Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 21, 1906)
HIE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE. Jutuu? 21. 1900. Commercial Club Banquet to Union Pacific General Manager Mohler lN SEVERAL Items the Mohler banquet given Tuesday night by members of the Commercial club 1$ ff l 10 vlc president and gen- V"Jl Ti- oral manager of. the Union . Fa cirio railway was extraordinary. In the flrat place It was unusual In those days of rate regulation warfare, the equal taxation slogan and the diatribes concerning re bate and discriminations alleged to favor the big shipper and certain localities. Ne braska and Omnha are hot a bit behind the rent of the country In the somewhat feverlBh discussion of these t.ipk-s, but the Tuesiay nljht banquet was proof of the sanity of state and city, and an illustration of the fact that they know wl.cie to draw the line between personal antinolty and the questluM at Issue. , A. L. Moliler s'ands at the head of the largest corporate Interest that makes Omaha Its base of operations. Ke repre sents here the highest authority of one of the greatest nihronds In the United btates an J tiie greatest entering Omulin. His tare : l.as been one of thox" hippy "' ones in which promotion and a.litimal dirtmctk IV and responsibilities ca.oo. caivno logically Po timet ri-niel Limit At;o. Whir, fir. 3o!i r was given h's prT.t post, tic bur.;::. s lac i cf tl.e clt, rccJS nlzlnj lis i-. tl.-e l.c.il prominence and havlnr 11 tern o tj harmonious relations between tlie city :ind the railroad, proposed to ttnd'r l.Im tie cjT.piiinentu. banquet which w ilven I im week." At that time the new tertei il !iiij.,it was r.ot at alt well : : ow ii lie.". II' wis lnfon.i"d of the desi e (f lis n..v vwnspeopl" nrid let It be ui.d.i:'U d I iut he would prefer to have tic function postponed Indefinitely beet u-e ! ; i.Hcnt- bereavement In his fan.:!' t. o i.iin.of a daughter. In con i liuiife to this lequeat the Com mercial t'.uii laM tl.e banq'.iet. Idea on the rheif Vi'lc i It wan liken down ajaln Air. Mo i bill! bHn iia'ed vice president lis Vil a J ..cne.nl ia.iha,e. of t.ie Union j'u,. .1 i' and l.aJ become one of the ir.i 1 1 ;i;...u- i.r n In Omaha In a purely Wis ..i. ,.y. it jj for tiie lute.- reason mo. t .lni.i iinvthiV. v rise, perhaps, that tl.e Im i a iuh seized upon with pecu-l.-u . .1 .... ft ii-t ft committee vas appointed to r.,tir.u u:i diiie;R no ns to mat e sura of a IW'il a V i".K,:ce. This prec iutlc n provod al U.a tftc- nnnrtt sr irj . Acceptances came to the fire of ti e societal y In numbers who.ly la-.exprclrd. l p to the last minute the ri r,-. i.t.ee In charge was at IU wits' end drviring exlra room at the tables. Not a few in' a clno.ied anions; the most promi nent In tl.e city in a business and profes sional way were deliberately, thouch ro preifuily, turned away. The capacity of tho Commeiclnl club kitchen and catering service were fixed to their utmost, but Fryor, the famed steward of the club, mudu gcod. oelnl Pentarrs of the Donqart. It was a curious banquet from a socio logical standpoint. Every " man thero was successful In some wise or another, but In many widely diversified pursuits. Politi cians, professional men, business men, writ ers, lawyers, doctors, engineers, Insurance experts, bankers, famed executive heads and Individuals who had made their mark In various other means were there. As one speaker expressed It men were listening to Mm of all shades of belief from he who was convinced the government should run the railroads to he who believed the railroads should run the government '' It was not, ' however, a meeting for polemic purposes. The primary desire was to Impress the Idea upon Mr. Mohler that the city values as a man of ability and honor and his road as its most Important asset from Industrial and commercial point of view. To hatard an opinion based on the words and mannerisms of the speaker, the bolt reached its mark, and that full well. Very few banquets have been held In Omaha that came near equalling this one in the spirit of fellowship and loosening the bonds of the admiration man feels for the doer of able deeds. Popular acclaim and reward of the spirit poured forth In a gushing stream. There was merrymaking from the llrst moment. A stringed orchestra played airs old and new, but all popular, and those who thought they could sing did so when- ever their fortitude permitted diversion irum mo iooq or Between courses, ir Mr. Mohler heard all the nice things said about him he would probably be occupied for some days In trying to grow a pair of mun dane wings. Literally joy had the hobhlee off. It was the case of man to the fore and corporations, burning Issues and vexed questions to the rear. Ob Hot of the) Affair. Tet, when attention was turned from gas tronomic exercises to processes of the mind a still, small tone was sounded presently and Its echo never died away. It reminded one of that vole the Virginian used when Tram pas called him a name and the Vir ginian assured him that he must smile when It became necessary for him to em ploy that particular word. More than one of the speakers struck the note. It had a meaning cleft clear and deep and It was understood by all those sitting around the board. It signified courteously, even gently, that railroads are much loved, but they must be good If they would not suffer pun- ishment. It: wasn't a warning merely a message. 1'nlqa a.a Arttitle Deeomtloas. The decorations were very appropriate and distinctive. . The tables were arranged In th shape of a very much elongated letter "U." which obviously was fit s re gards th Union Pacific. The guest, tbust master and speakers sat at the bottom Vf,i A. end of the "V" looking down the rows of banqueters. Behind them a full-slsed li to motive front jutted from masses pf palms. Every detail of a modern passenger gviy hour.d of' the road wii reproduced and the hiadligtit shed a blase of glory ovo." the srene. The ringing of a ri al locomo Jve bell commanded silence when silence vss wanted und the toastmaster shouted "All aboard," prior to untying the packages of wit Rr.d w!d()m. At a famous James J. Hill banquet In St. Paul, which was report'd to Imve cttt a fabulous sum. a railway track rnn down the renter of the tables and had a Uamtny train of cars ill on It. The M liler banquet went this one better In a tiny motor cur, I.'u. 7. an exact miniature of the kind of cats that have been perfected and mur.' fnctured at the Omaha shops of the Vnlon Paclllc.under the eupervlFlon of W. R. Me Keen, superintendent of motive power cad Oil FLASHLIGHT Pictures (Copyright 1906, by Frank G. Carpenter.) ATTLKFORD. Saskatchewan, Jan. 18. (Special Correspondence of The Bee.) I want to tell you how B Americans farm in Canada. There are something like '160,000 ex- Unlted States cltlsens In this British north mint, and SO. (ion came here last year. All rn,i .nri most nf them are the Diise farmers of their communities. They have . been cultivating similar lands in Minnesota an,i tne Dakotas, and have brought their farra niachlnery and household effects with ,h,m Th.v h. imnnrted their own horses and they began breaking the prarle the moment they lunded. By way of illustra tion, one American,' who came Hi last spring, arrived at Saskatoon, more than 300 miles north of the American boundary, at 10 o'clock one morning. The cars had hardly stopped before he began jerking his stuff out, and by I o'clock that afternoon he had three plows at work breaking the prairie. Many farmers, who arrive lu the spring, live in tents until the first crop is planted, others knock up rude shacks while they are plowing and seeding, waiting for the summer to build their homes. Within a few months from now the plowing will be going on all over the wheat belt and the people will do nothing else until they get the grain planted. Breaklnir th PTnrle. The methods of farming here are differ ent from those In the settled parts of the United States. There are millions of acres of land which have never been touched by man. The prairie Is covered with a thick sod and one must have strong teams and good plows to turn It. The best time for breaking is in the early spring, when th earth has been softened by the winter snows. As soon as the frost is- out th plows are started and they are kept busy until the crop Is in. The breaking Is done by the farmers who own the land and by contractors, who T;-.' 4 jgy m -A m . Mi St BJ THKESmUTJ SCENE IN KOETTTWESTEilir PHOTO SHOWING ARRANGEMENT AND of the Great Northwestern Wheat Bell inake a business of preparing the land for outsiders, nnd who, later on, do much of the threshing. The ordinary farmer uses a gang plow and from three to a half dozen horses. With three liorses he is able to plow about two acres per day and with addltloanl horses more in proportion. Much of the work is performed by traction en- glues, which haul muchlno plows so Uuce that they turn over a strip, of sod as wide the average city sidewalk at one tiaie. These plows will make nine furrows In crossing the field, and will break up as mucn as lorty acres in one uay Such work Is dene by contract, the contractor charging $3.0 per acre for doing the plow ing. The next process Is back-setting; that is, going over the field ng-iln and throwing the furrows In the opposite direction. This may also be done by contract, the total price for plowing, back-setting and seeding 'being 15. This means that a man can have his wheat planted In fields reduced from the virgin pralrlo at 15 per acre and the cost of the seed. Indeed. I have had real estate agents, who huve been trying to sell me land, offer to take charge of a farm 'and put It under crop for J5 per acre and the cost of the seed. This Is In addition to the purchase price. Some of the farmers here, who are anx ious to get quick returns, sow wheat the seme year that they break the-soll. Others plow the land In the spring and back-set It In the summer, seeding it during the following spring. This process Insures a good crop. Those who plant Immediately upon breaking do not expect to get much the first year. Others plant flax for their first crop and wheat the next year. Sowing 'th Wheat. The old picture of the farmer going over the plowed ground sowing the grain broad cast Is not to be seen In Canada. All grain here la planted with drills. The ordinary drill is pulled by .three horses, and on the -,'V- r - i WHEAT BELT. 1 . i X ; - ' "v .i-s. vita.. GUESTS' TABLE AT 1 DECORATION OF TABLE AT THE MOHLER BANQUET. larger farms several drills follow one an other over the fields. The drill plants tiie seed and covers It. and after this the farmer lays off until the harvist. He may now break up or back-set other lands for the next year, or muy build his house, make fences or undertake ot.ier general farm improvements. Harvest i Canada. The most strenuous time cf the year cornes with the harvest. Tins is a land of short seasons. The crops grow faster than in the United States and harvest comes on all at once. Alonf about the 15th of August these prairies become golden seas, waicii rise and fall under every wind. Eacn sea is com pound oi grain ready for cutting and ail is ripe at just about the same time. The farmers now go into their work with a rush. In many cases the women and girls join the men and boys in the fields. Nearly every man has his own harvesting machinery and the girls often drive the harvesters to cut tne grain. Each harvester Is drawn by three horaes, but the husky wheat-fed American maiden manages sucii a team without trouble. At the same time thousands of hands have been imported from the United Stales and eatsern Canada. They have received reduced fares from the railroads and are sure of work at high wages from new on until the grain has been loaded upon the cars, wl.icli Mill take them to the gieat lakes. IIoiv On America d Itenps. Harvesting on toe larger forms is pushed from sunlight to -aiii. unu even by twi.taht and moonlight, 'i'hou-ar.d of bushels of grain must be reaped within a weeK cr bo und a little delay may ruin the crop. The grain muat be cut when it la Just oo llyc, und no rlpc-r. ' If left too loi it will hull in the harvesting, if it becou.es net it wi.l lose in quality, and an untimely frost may ruin it. Take, for liuuuncc, a urm .ike tout of Kmlle J ,:.leiliei.e, which had last year one wheat field coi.talnlng 1,600 acres, from which came i-I.lvO bu&h.s of grain, worlil fJO.tXO and more. That farm is situated near Imndu.n, in Saskatchewan, several hundred miles ncrth of the American boundary, it is owned by a Minnesota state senatcr, who probably got his experience In the I'nitrd Stiles. The moment his wheat was ripe he started a dozen harvesters Into It, and worked his machines from day break to dark until every Halk was cut. He had relays of l-.ors s, und he instructed his men to piiHh tiiem to their utmost. ' There was no stopping for rest at the end of the field, but every four hours fresh teams were put into the harvesters and the work went on, the machines following each other over this vast tract, cutting down scores of acres at one swath. The result was that the wheat was all harvested in time, and it brought excellent prices. AmonaT th Threshers. I have seen considerable threshing during my trip through Canada. The work is done by steam, and In riding through the country last fall one was seldom out of sight of the smoke and the noise of the threshing machine. The business is Interesting. Let us visit a farm and see how It Is done. The field which we enter contains s thousand acres. It is spotted with wheat shocks, or stacks, as they are called here. Each stook con sists of a half dosen or more sheaves, stood upon end, with others on top so arranged as to shed the rain. Ia this form tt stook s are thrown on th wagon, to bt carrid direct to the thresher. There ar a half dozen teams moving over th fiid gather Ins them up. Men stand on the wagons Iff t 'J. f . i -mm m - 7 THE MOHLER BANQUET. piling the sheaves. As soon as Is louded It is driven to the a wa?on tiire3licr. There are two there all the time, and Bheuves stream continuously into. the the threshers from sunrise to sunset. At the same time there is a liitie river of grain flowing out. It comes from the thrcaher through a tin pipe, which hns a llexllilo end of canvas. This end is placed in the wagon box und t'ae wheat is not handled by man from the time It leaves the straw until It reachis the car. Wagon after wagon comes to the thresher and Is filled with whent. Its driver carrying It on to the elevator or up to the platforms, which are provided nt the stations, from where it may be shoveled into the cars. The work here, as on most of the Cana dian farms. Is done by contract threshers. Few farmers own such machines, but there are contractois who go from farm to farm, carrying gangs of men with them. They thresh the wheat at so much per bushel. They have threshing machines, many of which come from the United States, and American traction engines by whlcn they move their outfit from one fsrm to an other. Every thresher carries with him a little caboose upon wheels, which consti tutes the cooking and eating places of the men. There Is also a water tank wagon In which the water for the engine is car ried. The ordinury threshing outfit re qulrles a force of about eighteen men who are hired for the season at wages of about ?2.j0 a day, including lxard. The food Is supplied by the thresher, and a. I that the farmers need do Is to furnish the wagons to carry away tho grain, Mnrketlns the W heat. In the eastern part of the United Slate the wheat is cften stored In granari is, and the farmers watch the market until the price is Just right, when they huul It to the station and ship It. In the new Canada there are practically no barns or granarlej. The wheat goes direct from the threshers co the elevators, it it is sent to the cars and shipped to the slorufce eievatois upon V Arf it : ' ' .J machinery, and with the hearty co-op? ra tion of Mr. Mohler. These samo motor cars produced a sensation In the traffic world and have made Mr. McKeen famous. The miniature ran on the sand-ball. utod track by electrical air and carried notes and carnations between men along the route. It v.as the neatest and most unique decorative feature. The motor car had one terminus in a fourte'n-story edifice Intended to represent someone's dream of what the new l.'nlon Pacific headquarters building ought to look like. It astonished und aroused the ad miration of the highest officers of thays tem who had no suspicion the problem could be solved so easily. The towering structure was brilliantly illuminated. On Its dome was a rotund, 'bald-headed figure operating one eye through a telescope. A tag affixed said the effigy was Charloy Iano, the arlstant general freight ugent of the system, whoso namo has become a household word, etc. The building stood at the extremity of one end of the "U." At the other was a replica of the new Union Pacific slups. complete even to the 4 athletic grounds which will be laid out for employes. Tho motor car stopped here and was turned for a return Journey. Garlands of green leaves set the single track off In a proper looking rlghf-of-way, and were hung In fostoons overhoad and draped around the posts and woodwork. Red incandescents gleamed among the green on the table and elsewhere and the effect was subdued and pretty. And Mohler Said Little. was 'generally hoped and presumed It the great lakes. Throughout the wheat re gion thete are now more than a thousand elevators. There are several at every sta tion; they stand out on the landscape. Marking the value of the wheat districts surrounding. There are 300 different sta tions, which have such granaries, and al together they have a storage capacity of 80,000.000 bushels. This is outside the great eleva' rs at Fort William and Fort Arthur, at the head of Lake Superior, which will hold something like 20,000,000 bushels more. Canadian Elevator System. These elevators are largely owned by which huv. bIiId and store wheat. One company will own thirty or forty elevators located at different points, and Its agent3 will make summer and win ter rates of storage and sale. The number of elevators la rapidly increasing. It has doubled within the past five years, and new buildings are going up every day. All these elevators are under government su pervision. Each has a license, and It Is Inspected repularly by the warehouse com missioner. Every bit cf grain which is sold In Cannda has to pass through such Inrpectlon. It must be weighed under the government weighmaater, and all grain put Into vessels hns to be passed upon by the covert" ment. This is to maintain the high standard of western Canadian wheat. These elevator cotrtpnnles will hold the farmer's wheat and sell It as he orders, or they will nre to hand!" It on commtslon and pet whnt they think Is the highest price. If the wheat Is shipped on the trnln the rallorads will chars-" In the neighbor hood of 15 cents for haullnr n hundred pounds 1 0 miles, nrd It enn be fkn down the rreat hikes by water a thiu'ind ml'es farther for about 5 eens rer hushel. The elevator companies nr. much criti cised by the farmers, who cl-ln hat they delay the shipment or wneat In order to Increase storage cherres. The wheat be- pins to come to the elevators about Sen- tember 1. and the elevators are prettwell (Continued on Page Seven.) AMTRTCAJf CTRL HAJfTJLUCO X HEAPEB. that Mr. Mohler might find the occasion auspicious to say something definite re garding the new headquarters building and Its location, the enlargement of the shops and the chances for establishing here a factory for the manufacture of the McKeen motor cars. Hut the vice president Ignored his opportunity. He appeared rather flus tered when It was demanded that he say something In response to a very elaborate presentation of his abilities and virtues, and he made his speech the shortest of th evening. Before and Hfterwards he gave evidence of enjojlng himself thoroughly. But about the sliop.i nnd the tiendqaarters the banqueters drew blanks. Finally cu rious Individuals pnssed Interrogations up to the head of the table, but these brought the unsatisfying response that the head quarters would be built, nnd ' built in Omaha. This was ns far ns Mr. Mohler would commit himself. Two gentlemen who certainly deserved places at the tables watched the gam from the sidelines. These were John Steel, chairman of the banquet committee, and Commissioner K. J. McVunn. They Were overworked and worried captains: of th general good. The congratulations they received did much to ameliorate whatever Ills they suffered. To tiie heart, stomach, mind, sight and fancy the banquet had clever appeals. To expunge unnecessary verbiage it was a success. Quaint Features o? Life . Itroke Ik railing; m Boot. A. J. Curtlss of Bristol, Conn., a commer cial traveler, broke a bone in his right leg while engaged in the apparently simple operation of pulling on his boot. This un usual occurrence has brought about a law suit in which Mr. Curtlss Is the plaintiff and an accident association the defendant. Mr. Ciirtlfs declnres that ho broke his leg In Granby on Juno 10, 1904. the left strap to his boot coming off suddenly, "by which his leg was suddenly and violently wrenched to the right, said wrench caus ing a fracture of the put.lo bone and has caused him greet pain and soreness, which has continued to the present time." He says that for more than fifty-two weeks he has been totally disabled and unable to attend to his business or any other, and for much of the time has been confined to his bed. Japanese Letter Writer. V Thefe is a Japanese mngasine, a new one, the "Tagaml-Zasshl." which Is a sort of periodical complete letter writer. The Jap anese are bad business letter writers. They have a way of lndltlnsr forty papers of po lit oriental hlghfalutln and getting no where. A Japanese brewer receives a let ter beginning, "O, most Illustrious maker of that most divine of all beverages, deign to commit to me a ease," etc. The "Ta-gaml-Zasshl" is trying to teach the native to write: "Yours of the 10th Inst, received and contents noted," etc. , Hot limes In n C'lilcnsro Rome. Alleging that his wife "kicked htm with a pair of French heel boots, always kept three revolvers in her possession with which she occasionally threatened to sluot blm, hit him on the head with a hammer, and presided over the dinner table with a revolver In her lap," Charles Bchrooder of Chicago filed an answer to the writ for divorce begun by his wife, Mrs. Alma Schroeder.. The suit for divorce Is the sequel to m "St. Joe" marriage which took place ear ago last June. ' .-- . . According to Schroeder, while he lived with his bride he was in constant fear of his life. While she frowned constantly upon hint and said little caustic things that tend to arouse a man's wrath, Schroeder over looked these until he discovered that his wife had three large revolvers. Th-m, he says, he began to "take notice" and dis covered that, while at the dinner table, she held a revolver In her lap, with which she threatened him while he ate. Then he says that last January she kicked him with her "French heel boots," and on the same day hit him on tho head with a "claw hammer." The couple separated November SO, 1906. Tobsero and Beads Fetched Klin. Beads and tobacco are the open scuim to the affection of the savsge. The Corn- monwealth Secretary for External Affairs has been visiting British New Guinea, f nd among the curios with which he returned to Melbourne was a gorgeous headdress made of the feathers of birds of poraJIse, the many-colored plumage of parrots and" various other of the brilliant birds of that region, all securely sewn together nd bound with beautiful shells. Two axes and a pocketknlfe was at first offered for the treasure, but the Papuan owner nlii-ok his head. A strip of calico ' was added, with the like result; but the owner's eye glistened at the sight of a string of beads and a plug of tobacco, and th bargain was clinched. Larky Discovery of a Will. In order to secure some token by which to remember a great-aunt to whom she had been much attached Mile. Bertha Che vanne of Paris, a young Frenchwoman, at tended a sale of the old lsdy's effects. Th girl was poor and most of the articles were beyond her purse. f ' A shabby old book a book of devotions- was, however, put up. Nobody bid for It except Mile. Chevanne. and she bought It for next to nothing. In turning over th leaves she came across a folded paper. It wa, a wln bequeathing her the whole of her great-aunt's estate, valued at $80,000. - . . -oil I 4 .) I