State Debt Half a Million.
The semi-annual report of State
Auditor Barton shows that since June
1 , 1911 , the amount of outstanding
warrants of the state has increased
Irom $308,658 to $518.775.64. The
amount of warrants issued during the
semi-annual period was $1,941,414.14 ,
and the amount , paid , $1,751,297.19.
Most of the warrants outstanding
are drawn on the general fund and
the temporary university fund. The
.warrants outstanding on the general
fund aggregate $294,761.64 and those
on the temporary university fund ,
4195,049.74. The outstanding war
rants constitute the state's floating
debt and this is the first time in many
"years any such debt has existed. The
-.state treasurer hopes to wipe out this
Indebtedness during the next few
months , after taxes begin to come
'into the treasury.
The following is a statement of the
outstanding warrants on the several
state funds as shown by the auditor's
report for November 30 :
General fund . . $294,761.64
%
Temporary university fund 195,049.74
TT. S. Experiment Station
fund 1,910.65
University cash fund 19,670.02
formal interest fund 255.65
.Normal library fund , Peru. 122.96
Normal library fund , Kear
ney 62.78
Normal library fund , Wayne 107.90
State library fund 63.15
Institution cash fund 3,425.72
Hospital for insane fund. . . 2.60
Fire commission fund 200.00
'University income fund. . . . 3,143.83
$518,775.64
State Reward for Coal.
Ephriam Johnson , whose home is at
Hooper , has applied to Governor Aid-
rich for the state reward of $4,000 for
ihe discovery of a twenty-six inch vein
of. coal , which he believes is of suf
ficient extent to pay for mining and is
near enough to the surface of the
earth to be mined by modern mining
methods. He has filed an affidavit
with the governor asking him to ap
point some one , in accordance with
the statute , to investigate and report
the facts. The coal was discovered
an a quarter section of land owned
l > y Mr. Johnson and his wife in Logan
township , Dodge county , on the Elk-
fcorn river.
Interest in Recodificatlon.
To eliminate technicalities and re
move those obstacles which hinder
Ihe course of speedy justice , mem
bers of the Nebraska Bar association
are taking an active interest in the
revision of the Nebraska codes of
civil and criminal proceedure. This
Interest will take form at the annual
meeting of the association in Lincoln ,
December 28 and 29 , when such rec
ommendations will be made , marking
the session as one of the most impor
tant in years. The association's atti
tude takes on more interest because
the legislature at its last session au
thorized the recodification a d a com
mission is now at work on the re
vision.
Sugar Beets Good Paying "Crop.
The industrial school for boys at
Kearney raised forty acres of sugar
"beets last summer and sold the crop
for $2,661.55 , after deducting the cost
of the seed. This is considered a good
paying crop by Land Commissioner
-Cowles , who watches the state farms
with a critical eye. The crop brought
; a net return of over $66 an acre.
Food Commissioner's Good Balance.
The semi-annual report of State
"Food Commissioner Jackson shows
that during the past six months -his
department has expended a total of
" $9,231.44 in the payment of salaries of
-Inspectors , transportation , telegraph
: and telephone charges , leaving a bal
ance of $19,939'.41 in that fund.
Arthur B. Allen has entered the race
lor secretary of the state railway com-
mission. Mr. Allen is now secretary
of the state republican committee.
He formerly occupied the same posi
tion and served as private secretary
to Governor Mickey.
Falls City people are endeavoring
to get the Burlington and the Missouri
Pacific railroad officials to agree to
"build a union depot at the junction of
"the two roads near the city limits. At
present the Burlington depot is one
mile and one-quarter from town and
the Missouri Pacific depot is one mile
. away. The citizens have not brought
the matter before the state railway
commission , but have appointed a
committee of citizens to confer with
rrailroad officials.
Semi-annual reports from heads of
sstate institutions now coming into the
governor's office show that it cost ,
I
149.36 per capita to support members
of the soldiers' home at Grand Island
tor the six months' period ending No-
yember 30 , while it cost only $137.41 ! (
for each member of the state school j
tor blind at Nebraska City. Formerly '
the cost of maintaining students at ! |
the school for blind was larger than
'the cost at any other state institution.
The state reclaimed $100 a year from
! thp general government for eactt old j
* oldJer in state homes.
WHERE FOREIGNERS IN CHINA ARE CONCENTRATING
FOREIGN LEGATIONS IN PEK1N
J. CALHOUNAmerican minister , to China , and others in authority , are doing all in their power to persuade
WILLIAM
suade Americans and Europeans in China to seek safety in the treaty ports and in Pekin. The foreign lega
tions in the latter city , of "which a view is here given , already are becoming crowded with refugees.
LOVERS ARE BALKED
"Princess Pretty" and Young
Marquis Meet Obstacle.
Indian Maharajah Will Not Allow
Daughter to Marry. Heir of the
Duke of Sutherland.
London. The course of true love is
not running smooth for the East In
dian Princess Pretiva , the young
daughter of the Maharajah of Cooch-
Behar , and the young Marquis of Staf
ford , heir of the Duke of Sutherland
and his millions.
Pretiva , whose intimates rightly
call her "Princess Pretty , " and her
mother passed the summer at Bex-
hill , where Stafford , who is 23 and an
amiable youth , was a constant visitor.
And small wonder , for the charming
IPrincess excels in outdoor sports.
Although her lovely features have
an Oriental cast , her skin is almost
as fair as that of an English girl.
She loves England , where she has
passed most of her life , and has de
clared that she will not marry an In
dian potentate.
Of course no one but Stafford
knows how much he had to do with
inducing her to form this resolution.
Now the Princess has gone to India
with her mother , the Maharanee of
Cooch-Behar , carrying the late Maha
rajah's ashes.
Stafford swears he will follow Ills
inamorata , making the durbar his pre
text. His father , whose lineage runs
back to a Gower who followed Wil
liam the Conqueror , and his intelli
gent mother , who was Lady Mllllcent
St. Clare-Erskine , daughter of the
Earl of Roslyn , strongly oppose such
a match for Stafford. They have
asked the war office to refuse him the
leave he must ask to go to India.
And there are other obstacles in the
way of his pursuit of the girl he loves.
The Maharanee has informed Stafford
that he cannot visit her daughter in
) India , as she will live in retirement
in the palace of her brother , who Is
i now the Maharajah of Cooch-Behar ,
and will not attend the durbar. Be
sides , the new Maharajah objects to
his sister marrying an Englishman ,
as calculated to further weaken his
subjects' loyalty. It has been strained
by his own prolonged visits to Europe
before his father's death and by the
fact that he and his family are so
largely Anglicized.
BABY SECURITY FOR DEBT
Mother Successfully Appeals to the
Court for Infant Held by
Woman for Board.
Oakland , Cal. Her baby held as se
curity for a board bill , Mrs. Estelle E.
Ramos of Berkeley applied to the su
perior court for an order compelling
Mr. and Mrs. John Rudy of 2100 Sixth
street , Berkeley , the people to whom
the board bill is due , to give up the
child. Mrs. Ramos won her petition
before Judge Wells after a hearing
< that lasted only about ten minutes.
Boom Black Art In London
Witchcraft Act of 1736 to Be Used
Against Fortune Tellers
of Metropolis.
London. This city is at the mercy
of a veritable plague of fortune tellers ,
palmists and other self-proclaimed nec
romancers , who prey upon the. rich
and poor alike , particularly in the
shopping districts. They have even be
come so fearless that they are adver
tising by means of sandwich men
along the Strand , In Piccadilly Circus
and in Regent and Oxfard streets.
It seems impossible to convict them
of obtaining money under false pre
tense of foretelling the future , and it
is almost Impossible to get evidence
against them , as they receive no un-
recommended clients. Their success
among the superstitious and the credu
lous is due to the fact that their clients -
' ents unconsciously reveal information
concerning would-be visitors.
"It is all very well to say that the
official police view is that , so long as
fortune tellers and palmists do not
dupe the poor , they should be allowed
to take money from the rich. Cath-
cart Wason , M. P. , has communicated
with the home secretary suggesting
that these persons who pose as necro
mancers In any way can be proceeded
against by the witchcraft act of 1736 ,
which imposes penalties jupon persona
H"who pretend to exercise or use any
"kind of sorcery , witchcraft , enchantment -
ment , or conjuration. "
As to those particularly dealing with
the wealthy , Mr. Wason adds :
"It is .all very well to say that the
ladies who patronize these fortune tel
lers aie above the superstitions of the
Ignorant and not likely to be doped ,
but I maintain that the practice is a
grave danger to society * Suppose a
woman asks as many do how long
her husband is likely to live , and the
fortune teller discovers that there is
another man in the case , and the name
of that man. Imagine the possibilities
of the situation.
"The more humble fortune tellers
are causing enough trouble in the prov
inces. Welsh miners have refused to
go down to work because a local 'wise
woman' has foretold disaster. In New
castle it was proved that 25 girls had
visited one fortune teller in a single
afternoon. In the Isle of Wight It was
proved that one woman had correctly
Mrs. Ramos recently secured a di
vorce from John W. Ramos and an or
der for $25 a month alimony. Since
then Ramos has been out of work , un
able (1to ( find it , he says , while his wife
declares he will not take employment
offered him. Unable to secure any
thing from her former spouse , Mrs.
Ramos herself went to work and
placed her baby with the Rudys with
the understanding they should be paid
for its keep out of the alimony.
Ramos paid nothing , and Mrs. . Ra
mos decided to try to care for the
child herself ; but the Rudys refused
to surrender it until the bill was paid.
At the hearing today Ramos appeared
in court with the Rudys , but did not
participate in the proceedings.
A clash between Mrs. Ramos and
Mrs. Rudy occurred when Mrs. Ra
mos went to take her child from Mrs.
Rudy's arms , after Judge Wells had
given her its custody. The two wom
en scolded each other despite the
warnings of the bailiff , hurling angry
accusations at each other as they filed
out of court. Ramos has a petition
for appointment as- guardian of the
child.
Women Spoke In a Church
As a Result , Louisiana Presbyterians
Are All Torn Up Appeal to
General Assembly.
New Orleans. Because women
made verbal reports at an Interde
nominational meeting in the fashion
able Lafayette Presbyterian church
here factional strife has been started
among Louisiana preachers of the
Presbyterian sect and the shades of
John Calvin are being invoked to call
down wrath upon those who permitted
such a violation.
The Rev. J. C. Barr , pastor of the
church , and whose congregation in
cludes many of the wealthies families
in New Orleans , announced today that
he would carry to the general assem
bly , the highest body of the church ,
the verdict which the state synod at
its meeting this week at Ruston , La. ,
found against him. The Rev. W. M.
Alexander , pastor of the Prytania
church , brought the charges. He said
that the alleged violation of church
rules was of the gravest importance ,
and the state body sided with him.
The synod raised its hands In horror
ror at the mere idea of women not
keeping silent in churches. True , the
women who spoke were not preaching
sermons , and the meeting was not
strictly a Presbyterian meeting , but
it was In a church and women broke
away from the "keep silence in pub
lic" mandate. .
Dr. Barr admits the charge in gen
eral , but says that the women were
not speaking in the church. He says
the congregation is the church and
that the place of worship is merely
the church building.
"Our buildings do not represent the
church itself , " he declared.
Kin of Fairbanks a Suicide.
Marysville , O. Miss Alice Fair
banks , aged forty , a niece of former
Vice-PreBident Fairbanks of
- Indianap
olis , committed sulced with poison at
the home of her mother , Mrs. Matilda
Fairbanks , near Chickery. The mo
tive Is unknown.
foretold the future , but that did not
save her from a fine. A disguised de
tective went to her to have his fortune
told , and she informed him that he
would shortly undertake legal proceed
ings in which he would be successful.
She was right. He took out a sum
mons against and successfully proved
his case. But the fact that these pro
vincial people were all' penalized
shows that the local authorities are
alive to the danger. Why do the Lon
don police refrain from taking action
against the West end fortune tellers ? "
Shuns All Churches 50 Years.
Middletown , Conn. George H. Ward ,
the oldest newsboy in New England ,
who has just passed his seventy-third
birthday , went to church Sunday for
the first time In 50 years. He enjoy
ed the service so much that he will
be a regular attendant hereafter.
Uses Champagne for Shave
71
Seattle Visitor Makes Lather With
Wine Because of Water
Famine.
Seattle , Wash. It has been forbid
den for any person to take a bath
either in a private residence , public
bath , club or hotel , because the city
has been without water since the
pipes were carried away.
J. J. Forster , of Chicago , an officer
of the Atlantic steamship service of
the Canadian Pacific railway , staying
at the Calhoun hotel , went without
a shave and a bath as long as he
thought he could and then he rang
for a pint of champagne , mixed his
shaving lather with it and had a de-
lightful shave , he says. Then he or
dered eight gallons of milk and in
dulged himself in a milk bath.
Changes Son's Name.
Poughkeepsie , N. Y. To perpetuate
the name of her grandfather , Mrs.
John Toler petitioned the supreme
court that after January 1 her son's
name be changed from John to John
Watts De Peyster Toler.
82,546 Women to Vote.
Los Angeles , Cal. The official count
of voters eligible to cast ballots In the
city election on December 5 totals
192,177. Of these 109,628 are men
and 82,546 women.
PLOWING FOR WATER
Must Be Done Deeply and at the
Right Time.
Experiment Stations Find That When
Work Is Done in Fall it Proves
Water Conserving and Has
Many Other Advantages.
It is not alone sufficient to plow
and to plow deeply ; it is also necessary -
, sary that the plowing be done at the
I right time. In the very great ma
jority of cases over the whole dry-
farm territory , plowing should b #
(
done in the fall. There are three rea
sons for this ; first , after the crop is
harvested , the soil should be dis
turbed immediately , so that it can be
exposed to the full action of the
weathering agencies , whether the win
ter be open or closed. If for any rea
son plowing cannot be done early , it
is often advantageous to follow the
harvester with a disk , and to plow
later w hen convenient. The chemical
effect on the soil resulting from the
weathering made possible by fall
plowing , as will be shown in chapter
IX. , is of itself so great as to warrant
the teaching the general practice
of fall plowing. Secondly , the early
stirring of the soil prevents evapora
tion of the moisture in the soil dur
ing late summer and the fall. Thirdly ,
in the parts of the dry-farm territory
where such precipitation occurs in the
fall , winter or early spring , fall
plowing permits much of this precipi
tation to enter the soil and be stored
there until needed by plants.
A number o f experimental stations
have compared plowing done in the
early fall with plowing done late in
the fall or in the spring , and with
almost no exception it 'has been found
that early fall plowing is water-con
serving and in other ways advantage
ous. It was observed on a Utah
dry-farm that the fall-plowed land con
tained to a depth of 10 feet 7.47 acre-
inches more water than the adjoining
spring-plowed land a saving of nearly
one-half of a year's precipitation. The
ground should be plowed in the early
fall as soon as possible after the crop
is harvested. It should then be left
in the rough throughout the winter ,
so that it may be mellowed and
broken down by the elements. The
rough land further has a tendency to
catch and hold the snow that may be
blown by the wind , thus insuring a
more even distribution of the water
from the melting snow.
A common objection to fall plowing
is that the ground is so dry in the fall
that it does not plow up well , and that
the great dry clods of earth do much
to injured the physical condition of the
soil. It is very doubtful if such an
objection is generally valid , especially
if the soil is so cropped as to leave a
fair margin of moisture in the soil at
harvest time. The atmospheric agen
cies will usually break down the
clods , and the physical result of the
treatment will be beneficial. Un
doubtedly , the fall plowing of dry land
is somewhat difficult , but the good re
sults more- than pay the farmer for
his trouble. Late fall plowing , after
the fall rains have softened the land ,
is preferable to spring plowing. If
for any reason the farmer feels that
he must practice spring plowing , he
should do it as early as possible in
the spring. - Of course , it is inadvis
able to plow the soil when it is so
wet as to injure its tilth seriously , but
as soon as that danger period is
passed , the plow should be placed in
the ground. The moisture In the soil
will thereby be conserved , and what
ever water may fall during the spring
months will be conserved also. This
Is of especial importance in the Great
Plains region , and in any district
where the precipitation comes in the
spring and winter months.
DRY FARMING IN. THE FUTURE
Conservation of Moisture in Soil Is at
Bottom of Theory and Practice
of All Experts.
*
( By A. T. STINEL. )
"Dry farming , " or the science of ag
riculture under scant rainfall , made
good where the farmer followed direc
tions , but thousands failed because
they did not heed the advice of ex
perts. These failures have turned out
to be a blessing in disguise for the
high plains regions , because the advo
cates of "dry farming" were forced to
take a broader path. Conservation of
moisture in the soil is at the bottom
of their theory and practice. Many
thought of moisture only as direct
rainfall upon their cultivated'acres. .
But there Is a limit to rainfall under
which no plan of storage and cultiva
tion will avail to produce crops. The
season of 1910 went under the limit
in many of the newly settled regions
of Texas , New Mexico , Colorado and
western Kansas and , following a year
like 1909 which also was dry , there
was no moisture in reserve in the soil.
Discouragment and disaster fol
lowed , but the wise heads among the
agricultural pioneers of the high
plains declined to stay whipped. They
saw a great light and from the dawn
ing thereof there has come about an
ideal union of "dry farming" and irri
gation development all over the south
west , that promises to reclaim liter
ally millions of acres of land , millions
of acres now scantily yielding , richly
productive.
This is to be accomplished by stor
age of the storm waters , and utili
zation of the underflow by pumping
and the development of artesian belts.
GREAT DANGERS IN DISKING
Habit Comes From Humid States
Where It Rains Often and Little
Cultivation la Needed.
( By E. R. PARSON. )
We have been watching the effects
of shallow plowing and disking for
nearly thirty years , and still we can
see no good In it Fvery dry year the
same thing happens. In 1908 wo went
over thousands of acres where the
crops had been disked In on stubble.
We saw oats burned out .six and
eight inches high ; spring wheat com
pletely fired just beginning to head ;
winter wheat that went only five bush
els to the acre ; and fields of corn on
shallow-plowed sod that yielded noth
ing but a handful of fodder.
The disking and shallow plowing
habits come from the humid states ,
where It rains sometimes twice a
week , and small crops can always be
raised by simply cultivating enough ,
to keep the weeds out.
Farmers will sometimes say : "We
can raise more by disking than plow
ing. " This is true , because a sur
face farmer seldom plows more than ,
three inches , and he can do this equal
ly well and more quickly with the
disk. Or he may plow without har
rowing , let the ground dry out as he
goes , and plant In a poorly prepared
seed bed.
An old friend of ours used to raise
indifferent crops by plowing once in
three years and disking in his seeds
the two intervening years. The first
year his oats would be about two to
three feet high ; the second year , IS-
Inches ; and the third about a foot ;
but if a dry year happened , there was
nothing doing. He always would per
sist that he could raise good crops
without plowing to cary his cattle
through the winter. I happened to
meet him in 1909. "Well , " I said ,
"how did you come out last year ? "
"Oh , " he said , "I sold my cattle. "
Thousands of head of cattle were
sold in the fall of 1908 for the same
reason. This put the market right
down and the dry farmers lost heav
ily.
Supposing we plant a crop of spring
wheat or oats on corn stubble , what
happens ? Ninety per cent of the
farmers put cattle on the stubble
during the winter. The ground be
comes hard and overpackedf we disk
this on the surface and plant the seed.
For awhile It does splendidly , and if
the rains keep up will make a fair
crop ; but if dry weather comes and
a crust forms on the surface or un
der the mulch , the crop is gone , for
it is solid underneath. It has never
been plowed.
It is the surface farmers who are al
ways wailing about this crust under
the mulch , but those who belong to
the deep-plowing school pay no atten
tion to it , for they still have plenty
of room for the roots of their crops
down below , and if the mulch above
the crust is in proper shape there Is
no more evaporation than there is be
fore , f
A man wrote to me once and asked
what he should do for the crust under
the mulch. I wrote back and said :
"Next year plow deep. " His answer
was : "How did you find out that I
didn't plow deep ? " '
The worst consequence of disking"
without plowing Is the effect it has
on next year's crop. The ground be
ing hard , the water penetrates very
little ; the available moisture is used
up by the crop , and the surplus evap
orates or runs off. Nothing is saved
for next year. f
In dry farming , if we work only
for the present , we are living from
hand to mouth. The very foundation
of this branch of agriculture is to
farm for the future. Store up mois
ture in the soil next year and the
year after , keep track of it with the
pick and .shovel or with a ground
augur , and you will soon find out
which style of farming pays the best.
POULTRY YARD AND PEN.
Houses must be kept sanitary and
the fowls free from vermin.
Lice are working havoc , and too
severe measures cannot be adopted.
It is the even , steady thrift of our
stock that makes them pay a profit
In making an egg ration , do not for
get a liberal allowance of sunshine.
The comb not only denotes egg lay
ing , but the general condition of the
hen.
hen.Less
Less grain is needed for fowls when
bone and vegetables are fed in abun
dance.
A cold draft will stop hena laying
as quickly as anything in the world
sure.
Early hatches do better than those
brought off after the heat of the sum
mer haa begun.
To make the chick grow , first give
plenty of good fresh air ; don't allow
them to crowd.
Chilled or long-laid eggs will not
produce as strong chicks as fresh ,
well-cared for eggs.
In grading up the chickens , only
those that are the most vigorous
should be considered.
Turkey raisers find it profitable to
have Guinea fowls with the turkey
flock. They act as police.
There is only one time when a poul-
tryman is justified in selling a good-
pullet , and that is when he is going
out of business.
The hen is admitted to be one of
the greatest financial factors In the
country today , and she is also one of.
the most overworked.
Some good poultrymen think by
feeding setting hens in the morning
they are more apt to remain content
edly on their nests all day.
A hen that runs to meat may lay
steadily for a week In the spring and
summer , and then go on a vacation *
for the balance of theyear. .
* V.