The Omaha Sunday Bee
PART IIL
nbaerfbo Tor
THE OMAHA DEC
Best & West
IIALF-TOIIE SECTION
PAGES 1 TO 8
VOL. XXXVII NO. 10.
OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 23, 11)07.
SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS.
JOHN BAUMER WHO HAS LIVED AND WORKED FOR OMAHA
Son of a Soldier of Napoleon Finds in Ways of Peace that Which Occupies Jlim Daring a Long and Busy Life and is Now Honored in Retirement as One of Omaha's Successful Pioneer Citizens
S
ON of a soldier who marc Med for ten years under the con
quering eagles of the grand army of the great Napoleon is
John Daumer, pioneer of Omaha. His father lived a large
part of his life in that period' when Europe was in the
throes of war, when the "little man of destiny" had come
from his island birthplace, had fought his war to distinction and
into the hearts of the French people, and had. then led his magnifi
cent army from victory to victory until the whole of Europe bowed
before him and kings and princes were his servants. For twenty
years Europe underwent the fierce baptism of blood, fire and carnage.
In 1805 Napoleon's eagles crossed the frontier into Germany.
His grand army at that time numbered 200,000 men. It was made
up of seven corps, each an Independent army In itself in charge of
its generals, marshals and chiefs. In addition to this there were
200,000 Inferior troops. Napoleon immediately levied on the Ger
mans for additional soldiers and among those who were drafted into
the imperial legions was the father of John Baumer, then only a
boy of 16. He served in the campaign Into Spain. Later he took
part In that most marvelous movement of civilized human beings the
world has ever seen, the attempted conquest of Russia.
From his father's own lips John Baumer has .heard the reminis
cences of that campaign, when heaven Itself seemed to arise against
the "world's oppressor" and seek to bring him low, when a mag
nificent army of half a million men, with 100,000 wagons and 1,200
uns, with waving banners, gleaming eagles and gaily-playing bands,
was transformed in a few short months Into a miserable rabble of
scarcely 50,000 men hundreds of miles from a friendly country, half
mad with hunger, cold, disease and suffering, clad in tatters, in
women's Jackets, fragments of old carpets or filthy remains of old
cloaks, pale and cadaverous, defenseless, weaponless, jostling one an
other like a herd of cattle, their heads hanging down and eyes on
the grouni.
"Napoleon," said Mr. Ba timer's father, "was a man of many
moods. He 'was cheerful sometimes, when he would walk or ride
among us, and again he would fly Into the most ungovernable ragea.
But through it all we loved him; yes, even we Germans who he had
drafted into his legions would have laid down our lives in bis de
fense. There was nothing in his pergonal appearance to make men
love him or have awe of him. I have seen him among his mar
shals. Many of them were In the most glittering uniforms. The
emperor wore his famous grey coat, a plain green uniform and a
cocked hat. The ribbon of the Legion of Honor he seemed to try
to hide under the lapel of his coat
"Wewere happy as we marched toward the Russian frontier.
We thought the same unquestioned submission awaited us there as
on other fields through which we had come In the last seven years.
We had a sort of belief In that of which the emperor was always
talking, his Mucky star
"The emperor rode In a carriage with the army. A Inntern was
fixed Inside and through night marches he was constantly at work
while the carriage moved on."
Recollections of Moscow
Mr. Baumer's father was one of the few ho survived that aw
ful winter. He marched with the grand army across the Nlemen
into Russia and advanced toward Moscow, taking part in the battles
.of Mohllef, Drlssa, Polotsk, (Smolensk and Borodino. He was one
Vf those lefoie whose eyes rose the glided towers of the sacred city,
Moscow, richest city In Rutfla. He walked along its echoing streets
whence the inhabitants had fled; he stood on a distant hill and saw
tno names eat up those magnificent palaces and those great treasures
gathered through the centuries Then he took part in that awful
retreat.
"Winter descended upon us in all its horror," he has told his
on. "The nights were sixteen hours long. Most of the Soldiers
were loaded with plunder taken from Moscow. But food soon began
to rive out Then came actual starvation and following that the
snow. I saw many reduced to a state of idiocy. Those who re
tained some semblance of sense kindled fires for the bivouacs; others
seated themselves on the frozen bodies of their comrades and gazed
Mankly at the fire. They looked more like beasts than men, un
washed, unkempt, with faces shrunken by hunger, disfigured by
disease, blackened by the camp fires. The emperor himself walked
among the troops. Our path was strewn by the treasure taken in
Moscow which we could no longer carry."
All this time the Cosracks had been harassing the miserable
rabble of men, sweeping in upon them and capturing or killing whole
companies. In one of the captured companies was the father of
Jchn Baumer. Thereafter he had at least the comfort of warmth
and food and was later exchanged and returned to his native city.
But his fighting days were, not yet at an end. When the allies united
to crush the great world conqueror whom they could not crush sin
gly he again entered the army, this time under the Prussian flag.
He fought in the battle of Waterloo against the general whose con
quering legions he had followed, for seven years and he confessed
afterward to a pang of regret when he saw the old guards hacked to
pieces by overwhelming numbers.
From War to Peace
Enough of war and carnage, of pestilence and famine. The
scene changes to one of peace and probperlty. It is twenty-five
years later. The soldier who passed through so much danger and
suffering following the standards of Napoleon was, in 1840, a
wealthy builder in Munster, kingdom of Prussia. He had four med
als received in recognition of conspicuous bravery in action. One
of these was the highest order given by Franoe, the Cross of Honor;
another was the Iron cross, given by Germany. Whenever a German
or French' soldier passed hlra the soldier had to salute the wearer of
those medals.
But the old soldier advised his son, John, who was born June
4 1 4 A in tnllnu m..M. lii.to.,! . A -
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Therefore, when he was a young man he became apprenticed to a
watch and clock maker, whom he served four years, making "grand
father clocks' by the old hand method and learning to make such
other crude and clumsy Instruments as the business at that time in
cluded. Here is observable tbat Irony of destiny which knits the life of
one msn Into the warp of war and carnage filled with startling
events, with turmoil of men struggling and with the death agonies
of peoples and nations; and the life of another into scenes of peace
and prosperity, the quiet and good order of a Jewelry store. Mr.
Baumer has followed the peaceful tenor of his way in his profession
of expert Jeweler all his life. He left his native city in 1863, going
to London. He worked in the metropolis three years. Then he de
termined to go to the United States.
His brother, William, had preceded him several years and had
sent back accounts of the beauty and promise of Nebraska. Accord
ingly Mr. Baumer embarked on the steamer "Manhattan" August 7,
" 186S. When In mtdorean the steamer broke its screw propeller and
for days drifted helpless. By means of sails port was finally reached.
In New York Mr. Baumer entered the employ of the great firm of
Wasser, Llsauer & Germ. After six "months there he went to Phila
delphia and worked for Clark ft Blddle a few months.
On the Way to Omaha
Having acquired a good command of the language, he started
then for the promised land of Nebraska. Going to Cincinnati, by
rail, he took a boat there for St Louis, came to St. Joseph by rail
and thence to Omaha by boat.
"Omaha had only about ,8.000 Inhabitants when I arrived," he
ya. "I think the thing I noticed chiefly the first day was the mud.
milch was very deep anl very sticky. The wagons sank in to the
bubs of the wheels."
Ho letan hunting for a location at once. But every business
location was taken and it was nearly two months before he found
a vacant building at 333 Farnam street This was on the south tldt
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small equipment and the fact that we could not Dt. as well drilled as
a paid fire company that devotes all lis time to fighting fires. 1 re
member once when we were making a run we got stuck with the
little fire engine in the mud. We tugged In vain at tho long rope
by which we drew it We could see the smoke from the fire getting
thicker and thicker. People came running and calling on us to
hurry, but they didn't want to get out in the mud and help us get
the engine started again. And the more we pulled the more tho
engine seemed to stick. Everybody was shouting at once and all
was confusion. Then a man came along driving a team of mules
Two or three of us made a rush for hlra and in a minute we had his
mules unhitched and fastened to the engine. They pulled it loose
and away we went amid the cheers of the people."
"Honest John at Work
! JOHN BAUMER. . '
of the streettj between Tenth and Eleventh streets. Some idea of
rents may be obtained from the fact that for this building, with a
front of twenty-two feet and depth of fifty feet, he paid $1,000 a
year.
There he hung out his sign and with a very modest stock began
business. The trade grew. His location was convenient to the river
and In the fall the miners began coming down from the upper river
with their sacks of gold dust and yellow nuggets. John Baumer's
place was the great purchasing station for this golden treasure. It
was worth about $18 an ounce.
He became a member of the Volunteer fire department In 1869,.
being secretary of his company. No. 1. He took an active part In
fighting the fires of the early days.
"We built a house at Twentieth and Ixard." he says. "When
ever there was a fire all the volunteers ana as many others as would
do so ran to the house and pulled the engine to the scene of the fire.
There was no city water system then, but we had cisterns under
the street at various points in the town. These were kept full of
water and were our source of supply.
' "The St. James hotel was one of the hottest fires we ever had
to deal with. It was a three-story frame building standing right
across from my jewelry store. The flames were so hot that they
blistered the paint off the buildings across the street. In the Grand
.Central hotel fire we lost four men, who were killed by the collaps
ing of the building when they were within.
"Sometimes we got Into laughable positions on account of our
The little Jewelry business on lower Farnam street grew. la
1869 It was moved to the corner of Eleventh and Farnam streets;
later to Thirteenth and Farnam streets, and then to 1314 Farnam
btreet. It was located at the latter place for eighteen years. The
stock increased from $2,000 to $50,000 and the employes from none
to ten.
During these years the German boy had gained a reputation for
honesty and uprightness and when he went Into politics his friends
immediately dubbed him "Honest John." He ran for city treasurer
In 1874, but in the subsequent contest with Ed Johnson he was
counted out. He was elected to the state legislature In 1875. He
was county clerk In 1881. In 1883 he took a leading part in reor
ganising the Douglas County Agricultural society and was secretary
of the organization for the next ten years, during the most flowery
Season of the society's existence, when as much as $7,000 a year was
spent on the races alone.
Mr. Baumer has always been devoted to singing and has been a
member of the choir in St. Mary Magdalene Catholic church for
many years. He was also one of the leading spirits in the Omaha
Mae'rinerchor and has taken part In a number of German concerts.
He Is a member of the Plattdeutscher vereln and the Catholic Mutual
Benefit association.
In 1869 Mr. Baumer married Miss Josephine Granacher. Her
parents were pioneers of Omaha, her father having conducted the
Valley house In the very early days. Mr. and Mrs. Baumer began
housekeeping at once in the same house in which they now live at
811 North Nlnteenth street. They had eight children, five of whom
sre living. They are as fellows: Wilhelmina. now Sister Consuelo
of the Loretto order stationed in Santa Fe, N. M. ; Sophie, bookkeeper
at the Omaha Commercial club; Bertha, assistant In the publlo
library; Mary, a trained nurse, and William, chief clerk at the Union
Pacific shops. Mr. and Mrs. Baumer celebrated their silver wed
ding anniversary in 1894.
Military Glory Remains
Mr. Baumer's brother, William, who died In 1S69, exercised
some of the qualities which he might have inherited from his soldier
father and was one of the distinguished soldiers of the civil war.
He enlisted at Omaha In the First Nebraska regiment and was mads
captain of Company B. He went through the war, taking part la
twenty-six battles. Th citizens of Cape Girardeau presented him
with a sword in recognition of his services in defending the city
against Ptlc-i and Marmaduke. This sword, together with the four
medalr- won by his father, are now in the possession of Barnhart
Baumer of CMcago. Lefore the close of the war William Baumer
had been made a major, a colonel and a general by brevet. It wai
he who, when called on for a speech at a banquet given after the
war in the Herndon houso, pronnounced that sententious sentence
regarding the campaign of the First Nebraska. "When we fought
mit Siegel." said Colonel Baumer, "dot was noddings, but when wa
fought mit I.osencrans, dot was somedings."
Mr. Baumer has been a member of the Catholic church all his
life. He still sings in the choir of St. Mary Magdalene's church and
still takes a deep Interest In musical concerts. He Is also a devoted
player of games of skill. He was one of the most expert players of,
cness in the city and instructed the present champion, Julius Meyer,
In the game.
Mr. Baumer has been a strict follower of the tenets 'of prohibi
tion all his life. Durlng,the campaign In which James E. Boyd was
elected governor of Nebraska he was vice president of the Personal
Right league. He is a man of decided domestic tastes and takes
the greatest pride and dr light in his home and family.
His brother, Theodore, was a prominent physician in Omaha,
He died In October, 1876. Herman Baumer, now living In Benson,
Is also his brother.
Some of the intricate Puzzles of Modern Airbrakes
Engineers Do Not
IMPORTANT are the airbrakes on
railroad trains nowadays that a fire
man seeking promotion is examined
more rigidly in regard to bis knowl-
J edge of the apparatus governing them
than as to his understanding of the operation of a
locomotive," said the road foreman of engines on
one of the big railroads running into this
city.
"Moreover, the examination on the "air is
harder to pass than on the engine Itself for the
ordinary fireman. It is absolutely necessary that
esch new engineer shall know all about the work
ing of airbrakes and their effect upon short and
long trains under all socU of conditions, and until
he gains this knowledge there is no chance of his
getting an engine.
"The Introduction of the emergency brake
Is largely responsible for this state of affairs, for
this invention, useful as It is, is productive of great'
mischief.
"In the early days of the airbrake when the
'straight air' system was l sod the whole apparatus
consisted of a main reservoir on the engine, with
a single connection with all the brake cylinders
back through the train. When the engineer wanted
to apply the brakes he turned the handle of a
threeway cock in the cab, which allowed the air
pressure from the engine reservoir to ruBh back
through the train, and the air filled one brake
cylinder after another, forcing the brake shoes
against the wheels. This old system bad many
weak points. One of these was that In a long train
the air pressure In the reservoir was not great
enough to fill the cylinders throughout the train
with enough pressure, and the result was a slow
acting brake of low pressure.
Coming of Automatic Brake
"But the most vital defect waa that If a train
was running down hill, say, and a hose connection
broke on any part of the train the engineer was
helpless, and nothing would save a bad wreck
except the best of luck or the prompt application
of the luted brakes.
"Then automatic brakea were Introduced,
which did away with both of these failings. la
Always Know How to Use the Automatic
this system an air tank or reservoir Is placed on
each car alongside of each brake cylinder. This
tank Is filled with an air pressure from the engine
and is controlled by a triple valve attached to the
brake cylinder. This valve has three functions
it releases the air from the auxiliary reservoir on
each car to the brake cylinder when applying the
brakes, then allows the air to escape when the
brake is to be released, and also opens a hole
through which the air pressure from the engine
can once "more charge the auxiliary reservoir.
for Controlling; Trains Under Emergency Conditions
How It Operates
"Now with this system, when the eng'ineer
wants to put down the brakes, instead of turning
on the air as a matter of fact be draws it off. The
pressure in the reservoir of each car being, say,
seventy pounds on one side of the gilding valve
and an equal pressure being on the engine side,
the valve remains stationary, but when the engi
neer allows a certain amount of the air to escape,
this action, weakening the pressure on the engine
side, causes the greater pressure in each car tank
to force out each sliding valve, which as it moves
exposes an entrance to each brake cylinder, and
simultaneously the air rushes Into each brake
cylinder and causes the application of all the
brakes. This device has done away with all danger
of a train running away, for the moment a hone
breaks the pressure on the engine side escapes and
thus causes all the brakes to go down automatic
ally. , '
"This brake has worked successfully in al
most every respect and the engineers have
mastered its workings without much trouble. Then
came the emergency brake, which supplied the
former remaining defect by producing an instan
taneous and tremendous check. But wtth the
emergency brake has come a lot of complicated
apparatus thai has to be thoroughly understood,
theoretically and practically, by the engineers.
"To. put on the emergency brake the engineer
throws over his air lever as far as it will go with
one quick movement. This lets out every bit of
pressure In the train line tbat is holding each
valve in the car reservoirs. Finding no resistance
the air from the car reservoir drives out the slid
ing valve as far as it will go, the great pressure
forcing It further than when an ordinary service
application Is made, and this discloses at once not
only the whole of the entrance port to the brake
cylinder but also another opening leading to the
pressure from the engine. At the bottom of the
second opening is what is known as the emergency
valve, which, borne back by the pressure, allows
added power to enter the brake cylinders from the
train line in conjunction with th other pressure
from the car reservoirs and produces a most
powerful brake.
"Sometimes the emergency device gets be
yond control and causes a lot of trouble. If the
sliding valve on a certain car of a train becomes
clogged with dirt it won't respond to the engi
neer's reduction of, say, five pounds pressure, and
maybe even a ten pound reduction won't have any
effect upon it. As a result the brakes on all the
rest of the cars are partly down and not on that
particular car. Then when the engineer makes
still another reduction the high pressure from this
tank forces the valve suddenly back with a Jam,
causing the brakes to go to emergency not only
on that car. but on every car of the train, with
the result that a train will come to an abrupt
standstill maybe a couple of hundred feet from a
station.
Effects of the Emergency
"That kind of a brake we call a 'kicker,' and .
there are times, when the engineer of a passenger
train has this thing happen to him a half dozen
times during a single run. An emergency applied
while a train is moving at fifty or sixty miles an
hour has no bad effect, owing to the great mo
mentum, but let the train be running at ten or
twelve miles an hour and there will be a shaking
up that will break everything In the dining cars
add make everybody aboard uncomfortable.
"One odd thing about the application of an
airbrake is that tf an engineer of a freight train
has slowed down his train to six or eight miles an
hour on account of a slgnsl against him, and that
signal then clears. Instead of pulling out his throt
tle and trying to regain his headway the wisest
thing for him to do la to brine his train to a
standstill and then start afresh. The chances ar
very much in favor of the train being broken la
two if the engineer under these circumstances
tries to Htart up from slow speed. The brakes,
on account of the length of the train, being re
leased slowly on the rear cars, If the engineer
puts on power once more the havy engine with
a Jerk takes up all the slack In the cars from
which the brakes have been released and soon
finds itself In a tug of war with the hind cars, on
which the brakes are still down. There was ft
case the other day where a heavy engine under
these conditions actually pulled an empty flat car
into two partB.
Control of Freight Trains
"In applying the air on a long freight train
the greatest care must be taken, for if the brakes
on the forward cars go down too quickly they will
come 'to a sudden stop, all the rest of the cars take
up the slack with a rush and, coming against the
solid resistance In front, are very apt to bucklo
a car off the track, and maybe in the way of an
other train.
"This is one of the accidents that the passen
ger engineer knows Is likely to happen, and he
always keeps a most careful lookout on a freight
train he happens to be passing.
"It Is Just as easy for the conductor to put
down the brakes as the engineer, and he can either
bring a train to a gradual stop or, by throwing
back the lever all the way, cause an emergency
application. The conductors on some of the
roads, who are a little nervous, have been known
to make use of this opportunity la more ways
than one. One engineer complains that he can
never make up time when he has a certain conduc
tor behind him. The latter is a scary sort of a
fellov. and when the train gets late tho engineer
turns loose his engine and tries to make up some
of the time, sending the train along faster than
the conductor cares to travel. The latter thea
goes to the emergency lever and makes a service
application of the brakes by causing a small re
duction of the air In the train line. Of course
the train Is held down to a certain speed, no maU
ter how wide-open the engineer pulla hi throttle,
