TIIE OMAHA ILLUSTRATED BEE.
5
Career of August H. Hennings an Example of Well Directed Energy
imi'DT xt trt-WTvna n m m.
I lltlcal surprise to Omaha clt liens.
Marrh S. HOB.
years aco from a (subordinate
position In a large wholesale '
business establishment. Within Hi months
he waa famous as a public official who
dared apply common sense business meth
ods In the conduct of public; affairs.
After he had settled In the office, taken
his bearings and ! okrd around he con
cluded there was m ich room for Improve
ment. Having made his calculations and
planned his campaign, H"nnlngs set out to
make people pay tt clr tuxes. During the
first year of his Incumbency he collected
IM.noo more than the year before.
Prior to the Hennlngs administration
back to the year the city waa Incorporated
the average collection of current years'
taxes waa Sit per cent of the whole amount
levied. Hennlngs raised the average to 85
per cent, meaning the prompt c Election
of one-fourth more taxes than ever before
and placing Omaha In tlio front rank of
cities In this respect. The proccass re
sulted in a financial prrfit for the munici
pal government, saving about $15,XK) an
nually, or $90,00) for hla two terms, In In
terest on warrants, which must huve been
issued and permitted to remain outstand
ing, were not the cash In hand ready to
meet the lnrjads on the exchequer.
Merely Kui.ircrJ the Law.
How did he do It : For, years a law hud
existed authorizing the treasurer to seize
personal property upon which taxea had not
been paid and to se.l it to satisfy the city's
claim, liut this and previously been re
garded as a device intended to scare people
with and not to be used. It was good to
employ In public interviews, by way of
threat, but no one ever creamed about Its
enforcement. Hcnnings, however, assumed
the law was then; tor a purpose, and, per
ceiving the necessity of such a purpose,
announced he wouid proceed to levy upon
household furniture, utile" equipment, rail
road rolling stock, the goods of mercantile
establishments or anything else movable
If the owners were found grossly negligent
or defiant In the liquidation of personal
taxes.
The new treasurer found on the books of
the office prima facie evidence that a lurgo
proportion of Oinahans looked upon per
sonal taxes as a Joke. The receipt book
stubs showed that real estate assessments
were regarded as possessing more sub
stance, but when It came to paying any
thing on pianos, diamonds. Blocks, bonds or
money In the bank, your patriotic benefi
ciary of the police force, the Are depart
ment, the public schools, the public library,
'street repairs and cleaning, the parks,
boulevards and other handmaidens of
municipal existence, preferred to save his
coin for himself.
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RESIDENCE OF A. IL HENNINGSt
OMAHA'S EFFICIENT CITY TREASURER.
vention, which 'was the orthodox and ap
proved thing In the days before, the direct
primary. , His hard, fterslBtent canvassing
and tils record as a' jtood citizen won the
plurality of
led to show
. Omaha, .what a really efficient ,. city treas
urer could do In action.
Discrepancy Not Appreciated.
Mr. Hennlngs always had held a good
opinion of 'the man who tried to own his
home. To him the possession of a domicile the duty to collect the taxes. The city to better things. At the end of fifteen , gatlon. Hennlngs accepted the proposl-
seemed emblematic of good citizenship, treasurer collected the taxes. It required a years Hennlngs had acquired a position tlon, his end of It being the treasurershlp
good sense and good will towards the rest great deal of courage and the possession by which he had complete charge of the nomination. He sectored five votes besides '
of the community. It did not seem right of considerable personal character. The shipping of the house and had general his own to nominate Moores. When the
to the new treasurer that premiums should records of the office show . that superintendence over the stock and store ballot was taken on treasurer the agree-
accompany the Investment In bonds, stocks. It was the man who could well rooms. He had distinguished himself by ment was completed by the Moores
lino learners, norsea. carriages, jewelry. v j wi. uu . .- i.iuna w . v. tain, dvihtuum o suoiihui iviub w niriuuiifia w, .n...
and that the man who foreswore I these iresa . warrant servea on nim, we van greauy racuuaiea ine Dusiness oi me nrm Hennlngs had a nara ngnt. tie was
luxuries to make & center table abiding- backed up to bis office or home, and his and by originating a "perpetual" stock looked upon as a nonentity in politics and
place for Ms family should be compelled chattels carted away said sold if he did book, which delighted not only the Lee- an accident, and his enemies tried to make
to pay a double tax thereby. Consulting not Pv UP- It would have been easy to GlasB-Andrecsen , people, but other big adverse capital out of his trade in the con-
the statute books Hennlngs discovered the make a demonstration against the man of houses as well. ;:
prescribed manner to enforce the payment "mall means fighting to pay oft a mortgage
of personal taxes. " P up doctor bills, It . was much Early Life and Schoollnc.
Doubtless It occurred to him t1iat he harder tct deal' With" th qitfzeh of Influ-
rpfi a utrtft nn a fnralvnA" nmsi in this
had a mean task on his hands, one that nc "d resource who would not pay his , . , ,,,,. ni. Me was elected by a
mlffht forfeit oersonal nonularltv. Per- ersonal taxes because of.an inherent be- .. .... it ha. about 1,600. Then he proceeded to show
haps it struck him that was the reason i llef that he waJ '0 ood to do so. These maen0A of yg and endeavor n- It.
why former treasurers had let dust ac- constituted the-class whom the treasurer H.nnlnK8 wa, born-at Emden province, of
cumulate on this particular lever of their ound owod tne mo8t money. Acceptln Hanover oermany, September 1. 1859, and
Official equipment. Dut Hennlngs had been tne problem squarely, he went after them therefore , 6 year8 0id- Hi8 father was
accustomed to seelnr orders Issued snd and left he Poorer persons alone. These, he . hllainM ma anrt th one f
Orders obeyed and all hands dealt with """" -ong was glven an academic educaMon at cash baste-that Is. in a position where It
In equal measure. He was bom In Gera, Saxony. Emerging from school at could pay money for current expenses wlth
Germany where authority la sternly Risen from Nail K.es;s. the age of 13 young Hennlngs went to out being compelled to Issue interest bear
respected and he reasoned that a few dem- A man wno surprised Omaha as thor- Holland where he had two brothers In tng warrants, to be paid any old time that
. onstratlons that he meant what, he said oughly as Hennlngs and who caused the business, to serve a cadetshlp in the lum- was convenient. Not In a long time had
about collecting taxes would be sufficient advocates of good government to cheer up ber and grain business. Besides remaining Omaha pretended to meet Its obligations
so far as further artlon wont. is worth some study. When he waa elected in the Netherlands two years, learning a with ready money. The first year of his
Since then Hennlnirs has been known all he appeared to be a good type of the solid, great' deal of practical experience and term Hennlnps" energetic methods ac
over the country as the man of the col- substantial, middle-aged German-American making some money, Hennlngs succeded compllshed the desired cash basis for a
lectins; yan. "debt wnmn" "cash chariot" cltlsen, w.ho had managed to stay about in winning the heart of a Dutch maiden period of three months, thereby smashing
or anv other old pseudonvm that hanpens even with the pace of fair circumstance and and straightway married tier. all existing records. This space of cash
to strive the fancy. Pictures of himself by persistent application had profited in a - From boyhood Hennlngs had an ad- liquidating time was Increased steadily
wn1 bis van were publl-hed In various fair degree. The tale of how he began venturous 'turn of mind. Ills father hkd each year until 1!H6, when for eight month,
ofMe pud In Omrtha a strenm of money affairs in Omaha piling nail kegs In the spent a number of years in South America or the greater part of the year, a warrant
for hnck taxes poured Into city coffers Rector-Wllhelmy cellar has been narrated and the son, soon after marriage, was Issued by the comptroller could be carried
nch m yrun never known before. After so often It scarce needs repetition. filled with the wandering spirit.- Some of across the hall -and cashed, and the practice
tn frt vesr It was necessnrv merely to It was not a great while before he be- his old Emden friends had gone to the of registering warrants, which is neces-
came a foreman, and after three years states and some had settled In Nebraska sary to make them bear Interest, was for
went over to the Lee-Qlass-Andreesen and all . appeared to like it. Just before that time abolished.
wholesale hardware house, where he re- reaching his majority, young ,wlfe in Besides saving the city the Interest on
sumed the original nall-keg piling exer- charge, Hennlngs landed In New York, the warrants, the hait of promptly pay-
clse. This was about 1885. He stayed where he stayed a few months and then ,ng taxes, which was brought about by
with this house and worked his way up went to Fremont. Neb., where he had Hennlngs, resulted In a large decrease In
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CORNER IN THE LIBRARY AT THE HENNINGS HOME.
He
Pnt Omaha on Cash finals.
started in to place the city on a
hire n ft"-nltttre wson. tvk on a slm and
h-ive It nVwn thrnos-h the streets to Stir
up personal tar deiiinMnts.
Tlctnnre 1t the Van.
The 'law Imposes on the c'ty treasurer
Life's Wonderful Story of Jim Key
friends. His education had made him
fairly famllar with English and he got
work In May brothers wholesale grocery
delinquency Interest on regular taxes. For
Instance, In 1900 the treasurer collected
1182,081 personal taxes, accompanied by
houJ-s, He remilned there twi years study- Interest penalty, showing that a
Ing American customs, newspapers and " nqwni. in
ffi-:VV.lk.-.,.A
politics and then came to Omaha for a
turn at the nail kegs. v
JIM KEY WRITINO HIS NAME.
UP atiwu " Tim Vav th. w.nu.
I ful educated horse, shows what
I nnrlencA ftnit klnrlntm will do In
the cultivation of a dumb ani
mal's mentality, if systematically
tml properly applied. Speech alone Is de
nied to him, but, despite his dumbness,
which even the intelligence and art of man
cannot dispel, he can express himself
nearly as well as If he could articulate the
uun.ls of the human tongue.
How He Became a Republican. '
From ths time his ship dropped him on
lit hattan island, Hennlngs read the
wwspapers and began to exercise mental
anticipation in the business of running hands of the city
the countryu As soon as time permitted
he beqame a fully naturalized American
citizen. The presidential campaign of
was the first of the kind of which he hud
acquaintance. He waa drawn towards
Garfield and the republican party by a
conviction that the former bad been badly
used by unjust and malicious attacks upon
his public career. The sympathies of the
young voter went out to Garfield. After
much attention to the documents and fre
quent apiearanee at political meetings
Hennlngs found himself a repuhllgnn and
remained steadfast through all the free
silver turmoil being "one of the soundest
of the sound money men," as he puts It.
For eight or nine years before he was
nominated for city treasurer Hennlngs had
been fairly active in ward and city politics.
He was on delegations and commttees and
ocasslonally got out and hustled for votes
for a friend. He naturally, enjoyed brush-
he collected 32fi.7W In personal taxes and
only $3,292 In Interest. Durlns these six
years his methods resulted in the collec
tion of $'i6,)l more than the 90 per cent
limit of personal taxea, the limit being
that up to which warrants can be drawn
against funds until mort than 90 per cent
of the amount levied Is actually in the
again. With the birth of Jim Key, Dr.
Key takes up the story of his education. Ing up against fellow citizens and dlscus-
"For nearly a year after Jim was foaled sing matters of public interest with them,
I had no hope of him. but he had no deep designs on political
"I began to teach him when he was 1 'or himself until after certain sudden
year old. First I taught hint to lie down ' and history-making events occurred at the
and roll, and soon after that to give symy republican city convention early In 1900.
toms of bots and colic, becauiM 1 was then $
In the medicine business. Next he learned
to -Muike-be.lieve he was lama and act as
though he was suffering with different
First Xomlaatloa la Omaha.
Methods Copied lu Other Cities.
The van method of enforcing the col
lection of personal taxes originated with
Hennlngs In Omaha has been udupted in
San Francisco, Lincoln and other cities.
On the face of it, oi.e might suppotte II' n
nlngs a cold, liu:h and ilonilnet ring tort
of person, with no human side or kindly
attributes. Such a conception of his char
acter is very erroneous. He has the whole
souled geniality of the German race rtiid
there has never Leen an act In his adminis
tration nol tcinpcred-by consideration fcnd
charily. Hu regarded the tax paying public
as he -Would a lot of children spoiled by over
Indulgence and who had to be tausht m w
habits. He determined to use the van no
more than necessary as a warrjng.
Usually it cluttered about the streets filled
with furniture and Junk rented from
second-hand shops for the purpose, but
the result was the same as though real
households had been despoiled, and the
clerks were rushed counting money. The
whole expenses for van hire during a six
years term was less than 1100.
When he tried the van on the Ice trust
to garner delinquent taxes and when he
threatened to collect back taxea on the
Hennlngs was a delegate to that oonven- I'nlbn Pacific bridge, lots of attention re-
tlon from the Ninth ward. With nine milie.i Tl,. nwi.m ...... .....
A. it. Rudners of New York, whose hobby kind of troubles, the general symptoms other, he had elected at the primaries van that It went into court and put its ao-
oi wi.icn ne wouio. reproauce. 1 nad mm on an lndependent deletion labeled for prehenMons on record and got uo injunction
learn to bring me different things, and Benawa tor mayor. The real contest for to restrain Hennlngs from carting away
then to learn different colors. The hardest the Iliay0ralty nomination lay between lu telegraph Instruments and batteries
thing I had to teach him was to eat sugar. ia.KW E. Moores and W. W. Bingham. Likewise the threatened seizure of several
I tried every way. and had it tied to the The flrat ballot ,howei with forty law libraries was utilized to excellent ad-
bndle. but Jlra would always spit It out. vote. aplec and Benawa with his ten from vantage. Very seldom was property ac-
One day I saw him eating apples in the th, Nlntn ward. M wa, pWed that the tually seized. Checkbooks beat the distress
orchard, and I got the idea that If I put Nlnth waxd heid the k. Th- Moores warrant, in .e-.nn .I,- ...
tor years has been humane society work.
has devoted much of his fortune to the
amelioration of the condition-of animals,
and, by using Jim Key as an example, hun
dreds of thousands of school children have
taken up the wprk.
Among Jim Key's accomplishments are
reading, writing, n;elllng. counting, chang
ing money, filing letters, telling time, going P'" of sugar in an apple he would eat peopi, nad nr,t made overtures to the called scuare.
to the postoftlc for mall and giving biblical
quotations.
Jim Key Is of Arabian and Hambletonlan
blood, tils dam, Lauretta, an Arab Steed,
No levies ever were made until after the
It. I fixed an apple, and then watched Jim. Mfth ward deiegation for the six votes
y ",U"U'N necessary to. give them a nominating ma- delinquents had been called upon time and
iu.mnw.wir, wua mi.si.o- jority off,rtn tn r,turn to nomlnats again by personal tax collectors and re-
tion and delljfht. I at once tried the sugar Charles L Saunders for treasurer, an office quested to pay. The installment Plan was
was once a circus animal, but on her be- alone, but It was no use. He had taken for hlch h. waa aspiring. The Fifth ward always held open to hard up citizens and
- - people deluded themselves In the belief avery advantage extended them to be good,
would take it with an apple coaUns. I hat they could make Saundsra and Blna- Hannlnza often wa. th i
Wrk"jrMh t0r motl,h" b,or 1 ham as well, and declined. The offer was lent Imprecation and declarations against
then transferred to th Ninth ward dale- his personal safety during his first term.
coming useless Dr. William Key, an ex.
slave and veterinary surgeon, bought her
at Tupelo, Miss., for ftO. Key treated the
nr kindly and made of her a fine animal sucoeedud
but his plurality of about 3,100 votes In
1903, proved the mass of the people re
garded his services as a public officer.
This campaign for renomlnaUon and. re
election was an easy one, despite some
attempts to make htm out an oppressor of
the poor by the democratic organ, which
previously had printed yards of testl
molals in his favor in its editorial and
news columns.
Home Life of Meanings. .
Though marked successful as a personal
campaigner and vote-getter, Hennlngs' per
sonal recreations stray far from the tur
moil of polities. He takes most of his rest
and a large percentage of his pleasures
in life in his home at 3304 Davenport
street, which ho bought several years uso
and has considerably Improved. His fam
ily consists of hla wife, and daughter, Miss
Harriet Hennlngs. One of the most at
tractive rooms of an exceedingly comforta
ble and tasteful home Is Mr. Hennlngb'
library. Reading with him is an avocation.
He has a lare and finely selected library,
Including In Its ensemble many historical,
philosophical works and liberal editions of
classic and semi-classic authors.
Mr. Ilcnniniss la fond of out-of-door
sports and exercise. Fishing Is what he
enjoys most, and next to that hunting,
both for large and small game. Last year
he acquired a 100-acre tract of land near
Akeley, Minn., Including part of a lake,
well stocked with game flah. Near this
property, which Mr. Hennlngs calls "th
farm," he secured a ten-acre piece of land
upon which he built a summer cottage.
Aside from his own enjoyment In the out-of-door
life, he built a dwelling place In
a half wilderness in order that his daugh
ter's health might be benefited by means
of it. He spent a mcnth there last sum
mer clearing the ground for the cottage
and later htlping to construct It.
His life has been that of a wholesome,
decent, self-respecting American citizen, of
a man who makes his family the center
' of his Intercuts, ;:tid who takes a prido
In iiphn'.Mng :r.'l improving the institu
tions -f l;: country. Ills personal charac
ter is uu i. s.ill tblc. Poliics is no respecter
of i;ilv.ite life, but the worst Hennln3s'
foes could t ly of 1:1m was that he once
hurtled heavy freight and speaks with a
slight accent. They :nl,iht have said, also,
that in summer Hennlngs is the most com
fort .1 le appearing man in the city hall.
afTcotlnK thin ai'k Fhirlwaists, with soft
collars and a( Rowing tie, at once Immacu
late and ruse-giving.
Sponsor foe hci ef:er Tux.
The efficient collection of taxes was not
the only way in which Hennlngs bettered
private and public conditions In Omaha. Ho
was the sponsor of the now famous
"scaverjper law" which real e.tta'e men
affirm has achieved a yrrnt mission' in
making murkeii-LV thousenils of pieces of
property that were loaii'd down and im
mobile because of taxes Inherited from the
years of business depression. In this con
nection It is worth while to quote from a
brief Pled by attorneys, of which W. A.
Saunders, manager of the Benson campaign
was one, in a rase before the supreme
court :
Hon. August H. Hrnninjjs, city treasurer
of the city f Ciiit-liu. reui.ised more koenly
perliupfc, I. an un other man in the s.al
of NcbiuUa, ll.e trYity oi this situation.
He siw how Ubekes a Inliib' It wa for the
state, county ana oily to continuu the x
pei.se of levying taxis, employing help to
exund lUilt levies on the lax books, and
pub LihltiK no'.:ces of tux sale under the
revenue law. on these properties that were
already covtied Willi taxes beyond their
value. He undertook to secure legislation
that would relievo this situation, lift th
Ileus, and revive the properties that had
been crushed to death, and make them of
value to the state, county and city, as
revenue producing in the future. He In
terested and enlisted many public spirited
citizens of Omaha, as well as the Douglas
county delegation in the legislation of I Mi.
and as a result we have what Is known
as the scavenger act
Ths idea of the scavenger lav waa to .
gain for public use as much' revenue as pos
sible from properties against which taxes
In excess of their value constituted liens,
prevented exchanges and In that condi
tion kept the entire amount of taxes un
paid. In 1903 there were 26,000 lots so en
cumbered in Omaha, At the end of 1901
14,000 of these lots had been cleared up
and made tax producers. About 1760,000
was realized In Douglas county, of which
about 1400,000 went to the city and the op
eration of the law has by no mtaits been
completed In fact has accomplished little
more than half of what Is before it.
Public Services of Importance.
Friends of Mr. Hennlngs have declared
his public service In this respect alone of
extraordinary proportions. Ever since
he entered the treasurer's office he had
been seeking to devise a means of cleaning
up the old taxes and starting on a new
basis. The scavenger law whs the result
of much hard study and a close observa
tion and appreciation of real needs.
Though more than 115,000,000 has pased
through his hands during Hennlngs' ad
ministration as city treasurer every ex
examintlon of his books, accounts and
money has found the conduct of ths office,
without defect.
These Inspections Included those of bond
ing companies as well as by city officers.
Democrats and republicans alike have
gone over the department with a fine
tooth comb. In a report for the Fidelity
and Deposit company in 1902 John M.
Gilchrist, an expert employed by the state
under fusion reign, signed bis name to the
following:
We commend the careful work done by
the accountant department of the treas
urer's oltlce and the wtlllnKiiess of the
treasurer In adopting suggestions looking
towards an Improvement of system and
methods. In view of the large volume
of collections, tu.OW.oiO, and the multi
plicity of accounts the accuracy Is re
markable. In accordance with his -view that the
treasurer's office should be run on a busi
ness basis Hennlngs has employed suffi
cient clerks and collectors to keep pace
with the steadily increasing amounts levied
and collectible. He worked on the plan
that a proper expenditure at first hand
saves much money In the end and a bal
ancing of the expenses and Incomes of the
department proves his policy correct.
Where one dollar has been spent many
have been gained.
A Trainload of Glass Enameled Steel Storage Beer Tanks
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The above shows a trainload of Glass exclusively for the aging of thajr high,
Enameled Steel Storage Tanks recently re- grade bottle beer. There are fourteen ut
solved by ths Mala Brewing Co. to be used thess tanks, each holding 126 barrels.