
Death from Peculiar Accident.
August Wirth , a young married man
aged 27 , met a peculiar death from
the muzzle of his own shotgun near
Verdigris. The gun was accidentally
discharged while .Wirth was walking
along and from the effects of the re
bound flew out on the prairie. In some
manner the gun turned a somersault
when it lit , reversed its muzzle and
butt so that the barrel pointed direct
ly at Wirth , and then , catching its
trigger on a weed , was discharged a
second time , sending the charge of
shot through Wirth's lung.
Fire at Falls City. I Is
, The residence of Dr. W. H. Ker was i IsT
destroyed , by fire at Falls City Satur tl
day morning. The fire caught in the tlh
roof from a defective flue and had U
made such headway before it was disfo.
covered that it could not be ot under | n
control , until most of the building was j
destroyed. All of the contents was
saved. The building will be rebuilt
at once.
si
Court in Northeastern Nebraska.
A "West Point special says : The al
terms of the district court for the year fe
1906 in the various counties of the
Eighth judicial district have beenfix
ed by Juclge Graves as follows : Stan-
ton , Jan. 22 , Sept. 10 ; Cuming , Jan. to
, ' Sept. 17 ; Dakota , Feb. 12 , Oct. 1 ;
Cedar , March 5 , XeV. 12 ; Dixon , March
10 ( , Dec. 3 ; Thurston , April 9 , Oct. 15.
fo
Disastrous Fire at Verdigris.
Fire Wednesday morning destroyed
threa buildings in the business heart of
Verdigris , including the postofflce and
not
quantity of Unted States mail. The
less is about $11,000.
ing
Elevator at Fremont Closes.
The Westbrook-Gibbons Grain Com
the
pany has decided to close its elevator
Fremont , and Agent Morrison will , SD
transferred to some other point and i +
the building removed. s
Orcuilui Puts on the "Lid. "
According to the police the "lid"l
was down tight in Omaha'Sunday for
the first time in many years , not one of of
tlje 245 saloins in the city being open. $
This is the jenult of a vigorous cam- * * r
paign recently inaugurated by the Civ- °
Federation. *
_
Drive Results in Two Dead Wolves. day
In the wolf drive held northwest of an
Beatrice Thursday two wolves and to
about. 100 rabbits were killed. About re *
300. persons participated in the hunt ' law.
tm
By unanimous vote Friday morning the
state board of public lands and buildings
adopted rules for the condncft of the-
home for the friendless which will take
from the visiting or advisory board every
particle of its power and leave the man
agement of the home in the hands of the
superintendent , Mrs. Johnson. This ac &
tion on the part of the board came about
over the frequent eruptions caused by a.
disagreement of superintendents and
members of visiting boards over the con
duct of state institutions. This same
hoard put the finish to the visiting board
to the old soldiers' home for the snmo
reason , making such a recommendation
to the legislature which resulted in the-
law creating that board being repealed.
The Aboard also allowed the contractor
erecting the hospital and uew barn at :
Grand Island $7,623.50 on his contract-
* * *
So far this year the Burlington and the-
Union Pacific Railroads have not tried to-
force onto the state officers the usual an
nual courtesies. The Missouri Pacific
aud the Great Northern , however , canio
across on time with the little pasteboards
and they were returned. The Great
Northern remembered Gov. Mickey ,
Treasurer Morteasen and Auditor Searle ,
while the Missouri Pacific sent passes to
Gov. Mickey and Attorney General
Brown , Superintendent McBrien re
ceived none at all. All the passes so far
received by a state officer have been re
turned. The heads of departments ami
deputies have come in all right and in
some instances the passes are enclosed in
handsome black leather cases. It is said
this is the first year the Great Northern
has sent passes to the officers.
* * *
Nebraska's capital city lias enjoyed
prosperity in a marked degree during the
year just ended. An annual review pub
lished by one of the local newspa
pers , shows that $2,440,000 was expended
during the year oa new buildings and
public improvements , while a forecast ,
based on announcements already made.
indicates that a much greater sum is to
he , spent during the year 1900. The
building permit record for the last year
shows that over $1,900,000 was spent
on new buildings , most of them resi
dences , the number of the latter being
over 900. From every standpoint 1905
was the most prosperous yer in Lincoln's
history.
* * *
. By voting to insure the outbuildings at
the Hastings asylum the state board of
public lands and buildings this morning
went back to the old order ot" things
which were in vogue , years and years ago.
Since the Hastings fire a year ago , in
which several hundred dollars damago
wos done to an outbuilding , the board has
had under consideration the advisability
of insuring these bnildinge , but nothing
was done until Thursday. The outbuild
ings will be insured for $18,000 at a pre
mium of about 4 per cent. No contract
has yet been entered into , but the hoard
has about decided who will write tha
policy.
* * *
"Either abolish the office or enact laws
by which it will be able to perform tin-
duties which it is supposed to perform
and for which it was created. " The above
is the substance of a recommendation
which will be made to the next legislature
by the head of the department of indus
trial statistics , commonly known as the
deputy labor commissioner. After thiee-
years' efforts to get information of inter
est and value to the people regarding-
Nebraska the department has come to
the conclusion that the laws are not ade
quate and therefore should be amended
and broadened or the department abol
ished.
* * *
Mayor Brown , of Lincoln , inspired br
the recent hotel fire in Minneapolis , has
sent a communication to the city council
to see. that the proper investigation is
made into the safety of the hotels and
other buildings which require by ordi
nance a fire escape. A year ago an in
vestigation was made of downtown
buildings and this year the mayor desires
that nothing be left undone to insure the
safety of the public from fires.
* * *
Secretary of State Galusha and Land
Commissioner Eaton returned from Grand'
Island Friday morning , where they , with
Treasurer Mortensen , had been to inspect
the soldiers' home. Both declared the
home < was never in better condition than
under ] its present
.
management. A new-
.
barn has just been completed and the
hospital is almost finished , which makes
the institution complete insofar as build
ings are concerned.
* * *
State Superintendent McBrien has iV
sued his official ruling in the matter ,
and C. S. Coney will be recognized by the
state department as the county superin
tendent of Staiiton County , notwithstand
ing that W. H. Hvland
, until Jan. 1 , su
perintendent , and at the recent election a.
defeated candidate for reelection refuses
turn over the office and recognize his
successor.
* * *
A Nebraska organization of alumni of
Oberlin University will be formed this
year , with the .initial meeting and ban
quet at Lincoln , Feb. 6. President Kn -
will be present. The invitation includes
only graduates , but also former stu
dents and parents having children attend
at Oberlin.
" "
* * *
The delegation of Chinese now touring
United States was scheduled to reach
Lincoln Jan. 18
and spend the day in
specting . the state university and * other *
state institutions.
Gov. l Mickey has issued a requisition
: the return to Seward Corinty of J. C.
Morgan , who is
wanted there on a charge
appropriating to his
own use some-
$300 belonging to his employer , Joseph
Brown.
Morgan is unaer arrest in Cass
County , Iowa.
* * *
The state board o-f health met Wednes
afternoon in the office of the governor
andsentout instructions to the secretaries
file a report with the state auditor
regarding vital
statistics as renmrcfl
. / ' -