r
PART TWO. PAGES 9 TO 16.
TWENTIETH YEAR. OMAHA SUNDAY MORNING , j DECEMBER 21 , 1890-TWENTY PAGES. . NUMBER ISO.
Op on JGKER & Open
onUntil Olirist > meis Until Oliristmeis
GORNEJR FAR.NAM A.NI > STR.EXEVTS.
Jj AY OF
To aid you in solving the more or less perplexing problem of what to give for a HOLIDAY PRESENT , we present the following list of DRY GOODS and FANCY
GOODS , -with the assurance that nowhere can YOU obtain better values or larger selections in the lines enumerated than at our establishment.
KELLEY , STIGER & CO.
10 YARDS
Dress pattern of Black
French Faille Silk for
$12.00
1C YARDS
Dress pattern of Black
Satin Rhadama Silk for
$15.20
10 YARDS
Black French Faille Silk
for
$20.00
10 YARDS
Of Black Satin Rhad
ama Silk for
$17.60
8 YARD
Dress Patterns of Black
Silk Warp Henrietta for
$8.00
6 YARDS
All Wool Black Henri
etta for
$6.00
8 YARDS
All Wool Black French
Serge for
$4.00
7 YARD
Dress Pattern of 54-in
all wool Black Flannel
FOR
$3.50
FANS - FANS
Latest novelties In hand
painted gauze , coque ana
ostrich feather fans from
$1 up to $15.
LADIES' PLUSH SACQUES
At $19.75 , $27.50
$32.50 and $41.00
Guaranteed Qualities.
FURS - FURS
Ladies' Fur Muffs , Ladies'
Fur Capes , Misses' Fur
Sets , Children's' Fur Sets ,
Ladies' and Misses Thebet
Capes for opera wear.
SHAWLS
Beaver Shawls , Cash
mere Shawls , Shawls for
opera and street wear.
Real DucbosrLnco handker
chiefs , at $1.60 , 52.00 , $ 2.f0 , $3.60
nnd upward.
Fine hand cmbl-olucred Silk
Mull Handkerchiefs at $2.75 ,
83.60 , $4.60 , $5.60 and $0.50
each.
Ltulics' flno hand embroidered
linen lawn
HANDKERgHIEFS
In an ondlcsa variety of beauti
ful designs , atCOc , G5c , 7oc , $1.00
and $ l.o each.
t ;
Four spcctinl bargains in la
dies' embroidered hemstitched
and scalloped border linen lawn
HANDKERCHIEFS
At 12Jc , 15e , 2Sc and and 30c
each. ,
Worth 25 per cqnt tmoro.
L art leg , '
Hand Embroidered ,
- Japanese Silk
HANDKERCHIEFS
Choice DoHlpnp.nt
38c , 60c , 05c " , 75c and
81.00 . . . .
MEN'S SILK
MUFFLERS ,
At $1.00 , '
$1.25 , $1.75 and $2.00.
MEN'S PINE SILK
NECK TIES ,
At 39c ,
50c , 75c , $1.00 and $1.25.
MEN'S SATIN
SUSPENDERS ,
All Colors ,
At $1.75 ,
$2.00 , $2.50 and $3.00.
MEN'S LINEN
Handkerchiefs ,
Initial anil Fancy Border
A Special Bargain ,
25c Each.
Fancy Towels
25c , SOc , 6Sc ,
75c and $1.
Fine Satin Damask
Napkins
At $3 , $3.78 and
$8.BO per doz.
Choice Damask
. Lunch Sets
At $3.75 and $5.
Gent's Fine White China
Silk Handkerchiefs
At 500 , 650 and 750.
Black at 750 and 850.
Meris Fine Silk
Umbrellas ,
-AT-
. $3.50 , $5 and $6.
Eiderdown Bed
Comforts
-AT
$5.50 , $8.50and $10
Ladies Silk
Plose
-AT
$1.50 , $2.15 , $3 , $3.25
Ladies Sslk
Gloves
-AT
$1.15$1.50$1.75$2 ,
" t * > . 1 - / . . ftv.wfMK. * , . * > . . . y , - „ . * - . . . \.J < * <
, „ . . , , . , * fit > . . . * . \ . - , ( * - W 4- * . . . . -V - .
Cor. Farnam and 15th Sts , KELLEY , STIGER & < Cor. Farnam and I5fh Sts-
P\
"BY-TUB , WILDCAT PROCESS.
How Bogus Insurance tiompanies are in the
Habit of Swindling People. '
BUSINESS CARRIED ON IN SECRET.
Everything Must Ho "Cndcrjjrounal"
In Order to Ksenpo tlio linw
Inside Workings of aa
Organized Fraud. '
The rccoflt failure of amber of wildcat
insurance companies ana 10 astonishing result -
sult of the attendant investigations as to the
enormous business that these irresponsible
Institutions are doing throtighout the btato
toavo aroused the regular underwriters of the
city , and they nro demanding the suppression
of companies doing business contrary to law.
A BBC reporter called upon a number of
firms for Information regarding the "under
ground1' nnd "wildcat" companies , and a des
cription of their modus oporaudl In catching
victims.
Ono of these men said :
"Thcso companies ore called 'underground'
because they do business contrary to law and
nro compelled to work In secret , covering up
* their tracks and eluding the state ofllclnls In
cvorv manner. Llko all other lawless ele
ments nnd lawbreakers , they have a wholesome -
some dread of authority and love darkness
" " rather than light
"Thoy are called 'wild eat' because they
are financially as irresponsible arid unreliable
as the most notorious bank in the darkest
'wild cat' times.
"Many of them , which circulate a grand
array of assets In figures , have succeeded in
securing excellent reports from the mercan
tile agencies and display a beautifully engraved -
graved policy sheet , are known by posted m-
lurauco men to have no legal existence what
ever. Cases are known in which the
whole so-culled company consists of ono
Impecunious individual. who , taking
that means 'to raise the wind , ' has filled out
documents with llctltlous names , sent out
circulars1 and realized many hundred dollars
from a gullfblo public for bis worthless
policies. Several such coses have recently
been unearthed by the Insurance fraternity. "
"How can a man perpetuate such a fraud
iuccessfullyl"
"Uomoinber , these concerns do not attempt
to conceal the fact that they are engaged In
an illegal business , and llko dealers In green
goods they Impress upon their customers the
necessity of secrecy. Their victims there
fore when awakened to the fraud prefer to
Buffer in silence rather than expose them-
tolvos to ridicule. And , besides , these who
deal In secret with professed law-breakers
are not in good condition to appeal to the law
for redress. Suppose in such a case a man is
bravo enough to undertake a suit. To begin
It h < > must find his company. Ho cannot
BUO at bis homo among his friends
Ho can not got service on the company as ho
can on ono authorized to do business , but ho
must go to the homo of the company. It maybe
bo in some other state. It may be In Europe.
It may bo llko the Irishman's flea.
"Many a poor man has been thus rudely
hocked out of a dream of security to find
himself ruined : to find that by bis own act ho
had "put himself beyond the power of the law
to render any osslstanco.
"It would scorn that men of ordinary busi
ness sagacity would not got raught in such
traps , yet these same companies are doing a
thriving business In this state. They draw
out of the city of Omaha alone about 100,000
annually ,
"Theso so-called companies have two
methods of doing business ;
" 1 , Through so-called 'brokers' located In
Bomo place llko Chicago or Now Orleans , send
out flrculars to these needing insurance , and
Without naming the company , simply offer-
ni ? th'o Insurance in 'first class' companies at
greatly reduced rates.
"I have received hundreds of such circulars.
? hey come from Chicago , Now Orleans , New
fork , Boston , London , Paris and many
other places. I have many times replied to
hem , asking the nnino of the company ad-
crtiscd , but in no instance did I over suc
ceed In learning it. The reply invariably
ins been : 'Send on your application for in
surance and by return mnll I will forward a
policy , which I guarantee to bo good. ' That
sounds well and many a man caught by the
words 'I guarantee' has sent an application
and premiums.
" 2. Through traveling Inspectors , These
arc merely solicitors. Not a week passes
without a visit to Omaha by ono of these
gentlemen. Knowing that they are liable to
irrcst if detected they carry on their opora-
; ions as secretly as possible. Having ascer
tained by previous correspondence what mer
chants are dissatisfied with the rates rhnrged
ay the authorized cotnpanlce they slip Into
Lho city , quietly visit the parties they think
they can catch , and got out of town again as
soon as possible.
"Their flrst effort Is to secure an applica
tion for insurance on the ( mutual plat ) ) tell
ing their victim that on this plan ho gets
much cheaper Insurance. But this renders
the insured liable for all the obligations of
the comnany , and a-wary business man shuns
that liability.
"Falling to secure him on the mutual plan
they offer him a policy for cash , the applicant
being made to believe that ho is thereby re
lieved of any liability. Many of our business
men have recently had a sad awakening , by
the failure of the mutual companies , from
this fancied security , by courts deciding that
the holders of cash policies from mutual com
panies are liable for nil the obligations of
these companies , on the ground that they
wore conspiring to cheat the stockholders
holding mutual policies , and their attempted
fraud will not protect them.
"Thoro are business men in this city who
have sent In their losses to these companies
only to bo notllled that the company had
failed , and accompanying the notification
would bo another stating that tbo Insured
would bo assessed 80 per cent or more of his
policy to meet his liabilities as a member of
ono of the wildcat mutual companies. Others
have been advised to lock up their policies in
jhcir vaults and deny that they over had any
conneotlon-wlth the company , and thus avoid
any liability.
"Thoro Is sometimes a difference between a
wildcat and a regular underground company ,
although nnno but an experienced man would
bo able to detect the difference. What I
mean is that an underground company is not
necessarily a wildcat company , as It is
posiiblo for an honest man to got mixed up
in a gang of thlovcs. Both are underground ,
In that they evade the law , but some of them
are honest in that they roaly intended to
meet all losses , while the wildcat companies
do not intend to pay a cent and could not pay
oven If they so desired ,
"Thcso flourish all the
companies over coun
try , but their headquarters are in the states
where tbo Insurance laws are lax. Washing
ton , D. 0. , and Now Orleans are veritable
hotbeds of wildcat companies. There Is no
Insurance law In the District of Columbia ,
and In Louisiana the law is very lax , so that
every inducement Is offered to unscrupulous
and impecunious persons to st'irt an
insurance company. AH they have
to do is to got their circulars
printed and flood .tho country with them.
They generally give a number of ref ereuces ,
but as not ono in ten of their victims over
writes to any of the parties named , tbo
'company' is perfectly safe in quoting anyone
bo chooses.
"It is surprising how many will blto at the
bait thrown to them by the enterprising
wildcat speculator. They catch a number of
the most substantial business men. It ii
but a short tlmo since that I learned
that ono of the best business
men In this city had over
(50,000 insurance in tboso companies. In
getting It transform ! for him , I found out
that ho could have collected loss than f3,000
of that amount if ho nad experienced a loss ,
I satisfied him that this was so , and his Insur-
nnco Is now all placed with rcgiilurcotnpanlcs.
Ills strange tuat a prudent man will Insura
in these companies , whcu It Is kuoun that
the regular companies during the past fifteen
years have not Dccn making but a fraction
jf 1 per cent , and these companies
offer rates nt a reduction of 25 per cent.
"There nro hundreds of these wild catcom-
panies in existence today , and fully ono hun
dred of them nro doing business in Nebraska.
They are springing into existence every day.
It doesn't require any capital whatever to
start one , and you must remember tnat very
few have any legal existence. They send out
very attractive offers , merely alluding to
themselves as a 'non-board company. ' iThero
Is no way of preventing it , but the
evil can be very greatly modified.
3rimo cannot bo stopped altogether nnd con
fidence men are bound to exist in the world.
Laws might bo passed , however , that would
tend to Improve the situation. " l
"What feature do you think essential In
such laws ! "
"Well , In the flrst p'ace ' , the state boards
should bo required to have direct knowledge
3f the responsibility of insurance companies
before they grant a charter , and , secondly ,
there should bo a mutual arrangement by
which a state would repeal the charter
of n company which wa < j found uoing a wild
cat business In another stato. This was the
plan advocated by Mr. Alllen nt the National
underwriters' convention , and it IB.tho best
that 1 have hoard advocated. There nro a
great many companies that do a wild-cat
business away from homo , and such n law
would put a stop to It. In ono sense , nothing
can bo done , for as long as the gullible pub
lic will pay over its ca b 19 tbx s > o
irresponsible InstitutionsJust so long will
the wild cat companies remain in existence.
There is n ridi Held for them , and they are
not slow in taking full advuntaro of lt. _ There
Is not a business man In Omaha who'would
lend ono of these follows any money or en
dorse a note for them for sixty or ninety
days , yet when they como along with a little
printed mattorand odor insurance at reduced
rates the merchants Jump nt the chance nnd
pay over their premium without hardly stop
ping to ask n question.
"In u great many cases they couldn't find
their man again , no matter how badly they
mlghJt waut him. His company's homo ofllco
Is right In bis satchel , and his homo can bo in
ono place just as well as in another. Busi
ness men aon't stop to look at the situation
in its true light. They kick on the rates of-
' fercd by the regular coiuDanlcs and they are
completely carried away with the brilliant
prospect of something that appears to
bo infinitely better. The collapse of
eight or ten of these companies
during the past few months shows how de
lusive many of these hopes have been. They
hnvo entailed great loss , and ior a while
folks will look out a little. They always do ,
and then as the scare blows over they get
careless and begin trying the wildcats again.
Such companies can generally run a year or
two. There are seldom many losses during
the flrbl year of a company's existence ,
and very frequently none at nil.
When the losses do begin to como in. however
over , that is the end of the wildcat. There
is nothing to nay losses with. The company
has slipped nil of the premiums In his pocket ,
nndtio quietly steps out , leaving the victim
to whistle.
More rigid laws and the oxerclso of more
sound business sense on the part of parties
placing insurance will greatly reduce thlb
evil that lias grown to such mammoth pro
portions. " . ,
With ono exception , every crowned head of
Europe bos witnessed the exhibition of Prof.
Darling and the lions , Included in the host of
attractive features which distinguish "Claud
ius Nero. " the dramatic spectacle which will
tour the big cities after its retirement from
Nlblo's stage. Messrs. Locke & Davis , the
owners of the pageant , pay 11,000 weekly for
the services of six lions , the dog Nero and
Prof. Darling , of which , of course , the pro
fessor receives the lions' share , as well , Inci
dentally , as that of the dog.
fho only railroad train out of Omoha
ruu expressly for the accommodation of
Omaha , Council Bluffs , Dos Molnes and
Chicago business is the Rock Island vos *
tlbuled limited , leaving Omaha at 4:30 :
p. m. daily. Ticket ofllco , 1002 Sixteenth
and Farnam fits. , Omaha.
THE DEVIL USED IT THEN ,
Reminiscences Connected with tbo Site of
a Now Council Bluffs Church.
< * *
HEADQUARTERS FOR ALL THE SPORTS
Perk , " the Three 'catrt Monte Man ,
and His Onmo Illsh limes
at the "Ooean )
AVave.'V
The elegant new Methodist church , now
icing reared on upper Broadway , Is a great
inprovcment over the old brick building
which was torn down to moko way for the
now. It is a still greater improvement over
ho old log structure which occupied that
very site forty years ago. The site now dedi
cated to the cause of righteousness was forty
years ago the very center nnd acknowledged
leadquwrters for the sporting characters , wheat
at that time flocked to Council Bluffs in
gangs. Council Uluffa , was then the great
outfitting point for all golng--west , and there
woio crowds of strangoi * well supplied with
noncy and movable property , enthusiastic
for speculation of any sort , excited , restless
and ready to Invest In any sort of device
which presented a seeming cbanco to make
big winnings speedily. Gamblers nnd crooks
quickly learned that' the harvest of suciters
was already ripe , and that the laborers wore
few. So they came hither in droves , Missouri
furnishing the larger part.
Everything ran free andopon. Saloons
paid no license , no attempt was made to con
trol , much less prohibit gambling , and the
world of sports held full sway , Ono who still
lives in Council Bluffs , luid ! is ono of its re
spected citizens , was-for years a bartender
in the old "Ocean Warov the saloon and
gambling house which formurly was locatfcd
on the lot.on which thouewWethodist cnurch
is being built. In talking of'tbo wonderful
changes ho naturally ran. into numerous re
miniscences. ,
"The winter of 1833 andJ3BM was the live
liest time Council Bluif * rer saw. Tbcro
were lots of days that you could hardly get
across Broadway , it would bo so crowded
with teams , cattle , etc. ' There was a great
rush for the west , and ttjero was a good deal
of rivalry between CouncilBlufts ; and Plaits'-
mouth. Tootle , Jackson & Co , use to have a
big store hero , and they uspd to send men out
on horseback to meet einigrants , and got
them to como hero. Instead of going by way
of Plattsmouth. These rnhu would go out a
hundred miles or so , .and"got big pay for
drumming up and running In the emigrants.
Tlioso wore lively days for the Bluffs.
"Talk about gambling. * The woods were
full of them , and tboy played big games too.
Mauv a time have I seen Irom & 00 to $1.500
In a pot Inthe * Old Ocean Wave. ' Then
there wore all sorts of 'suro enough' games.
They were strung along Broadway and if a
follow didn't lose all.bis money on one , an
other would be pretty 'apt.ta catch him. All
a fellow needed was a dry goods box , and ho
would sot up buslnws anywhere. There
was the three turd rooato game ,
tbo strap game , chucjc-n-luck , and all
t'K83 ' sort of thingi. 'Perk' was the
great three-card rnonto man hero that season.
Ills name was Perkins , Caud he came from
Now York. 1 donjt know what became of
him. Ho was the biggest hearted fellow I
over saw. Ho wassllck. , _ nnd would got all
the money a man baa In no time , but ho
would often k'lvo a fellow back .some , enough
to keen him from getting hungry , and that Is
moro than lots of them would tlo , I never
laughed so much in my llfo as I did to see
him perform with ouo toll , green , overgrown
Ynnkco boy from wiiy down cast. The
boy bad rigged himself out with the idea
that bo would strike Indians at almost any
tlmo or place after ho reached the Missis
sippi. Ho sauntered up to where Perkins
was throwing monte , and Perkins bognn to
Joke with him. Tbo young follow hod on old
pistol strapped to him by a belt , and on the
other side had a big bowlo knifo. Ho was
eating a largo hunk of gingerbread , and
altogether ho was a character. Perkins In
troduced the gnmo , and the young fellow got
Interested nt once. The cards were thrown
and the young follow picked out the tray
right off. Perkins expressed the greatest
surprise.
" 'Why , I never saw a man do that the flrst
tlmo in my life. If you can do that you can
make a fortune playing this game. Try it
again.1
"There was no money up , nnd they were
Just doing It for fun , and of course tbo young
fellow picked out a tray the second timo.
Perkins was apparently wonder struck. Ho
could hardly believe his own eyes.
" 'I'll tell you what I'll ' do young fellow ,
I'll just bet you & )00 ) that you can't do it
again. '
"Tho young fellow had no money , not a
cent , ho being traveling with a party with
whom his parents had sent him out.
Well , I'll ' bet you $300 against that gun
and knife , and that hunk of gingerbread , and
your hat. I'm so sure you cant do that again. '
"The young follow wus equally sure ho
could , nnd would not bellovo that the man
would put up the $ T 00. But ho did. Ho In
sisted on the young follow taking off the
belt , the old horao pistol , the knife and his
hat , and deposited them with the hunk of
gingerbread on the table , with the money.
The lookers-on could hardly uecp from roar
ing. The cards were thrown. The young
fellow smiled and picked out the card which
ho recognized by tbo cornec being a little
crumpled. The look of dlspalr which came
over that young fellow's ' face when ho saw
that ho had lost , was worth tbo price of ad
mission. Perkins gathered in the motley
collection , and the young fellow began to
blubber.
" 'I don't mind about the gingerbread , nor
the hat. I can got along without them , but
what shall I do to protect myself against the
Indians without my pistol and my knlfol
That pistol was ono my father gave mo. Ho
used to own it. Oh dear , what shall I do ! '
"While the follow sobbed and fairly
groaned , Perkins was furnishing him what
comfort ho could by talking wltli the other
boys about how close the Indians had got to
the bluffs and about rumors of fights and all
that. After having all the fun they wanted
out of the fellow , Perkins finally said to
him ;
" 'Say , young fellow , you seem to fcol so
bad , and the woods Is so full of Indians , that
Pvo concluded to give you back your things ,
on ono condition. You must promise mo
never , so long as you live , to over touch a
curd or a dice , not oven for fun. "
"Tho fellow fairly dropped on his knees to
make the pledge , and when ho took his things ,
and bis gingerbread , he shot up the road for
his camp as If thcro bad boon a whole tribe
after him , yelling the war whoocs.
"Perkins was full of fun nndwould bet
money against a man's hat , or his boots , or
anything clso , If a follow didn't have any
monoy. Then ho would devil him awhile
and glvohlm back his boots , or his shirt , or
whatever ho had got from him. Whenever
ho hoard of a poor family , or any casoof need ,
ho would give them $20 , | 30 or flO as quick as
ho would a cent Ho was always giving away
monoy.
"Among the snorts in these days who liked
a game of poker , or faro , were John
Wallace , 'Lisa Gladden , H. Johnson , II.
Barnes , who , by the way , was
the best single jumper in tbo whole
west ! and 'Sport1 Miller. Everybody hero
now knows Sport Miller. Ho went , awhile
back , to the soldiers' homo. You know , ho's
a veteran of two wars , the Mexican and the
war of the rebellion. I've ' known the time
when Sport had $7,000 In the bank. He used
to play high. Ono night when ho bad made
a big winning ho wont Into a jewelry store
and bought $ .iOO worth of Jewelry In ono
lump. Ho bought It of Bock , who was then
learning his trade and who is still In the
jewelry business hero. You have only seen
Bport as ho went around town as an old man
blacking ooou and drinking whisky. I tuli
you ho's been a clipper in his day. He's worn
his diamonds as big as anybody. I remem
ber when ho wan playing rather ngnlustlunk
that two follows , called 'Grabem' and 'Kco-
sauqua , ' were brought hero nnd staked
against Sport. They broke hn ! nnd ho never
got on his feet ngalu to amount to anything.
"You may think It strange , but with all the
drinking or gambling which wus going on
hero , there was little or no robbery or burg
lary , or anything of that sort. Fellows would
get so drunk that they would drop down on
the sidewalk and go to sleep , with hundreds
of dollars in their pockets , and no ono over
disturbed them or took a dollar from them ,
'ihoy didn't have to. They could got what
money they wanted In adilToreut way. There
were hardly any serious rows or anything of
that sort , and no murder cases.
"Fordriuksl Well , there was no lager.
It was all cream ale , brought hero from St.
Joe by the barrel , and sold at ID cents , just
the same as was charged for whislty. Noth
ing less than 15 cents for anything.
"Well , McFaddcn , who now officiates with
so much dignity as bailiff In the district
court , was ono of the boys in these early
years. Ho was the best man in these parts
m dancing a jig and playing the bones.
Deb Kusscll had a fiddle , and McFaddcn
would play the bones , and it was a great
pair. They used to got 20 for just turning a
tune or two. I know ono day these two got
( SO just playing four different saloons , Mc
Faddcn was the pot jig dancer. Ono tlmo
French Pete , from Missouri Valley , a barber
and a jig dancer , came down hero and
danced against McFadden In Babbitt's hall
for a silver mounted bolt and ? l-5 In money ,
McFadden got away with the bolt and the
money. "
The DobiiNciucnt of the 'Drama.
Tbo Kansas City Journal makes some
grave , true observations in an editorial
headed , "Scandal the Entree to the Stage. "
It says : "Mrs. Hobort Ray Hamilton follows
close after Mrs. Leslie Carter as a candidate
for success on the stago. Mrs. Hamilton was
pardoned out of the New Jersey penitentiary
last week. It will bo remembered that she
was incarcerated in that institution on ac
count of a murderous assault which she com
mitted upon a maid servant who knew too
much of her history. Mrs. Hamilton had
been a good deal of an adventuress , nnd she
succeeded In infatuating Hobort Ray Hamil
ton , who was otherwise a level-headed man ,
of good family , and an honorable gentleman.
She deceived him in more ways than one ,
and wound up by palming off upon him a
child of which ho wus not the father nor she
the mother. Shortly after this she attempted
to kill the knowing maid nnd Jersey Justice
landed her In prison. And only a few months
ago the man whom she had deceived was
drowned whUo hunting on a ranch in the far
west. Is not all this sufllclcnt to secure an
Immediate success for Mrs. Hamilton on the
stage ! She , at least , thinks to , and apparently
she had negotiated with a malinger bsforoher
release from prison. Fet when she alighted
from the train at Jersey City she was accom
panied by a middle-aged man who made tbo
following announcement to tbo reporters :
"Yes , she is going on the stage , and tu a short
tltao that is , as soon as her suit in her hus
band's ' will case is settled. She possesses
dramatic talent of n very high order , es
pecially in emotional scones. You may guosc
now she is estimated as a coming actress when
I tell you that she has offers of engagements -
ments from all over the country. Bho
Is well known In amatear theatricals ,
and the managers of several Now York
theaters who nave scon her play are now
competing to secure her for their theaters In
New York city. The elevation of the stage
is moro in the hands of the public than of the
profession. It Is Impossible to prevent women
tike Mrs. Uobert Hay Hamilton from making
public spectacles of themselves except In ono
way by a cessation of patronage. The full
houses -uhtch greet tlio the flrst actress in this
country who relied upon her scandal to fill
her purse were un invitation which other
women qulto as shameless have not been slow
to accept , When the public become ashamed
of the morbid curiosity which draws them to
the theater to see women whoso domestic In
felicities , to.put it mildly , have mndo then *
notorious , tbo stage will very promptly I o
relieved of their weight and will rise several
pegs In consequence. "
Christiana In a MKUIOIINC. ! !
Have you over thought what it must
bo to spend a Christmas day in a light
house. For fifty years my Christmases
have boon there. To you landsmen nnd
women , a snowy Chribtmas generally
moans that the dtiy is complete ; but by
the lighthouse keeper ills too often
ushered in by a northeast gale , writes
Ida Lowistho famous woman lighthouse )
keeper in the Ladies' Homo Journal. Aa
far as the eye can roach under the light ,
I BOO nothing but the fast-driving flukes ,
while the son dashes white on the rocks
and is a visitor at ray windows , knocking
noisily every few minutes. The wind
shrieks through this old house , rushes
through the lantern with a nolso llko
the shrill whistle of a steamboat fore
telling danger , and even round the doors
there is a chorus aa If an army1 of fiends
were attacking us. But with all this
against us In the elements , In my girlish
days wo had many jolly Chrlstmascs , for
wo were a largo family of boys and girls ,
and lilted , just as I do today , the pleas
ant giving and receiving of gifts , which
marks the birthday of Christ. Now ,
with only my brother Rudolph loft , we
make the day as jovial as can bo , and
my dinner with its turkey and "fixlnge"
of celery and cranberry sauce , Us mtnco
pics and plum puddings , I should llko to
ulmro with you nil.
I > r.TnlmaK 'n" Clirimnms Cheer.
In these holidays lot all the comfort
able classes exchange the Lamentations
of Jeremiah for the exultant Psaltns of'
David "Praise ye the Lord , lot everything -
thing that hath breath prnlso the Lord , "
and wo will have a different state of
things In tills country , writes Rev. T.
Dowitt Talmago in the Ladles Homo
Journal. I wlsli there might bo a con
spiracy formed I would like to belong
to it a conspiracy made up that all the
merchants nnd editors and ministers of
religion in this country agree that they
would have faith in God and talk cheer
fully , and there would bo a revival of
business immediate and tremendous and
glorious. " Stop singing Naomi and ol < i
Wlndom and give us Mount Plsgah and
Coronation , Merry Chrlstinasl
The land Is full of prophets and I have
as much right to prophesy as any ono. I
prophesy that wo are coining toward the
grandest temporal prosperity wo have
ever witnessed in this country. Me
chanics are going to have larger wages-
capitalists are going to hnvo largordivl ;
donds ; the factories that are now closed
nro going to run day and night to moot
demands ; stores are going to bo crowded
with customers jostling each other and
Impatient to got waited on. Amid the
rapid strides of business attorneys will
bo called In to Interpret legalities and
merchants overworked will want medi
cal attendance , nnd the churches are goIng -
Ing to bo abundant with men and women
anxious to consecrate their gains to the
Lord.
You prophesy midnight ! I prophesy
mltlnoon. You pitch you tent toward
universal bankruptcy ; I pitch my tent
toward national opulence ,
The now offices ol the Great Rock
Island route , 1002 Sixteenth nnd Farnam
streets , Omaha' are the finest in the city.
Call nnd BOO thorn. Tickets to all points
east at lowest rates.
Dr. Blrnoy cures catarrh , Dee bldy
A