IS
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TTTE 'OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: OCTOBER 27, 1007.
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Farmers V"hose Soil Has Brought Them Much Wealth and Comfort
1
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O DRRAV8 oom truet . Could
one dream of greater luck than
going Into a now country a a
young man and pfintnilnss, set
ling down upon the unbroken
prairies, and ftndlnjf one's self.
Just at life's prime, with lnnds worth clone
tip around the. Iinn.nno mark, with sleek
herds of rattle around one's barnyard, with
the respect of the community, with a mod
ern home and modern luxuries for one'a ,
comfort, with cHbp, fresh country air to
brrsthe from morning until night, and with
no difficulty In the world to woiry over for
the rent of one'a life?
' And yet Ifa not tuck, after all. Nor la tt
a dream, finch caue for contentment on
earth haa come to hundreds and thousand
inf ordinary men Just plain folks all over
WrU fertile rlains of Nebraska as the re
sult V"f foresight and persistent effort
properly applied. The story of success, aa
uE3
success In this world goes. Is no uncommon
tale in the Nebraska farm regions of today.
Productive expenses of fertile soil, com
fortable and evmn luxurious modern homes,
well painted and well built barns and sub
stantial cribs, up-to-date and expensive;
farm machinery, good looking modern car
riages and fat looking herds of live stock,
are today commoh pictures pointed here
and there and everywhere over these broad
prairies, and It Is the story of failure that
attracts Interest and attention, rather than
tho commonplaco story of success. ,
There was a time when kings of finance
had deep meaning for the west. But today
kings of tho farm land are of more Im
portance. Today the Nebraska farmer,
who walked Into this section without a
cent to his name thirty years ago, and who
homesteaded a quarter section of land
worth homesteadlng. Is ns lndniendent as a
rear, or more so, and ns care-free as care
free could bo. Gloomy forecasts of finan
cial distress have no alarm for him, secure
as he Is from panic's perils, and on "FJasy
Street" through a cahn knowledge that hla
crop go on growing, his cattle taking on
I ( beef, even while their master sleeps.' It
I Is little wonder that this uncrowned em
f peror Is taking Joy -out of life, without a
mixture of the city's nerve-strain, realizing
as he does that each passing moment Is
adding more and more to his material well-
being.
From nothing to fame and fortune to a
plche among the "honest rich" and "de-
slrable citizens" at the age of 48. To
walk into a, virgin paradise at the age of
19 and to be independent of the wolf, to
be independently rich under BO! From a
dug-out and a homestead to possession of
680 acres of the finest farm land In all the
world, a modern home equipped with every
convenience, to a place of honor In the
legislature of the commonwealth, and to
be a young man still! Does It not savor
of a romance or a magazine story for
Sunday afternoon reading? Why be an
oil king?
Nor Is one's Imagination called Into play
to weave this stery. The hero of this
particular talo Is Thomas B. Alderson of
Madison county, Nebraska. And hla Is
but the usual success that has been at
tained by persistent farming In Nebraska,
A a youth of 19, young Tom Alderson and
an older brother came to Madison county. Madison county were casting about for a
That was 1871. Alderson had been born man who could represent them in the state
back in Iowa county, Wisconsin, October legislature. Their eye fell upon Tom Al
ee, 1862, and he had a yearning for tho dersun. He was elected and did efficient
now west His yearning was n money- WOrk. He Is aulet and mild-voiced, but
maker. First locating on a fiirm three
miles aoutheast of Norfolk, then moving
to tho present alto of Creston In Flatto
county, Tom Alderson In 1871 returned to
Madison county and took a claim eight
miles southeast of the present city of
Madison. Upon that claim he still resides,
though differently environed.
Tom Alderson demonstrated that It Is
wlAr,o marry young. He took a wife and
hlsi?omestead at tbe .same time, and both
wer good moves. Miss Amelia Slater was
bis brido. Two daughters have graced
their home, Mlsa Mae Alderson. first pri
mary teacher at the Fresoott school, Lin
coln, and Mrs. A. V. Brown, whoso hus
band la a auocessful druggist at Superior,
aav,"l u Mrs Alderson
several years, Mr. and Mrs. Alderson
bullded bouse, which at present a.rve.
tho homo for - their employes. lMgm
- . V. I., ,11 radf
modern house
fn which they now reside. Tho 60 acre,
iTf ;rchhMadf.on county land owned by
Mr. Alderson Is all in one ooay. ui is
divided Into two forma. Tho homo larra
.... .,-. arm 5ji
contain. v
. a - ai.. tn4 Y oTAvn mnram VA.ltllB.hl A. AO
also has the live .took reared upon that
Gleanings from the
Heed Not Know G'ogerphy. .
T Is not necessary for a girt to
become a scholar In geography
In order to obtain a husband,
according to a story related be
fore a meeting of the Associa
tion of Head Teachera oX tho
tinmu Kiude in Chicago.
C. D. Lowry, school district superuv
tendent, told tho etory. which had to do
with one of tho teachers in the Nixon
scaooi, f orty-secona ana uicitens avenues.
Tho mother of one of this teacher'o girl
PUPilo had demanded tho reason why her
s? sa
aMMam
daughter had not been promoted at me outside.' " Washington Star.
end Of tho year. The teacher replied that
the girl had not passed In geography. Speaking of Proposals."
"What difference does that makeT" asked They were a crowd of married men,
the Irate mother. "The girl has got an reminuCent of the dayo of their court
older sister who didn't know her g'oger- anjp.
phy and she was promoted and has got a
man; and I never knew g'ogerphy and I
bava got a man; and you know g'ogerphy
and you ain't got no nmn at all."
"Thero Is considerable philosophy bo-
neath the view that woman took," said
Mr. Lowry. "There Is something In Ufa
more than the learning a child gets from
books." Chicago Inter Ocean.
-
Blgbly ptrlooa.
"It la a rule, to which good lawyera
usually adhere," says a Philadelphia at-
torney, "never to tell more than one
knows. There was an Instance In Eng-
land, not many years ago. wherein a law-
yer carried the rule to the extreme.
."One of the agents In a Midland Revision
court objected to a person whose name
was on the rtgiuter on the ground that he
was dead. The revision attorney declined
' ' to accept the asnurance, however, and de
manded conclusive testimony on the point.
"The agent on the other, aide arose and
jLve corroborative evidence aa to tho do
. IT. lpp of the man In question.
" 'But, sir, how do you know the man's
dead?' demsnded tho barrister.
" 'Well,' was the reply, I don't know.
It's very difficult to prove.'
" 'As I suspected," returned the barris
ter. 'You don't know whether he's dead
or not.'
"Whereupon the witness coolly oortln-u-d:
'I was saying, sir, .that I don't
know whether he is dead or not; but I
do know f . they burled him about a
month ago on suspicion.' " Harper's
Weekly.
Not Hla Thaader.
A Phlladelhla property man was ro
tating,' In a sad and respectful voice, h's
Memories of Richard Mansfield.
"If one worked hard," he said, "one got
on with Mr. Mansfield welL Ha never re-
buked me 'but ence, and then lt w as hardly
my fault.
"It waa a sultry afternooa In tho tprii-j
V "
rv,
ircrvns or jottn w.
land hecoma more cIvlHied. Whera
formerly there was Just a general run of
cattle, any cow being a cow, today Tom
Alderson Is specializing In a fancy breed
of Shorthorn cuttle and Poland-China Jjogs,
Each year he feeds from 160 to 100 hea4
of choice beeves, whose value ranges well
up around the $30,000 mark,
With the transplanting of the dug-out
by a modern home has come the trans-
planting of Isolation by modern advantages,
Solitude haa been driven to the sand hill
and Tom Alderson's farm haa been
brought within speaking distance of Nev
York City by a rural telephone line. Today
he writes his letters and drops them la
a box Just outaldo the front door, whera
the rural mallcarrler picks them up eaoa
day. Here, too, he dally picks up hi
papers and his other mall from the city.
To supply the demands of his farm h
buys, euch year, besides what Is raised
on the home farm, iroin u.uw to zo.nv
bushels of corn.
So much for Tom Alderson's material
success. But n has done more. He haa
been elected to a political honor by hla
neighbors. Last full the republicans of
effective. His name headed the list of all
tna representatives on the roll call and
v.,a vote auted as a guldepost to many who
followed. '
Tom Alderson has demonstrated that the
road to fame and fortune is by no means a
rocky one if built :of Nebraska dirt. Some
men were born rich and some have simply
settled down on Nebraska farms to bide
their time.
Coming to-Madisdn county in' 1874 with no
capital, save their courage and willingness
to work, John W. Ray and Louis W. Ray,
now owners of LOOO acres of One farm land
five miles west of this city, stand out as
notable examples of the success that can
bo attained from Nebraska's soil through
PUtent eert. Undaunted by the fact
J-
" ' wer. v
'" - ,h ' twn v-,n
-----
brothor today under 46 kept stiff upper
- ''VTTJ
third of a century they have farmed tho
land on which they live. They took home-
ateads and later added to their claims.
n h ,,, their only occupation.
Besldes farming today 1,000 acres of land
bordering on the Elkhorn rlv.r-and thero
Story Teller's Pack
and we'were rehearsing one ot tho Mans-
field plays I think It was1 Or. 'Jekyll and
Mr. Hydo' and hsro and thero 1 had to
supply a olap of thundor.
"Everything went well for a time. Thon.
in an unexpected place, a loua roar in
thunder rumbled forth.
Mr. MansBeld
hurried to mo.
" 'Look here,' he said, with a hurt look.
'do bo careful, won't youT A mistake Uktt
that wouid . bo . very serious before an
audlence, lriat clap of thunder cams in
,he wrotlB. niace
i am very sorry. Mr. Mansfield." said I,
ut lt wttBn t my thunder. It cams trow
"Jim, I don't see how you ever plucked
up courage enough to ask your wife, you
were alwaya auch a bashful sort
"WeH," replied Jim," she made lt pretty
)easy for me. You know I shlned up to
her for a long time and of course, she must
have known I meant business. But the
only time we ever made reference to it
was one night we were Bitting on tho
porch. I said to her rather casually, so
she wouldn't think I meant anything dol-
lnlte:
"'Do you think you'll ever marry T
"She said she thought she might, so I
asJd. 'Whenr
" 'Whenever you do.' was her quick re-
tort, and I said 'All right So wo Bx.d
REV. Z. F. 8WEENI
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1JV1NO ROOM IN
is no prettier valley In God's out-of-doors
than the Elkhorn these Ray brothers feed
and ship to market every year about , six
teen carloads of fat cattle. All of the corn
and other grain raised on their farm land
is fed to their own live stock. Last year
they raised 15,000 bushels of corn 'and 400
tons of hay has been cut this year. In a
year they shipped sixteen carloads of cattle
to market ten cars to Chicago and six to
South Omaha. Besides this, they ship six
Another Fine
NOTHEU $60,000 church will be
added to Omaha's splendid ar-
ray of magnificent ecclcslasti-
cal structures today. It Is th
A
handsome new home of the
First Christian congregation.
Situated on a commanding eminence at tho
corner of Twenty-sixth and Harney streets,
the building Is a good example of modern
church architecture, combining the quail-
ties of churchly beauty with substantial-
ne...
built of an excellent quality of
faced brick and heavily trimmed with Bed
ford stone. The style of architecture Is
Doric Creek. Its splendid colonades and
porticoes fronting two streets Dresent a
moBt beautiful and Imposing appearance,
jt u without a spire and has a roof of
tfrecn tli0. xhe basement of the building Is
finished In southern pine, and contains an
UMmllly room for lb,9 ,choo wlth
numerous class rooms and every modem
conveniences for Bible school work besldo
a large kitchen and dining room. The
auditorium has a sealing capacity of 1.000
It Is finished in white mahogany and pro
vided with massive pews finished In
mahogany. Back of the auditorium and
above It are the ladles' parlors, an as-
mlly room for tho choir and the pastor
study. Tho bylldlng is heated throughout
with steam and brilliantly lighted with
Incandescent lights. Ths contractor and
builder says there Is not a more sub
stantially constructed and lasting building
In the city than this one.
This magnificent churchly structure la
to be dedicated free from debt. The fact
that there is no debt is due largely to tho
wonderful advance in the value of Omaha
real estate In recent years. The coa-
iregatlon waa fortunato enough ' to buy
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xm sua Booot.
JOHN W. RATS RESIDENCE MRS. RAT
to ten cars of Iioks sixty head to the .car
every ryear to Omaha. And when.it Is
borne In mind that hogs are practically
"velvet" on the farm," their' "board and
keep" amounting to practically 'nothing at
all when a herd of cattle is maintained, It
may be seen that John D. Rockefeller has
no monopoly on all of the money-making
of the country. Not while the Nebraska
farmer Is on earth.
Both John and Louis Ray are happily
Church to
property In advantageous places selling
it always at an advanoe and buying else-
where, tli same process of advancing
values being repeated to tho advantage of"
the congregation.
xne nrst home of the congregation In
Omaha waa erected forty years ago on
the south side of Harney street between
Fourteenth and Fifteenth streets. The
building Is still standing and Is now oc-
cupled by a blacksmith shop. The Lr"ile
then bought a lot on the southwest, corner
of Twentieth and Farnam streets, where
W. A. DeBORXSt
la :' l. . V . -i-n"- r a i I VI .
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TUB FliiflT CHRISTIAN CHURCH O? OMAHA,
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PUk.TINO GUITAR.
married, beautiful homes and charming
wives being among their proudest "possea
stons. Their domestic relations are pai
tlcularly pleasant, and, living next door ta)
the rest of the world on account of tho
rural mail service and. the telephone, thef
have nothing to desire. Besides being suo-
cessful farmers they are princely fellows
and. take a large Interest In the affairs of
the community. L. W. Ray has one sou
and John W. hus two sons.
Be Dedicated
they built a church and worshipped for
several years. When the grade of tho
street there was raised some thirty feet
the lot was sold and the building waa
moved to the corner of Twentieth and
Capitol avenue, where It was used until
It was condemned as unsafe.
Then the congregation met for a time la
various , halls and other temporary places
throughout the city. When the present
pastor. Rev. S. D. Dvtcher, took up hla
work In June, 1904, the congregation was
meeting In the Rohrbough block, at Seven-
teenth and Douglas streets. Steps wera
taken at once to erect a building to be oo
cupled until a permanent edifice could bo
provided. . A lot was bought in the fall of
1904 at Nineteenth and Farnam streets and
a frame tabernacle was erected. This
proved the most fortunate of the fortunate
real estate purchases made by tho congre
gation. It paid tlS.000 for tho lot In tho
fall of 1904, and sold lt two years later for
$40,000. Then the ground on which tho
' present church stands was bought. It Is
90x192 feet and the price paid for lt waa
110.000, Ground was broken for the new
building in October, 190G, and the corner-
stone was laid February S, 1907.
Rev. 8. D. Dutcher, the pastor, has earned
a refutation as a builder of churches. He
eame to Omaha from Oklahoma Cltv.
where he had Just completed a fine church,
During a ministry of twenty-five years ho
haa erected seven churches.
William A DeBord Is chairman of tho
building committee, John McDqnald Is the
architect, and Charles W. Partridge ths
contractor and builder.
At the dedicatory services today Dr. Z.
T. Sweeney of Columbus. Ind., will bo tbe
chief speaker. Dr. Sweeney was consul
general to Constantinople under President
Hayes. Ho baa a high reputation a
5
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HO MS OF T. a ALDETRBON, NEAIl MJUIflOI4
THOMAS EX
Quaint Features
windier Wins Encore.
QUAINT story of a swindle
with an encore comes from
Fotter county, Pennsylvania,
where a prominent farmer
named John Bloomer, residing
near Ayrea Hill, lost a
A
large
sum of money. Ho received
a personal
letter, in which lt was
stated that there was an abundance of
the best grade of granulated sugar to he
. had at 24j cents per pound, providing that
the purchase was made In ton lots and also
that payment be made In advance.
, The name signed to the offer was that of
W. O. Wagner of Cumberland, Md. Mr.
Bloomer thous-ht that he had a rare nnnnr.
tunlty to make seme meney, so he mailed
a check fer a ton shipment. In a week ho
had heard nothing of the order, and ho
wrote to Mr. Wacner". Ho received a let-
ter In avhieh the writer stated that ho was
surprised to learn that the sugar had not
been delivered, and that he would send a
tracer, after the lost car. He ulso stated
that he still had one ton left. ant if Mr
Bloomer wanted lt he would ship lt at
once upon receipt of the necessary
amount.
pn aclir, lecturer and author, both In
tills country and in Enrope. He has spoken
In Omaha before. The formal dedicatory
services will be at 11 o'clock, when Dr.
Sweeney will be the speaker. At t o'clock,
there will be a fellowship meeting, at which
a number of pastor of the city will speak.
At 7:30 o'clock a splendid musical program
la to bo rendered by Profs. Ellis and Ben
nett. This will be the first appearance of
trof. Ellis' chorus choir in tho city.
REV B. W. DUTCHER.
'. .v - y v:.
. t'r. .
ALDER 90?
of Every Day Life
Tho farmer still believes In tha offer and
sent the money for tho second lot. Nothing
haa been beard of Wagner since.
I
Cut Blocks KUTstea Itd.
One cat, pale, wan, aenemlo, aad, and
with malice toward none, quietly perched
on a crossbeam In tbo elevated railway
structure at Fifth avenue and Lake street,
caused a congestion of tho antlra circula
tory system of that part of Chicago ono
day last week.
, Nobody knows to whom tho eat belonged
or why or where lt came from, or howi
lt got onto the elevated structure, reports)
the Inter Ocean. In view of tho fact that
cats do net as a rule climb iron posts, thta
cat wa" Prbb'y nature fakir taking ad.
vantage of the aresldenfo temporary ab-
enc twon civilization.
Al tnat clearly and distinctly known
bout the cat Is that lt was seen sitting
on tha struoturo by Walter Powers,
niounted policeman, who stood In his stir.
rui nd tried to antloo tho oat to coma
Into his arms.
"Kltty-kltty-kltty-k1tty-kltty-kltty-kltty
kttty-kltty-oat," said Powers In hla most
alluring falsetto.
"Meoawi" replied tha eat to tha law a
representative. -
A crowd gathered at the curb. Cara
wtUting to get through backed up on Lake
street and on Fifth avenue to tho place
where Water street churns and foams with,
its countless teams. Six Wells street cara
became stalled on tho bridge coming over
town. A steamship came along and wanted
to get through the draw. The bridge could
not turn and tho captain of the steam
ship, without knowing why, had to turn
around and wait.
Meanwhile several thousand persona were;
making suggestions to Powers.
"Get some suit" and "Show him soma)
milk" and "Get a balloon." and other blta
of advice and encouragement wero of
fered. Finally, tecause no one had sug
gested It, he thought of tho fire depart
ment and sent for a book and ladder
truck.
When it came tho cat was gone. So
were the several thousand persona, Bo
were the blocked cars. There was no one
-left to tell the story. All thst remained
was the memory of It and the elevatod
structure, with nothing marking the spot
where the cat had been.
The truck was sent back.
, 4,
Kqoallsa tloK.
Prof. Brandnrr Matthews, who Is at
least as good a wit as he Is a reformer,
was overheard once talking with Mr. Car
negie. "I notice, Mr. Carnegie," he said, "that
you don't limp."
"And wby should I?" asked the philan
thropist, "Well." slowly answered the professor,
"maybe they pull them alternately."-
Llppiucotfa Magazine,