n
THE OilAIIA SUNTUY BFX: MAT 31. 190S.
X
i
Omaha's "Water Front Not Available for Steamboat Landing: Places
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fcm iih iii AmiiWIiW.! i..h I i i hi i i I .. i iJTsi m wn i nr m i ii i ii mi.m
POVTFTR HOT -
WICK in the Ms'ory of tha Ml-
H " I otiri river front at Ornaha the
I I In' have hoen wor.h uch a
i imn amall amount that tlic-i la
f'-tf-jj s.aicely any recorj of tl;-lr
'rutSi,J ng jrice or appralfe uent.
When tli flrat aptiltra locatKl a ftw scat
tered cabins along the river front the en
tire atr-trh of land from a point near wl.at
la iiiw Cut-Off lake to a point oppjslt !
Bouth Omaha la raid to have b,een bought
fro-n the Indians for 11 In beads, liu:tuns,
gt-wjiawa arid bad coins. This waa probably
the market value at the time, but many
year later, whea the steamboat tr dia-
WHERE THE
continued and th rallroada wanted the
river front for yarda and terminals, In
the minds of appraisers the value of the
uncertain land hadr.ot Increased very
much and the Union Pacific Railroad com-
pa.-.v ohta'ne'd blocks and blocks of riv. r
fr nt for prices so low that two handsful
cf Connecticut-made wampum would have
tenure! a rrlncly sum.
I t that was forty-two years ago. To-
dt the river front carries a value so
lar o that those who propose building
doi' a to lsnd steamboats at Omaha once
nijre are staggered at the possible price
which will have to b paid for ih land
one a ifmm as Ut aXf said wit, la Ui
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VIEW FROM BKLOW UXION PACIFIO BRIDOa
Gossip and
Csarag of B. Aathoay.
T has Wo so many years ago
that moat people have forgot
ten that the late Susan B.
Anthony was fined 1100 or a
year's Imprisonment for having
dared to vot for General Grant
fur prtaident." said Judge F. H. Meyers of
Chicago In an Interview.
"Miss Anthony was as brave as sh was
intellectual, and asked to be allowed to
siak a word in her own behalf. Permls-
a..
oil
helnM Klven. sh told tn coun oi
the
struggle slS had In keeping a llttl
newspaper
going, from whlcn sn maa
her living. 'Your honor,' she Mid, holding
up her right hand. 'I am due my creditors
rot lesa than l.uo. Thla money I expect
to Uv to pay. but I am willing thi arm
shall wuner trom ui luJy weiuf X
pay th 10 you hav so unjustly aasesMd
k gainst me.'
Th court realised th deep serioua
r.ess of Mia Anthony' declaration, and
tltugh sh could hav been ordered to
Jail for nonpayment of th fin hi honor
old not hv th nerv to e.foro th x
Itrem penalty. MU Anthony Uv4 for
many r after it Inipoaillon, but th
fin waa uever paid."
4
' jvaLa lUkaaotyh Law OOte.
Few paoapl know that th law offlo
la which that famous Virginian, John Ran
dolph of Roanoke, ano praoUosd Is tUl
la xltBti a&4 1 tUl twin; used for a
elcular yurpoMb I Us courtyard tn th
mn
K9 AKD LVirEER YARD 3.
niuiky stream. Troperty on the banka of
thu river Is aa valuable aa In the h. art
of the bualnesa district, and some of It
has been "made" at a great txp1 n.". n
th front where steami-ra cnu'.d frm:. Ik
land at will factories, ameluro, rai r.uj
ahopa, tHatillerlea, breweries and the lk
are ojierated and power la generated f jr
lighting the city and driving m;ici.lnry
and trolley care, and the e miblned y rnduct
la worth more than all the money In
Omaba gold, allver. aptr unil cn tliia
baaia it would be practically impossible to
buy any great amount of the rial esiate,
which waa formerly levee, government lota
REED STRIP LIES.
and tax lots, given away by th mayors of
Only the Missouri river has been sbl to
claim all the real estate on th. river front
which money could not buy, and sine the
first plat of the town of Omaha was made.
probably In 1855. by the father of Dr.
Oeorge L. Miller, the river has helped ite.f
generously. Below the Union Pacific
bridge near Mason street the river has
swallowed over fifty city blocks which
were onco. platted. These contained over
700 city lots, which would now be worth
more than half a million of dollars. At
the foot of Jones street, where Byron. Reed
oac tali a Urg tract of river-front prop-
Stories About Noted People
llttl Tillage of Kenbrldg. Lunenburg
county, Virginia, stands toeWy an old,
weather beaten, brick office building, with
a shingle roof. It is one story high and has
only a single large room, but It Is now
famous in Virginia as the building in
whlcii John Randolph did much of his law
work and prepared his speeches. In tha
earlier day of Virginia' history It was
th cuatom to build a number of these
little office on th courtyard greens, and
It u unusual then for a lawyer to hav an
office anywher but there. "Old inhabi
tants" of Luen&urg still toll with admira
tion of th wonderful mint Juleps that
John Randolph used to mix In his office.
Th Da4 "Oatmeal King."
Ferdinand Schumacher, the dead "oat
meal king," deserve mora than a pasaing
tribute, aays th New York World. He
bad won a double niche In the tempi of
fam. H will rank with the Morses. Mc
Cormlcka and Edisons as a hero of Inven
tion and among the Havemeyer and
Armour as a captain of Industry. Schu
macher found th American breakfast taole
a chaos of pancakes, hot biscuit and pi,
and h left It a sweet symphony of cereals
and cream, lie was an apostle cf pre
digestion among th dyepepUe peopt.
Under hi deft manipulation th deaptaed
grain wbioh Dr. Johnson said waa food for
horses In England and for men In Scot
land was transformed into a gastronomic
deligtiL Will Edinburgh hav no monu
ment t th Hanowrlan immigrant who
oarriad abroad the celebrity of its "gran
ruld,' 'aa Dary fcaifvur- Ulid twJJad Ut
II
T
y'fy..;,-.:.
ft (
ertr. more than fifty lots are In the rlrr
and the b-veu In front f them went alon?
Into the merciless n aw cf the trou'ileiom-"
a:id rentless Misnoyri liver. Just now the
r!fr la promising to give up a gooj ahare
f thia land and when the water Is Ijw
the heirs of Byron Reed may fee come of
tl. 'ir property coming slowly up out of the
ri'-er.
And this Reed prep' fly seems to be tho
key to the dock question in Omah i. Th
eioin has left from the avarlciou n::ark
of the river aume 40J feet of river-'ront
pr 'p.-rty. stretching from a point b ut 1
feet north of Jones street to within a few
feet of Leavenworth street. Nothing is on
this land. It has been the city dump for
gome time, but me garnage co;nrani were
ordered to cease dumping into the river
by the War department and since tl en It
has been Idle, waiting for an occupant.
To the west of this, with'.n fifty feet of
th river, there Is a net work of railroad
tracks, owned and controlled ly the R.ir
linglon. Even the heirs of the BytVn R -e-d
estate are doubtful as to whether they
could take possession of the property for
docks, as the railroad com;. any has many
times Intimated that when it secured the
right of way for tracks paralleling the
river, It also secured the river front or it
was understood that Its title Included th'
river front then but a faw feet of land be
tww n tho tracks and the river. 'With the
trfi b"longing to the Byron Reed ce.m
pary In the hands of a railroad company,
the last available land for docks on the
river front, Is pone.
There was a "First street" along the
river front about the time the North Omaha
creek wound r. bo tit through what la row
a business and residence part of the city,
crossing Sixteenth street at CaFS and carry
4np a good bit of soil to the h vee.- In the
south part of the city theru was a '"South
Omaha creek," and It too did Its full share
In maintaining the levee. This levee" prop
erty waa the aubject of much discussion
and acores of ordinance were passed to
govern it by the early municipal legislature.
Uut the levee Is gone now, though some
of the ordinances governing It are still
oelWKO 11,0 U"KK9 0"CB, 01 lnB
revlsed and erected edlUon of the ordl-
nances.
Three lots between what Is now Farnara
nd Douglas street, west of Sixth street.
wr aeeded to J- -. Mitcnell in isto for fx.
nineteen jaier me.se ioib naa raiien
lrjt0 tne hands or M. S. McOoeon. who sold
on f them In 1ST8 for UX. Th value of
this lot today Is probably $12,500 on th
basis for whlcli vacant lots have sold on
the river front, but as It belongs to a
railroad company It could not be secured
at auy price.
.1 -
Th pink cheek of a million schoolboys
testify to th reform Schumacher wrought
In a nation' dietary. Thanks to him, corn,
rye, barley and all the farinaceous grains
iow supply bone and sinew to tha popu
lace. In a record of Schumacher's achieve
ments his contributions to American litera
ture should not be overlooked. 11 was th
Maecenas of th 10-cent magaxin. The
mueJc-rakera may hav had th glory, but
the true story of th auccea of many a
periodical Is to b read tn th broakfast
foot advertisements. Th mua would hav
been on short rations but for th cereals.
9
Beaatar Bacss't laaT.alr,
Senator N. O. Bacon of Georgia, who Is
regarded as th natural successor of John
Tyejr Morgan of Alabama, as an ex
pounder Cf tbe cwisrtUutlon and lony-dla-t&i-.oe
talker, has a scarf pin In his pos
session that he prises very highly, and
which has an interesting history. Several
years ago he mad a visit ta ths Philip
pine and enrout horn he stopped off at
the Island of Ceylon and visited a camp of
Bor prisoners of war. His sympathies
were with the Boer causa, and h re
quested permission from th British au
thorities, to talk with man In th detention
camp, bat this was refused. However, h
waa allowed to go through, th camp es
corted by a couple of English officer. Th
prisoner wer drawn up In Una, acd as
th Georgia senator passed down It be
gav each man a cordial handshake Th
next day aa h aa going aboard Lis ship
a llttl gut pusiiad a aruail pax. act In Us
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SOUTH OI TUB DOT'GIAS 8TREET BRIDGE.
It was In 1S(X that F. A. H.iffman secured
three lots In the same location from tiie
mayor of Omaha for II, and four years
later Mr. Hoffman sold 11. em to M. F.
Hamilton for :7. When the C'udy I.uuiher
company Wanted these siinie lota to extend
its lumber yards In l!i3, the price paid was
tuu.ntfl. '
8. line of the appraisements made by the
boards when the Union Pacific Railroad
company was securing ita right if way In
I., show thu small v;ila placed on the
river front in those days. Six lots at the
foot of Ilainey street bel.nged to un eastein
woman, who wanted more cf them tharv the
railroad company was Willi;. g tj pay. The
appia sirs allowed her . l u, fi. SJS. 3a
and Iii f r her pro er;y. S i ua:ej as til. y ate
teniae, with trackage fuciliile . if the rail
road con ;i.'uiy was imt using t.u m for
rlpht cf way. tiie lots would bo worth Jl'.iJ,
eu as a factory or warehouse si'e.
The river front Is controlled by about
six corporations or lmUvM i: who have
been making the most of i,s a.l anlao s.
Beginning ut a point mv.r the Lira land
aita-lied to the Nebraska Minre near Cut
Off lake, the Winepoar triangle is owr.fi
by Iiavld Whitney and other heirs of an
estate. It is leased to a number or dilfei
ent companies. Including lea puckers and
rallroada.
But the Omaha Water companv has the
stretch of river front freim Izard to Purt
streets, fettling basins beuK located vn
this property.
From Port street to the Pouglas stre-. t
bridge the land vn the river front Is
practically al! owned by the Union Pacific
Railroad i-ompnny and the American
En. citing and Refining company. To this
land there Is little or m record. The
Union Pacific seeur. d it fur ritrht-of-way
and the deeds and titles given by the city
to individuals did not "make gew.d" from
a point some ways Inland. But the early
officials recognized the necessity of the
railroad and the wonderful development
and growth of the city which the Union
Pacific company would cause and the title
to the rlsht-of-way remnlned ' w hen all
else on the river front "fell through."
occnnled by the Union
Paclfio shop and yards has been "made."
when tne COmpany enlarged Its shops at
var!ou8 times. It was found that further
expan8lon toward the city was Impossible,
and It proceeded to make yarda and shop
roora Dy fining In many rods of the "Har-
hor of Omaha." This land is without a
history and practically without record or
title, but there Is no one to dispute th
right of the enterprising company to hold
It forever.
From, Faraam to Harney street th river
EREWUKfES JLlfD OTHER FACTORIES ABOT7ND
band, and fled. Opening It up Bacon
found a beautiful cowrie scarfpln, hand
somely mounted, with this line on a scrap
of paper: "From grateful Boers."
Dr. Koch's Relatives.
Dr. Robert Koch, th famous German
bacteriolog'st. now visiting the United
Statea, has a good many relatives living
in this country. Ills wife accompanle him
and they are on their wsy to Japan,
China and India, to be gone until th sum
mer of 1Si9. Th reel purpose of Dr.
Koch's Journey Is to recover his health,
which suffered In Africa, whre for the
lsst two years, sent by Emperor William,
he has traced the course of the disease
popularly known as "sleep sickness. " Tie
discovered a new germ, but sacrificed hta
own health In thla service for science and
humanity. He will vialt a nephew In Chi
cago, Prof. Waldemar Koch of the Unl
veraity of Chicago, then go to ee hta
brother, .Adolph Koch, a farmer In Key
stone. T , "4 then to Bt. TjoiiIs, where
h ha three brother, Arnold, Edward
and Henry M. Koch. Dr. Koch Is a native
cf Clauathal, Hanover, Germany, where he
was born In MM. He was grsduated from
th University of Goettlngen. In 1W b
waa made chief of th German communion
sent by th imperial government of Ger
many to Egyypt and India to Invesitgat
cholera, with th famous result of dis
covering tha cholera germ, known as th
cholera spirillum or comma bacillus. A
year later th government awarded btm
lOO.uOO marks or K2.000 for th dlatln
trulshed service. In 1930 ha waa credited
with bavin discovered a process by which
by th us of a bypodermlo Injection th
consumption gr in or lubaxel baoilU eouid
be destroyed, (
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front belongs to the Union Tnclflc m!t-
road company, the Purllngton Railroad
rotnpsny and back from the river in a
location wl leh would he a pnudVile plac
for div ks. tiie Cady Lumber company haa
its .van's. South of this to Jones street,
on the est side of the tracks, nrt to
Leavenworth street, on the ea.t side cf th
I'l-rlrrtoii tiai;s. t he lind Is owned t'jr
the railroad companies, Tlenne Rerson and
the Hyron Re, d et:ite.
Puth of Jones street the railroads hv
another strip and P. K. Her owns a long
stretch. The Ovrnra Electric Light and
Power companv linve a block south of
Jones, and the Ona'u & Ouncll Itlufft
Street Railway -onipany have property
nor.i. of the Union I'nfifie hr eli-e. but It
Is bU equally fnacr edible to the river front
beeiuse of the Purl'ngton railrvaJ trnrks.
Vrn-re In the h i-l" r. of Omal a a t'ea-n-b'.nt
could li;nd with its cargo, south of
I'love; ce nr 1 n irih of .Couth Unwha. is
im'ter of n;st'iy to enjrlne-.'rs ho hnvs
exam 'ie 1 the rlvr front at Otnal-.a. and
it lupins to Inok as lhouh a fw acres of
land will have to be d.i!iat"d by the river
or "rmdo" by the first coirpsT.y whh-li
deciles uoe-l.e Oil tl-u river frriM.
Thus th Missouri river front, one? fre
fer the landing of a rowhoat, stesmer,
launch or raft. Is protected from the ns
cf those who would use It for dorks, by
thousands and thousands of tons of steel,
which cross n.nd recross all roads leadlnaf
to It scores of time's, forming a perfect ne-t.
work of rails. The value of It to the great
corporetirns s Inconceivable to the ordi
nary mind. In the contemplation of an,
evolution so Immense a million dollars or
so could pass unno:lc!l. To tho student of
finance it presents a staegerlne; a"cumula
tion of riches, for he realizes that nearly
half of the gigantic total has gone In th
form of unearned Increment to the owner
of the bare river front. ,
Rut thoee who had to do with giving
the river front to the railroads did not
foresee the day when It would be again
wanted for docks. They saw only that th
railroads were to take the place of the,
steamboats and th river front offered
the easiest way for the lines to enter tha
city. The business houses which wera
formerly located along the river In order
to handle merchandise with the least ex
pense, demanded that the railroad track
be built to their doors, and as the city
develooed the river front was abandoned
to those who appreciated Its value.
Thus while the land one sold for SS la
gewgaws and buttons. It is posalbl that
It Is worth, with Its property, a sum so
vast that any other plan for developing:
a harbor with docks would b cheaper
than to buy or condemn and psy for th
real estate and property on the river front.
r
sTTS
HERE.
Quaint
Toraad Brlaaa Bars Bark.
NE of the resident of Green
Village, Pa.. Yen Yensen by
name, feeling aggrieved because
doubtera acoffed at hla tornado
experience, sulemnly depoaea as
follows:
"On the night of April 90. while he was
asleep In his barn after participating in a
birthday party, he was awakened by a
roaring sound which he .Is convinced was
produced by a tornado. That the barn
was csught up in the vortex and waa
whirled around with auch rapidity that he
became giddy and clung to the floor to
maintain Ms equilibrium.
"That the bam was carried through the
air for a long distance until by a freak of
nature the tornado reversed Its motion,
greatly to his discomfort, snd returned
tha barn to the place from which It came.
"That, In a gentle and careful manner,
the whole stroctur settled back upon It
foundations so that not even a chicken
was disturbed upon Its roost and not a
Joist was sprung.
'That all thla took place In the apaca of
leaa than an hour and was not noticed by
the members of his family In ths dwelling
house 100 feet swav. Furthermore, depo
nent believes that this peculiar freak In
storm motion might properly be called th
Bwadlsh movement."
Dead Wife Waa R settee.
Seven death In seven days by suicide
er murder war recorded In Ltansport.
Ind., when, as a climax to a week of
tragedy Myndua Grace, aged S year, com
tuitua suicld toelar. en np&t&a ajt ta
I!
v
SMEL.TIXQ OCCUPIES MUCU WAXES FRONT.
VCTLLOW EPRIN03 DISTTLLERT.
assJeJaMrgapBlsppig
j'' 'L'',':: V' ' !"rtii', ''I',1'1 .'i-'t'i '
CHEDS BELOW
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6HOP8. TARDS AND STORAGB
Features of Everyday Life
went south to work, snd as he failed to
write to his wife, she thought he had de
serted her. She promptly committed suicide.
For weeks before Grace had complained
to friends that hla wife's ghost haunted
him. In the midst of hla dreama ha rose
shouting: "There sh la! My wife!"
The vision waa ao acuta that Grace killed
himaelf, leaving this note: "When you
bury m beside my wife she may keep
still."
Slept With a Mamany.
Eben C. Chamberlain, famous scientist,
former city bacteiiolrglst of Chicago and
honor graduate of Princeton In 1&-4, is
dead at Pittsburg. He was one of tha moat
remarkable churactera and one of the best
chemists In the United Elates. Eight
years ago Chamberlain and his bu r.caa
partner eut 13 Ps'afonia to look for gold.
While there they mad an agreement that
if one died the other waa to cut off his
head and bring It back horn. The partui r
died there, and Chamberlain carried out
tha agreement. He kept the skull in l is
room all the time. Between the grinning
teeth of the skull was thrust a clgaieUe,
tiny electric light glotes took the place
of eye, and rakiahly balanced on one 1Jj
of tha akull waa a battered straw hat.
Several yeais ago, as a Joke, several
frlenla of Chamberlain placed an Astec
mummy in his bed. When Chamberlain
discovered It ha calmy went to bed and
to sleep. When bis friends claimed the
mummy next day b TtvnA to glva it
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TUB DISTILLERY.
GROUNDS.
constantly. Tears ago Chamberlain mad
a contract with a local undertaker to taka
charge of hi body when b died and cre
mate 1L
1
Qaeer Caper af Fata.
It may be questioned whether In mod
ern anr.sls a queerer accident ever hap
pened than that which cauaed th death
of a man on a road near Philadelphia. Ha'
was picking dandelions growing under a
wall along the road when a paaslng trol
ley car Jumpetl th track aa It Beared him
and, running squarely at him, crushed hire
to death against ths walL Not tha most
vivid imagination could conceive of such
a tragedy, and yet, according to th laws
of probability. It will not happen again
for two or three generations. It Is simply
an Instance of the grotesqueness which
sometimes ao suddenly appears In human
fair, and to which feiaiiete pout will,
trlumpli.
Maine's Champion Fargettrr.
The most forgetful man has bean found.
He Uvea In a Utile town iu tha upper part
of Yoik r .unty. Mnirie. He fell Hi with
aytnptoms Indlentlng appendicitis and sub
mitted to an opt ration. To their groat sur
prise and einbarrassinent, the surgeons
found that the appendix had already been
removed. The' tieit afforded tha naoaa
sary explanation, when he recovered from
the ether by staling that h ramatobarad
then, "come to think of it," that b bad
beau through a almllar operation twa yeaxg
"LI . ') ' '3"
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