THE DAILY BEE.
JUNE 19 , 1871. OMAHA , THURSDAY , FEBRUARY , 1SDS TWELVE 1'AGES. SING-LE OOl\r 1T1VE U13NTS.
BRIGHT SKIES IN THE WEST
The Sun of Prosperity Banishes the
Olonds of Distress.
KANSAS CITED AS AS EXAMPLE
Ilin licit of Ilclil .SuliHlnntlull )
prtMiNuil mill l.olH nf Money
1,1-fl llnril PnolH fur
CroakcTN to Crm-U.
' In the spirit of humorous hyperbole which
made him known from one end of the land
to the other during the campaign of 189G ,
William Allen White , editor of the Kmporla
Gazette , closed a speech which he nmdu at
the Commercial club's annual dinner , In
Kansas City , on December 17 , 1S97 , with
thcso u orils
"And God said , 'Let there be light , ' and
there was Kansas "
The boldness of this figure of speech ,
writes rranklln Matthews In Harper's
Weekly , may be startling when pet out by
Iteelf , but one should remember that the
imbllc men of Kansas are still In what
jnny be celled the oratorical stage the stage
of astonishing metaphors. Within two years
John J. Ingalls wrote , apparently In sober
earnest-
"Other ptates could bo spared without
irrcparabl" bereavement , but Kansas Is Indispensable -
dispensable to the Joy , the Inspiration and
thi ) Improvement of the world * lit
nr tlimctl : Is more dar/Hug and bewildering
than poetry , and the historian Is compelled
to bo economical of truth and parsimonious
In his recital of facts In order not to Impose
too great a strain upon the capacit > of
human credulity "
The cBstern Investor whtvo money was
lest In the riot of speculation that swept
over Kanr-ii In the eirly 93's or sunk
In the successive wavc-s of hard times that
followed the speculation , may be Inclined to
Invert Mr White's ligure nnd say that at
last the light which a kind 1'rovlduice In
tended should shine In the remotest parts
of the universe has reached Kansas. Th o
tame Investor , remembering only the loss
of his money , would be likely to agree with
M ? Ingalls In doclailng the arithmetic ol
Kansas more dazxllng and bewildering than
liootry. The truth Is thcio Is light In Kan-
> T sna , and It has been shining like a beacon
In the middle west ever since the enormous
crops of 1S97 wcro harvested , and it Is nlso
true that Kan&ab arithmetic has become
more bewildering than poetry since that
time , for the prosperity that those crops
brought to the farmers rends like fairy tales
nnd In ninny cases arc dazzling Ono can
form n correct opinion of Kansas and Its
people bcttoi by going to the state and by
speaking with Ita farmers , tte storekeepers ,
Us business men , Its officials and Its pro
fessional men than In any other way It
waa for this purpose that In December Inst
I visited the state and In ttita and other
articles to fo'low ' the exact truth about
XmmaB and other western states Is to be
told as it was learned after diligent In
vestigation.
One needs to be In Kansas only a fen
days to learn that the east has misunder
stood the people of the Sunflower atato as
much as the people of that state have
inlsundo-stood the east. The real people of
Kansas are no more repudlatora and cranks
than the real people of the east are shy locks
and fanatics. There Is no patent process of
arithmetic whereby the- eastern Investor
must pay losses and the western "nvcator "
must not And dccplto all that Ims been
said to the contrary , It Is easy to show trat
Kaiisas people , notwIthstandl'J the fact that
millions of eastern dollars hive been lost
and e.vallowcd up forever through reckless
ircnejlending as much as through iccklcss
moncj-borrowIng , are not only debt-i ay era ,
but among the beet debt-payers In the
country.
A RECAPITULATION.
Rcfoio producing tlguies to prove this as
set tlon , a little recapitulation of recent
e-vonts Is necessary. It was late In the SO's.
that the boom fever struck Kansas The
KOt-rlch-quIck bacteria superheated Its
Wood , and the state was soon In n delirium
To cccount for this condition DJItorVhlt
has said recently that Kansas Is so highly
educated that she Is more responsive to
psychological currents and condition * than
her sister states , and therefore has done
moro ciueer things th-m they During th
boom times It became Known that many In
vestors In the cast had been quietly making
enormous profus In the state by lending
mono ) .it high rates of Interest , forthwith
there was a rush of capital from theIMSI to
share In this prosperity. A regiment of
loan companies was foimoJ. At 010 time
there were no less than 400 of these compa
nion Adventurers In the east and In Kansas
formed many of them , It was HO easy for a
tlmo to make monej by the mere s gnlng of
notes and putting them up ns coll.toral
In your own loan company. The peo-
p'o ' of tha east showered mono/
over the state. It coldn't be Kept
out Uonuj of electric light companies , of
water works and sewer enterprises of street
o.r compinle-s , stock In banks , Investment
oompan'cs ' and what not , In places that were
more ciossroads , and In plates -that did not
j'xtst at all , wcro subscribed for.
It soon became necessary to use part of the
principal to pay the alleged high Intercut
The era of swindling began Nearly nil the
loan companies had guaranteed that was an
easy matter b'th Intc-iest and principal
Companies with capital of $50,000 p rhaps
J10000 of which \v s paid up-had guaran
tees for millions out. Thousands upon
thousands of dollars which the Kansas
farmers paid on tlu'lr loans wcro stolen de
liberately , and hundreds of lav suits over
Buch cat.es arc > et pending One ccmpany ,
according to the i port of tlio btatu bank
commissioner In 18 % , collec-ted moro th t >
? 37fi 000 from the Kansas people , and delib
erately stole It all I"orgcd satisfactions of
n ortgagcs were made out , and hundreds of
thousands of dollars wcro borrowul on them
under false pretences. Ono company did
5100,000 of such bus ness Then there wore
bogus banks. The Mcl'horson County bank
was onp of tl fc'e. Tl fr < i w s no such Insti
tution , u'ld ytfaiundieds of eastern Investors
tie-nt their money to buy its stocks and
bonds without luvcastigating the matter. The
famous CitUwis' Hank of Wli-hlta was
a veiltablo quicksand for eastern money
It wits supposed to have n cap
ital of $500,000 and a surplus of
31:00000. : It all varlahcd UKo a n\W.
Wichita's town lota end tremendous otllco
buildings out In the cornfields still icmaln.
but the mono ) Is gone. No Inveilore. ap
parent ! } wore more reckless than the easing !
banks of New Hamicihlri' , moat of which
lave since teen wrecked tecarae of their
western Investments , The variety and copt
of the sw'ridllng that grew out of this un-
Iwilness Ike way of doing business wcro HUPU
that the lank commissioner , In his report
for 1S95 , tuld :
"The list of those who have- hew robbed
by thcso rotten Institutions Is augmented ,
until tojny there Is a small army of eastern
people who believe that our state Is ( lopu-
1 att-tl with a class of cocsclenceltvs rascals
ulnvo solo business U to pro ) upon thu
jicoplo of the east , "
The eras ! ) of the boom came , with Its aw
ful wreckage In Kan MS and other ntatra ,
T.io crops wrro fair In Kansas up to that
time and even unusual as late as the year
1S92 , Then the hard times eft In. Crops
vero llu'it , the farmers t-id llttlo money to
hparo for debts and eastern Investors wcro
oilk'J upon , under ( he- double liability act ,
to put more money Into tbo ( ilate.
Some of them did to , In the
hope of saving part of whit they had In-
vcited , Most of thetu let their Investments
KO at once and took what satisfaction they
could by denouncing iho pcrvla of thu state
Indiscriminately us swindlers. Tew de
nounced themselves publicly for lending
money foolishly and fairly forcing other
I- \ people to take U. Of the nearly 400 loan
SompanUa only SOYCO survived. They were
thoeo that had refused to guarantee Interest
nnd prlnc'tml. They oilcl lower luterest
than the companies which went down. In
stead of paying 10 nnd 12 per cent , they paid
only 8 and 10. They received only 2 per
cent commission for placing loans , Instead
of 4 per cent. Oac of these surviving com
panies actually kept (50,000 belonging to n
Philadelphia clergyman money that he In
sisted on Investing at hUh Mtco In Kansas
from Apt 11 to August and then sent It
back to him Ono easily understands now
how these seven com.antes survived They
did business on business nrln lplcs
All business was prostrated. Money storied
coming In. Some of the swindlers rent
forged papers iust and then oloadcd for
tlmo In liquidation , hoping to escape nrosc-
cutlon thro'igh the statute at limitations
which provided thai two years was the limit
of time In which action In such cases could
be taken. Thousands upon thousands of
faniKTs had laid tl elr just debts , but the
money had never reached the cast Kastcra
Investors were called upon to pay a double
liability and westarn farmers were called
upon to pay a secccid time debt money an 1
then cat'.i sldo began toMil the other
names The eastern men called the western
men "rcpudlators , " and the western men
called the eastern men "shylocl.s , " "heart
less money barons" and other things
and meanwhile a small army of
swindlers and adventurers , scino
of whom had sprung Up In Kansas Itaelf and
come of wlio.n bid hurried to the state to
, ilav their game , went scurrjlng here and
( bore , to make nvvny with their Ill-gotten
( noils , or to csrapo the wrath of the raging
lasicin Investors or the swindled western
farmer.
Tno political demagogue tlicn grew and
nourished ns a nntuial oatcomo of all this
Ho went up nnd dcwn the country telllnr
the farmers th.it the WM.IC of the east vvcto
not us other men , that there was no pa-
triotls middle clas.j In t'.ie cast , that we
. ' .etc all mlllloLulicfl or pau > cis , that a man
who had nionoj wns , the ratural enemy of
those who had been unfortunate ; that the
way to remedy the evils was to elect him
to office And the people of the east tcid
these appeals and began to bsllcvo asrer-
tlons that were also unjust , to the effect that
fie pctnlo of KanMs wire dishonest in splnt
that they were practical y a'l cranks , that
they did not believe in debt pajlng , trat
thej were volatile and follrv ers after every
new bauble aic } foible that came up that
they were ti d\jrace | to American principles
and America i spirit.
Men in the cast ral ed their hands and
cried "Can cn > good thing como out of
Kans. B ? "
Men In Kansas lifted their voices H reply ,
and shouted "Have the men of the east
anj god but mo-oy' "
ItUCORD-URCAKING CROP.
So the misunderstanding continued until
the great crops of 18J7 came alemg and
spread a blanket of pro perltj all over the
e > : -Ue. The effect has been like .1 refreshing
sleep to a strong but ph > 6ically exhausted
man. The state has awakened In good hu
mor. It lies ceased to rail at the east. It
Is eager to pay Its debts. It even has
monej of Us own to loin. It wanU the c-tst
to change Ita views to eome extent also. It
wants a hearing to sliow that It Is not n
community of cranks and repudlators , and
It has someflguics such as have never been
printed before to prove It
In my Investigations as to theincroaoo
of business In Kansas I had occasion to
v sit Hank Commissioner Breldcntral. I
nif d Mm | f there wi'fl anj pubic data re
garding eastern Investment * ) and the amount
of money that had been lost and paid on
t PIP He said that there was ro official
compilation of such matters , and that the
matter of mortgage Indebtedness could only
bo bscured l > y a laborious correspondence
with county officials The United States
census for 1S10 had given the total amount
of mortgage Indebtedness , but exact figures
since that tlmo could not be secured. Mr.
Brcldenthal's entliu business and official
life has been taken up with such matters ,
and he volunteered some data fcom Ills own
Information and experience , which he said
could not bo disputed by any well-informed
person.
Reforo giving this data It would be well
to recall that Mr. Drcldenthal Is the man ,
who although the head of the populist party
lu Kansas at the time , proclaimed , to the
burprlso of all , early last summer , that
prosperity had come to the state , and thus
crnfounded calamity howler It was the
first authentic news regarding the matter
from the state. Mr. Breldenthal was broadminded -
minded and fair-minded enough not only
to tell the whole truth about the matter ,
regardless of politics and political effect ,
but to spread the matter broadcast through
out t'.ie land. Ho Flrn.ly wanted the truth
about Kansas known. It Is also only fair
to day that before , -oIng to see Mr Drcld-
enthtil I had the minion of him that has
been prevalent somev hat In the east , tlat
he was a smirt political manipulator and In
triguer. After lcs l than half an hour's con-
vc-rsatlrn with him I be an to change my
mind and to bellcvu tint in many things ho
had been misrepresented Hefore leaving
him I became convinced that he had neither
hcofs nor horns and that although we dis
agreed oollttcally , ho was honest , capable
amd straightforward Id thought and actlm.
To make sure that mj Itrnrftsslon of him
was correct I went to the political leaders
opposed to him , to the best Known mem-
liois of the bar In Topcka , to editors In
various cities nnd tovsns. to merchants ,
bankers and farmers and It Is o pleasure
to give the Invariable answer to my In
quiries ns to Mr , Urcldenthal's character
and trustworthiness. Summed ip It was-
"TJiero la no moro honomblo iron , no fairer
political antagonist , no more patriotic citi
zen In Kansas tlnn John W Ilroldenthal
You may depend on any flgures ho gives
you absolutclj , "
THI3 PACTS.
Sono persons may regard this as exag
geration and It may bo something of a sur-
[ > rho to Mr. Drcldenthal hlms , If , who has
liad to bear his share of nttacl : 1" polit'cs ' ,
to know what his fellow-citizens ro lly
think of him , but I challenge any contradic
tion of my assertion that his reputation at
homo Is ns I have given It. There Is a very
simple reason for this It Is brciuso the
point I wish to make about Kans s debt-
liaylng depends upon figures that Mr
Ilreldenthal gava me. It Is his business to
\lslt every state bank In the commonwealth.
Ills own loan company was one of tha seven
that did n&t go down In the wreck following
the boom. He lian went all lilt , life In the
atmospheie of loans and Investments and
his friends an I political enemies asset t that
no man In Kansas Is more coirnctcnt , by
reason of his olllclal place and personal ex
perience , to talk of mortgage Indebtedness
In ttio state
Mr Rteldontbal'a figures go back twenty
jears and arc divided Into periods of five
> cars cocli , the aveiage tlmo of Kansas loans
Trom 1S7S to 1S82 Inclusive he estimate ) , the
average Kausis mortgage- Indebtedness at
50,000,000 and the avfingo interest from S
to 10 < icr cent ; fiom 1SS > 3 to 1S87 average In
debtedness $100,000,000 , with the Interest
from 7 to S mr cent ; from 1SSS to 1S92 , In
debtedness $ . ' 00,000,000 , with Interest from
C to 8 per cent : from IS'13 to 1897 , Indebted-
nets $150,000.000 , with Interest frcm C to S
lier cent The average Indebtedness for all
these twenty ) cars wzo $125,000.000 a voar
and the average InU"est during these twenty
jearti was 7 per cent Mr. Hrcldenthal esti
mates that the total losses to eastern In
vestors during these twenty years was $25-
000,000 , but eijs that there was paid on the
average Indebtcdnets of $125,000,090 a jear
Interest tliat averaged 7 rcr cent. In other
words , Kansas paid to eastern Investors an
nnnual nvcrago lotorcet on all Investments
for twenty jears nf $8750,000 $ and the total
amount of Interest paid In twenty jears was
the enormous sum of $175,000,000 on a orln
clpal that aggregated In that tlmo $500,000-
000 , The avetago population at this tlmo
was 1,200,000 and the jearly Interest actually
paid to eastern Investors was n llttlo more
than $7 for every man women and child ,
while ( ho total Intuinit paid for the twenty
jearn amounted to near I j $146 for every In
habitant , Ttio United States census
for Ib90 eave the entire * mortgage in-
debtedncu ; of Kaunas tor that } car
as $210,000.000 , but that Included
all kinds of mortgages , and made no distinc
tions between these from the east and these
of the west's own making Mr , 'Ureldentbal '
says that reports ami figured tent to him
show that since 1S90 K < nsna has paid n
less than $150,000.000 of her mortgage- debt
leaving $90000,000 to be accounted for , ac
cording 1o the figures of the federal census
Ho sajs that since 1S90 there havebcei
foreclosures amounting to $40.000,000 , an
that on April 1 , 1S9S , the mortgage Indebted
ntss of the state will be only $50,000,000
although the average Indebtedneis for tw nt >
K > rs up to the same date has been $125000 ,
000.
000.Here
Here Is the summary which Mr. Rrelden
thai makes of his figures- Total foreclosure
In the twenty jears. $50000.000 ; estlmatei
absolute loss In twenty years , $25,000,000 $
total Interest paid deducting the tital IDE :
of $25,000 000 , $150 000 000. The net sum pah
despite losses th'te'ore , Is 6 per cent of the
cutlro Investment
DEUTS PAID ,
In other words , although no less that
$23,000,000 have been lost outright to wsten
Invcstorc In Kansas niorlp gcs the aggre
gate of such Indobt dncss has been reduce !
from $125,000,000 to $30,000,000 and through
out nil the hard times the sttte has paUi
actually paid , upon Us mortgages good
bad and Indifferent the average Interest o
C per cent. Of course these figures ' .pply
only to the mortgages of the state- Involving
eastern'money. They canrot npply to fie
wild-cat Investments In municipal sccurltlci
that secured ncthlng except an easy way o
making ironey for the "promoters "
To fie eastern Investor who lost nil ho
sent to Kant , s tin so figures of thrift am
of evident desire to pay one's ' t'ebts maj have
a mocking sound , but , tak n as n whole , they
make a showing that Is not to the dlscrcdl
of Kansas conslde-lna ; the temptations to
which she was subjected In the matter o
reckless money borrowing. As illustrating
the filling of b tte-nesa nd the mlsund-i-
standlnga on bot'i ' sli's In this matter o
Kansas Investments I print here , omitting
names , the letter of a clerk In Connecticut
to the cabhler of a Kansis bank , and for
warded by the cashier to Dank Conimlsslonei
IlrcldentLal
Conn , July 7. 1 97. Djar Sir. 1
have > our letter of June 21 ultimo and am
not at all surprised at the appein-ticc of the
new- page turned In the history of jour
buik. It Is like all the rest that has gene
before a shameless hls'ory. carried on b >
shamolebs men It Is like the inception of
the bank , like the acts of It.j promoters , like
the acts of these who foisted the stock upon
the cast , like- Kansas < inJ Kaiibas people. It
Is y. unlmio liUtory , too , in that It shows a
keen foresight In the selection of these
who pi > and those who have gone frc ° 1m
Kansas , I suppose. It is called "financler-
Ine. " Here wo give a thirg ) that Is founded
upon deceit In the beginning and repudia
tion In the end another name However , 1
biipposo jou cannot help It. There must bo
something In the air that > ou bre'ithe In
jour God-forsaken state that fosters and
nurture * tie freebooter spirit.
If It is not asking too much , I would llko
to know who secured the passage of tha !
act of your legislature by which jou have
the pov.er given jou to further pluck jour
stockholders ? Did the "statesmen" of Knn-
ffas , the members of the legislature them-
selveo , create and carry to completion this
act , or d'd ' the batiks themselves see one
moro way In which thy could get at Iho
pockets already depleted but pcrhapa not
entirely cmptj ? What part did ths
bank toke In this feat cf western engineer
ing ?
I cannot attend jour meeting , and would
not If I could. I have no desire to see a
poor farce poorly plajed and as for sendlrc
a proxjI would see jou and all the other
members of the management of fae. bank In
the lowest depths of hell baforo 1 would 'put
my name to anj paper that would aH jou
In jour nefarious schemes and I would cer
tainly prevent any member ot my family
from signing such a paper.
I was through join state recently and
was disappointed In seeing It looking so
well. I had hoped to sea nothing but deso
lation. However , It Is earlv jet and there
Is still time for the hot wlnda to b'ast ' and
destroy. I wish for ; o ir whole state nnd
people nothing but distress , but failure , but
utter bankruptcy. When that blessed time
and condition comes to jou I bhall feel that
we . .re getting- oven with you , and when you
are blcttcd out altogether , so that nothing
remains but the unsavory name of jour foul
state , I shall feel that the mill that has
ground slowly has at last ground not only
line but well. Very truly jours , .
SCALING DOWN NCCDSSARY.
This letter was written bj a man who
protably had put his entire savings and also
bomo of his wife's moiey Into bank stock
In a little town. He was called upon to pay ,
like all other stockholders cast or west , an r.s-
sessment on his stock under the double lia
bility act. It piobably became necessary to
scale down some of the debta of the bank
under the new law which has put Kansas
binks upon a business like and safe basis.
The letter , although of cxnggerated tjpe , Is
Illustrative of the brands that 'jave been flyIng -
Ing back and forth from cast to west , in
flaming the nngrj leellngs between the two
regions and showing the extent to which
men will go men of Intelligence , too when
their money has been lost In such financier
ing os swept over Kansas. There Is another
side to tns ! eastern feeling aiid It Is one that
Mr. Dreldenthal , with some show of pride ,
p'aced ' opposite this letter from the Con
necticut man. Ho quoted from the report for
1895 of the bank commissioner of Now Hamp
shire , the state tint was almost as aorely
chastened as Kansas in the riot of specula
tion , That report said , under the head of
"Western Investments , " nnd speaking par
ticularly of Kansas Investments :
"Tho losses thus far have been largely
from classes of Investments that would have
proved disastrous whatever might have been
the condition of the west. "
In other words , ttierc Is the testimony of
the upresentatlvo of the chief sufferers of
the exist , the Now Hampshire farmers and
wage earners , that It was the epeculatlvo
Kill It and not the condition of Kansas anil
Us agriculture that brought ruin In Us wake ,
There may bo Inquiry as to how Kansas
could pay off so much of her mortgage In
debtedness since 1S99. Ono reason Is that
n change In tlio law In tint year gave the
mortgagc-o the privilege of pajlng oft a mort
gage In Instalments of $100 , or multiples of
tiiat bum and thousands ot farmers availed
themselves of that privilege and this jcar
will see tholr farms clear desplto the hard
times. But how did tl'cy get the money ,
oven In Hie small sums ? The answer Is found
In the amazing productiveness of Kansas
slnco 1S90 , notwithstanding the crop failures
The State Agricultural department's flguieH
show that slnco IS'iO the farmers ot the
state have raised id crops and live stock
nearly $2,000,000,000 worth of produce. The
value ot those seven years of produce Is more
than the national debt of the United States.
Thegiand totf 1 for 1897 Is put at $ ,230,000,000.
In 1S90 It was $325,000,000 ; J891 , $257,000,000 ,
1&92 It wns $273,000,000 ; 1S93 It was $220-
000.000 ; U94 , $192,000,000 ; 1893 , $201,000,000 ;
1S9C , $189,000,000 ; total , omitting all but
general figures , $1,917,000000 , The product
of Kansas farms for 1897 was $41,000,000
moro than In 189C , end of this Increase $15-
000,000 was In corn , wheat and oats.
Another article will deal with this Increase
In wealth and what It has meant to Kansas ,
To show that Kansas people are not re-
pudlators her partisans point to the fact
that one time , owing to legislation Intended
to give encouragement to farmers , nearly
50 per cent of the people of the state were
exempt from the payment of obligations.
These exemptions included farm utensils
and other things of ncce&slty on the farm
and in cases where judgments were taken
there was llttlo or nothing that could be
attached In payment. Despite Uiebo ex
emptions Kansas people say that not 10
per cent of these legally exempt from obli
gations availed themselves of their lawful
ilfhtu. Mr. Ureldcnthal says that as bank
commissioner ho finds In every part ot the
state men who prefer to pay their debts out
right rather than extend their mortgages
and buy moro land or make Improvements
on their holdings. Supplementing Mr.
Drcldenthal's statements , I am at liberty to
( luoto what Major Hoo.l , president of the
leading bank In Kmporla , one of tbo men
most prominently mentioned for the re
publican nomination for governor at the
next election , when the republicans expect
to win , Kald to moot Kansas debts and debt ,
paying :
"I have lived here. " said Major Hood ,
"twenty- years and have been la the
banking business most or that time , nnd In
all my experience I have never seen such
a desire to pay debte * nd such a result In
debt-paying In this slate as wo have had
lu 1897. "
Further testimony as to Kansas debt-
paying lies In the fact that In Kansas , ns
In Nebraskt nnd other states of the middle
west , the loan buMnfcsi , n/t It was formerly
conducted , Is over. Huriflreds of thousands
of dollars of eastern morioy have been sent
back slnco last fall''because ' there was no
market for It. Only Vcccfatly a bank olllclal
In central New York tc fclvc.l letters of In
quiry from Kansas Asking aa to the value
ot certain Iturstmrtils , "Some persons In
Kansas had money to tdnd In the east. It Is
a fact beyond disptUo' that western mort
gages arc being palijofT far In advance of
maturity. Ono ngcnt oa loan company told
mo that from the Jejt alone returns on
miniatured loans were coming In at his office
at the rate of $50,000nj week faster than he
could put out the mdiey"agaln , He said he
nas simply sending } back all the eoptcrn
money that was conilng to him. He could
not find a market 'even for his western
money.
In view of these faqts I think It Is fair to
say that the present aim ot Kansas Is to
get out of debt nnd that she Is getting out
of debt irarvclously fast , considering what
she has had to contend ngatnst In the mat
ter of bad reputation and hard times. When
wo analyro the extent of the prosperity tint
came to the Rtate In 1S97 , as we shall In
another article , I think It will be agreed
Ly all reasonable persons that It Is not a
capo of special pleading to argue that Kin-
sss people arc not only excellent debt-
pajcrs , but among the best debt-payers In
the country , and especially so when we remember -
member the temptation she had to borrow
recklessly ,
Truly there Is light In Kansas now , and
when one considers what she has done In
twenty years ho may say that Mr. Ingalls ,
for once In his life1 , did not exaggerate
when he nald that her arithmetic was be
wildering.
ins SHnoiv i\sn.v nmcciiMiu.i : .
Mr. Ground HOK I'lelta u llrlul't "tt'ln-
< rj I ) j < < > I.iinU Aliinil Him.
That dear old creature of fiction the
ground hog , wandered out of his hole yerter
day morn'ng ' , according to the rules laid down
In tradition and after taking a Eiilft of Iho
wintry wind tint blew by him , and seeing
o. good rcpresen a'lon ' of his personal ftp
pcaranco In his shadow oil the ground , ha
hunle'l back to his hole Ho did not have
any trouble whatever In psrcchlng his
shadow , and concluded that we were due for
about sx weeks more'of wintry weather.
If there Is any reliability to bo placed In
the ground hog theory then Omahans mus
need look after their supply of hard coi
ii.doors and keep coverings on their tars
oatdcois during the next six wccKp. Hut
there arc thcso Incredulous folk who Paj
that William Tell never saw an apple , that
George Washington did not chop down anj
cherry tree , that thirteen Is not an unlucKj
number an 1 that there Is no truth In the
story about the. six weeks ot winter that
follow- the sight of his shadow by Mr
Ground Hog. Whether wo may p'aco ' any
credence In the myth during the last year
of the century we shall soon know , for un
less Mr. Ground Hog was blindly intoxicated
ho could not miss seeing his own shadow
today.
I1UATI1 OF A I'l'ONEUIl GEItll IX
lleiirj IliiKcr , I.oil } ? u rif.sldcilt of
Oinnliu , Silcc-iliiiliK
Henry Ruser , one of'the most prominent
German residents of pmiha and a pioneer
pettier , died Tuesday night at his residence
on Center street In nusor'e park. lie" was
about 53 years of age and Is survived by his
widow and several children Mrs. Iluser was
bJs second wife.
During the fall of 1S.C8 Mr. Kuser came to
Omaha from Holstoln In Germany , his native
place. For a number of years he conducted
the old Valley- hotel , selling out that Inter
est finally to take pasutssion of the Center
street property , which comprises aboul
eighteen acres. There he finally established
the summer garden Vhlch has since become
a famous resoit for the German element of
Omaha.
The funeral will take place Saturday after
noon from the family res denco at 2 o'clock
and the boJy will be Interred In Evergreen
cemetery.
YOUXJ icu cuTTUii nuowMsn.
C. C. Sm cr I.onf + l III Mfe In J > e > -
inoiir Lake.
C. C. Sawyer , an Ice cutter employed by
the Cudahy Packing company at Seymour
park , was found drowned In the lake shortly
after 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon. Foreman
Smith an * his gang went to work on the Ice
In the morning , but as the weather proved too
severe , ho ordered thctn to quit. Sawyei
was among the men at that time , but about
noon he was mlr > sod A search was Insti
tuted and his body was found In the lake
near an opening where the men had been
working the day previous.
Sawyer was a yquns man not over 20
years of age. Ho haa worked for the com-
fiany but a shorftlmo and Is but little
icnovvn. It Is thought ho has no relatives
living In this vicinity. The body was taken
in charge by Coroner Swanson , who will
jold an Inquest today ,
Oniiihit Curlliiiv Cluli
OMAHA , Feb. 2. To the Editor of The
nee : The game of curling Is an exceed
ngly "slippery" one , and the rink carrying
all the honors tojav may for some cause or
other be low down In the valley of humlla-
tlon tomorrow. A steady nerve Is neces
sary , and a good digestion , for a llttlo
'out of sorts" puts the curler out of taking
good shots Perhaps ho has had to walk
the lloor the night before to soothe baby ,
who Is cutting his teeth , nnd , losing sleep ,
10 caw do nothing right , and , especially ,
Bond his curling stones straight up the
co ; or perhaps his beefsteak at breakfast
lad not been done to a turn which woulu
iavo o silmlar effect. The rinks at the
present time , however , at this Interesting
itage of the club's existence , are being
changed cevry day , and this , possibly , has
n good deal to do In causing the honors to
go round. Yesterday two rinks played from
0 a. m. to 0 p , m'completing two games ,
ho rink ot which William Agnevvwas
skip , winning both gaines from 1' . I. . For-
pan's rink , The Scores were 21 to lit aiil
n to 18. Mr. AKnew'fj rink was made up
of himself and Messrs. George Anderson ,
George Dodds and William Rutherford and
Mr , Fargan's of himself and RobcA 13.
'atrlck , Hobert Melvln and A. C. Troup.
The club plays again on Thursday , begin-
ling at 0 o'clock. U , P.
Ilulp from Ilfll' .MIxNlou.
The Christian Help unlsslon management
ubmlts this monthly statement Throe hun-
red and thirty-two garfnents distributed and
orty-nlno pairs ot , 'ehoes , twenty-seven
baskets of food and two sacks of flour. 150
rce baths and 997 meals ; $9321 hus been
ocelvcd and $89.07 pslil out for foods , labor ,
mprovements , etc$5,14 : on hand. A Suh-
lay school of eighty puolls Is held each
Sunday morning at 10 o'clock Goajel serv-
ces Sunday , Tuokd-sy/Krltfay ami Saturday
lights , temperance pn Wednesday evenings ;
olco culture and correct English pronuncla-
Ion on Thursday evening Among thu
loners arcear the names of Orchard ft Wll-
elra , Kelley & Stlger , Carter Hardware com
pany Milton Hogcrs Ss Sons , Boston Store ,
1 II Ullts , Hajul'ii nros. , J. M Johns n.
Jlectrle Msht conwany. Wolfe Ulestrlcil
company , Industr'al Iron works , U , S Supply
cm. any , Crane-CburCiilll company and many
thers.
CHI-UIHI llnil n "Mi-rrj Tlnii-
John Curleon uniuseit himself at the ex-
cnse of a siloon keeper on Nor'h Sixteenth
trccts by dancingJlfc'H nnd raising a "rough
ouse" In front of the bar. He then ad
journed to the sidewalk und was Indus
triously trundling beer Ift' Inti ITC street ,
when he accidentally bowled one Into un
olllcer who was pausing" Tor this Carlson
vvns locked up. Judge Goidon lined him $3
and costs , which he will work out with the
Direct cleaning1
\YOKK \ OF THE CITY ENGINEER
Department that Eos to Do with City's
Thoroughfares.
ANNUAL REPORT OF ANDREW ROSEWATER
DlNoiivxIcin of ( lip Prob
lem i of Muiileliml KiiKhu-orltiK ,
with DrtnlN of the
Summer
The report of City nngtnccr UoscwiUcr
for 1808 presents one ot the most complete
and Interesting discussions of municipal Im
provements that has been tiled In this city
In jears. Aside from furnishing complete
and detailed Information In regard to what
has been accomplished during the year the
report Includes an exhaustive discussion of
asphalt paving nnd the Improvements that
have been made In this species of public
work during the last few years.
In the beginning the city engineer calls
attention to the difficulty which wns en
countered when the new administration as-
humcd control last May on account ot the
loose methods which had previously pre
vailed. It required fully a month to reor
ganize the department and the bulk of the
moro expensive work could not bo begun
until October He says
In viewof this It Is gratifying to note bow
much vvns accomplished In the rimilnlnj ,
three months , during which time over -S > .wj
Hciuarc vards of asphalt , 1S.IKO yards of
pciimre brick and 2bOoO sqtiue yards ot
macadam weie lild , UFKreBiitlnn ; thr e nmi
two-tilrd mlleg In ling-tli , nt u cost exceed
ing S T.OCO. In addition to thK one nnd one-
third miles of nitlllclnl stone sidewalks.
eighty -one liumlreclths of n mile of brlelc
walk , two and font-tenths inllt oC woodfii
walks , und eighty-three hundredth miles oC
sewers were constructed between June > na
J.-uimiiy 1. Besides this , two nnd tiree-
fourlhs mlles of private sewei connections
weie laid In compllince with nppiovecl
plans and in conformity with stakes brt
by the engineering dcpirtment. The total
nrcregnte contl.act work completed iiml'i-
directions of th" engineering department
fiom Juno 1 to January 1 , as will be seen
by refeience to the accompanying impjrs ,
exceeds SICC.CCO , nn.l . there Is n bounce of
work under contiact and In Incomplete
state , which will aggregate In cost $ . S.-1CO
Work upon this will bo resumed
111 admit Tubu
pathcr
us soon as spring w w
lated details ot all contract woik aie sub
mitted with this report.
CHOICE OF PAVING MATERIAL.
This Is followed by the discussion , ot
portion of the report , and then a section
portlcn of tbo report and then n scetion
Is devoted to brick , which , next to asrirnlt ,
Mr. Rosewater believes will be lu dcnnnd
as a material capable ot developing a
smooth surface and good wealing email-
ties for flipt-class tralllc stieets He ad
vises that future specifications should call
for the best quality of rep-cs-ed pavln , "
brick like thoss recently laid by the Union
Pacillc Railnnd company on South Four
teenth street. . . .
In connection with the question ot what
measures shall be taken to maintain asphalt
pavements after the guaranty period has
expired , Mr. Rosewater repeats his sug
gestion prov lously made , that the expcnso
should be provided for by a special tax
against the property benefited nnd not
made a charge on the entile city. This
proceeding Is authorized by section 1GJ ot
the chnrter.
The sewer question Is discussed at some
length. It Is siated that ttie city now has
117 miles of sewers , representing an Invest
ment of $1,750,000. The large malna arc ot
brick and have been In use from twelve to
twenty years In some places the grades of
the streets have been raised as much as
thirty feet since the malas were built , and
the excessive additional pressure ras produced
radical distortions In the sewers , making
them ready to collatiso at any moment Other
sections have become much worn by the ac
tion cf debris and other i-npedlmcnts , and
neglect to attend to these repairs may have
dl'ostrous consequences. Tile present ccti-
dltion of the sewers Is Illustiated by a nan-
togrcph designed by As'lstant City engineer
Stenger , a glance at which convoys all the
details of their dangerous condition.
Under the head ot viaducts Mr. Rosewater
ag-vln calls attention to the fact that the Sl\-
tetcith street viaduct has long ago reached
the limit of safety , and although It haa been
latched up as well as It was possible , It will
bo neJcbEary to keep a man on the viaduct
at all times to prevent fast driving and 10-
port now defects If It Is to bo used witb
safety through the season ,
An appendix contains a detailed statemcut
of the condition of the main sewers.
IIOAHI ) OP i"lTlllIC IVOIlKb Ii
Ha illy llnnillcaiincil liv fin
fif I < I'ri'clc'oomor.
The annual report of the Board of Pub
lic Works deals with the detall.s of street
work under the present administration and
also presents such facts as are obtain
able In regard to what had been done by
the previous administration during that
part of the year previous to May 20 It
Is stated that In the beginning the present
board was seriously embarrassed by the
neglect of Its predecessor to furnish any
detailed statement of the condition of ac
counts or the status of work In the depart
ment. In this connection it says-
We found at the outset u largo force ot
men scattered In different portions of the
city claiming to bo engaged under various
foremen ; rtlsa others ) with claims for thou-
bancls of ynrds of dirt , estimated by the
board at one and one-hnif yards to the
load , wit lout any other evidence ns to the
coriectncss of the claim tlmn n certlllcatp
of a foiemail , that each load WHS one nnd
one-rmlf yards. The englnceis had evi
dently not been called In to measuio the
eirth that was thus purchased , With no
contrary evidence and with tbo claims
sworn to tis provided by the charter , the
board could not do otherwise tiiin allow
the claim. No grading has been done , how
ever , under this bonrd bv the load , or con
tracted for by the- yard without being cross.
Houtloned by the cnalneerlnK department BO
that an exact estimate of the quantity
handled could bo obtained. Tnree gangH
ot men were employed fit the tlmo of our
entry Into olllce. In the lepalr of wooden
sidewalks. One of thepo Knngs VV.IH dis
missed In n few days , and the othei two
wcro dispensed with within two months
The practice of keeping- large number of
KiingH upon the streetu , repairing sldewnlkH
und taxing property for Hueh ufTnlir was
extremely objectionable In view of constant
crroia made by them In return of descrip
tions of properly In front of which such
repairs wore made. The result was n con-
.Imioua stream of people In the engineer's
olllce , protesting against taxes ranging from
23 to 7u cents , which cost the clly more
noncy In time devoted to preparation of tnx
cvlrs , and Investigating their correctness
itid explaining to protcstants than the
work Itself amounted to The ron-
sti notion of wooden sidewalks , which
nul been conducted on n lurjro scale under
annual contracts and In pursuance of con
current re-solutions of the mayor and coun
cil , have also been the ncource of a great
leal of constant tioublo In outlying dis
tricts pait of sidewalks , nnd sometimes
ntlro sldowalkH , wtie carried away by
lobody- knows whom planks were taken up
luring the winter benson. so that they were
eft In dangerous condition , requiring con
stant attention , iiml the council committee
neetlngs wcro regularly attended by clilm-
nts for damages , through broken legs or
llsloc.iti'cl arms or otherwlho upon sj-cal'ed '
lefectlve sidewalks , The chairman of this
jounl , In view of this , prepared tin or < ll-
mnco early In the summer with the as
sistance of tie city attorney , abrogating tlio
'urther ' c-Jiistructlon of wooden sidewalks
within the city llmltf. Tills oidlnnnce was
udopted by the council , and approved by the
mayor , and while temporarily causing moro
or lci > s Inconvenience , It cannot fall to brlni ;
about n more dcslrab'o and better system
> f ttldownlk construction , As will bo i > een
) > the tubulated data accompanying thu
engineer's n port , the effect of thin nolle } '
as o tldowalks Is already marked , tliougi
n operation comparatively but a few
nonths. Out of sixteen miles of sidewalk
onstruc-'ed ' under public and private con-
ract , all but two nnd three-fourths are of
brick , stone or artificial stone.
The question of street repairs Js very
thoroughly covered , especially In regard to
tlio Improved system of drainage by which
Iho streets have been put In euch condition
that expensive washouts are largely pre
vented.
In conclusion it states that contracts have
now been lot for invlng amounting to ? 7fi-
000 and urges the property owners to co
operate with the board to secure such pav
ing as is required by filing their pctlt'ons '
at the earliest pceslblp time. The statisti
cal summaiy of the work of the board Is the
following-
January to Mny 29 to
Work. Mny 20 , December 31.
Street department . . JH.OH CO fJl 02110
P-nver dcpirtmcnt . . 2.011 4 < 7-117 SI
Street clcnnlng- < , W 02 9,14 M
Prisoners .IRS CO MM 40
In pectors 1W6 2 71T U-'i
Sldewnlk repilrs . . . . 4V 7S 2.RKMS
Olllco 3.135 01 Si-Till
Election Inotlm < ! > ! OS
Curbing tvpilra 2.111
$31,151 30 $41,377 OS
31,151 .VI
Totnl . f2J2CI2 71
PERMITS ISSUID DUUINO iw ,
Opening Streets
Number of water connections nnd rc-
p.alis . 427
Number of 'ewer connections und rc-
I pairs . 249
1 Number of gis : main comoctlons and
I repairs . CM
, Number of w liter compiny connections
I nnd repairs . 132
'
Totnl . MM
January to Mnv , under former ml-
mlnlMralloii . TrY ]
Jl iv 15 to December 31 , unltr present
administration . B"3
Total
I'KHMITS TO L.AY
January to Mav 20 , under former ncl-
mlnlstiatlon . . . 130
Mav 20 to December 31 , under pieseiit
admlnlstintlon . . . h' > 9
Totnl . GJS
Note HIP sum ot $ l,4fiij was icoelvod bv
thp city treasurer for pTinlts for opening
streetb for connections vlth main or ro.-mlts
to water , sewer \ml gas | Ipcs.
Or. IsM , N'o. 1.117
MONTHLY mill \UY IIIH.I.P.TIN.
rislillcnf ion of I'mit-r Iti'suiiH'il lii-
tfi-i-stluu Nliliiut < in Information
The publication of the monthly bulletin of
the Omaha Public llbinrj lasbien resumed
with the Issue of a number for Kebiuary.
Just out. This number con'alns book lists
- - and Lincoln
of works lelating to Wo-hlngto-i
coln , both of whoso blrtlu'ays are celsbrated
this month , giving titles and . 'licit number * ,
of dlfteicnt editions of tholr writings , their
biographies and tl Unites to their mc-moiies
Some Interesting Information la also pre
sented ics.iectlng Washington mementoes
rnd curlew In the Myron Reed collection ,
which belongs to the library , nnd Is ilally
open to the public In the library building
George Washington Is icprcbcntcd In the
Djron Reed collection by about thirty coins ,
a number of medals and beveral auto iaph
letters The earliest Washington pieces are
the "Washington and Independence" tokens
Thcso were made In England In 17ST and
were never extensively circulated In Amer
ica. Thrco varieties of this token , the
draped bust , the unity states and the double-
headed cent , are in the co'lectlo i. Belong
ing to the faame period Is a small braEs
token bearing on ono sldo Washington's
bust and his name and on the other "Suc-
cccs to the United States , . "
When a national coinage was dovlecd the
European custom of p'acing ' the head ot a
king on the coin ot the realm of course sug
gested the Idea of placing the bust of Wash
ington on the American coins This Idea
led to the production of the Washington
cents of 1791 , which are now so highly
prized ns numismatic treasures The Byron
Reed collection has two vatlctles of this
cent , the largo eagle and the small eagle
During the next year , 1792 , some small sl1-
ver coins were Issued. These coins , called
a dlsmo and half dlsme , bear tl.o legend
"Liberty Patent of Science and Industry , "
and the latter , the Martha. Washington half
dlsme , Is said to have been struck from
Washington's family plate There are also i
eomc copper coins of the same year and n
very rare Mlver piece , a Washington half
dollar , which was btruck from the same die.
Ihlb coin brought a handsome price In isr > ' ) ,
no less than $ r > 7 , and is now worth a much
larger sum of money.
Among tLo coins of later date the most j
interesting lb the Washington giate ceni
It is a coiner tolton made In Kng' ncl in '
1795 and has lnrcrlb ° d around the bust of i
Washington the wortlb "G Washington , the
firm friend to peace and tiumanity " !
Several autogrroh letters ot Washington nn j
also to be found In the Hyron Reed room. In
cne of these from Mount Vcinan , dated
March B , 17RC , Washington declines to employ
felons from the public gael The mast In
teresting manuscript Is ono ot his famous
letteis to congress It ehowa signs ot ago
and Is somewhat soiled , but can .still be I '
easily read. Dated December 14 1777 , from
his "Headquarters near the Gulph , " It tells
of nn encounter with 4OuO men under Lord
Cornwallls acid also mentions a letter horn
Jlurgoyne , In which the general asks per
mission to embark his trociis at Rhode
Island.
A ledger kept by Washington's secretary ,
Tobias Lear , vv'ille Washington had the
fishery and distillery at .Mount Vernon In
1799 , was bougnt by Mr. Ree < l for $110
not long before his death It contains iii iiy
curious Items and several of Washington's
signatures.
Mil. HUMirlJ Ib Ot'T OK A JOII.
Operations In TloKfl UroIo-riiKi * I.lni-
I'll 11 In I'aj.
0. W Hcndeo has been dropped from the
corps of teachers at the Institute for the
IHnf and Dumb by Superintendent Dawcs ,
with the consent of the Hoard ot TruUres
Mr Hendee oanio to Nebraska from Kansas
a comparatively short tlmo ago and secured
employment on a populist paper In Lincoln
Lirgoly through the Influence ot the pub
lishers of that paper ho was given a posi
tion us teacher In the Institute .when Mr
Dawcs was appointed supeilntendent. Wli ° ii
ho assumed lilw now position he had In his
possession a railroad mileage book belong
ing to his former employers , whlfh he evi
dently thought would not grow In his pocket ,
sn ho sold It and the book was tukan up
by the conductor when preset ted by thu
purchaser. The newspaper to which It was
Isssued was notified and the publishers put
Mr. Hondco on the carpet Iho outcome
wns the newspaper publishers lolgcc ] com
plaint against Mr Hcndeo and the gentle
man from Kaunas v , an droppd from the pay
roll of the state His place will not be
filled for the present , but the work will bo
done by other teachers In the Instltu'o Mi.
Colt , who has been teaching primary clashes
heretofore , will now teach some advanced
claseca.
.Si-nl to Count } Il
The police have succeeded In obtaining
quarters for Wlllhm Iflake and Jo'm ' II.
Walburn , a couple of Invalids tlmt have
been on thc-'r ' hands for some tlmo past ,
liluke Is suffering from an Incurable dis
ease und although a younp man. Is abso
lutely without funds Walburn Is on nld
man Who "has " been known to the police for
many yrais. He irjsseascs the distinction
nf having been the Ilrsl prl oner over locked
up In the old Davenport and I'"ourtccrith
street Jail , and has been locked up ninny
times since He IH suffering from para yeis
The police endeavored for several ilnys to
loctte the county physician , but falling , suc
ceeded In attracting1 the at'entlon ' of rlty
Physician Itnlp'h , who obtained the iciiilste | !
onlei1 from tn * pjunty commissioners The
men were sent out to the county hospital.
Tlilrlj In > N fur Curllii.
Con Curlln , a gaunt , six-foot laborer Who
IJHH bee-n sleeping at the police station
nlKhts for about u month , started out on
his regular Jamborcu Tue-sday night. The
pace after u time grew too hot even for
Curtln , so ho icmoyed his shoes and was
wandering1 around In the snow doua In the
Third ward -when taken Into custody by the
ofilce-r. Ourtln drew a prlzo of thirty days
in the county jail , which wat suspended on
condition that Us leave the city at onco.
PORT AUTHOR ROOTE CHANGES
Freight L'cpnttniont Shifts About ItsEctnJ
Eoprcs3ntat.vcrt
GEORGE ENTRIKIN GOES TO KANSAS CITY
IliMiil < | iiiirtrrn TraiiHfcrrcMl mill liticnl
ofssUinut (
i-tulit A iMit VliollNlicil
II , Slinullfr'n I'l-oniotlon ,
There have been some changes In the gen-
eta ! freight department of the Kansas City ,
1'lttsburg & ( lulf lallroad , and there Is a
possibility that there may be more. George
M. Untrlkln , assistant general freight ngent.
with headquarters In this city , has been
transferred to the general freight olllces of
tha company nt Kansas City , Mo ,
Mr. Kntrlkln returned yesterday frota
A trip to Kansas City nnd St. l ouls , ami
the announcement of the change was mad *
soon after his retuin Circulars confirming-
the news were Inter received from General
I'rclpht Agent Sargent , approved by General
Manager Gllllnim The olllco of Assistant
general freight agent ot the Tort Arthur
louto In this city Is aholl&hcil with the
tiansfer of .Mr KntilKln to Kansas Cltj- .
In the general freight ollloes there Mr. 12u-
trlkln will work dlicclly under John A.
& 11 gout , gcnci.il fielqht ngcut
The Omaln Ci eight olllre ol the Kansas
City , IMtt'butg Gulf rcillwid will In the
I'uturo bo In chaise of K II Slmuller , who
has heiotofori' bei"i tuvellng freight agent
for tlio name company , wlt'.i headquarters
here , widei Assistant Gcii'.nl Ki eight Agent
1-ntrikln In this rlty , undt r the now- man
agement , Mr Shaul t'l will lave the title of
| tommerclnl agent HP Ins been here slnco
last sumniir , end. although he is not wide/
Known. Is nopular with the e with whom ho
has b"CM thrown Ints outlet
M.I'ntrlUIn lb OTP of tlm most popular
freight nun In the ilty and Is legarded by
other Height' men ns one of the moat com
petent. He Ins bii-i : stationed In Omaha In
various capacities for the Ian twelve years.
Ho entered the Hock l&lnndVi Omaha freight
olllco In July , ISifi In Fobtiimy 1SSS , ho
was made contracting freight ngcnt of the
N'lckel 1'late , when Hut lallroad established
an agency heie In I obrunry , 1SS3 , ho was
offered and accepted tlu position of commer
cial agent in OmVm for the Oniiln & St.
Louis and the Wnlash ral'ioids Ho held
this position until \uust ] y > 7. when ho
was undo assistant general freight agent ot
the Kansas City I'lttFbii'-g , Quit railroad.
rintns TWO-OIJVI' i-vitn issi n.
( ! o ! m or I'lnuriMWill Mnlci > a Tot
Tiisc \ \ liHlrlilttUit \ ( 'fulfill.
DETROIT 1'eb 2 Governor I'Ingreo to
day took steps toward bringing a suit to
compel the Michigan Central to carry all
passengers at I ! cents per mile. Ho de
manded a ticket to Ypsllantl at the legal 2-
cent rate , and then paid the full 3-cent faio
under protest. The Bolt i.lready pending to
compel the .Michigan Central to sell 1,000-
mlln tickets for § 20 la not btoad enough for
the governor , ah the winning ot It would
benefit only those v.ho have the $20 to pay
for mileage books. The second suit , he as
serts , will be for the benefit of the plain
I people who pay for Just the ride they get ,
I Tiio Michigan Central claims to bo exempt
j urdei Its special charter from obligation to
i carry passengers at a 2-cent ruto. The gov
ernor contends that the company's charter
wan amended by a general railroad law
passed lu 1891.
IMcK CiiNliliiu 'I s < I.onlx.
U. C. Gushing major of Omaln five years
ago , and now of the Mullorv-Ciuliliig Con-
btructlon ccmpany builders of railroads , waa
yesterday intcrvlcvvvl by the St. Louis Re
public He has submitted a bid for the
ceii tiuctlon ot the Si ; > ilpi-0klihoiiu City-
lead. Mr. Cushliig said list night tliat
there would bo more lallroad building In
the United States this % pir than for several
years past , but that there wore IIDUB to bo
built of any l-artlculir mo.nc'it. There was
tome talk of the Hurl nm on building from
Chcrldnn , Wyo , townl the Yellowstone
park , but ho did ml believe that It would
bo done this year Mr CusliIng ftiM tlut
the principal woik to be done by the roads
was the .strengthening of tiack , ledueliig
of grades putting down new und heavier
gteel rain ! and building iu > \ \ bridges
Simla I'V Will \nl Cut
TOPI3KA. Feb. -"Tlio Santa Ke road
does not believe In s'nsh'ng ' latcs. If any
other road can get an advantage over the
Santa Fo we are willing to let It enjoy It.
When wo have an advantage we bellovo In
pushing It. "
This lu what OIKS of the oniclala of the
Santa Po road Bald today In regard to the
rumor that the Santa Ke would bo com
pelled to cut tales In self-dcfenso when
the reduced tlmo Bchcdulo between Chicago
and Denver was Inaiiguiatcd by the Union
Pacific and Hiirllnglon next Sunday. Gen
eral PaKsengoi Agent HHck said today that
there wan not any Intention on the part ot
the Santa Fo of cutting the Chicago-Den
ver rate.
Contract li-l for Illn 'runnel.
SAN KIIANCJHCO , IVb 2 The contract
for 'tho ' construction of n tunnel & .700 fret
In length on the linn of the an Joiuiulii
Valley rallioad has been conditionally
awarded to Foley llroi. & . Mulr of St.
Paul , Minn The rptnon for the provlno
wn that no roprofcntat .o nf the sncccHi'ful
bidders was present to niter Into a definite
agreement , ana of the tcinu of which IP ths
filing ot a bond In $100 000 to , the proper
execution of the work The amount of tliu
contract Is Bald to uppioM natc J.ir.0,000 , Ilia
tunnel will enable the valley ir/ad to rra < h
Its tcrmlnii.s at Point Richmond on Sail
Francisco bay.
I'roiiioli'il.
George Merrill of tlu < local olllco of the
Chicago , Rock Island & Pacific has been ap-
po nted tariff c crk of the local freight de
partment. The promotion la dated February
1 a od brought the icclplcnt many congratu
lations today Heretofore Mr Merrill li a
been stenographci rnd telcgiiiph operator U
the Rock Island office Th place haa Lc-cn
taken by Mr Plersnn Tim change gives the
Rock Island olllrc ano'licr man on lib lnt.il
force , the addition to the otllro forcu having
been made necessaiy by tHe Incrcaro In
amount of work liaml td here
Violate InliTMlilli- 10 in < ! < < .AH.
CHATI'ANOOtJA , 1 < nn , Fob 2 - In the
case of the Interstate rommerce comm uslon
a alrst the Kast rpmerticp. VlrglnU &
Georgia Railway company and fllxtuen other
railroads United States Judge governs de
livered his decision today It wan a complete
victory for the comml < slon and the city of
Chattanoopa An order wcs Issued requir
ing the ra I Iron ilc > to at once make f'liat-
tcnnoogA'H rates the saino . ttioso to Nash
ville. The Judge held tliat the IntersUin
commerce act I.a6 b ri violated In many
ways
Union 1'nHllp Si-riirllli'M ,
NI3W YORK , Feb 2 Pursuant to the or
der of the federal court the sile of th1
securities under the Unlen Pacific collateral
trust tcok plcuu hero today Aftci Kulin ,
I.oeb k Co , hurt bought $3 : tOO , ot KPI iirUIri
the sale was stopped , sufficient money hav
ing bcun received to pay oft the outstand
ing notes Kuhn , I/oi'b & Co. , represented
the reorganization committee.
u lli Simla IV ,
NKW YORK , Feb. 2. 13. D. Kenna , the
general solicitor of the Atchlson , Topeka &
Santa Fo lullway , was today elected first
vlco president of the company and Puul
Morton , third vlco president , waa made nee *
end vlco president ,