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Phelps County One of Richest of All
'MitM
PUBLIC LIBRARY AT HOLDREQEl
HEI.ra county l decidedly an
PI inluHtrlal county, more than
any other part of the atate! It
manures tne motlva or Ita
very-day lira by the Indua
trial acale. Tha principal pro-
tSUcH are wheat, corn. oaU, potatora, al
falfa and ilva rtorle, all of which are raised
and ac-.lfl hy the farmer at a stood profit.
Cia na of all kind do well In all parta of
the muuty, while mont of the alfalfa la
raised on river bottom land, principally
along the platte. The average production
of trfteat In ahiut twenty Vuahi-la per acre,
while Inat.inceg re commnn whore thirty
buahela have hern raliwd. Corn averac;ea
twenty-five buelu-lg ir acre, while many
mps from aeveral farms have run as hlfch
fts fifty bual:el3. Alfalfa a a Reneral rule
Blve two cuttinpg a year, with a total
ylfld of ive tona per acre. All products
of the county find ready sale and the facili
ties for shipping- the products to market
are not exrelled In any part of the state.
Alfalfa fcrlnK IB.M tf ton In the Mack,
end hcn baled Its value Is Increased tl.W
per ton.
Phelps county Is situated on the hlnh
table labds. or upland prairie on the divide
between tha Platte and Republican river.
In extent It Is twenty-four miles square.
Tha only streams anywhere In th county
are In the nut hern part, and these are the
headwaters of Fprlng and Turkey creeks.
The surface of the land of the county Is
comparatively level, being but very gently
rolling-, and nearly every acre la susceptible
of cultivation. The soil Is fertile and very
productive. The county Is well adapted to
forming and a very large acreage of crops
Is planted each year. The population or
the county Is about 14,0fK.
The Pliitte iMver extends alona; the north
ern border of the county, and In the early
days of freighting across the plains, long
before the building of the Union Paclflo
railroad, the old freight and emigrant road
extended along the extreme northern part
of the county, up the Platte river, plum
Creek Station waa about on the line be
tween what are now Dawson and Phelps
counties. During , the time of overland
travel the freighters and emigrants poured
up and down tha Platte valley and In this
locality more daring murders were com
mitted by the Indians than at any other
point on tha route. In the northweat part
of th4 county, and on what was formerly
the claim of Will Dtlworth, Is a grave
yard In which there are fourteen graves,
the resting place of people murdered by
the Indians during the trouble of 1804. An
other station on the old overland route
wua at Hopevllle, toward the northeastern
corner of the county, and about eight miles
wet of Fort Kearny. This was a ranoh
and postofflce, kept by Mosea Sydenham,
who located at the fort In 1854.
When the Union Paclflo railroad was
In the Field
Electrlo Krelarht Service.
ROF. J. B. WHITEHEAD f
John Hopkins' university, In an
article In the current number
of tha Popular Science Monthly,
contends that the electrlo en
gine maintains Its drawing
power better than a steam locomotive after
the train once gains headway. He says:
"A typical western freight locomotive,
weighing with Its tender 166 tons, can
develop continuously a drawbar pull ot
16,000 pounds up to a speed of fifteen miles
an hour. An electric engine, weighing 100
tons, can develop thlapull up to thlrty
aaven miles an hour," and aa the latter
does not pound the track so badly as the
other It may be driven at high speed with
greater safety. "Fast Freight" Is now a
relative term. If electricity can give it a
new meaning, equal to a gain of the dif
ference between fifteen and thirty-seven.
It cannot be. Installed any too soon.
It has generally been assumed that the
substitute of electricity for Steam on the
existing railroads would be practically
limited to paasenger business, but with the
street car lines eager to be permitted to
carry freight by electric power the day
should not be wholly remote when the
lesson which thry teach will be adopted by
tha existing railroads. One great Incon
venience in the combined system near New
Tork City today cornea In the effect ot the
smoke of the freight locomotives In coat
ing with an oily substance the' overhead
Wires on which the passenger trains depend.
This would all be avoided by putting the
entire service under electricity.
Prosrrrsa In Llghtla.
Before the British Royal Society of Arts
(lie other day Mr. Leon 0ter delivered a
lecture on ''Modern Methods of Artificial
Illumination." The lecturer said that, al
though the modern tendency waa In favor
Of the extended "e of the metallic fllameat
tamp, ha did p tbellve that the carbon
filament lamp I at been wholly superseded,
experiments having shown that by some
lecrlflce of the life of the lamp It was pos
sible to obUln Increased efficiency on a
eemmerclal basis. The Hopfelt lamp ex
hibited. In which the carbon filament waa
enclosed In an inner tube and subjected
to the pressure effect of mercury vapor,
furnished an example of how this might
be achieved. Under tbls System the lamp
oould be overrun without undue deteriora
tion and at a reduced current consumption.
Tha. Econ lamp represented a combination
&t ,J,kp ordinary carbon and tha metallic
filament lamp. Great Improvements had
bven effected lately In metallic filament
lamps, resulting In a much Improved Illum
ination for the same expenditure ot energy
and making It possible for the light to be
employed economically under more fa
vol able physiological conditions. This waa
a point be daatred to emphasise, as those
associated with lighting developments were
apt to pay too much attention to Increased
efficiency and to disregard the effect of
tha lllumlnant upon sight.
Several improvements la are lamp had
also to be reoorded, the latest development
being the employment of a dloptrio glass,
which, as la the Union lamp, dispersed the
light la a horlaontai plana and would. It
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FOURTH
built along the northern side of the Platte
river in the fall of 1S6S the overland freight
road was abandoned, and for a few. years
there waa no settlement in Phelps county.
In the year 1872 a few settlementa were
Snade In the northern part of the county
and a few homestead claims entered. Early
In the year 1873 quite a heavy Immigra
tion commenced and a large number of
settlers entered claims during the year.
This was mostly in the north half of the
county. The first election of the county
was called for April I, 1873. The county
aeat was located at f rst at Williamsburg,
but was removed lu November, 1879, to
Phelps county. The only court house ever
lh extstenoe at Williamsburg was a large
Iron aafe that atood out on the prairie.
The county schools in Phelps county have
grown Into a complete, well equipped and
high-grade system of educational Institu
tions, efficient in a marked degree; In fact
the chief pride of the county Is Its schools.
No county In the state can show a smaller
per cent of illiteracy, for it is entirely un
known in this county. The directors of
tha schools have been a sturdy, Intellectual
people who have not lost sight of tha ad
vantages and the vast importance of the
educational development in the rapid ad
vance made by the country along other re
munerative llnea of activity. Phtlps county
has seventy-five school districts in the
county, supporting a teaching force of over
126 trained lnstruotora and the children of
1 ilin amln. . J I .... 1 A . .
-,v .-.,,. -,i;l,,u,8 me upporiunj-
ties of acquiring at least the common
achool education. The city of Holdrege
supports a high school of twelve grades,
of Electricity
was claimed, effect an Improvement In
Street lighting. Other new arc lamps were
the "Jandua," which waa In service at the
Marble Arch, and the "Blondel," which
gave an improved horixontal distribution of
light. Tha Orrlflamme constituted an Im
provement In alternating current lamps.
The latest form of mercury vapor lamp on
the Cooper-Hewitt system waa designed to
give instantaneous Ignition without tilting,
and the smaller quarts glass tube employed
In tha Kuch lamp was claimed to have the
effect of giving Increased efficiency to the
mercury arc.
An Interesting question arose In connec
tion with lamps which permitted the pas
sage of a large percentage of ultra violet
raye. and It was doubtful If the physical
effects of such rays had been aufflciently
Investigated. In, the Euphos lamp these
raya were absorbed. The Moore system of
luminescent gases waa an interesting de
velopment, the light being produced by a
high voltage discharge through a tube con
taining either nitrogen or carbon dioxide.
The difficulty had been to discover and to
maintain automatically the particular vac
uum required to give the best results. He
believed that phosphorescent methods of il
lumination might eventually be employed.
A very small quantity of radium would
cause a substance to become fluoresoent
and after a time to become phosphorescent
for a long period. He commended to elec
trlo lighting engineers the desirability of
following American practice and working
In conjunction with central station au
thorities tor the general achievement of
the industry,
.it,
Progress 1B Gleetrifl tatlaa.
The electrification of steam railroads Is
not advancing at the rats that the travel.
Ing publio would Ilka to see It. says tha
Boston Transcript, but it is making soma
progresa The consulting engineer ef the
Illinois Central at Chloago aays tha Investi
gations have thus far ben directed to tha
feasibility ot the change. Now ha is en
gaged In a study of various systems to sea
Which is the best adapted to the local eq
uation. The temper of the people ot that
city will not tolerate a long delay. They
have swallowed trala smoke Until they are
tired of It. In this section ths prediction
of 8tephen XX Field ef Btockbrldge that la
tea years the main lines of railroad la the
United States will be electrified. Is en
couraging since It tha main llnea are elec
trified the suburban lines, which most need
the remedy, are pretty aura to be.
Mr. Field Is one ot tha pioneers of tha
trolley system and in the next decade he
expects also to sea the Berkshire and Naug
atuck divisions of the New Haven road
changad over to this motlva power, which
avea la the dryest sea sua can be maintained
by ths falla of the Housatonie river at
Falls Village, Oonn. Should he prove a
true prophet, that might solve tha tanglud
problem that Is so troubling the people of
tha waetra part of the stata If the New
Havea electrifies all Its service In that
sctloa It oould hardly ba prevented froia
extending Its electric llnea for tha develop
ment at business, especially if It had tha
United oo-operatlon at the cMlaena in such
entwprlaes. Where needs are so palpable
tnve&Uoa will ultimately find a way.
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AVEN'irE. IIOLDREQB.
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and tha vlllare of Atlanta la planning to
install eleven gradea In Its high school.
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county aupcrinienaeni m. parson n
encouraged the library movement until
over two-thirds of the district schools have
libsorles. Over 3.500 children will attend
Woman's Club
HB Holijrege Woman's club was
organized In the fall of 1903.
MUa Sadie Smith, now Mrs.
Trail of Lincoln, was principal
of the Holdrege High school,
a lady of much culture and re
T
finement, who having had experience In
club work, knew even better than did the
permanent residents of Holdrege the need
of a woman's club and the benefits to be
derived from such an organisation. The
Masonic hall waa full of eager, earnest
women who met in response to her call
and fifty-two enrolled aa charter members.
It may be Interesting to note that of the
original fifty-two only twenty now reside
in Holdrege and ten remain active mem
bers ot the club. .
From the beginning of Ita existence the
Holdrege Woman's club has been a band
of workers, not only for the Individual
benefit to be derived from study and
friendly association, but for tha real help
it might be In all things pertaining to the
growth and uplift of ths community, having
adopted for Its motto: "I shall pass this
way but once; therefore, if there be any
good or lovely thing that I can do, let me
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THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: MARCH
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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCIL
, Lmmh I
VIEW IN CITY PARK, ROLDREQB.
the rural schools this year.
Land In Phelps county twenty-five years
l. I . V. lkt.,.k . -AC
i w wun.i m mo nmtuwi nuu
per acre, but the eastern farmers could
easily see the great possibilities of the then
partially civilized west, and as the years
of. Holdrege and Its Busy Career
do It now." The publls schools have held
the first and deepest Interest of the club,
"for the children of today are the citizens
of tomorrow," and the proceeds of a Turner
art exhibit Were expended in pictures, one
for each ot the grade rooms and two for
the high school room. These pictures ara
fine photogravures of paintings by recog
nised artists. The Woman's club has
placed manual training In tha grammar
grades for one year and part of another.
The members unitedly stand ready to con
tinue the manual training whenever the
school board shall deem It advisable and
are holding a reserve fund for that pur
pose. The Woman's club haa placed Iron
seats In the court house square for the
comfort and convenience of the general
public. ,
The club entertained the fifth district
convention In - 1907. Last year It was
visited by ! two of the state officers, tho
stata president, Mrs. Cole of Omaha, and
the president of the art department, Mrs.
Morey of Hastings.
Mrs. J. I. Rhea, tha present treasurer of
the club, Is now vice president of the
fifth district and is already in touch with
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(MEMBERSHIP OF TUB HOLSREQB WOMEN'S
21, 1909.
Nebraska's Fertile
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--II iissmMbMsiI lsii I r Jw1JJJJMMMMii.MashawaaaMasMMssajMa
EAST AVENUE, HOLDREXJE.
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pasaed the farmers of Illinois, Indiana and
other eaatern states began to move West-
mfm-A m A h- In ValllA TATt-
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Idly until now Phelps oounty land Is worth
on an average of from 375 to 1100 per acre.
The sod houses of the early days have
all the clubs of that district, and Is arrang
ing a program for the coming convention
to be held In April at Mlnden.
The club meets every Saturday after
noon with the different members as host
esses. There are six departments: "Child
Study,"' with Mrr. McMlchael as president
this year; "Art," with Mrs. A. H. Warren;
"Literature," with Mra. Julia Taft Bayne;
"Domestlo Science," with Mrs. J. A. An
drews; "Federation Study," with Mrs. W.
H. Cowglll, and "History," with Mrs.
Maya Dunham. The present officers are
Mrs. 3. C. Slosson, president; Mra Frank
Parsons, vice president! Catherine HJelm
felt, recording seoretary; Mrs. Dunham,
corresponding secretary, and Mrs. J. I.
Rhea, treasurer. These officers, together
with the department presidents, constitute
the executive board.
At the tuberculosis exhibit during- tha
winter, tha Woman's club furnished two of
the four programs and otherwise took a
very active Interest. The club with Its
seventy-five members is ever on the alert
and stands ready to promote any enter
prise that" might be of either clvle or
educational advancement.
o
CLUB.
HOLDREaB ROLLER
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given place to modern structures built ac
cording to the latest designs for oomfort
and for making Ideal homes, with most of
the Improvements found In the city resi
dences. Excellent roads connect all tha
towns of the county and the country dis
tricts are well supplied with up-to-date
school buildings, with efficient teachers,
Holdrege, the county aeat, was laid out
in 188S and has had a growth and period of
municipal Improvement In the last three
years equaled by but few cities In the
state. It boasts ot long, clean avenues,
flanked by rows of beautiful shade trees,
miles of cement aldewalka and curbing,
public j and private parks, a Carnegie li
brary, new business blocks, whloh are
looked upon as models by business men; a
water system of greatly Increased capacity
and a sewer system Just completed at a
cost of many thousand dollars. A good,
substantial brick block constructed at a
cost of 110,000 waa recently raaed to tha
ground to make room for a modern and
artlstlo building. Holdrege has not ao
oepted any obstacles, ho dlf floulty has been
long considered of any aerioua obstruction;
but with a faith and enterprise matchless
In its persistence its business men have
built la the heart of the "great American
desert" a city of 6,000 souls, a city which
In Its architectural beauty and stability
tells tha history of Us founder, a race of
pioneers who have been builders and who
. ... . ..
Holdrege is on the main line of tha Bur-
. ,hi., rw.n. mh. via-h
ltagton from en ow " V""1
n or tne auntngion runs irom iMoiarega
to Cheyenne, wyo., ana uia line rrom rioi-
, Gossip About
Am EplMdo la Cleveland's Life.
HE story of why Orover Cleve-
ww- I land did not go to war is torn
I I by George F. Parker in Mo
A I rMur' u, tra!n. Mr. Cleve
land had been criticised for
his order tor the eturn of tha
baiim iiugs taken during the civil war,
said to Mr. Parker:
"See how I am misjudged. It la charged
In the press that I had no sympathy with
the union armies. When the war came
they were three men of fighing age In our
family. We were poor, and mother and
sisters depended on Us for support. ' We
hald a family council and decided that two
of ua should enlist In the union army and
the third stay home for the support of the
family. We decided It by drawing outs.
The two long and one shorts pieces ot
paper were put by mother in the leaves
in the old Bible. She held It while we
drew. My two brothers dtew the long
slips, and at once enlisted and I abided by
my duty to the helpless women. Later on
I waa drafted and borrowed U.000 to hire
a substitute, and It took years of hard
work to repay that loan. So of three men
of fighting age, our family furnished three
recruits for the union army, and I would
have been a monster If I had had no sym
pathy with that cause for which my broth
ers were fighting and for which I had
sacrificed."
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Ollaablagt tha Ladder of Saeeeea.
The election of Frank A. Vanderbllt as
president ot the National City bank of
New Tork. recalls one of the most pictures
que stories of preserving up-hlll work aver
related of a poor American boy. Thirty
years ago, Vanderllp was plodding away In
a machine shop out west, at 73 cents a day..
His father had Just died In Indiana, leav
ing a widow and her family with nothing
but a farm and a few hundred dollars. The
farm eould not be worked to advantage, so
ths young man took the place In the ma
chine Shop as the only means of supporting
tha family. He went at it like a Tro Jan
he still works that way and, after a ten
hour day, came home to plod a portion of
the night over a short-hand text book.
After saving a little money, he took a
year's cowse at the University of Illinois,
and later, when serving as a newspaper
reporter in Chicago, he supplemented this
course by attending lectures at the Univer
sity of Chicago. Moat of hla education,
however, was acquired la the "university
at tha wide, wide world," where haid
k nooks are the only athletics that the stu
dents are treated to.
Finally, young Vanderllp became financial
editor at tha Chicago Tribune, and soon
look rank as one of the best financial
writers la the country. lis bought a part
interest In the Chicago Economist in 194,
and served as an aasooiate editor of that
Journal until Maroh t 1897, when Lyman J.
Oage, who was than president of the First
National bank of Chicaaro, was appointed
secretary and treasurer. Mr. Gage asked
Mr. Vanderllp to go to Washington aa his
private secretary. Tbls position ha re
tained for only three months, after which
ha became aula '.ant secretary f tha treas
ury on June 1, lo7.
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drea to Nebraska City is also a Burlington
bran oh. The three railway lines place Hol
drege In a position to command an exten
sive tributary trade from the west, north
west, southwest, south and east. Holdrege
has a good water system, an electric light
plant and an Independent telephone ex
change. No city of Ita class has a better
representation rf church societies. All ot
the leading fraternal and beneficiary so
cieties are represented. The school system
la strictly modern. Holdrege schools of
right are the boast and pride of Ita peopla.
A gas company has a franchise and are In
stalling a system of gas works.. Its whole
sale and Jobbing houses cover an extensive
territory. Tha city la the home of a large
number of traveling men who locate whore
there are the beat facilities for reaching
the territory made by them. Holdrege la a
city of beautiful homes. Many are striking,
most of them are attractive In architectural
design. The modern conveniences, suoh as
steam, hot water, and hot air heat, bath
rooms and electrlo lights, secure the home
oomforts required these daya. Well kept
lawns, concrete walks and curbs, terraces,
ornamental and shade trees, all combine to
throw a charm of beauty and attractiveness
about the residence districts of the city.
Phelps is a county where small, farm
holdings predominate. All the orchard and
small fruit of this section ot the west do
well, such as apples and smaller fruits.
This county at present has In. full bearing
14,000 apple trees, 16,000 peach, 8,000 plum
and 11,000 cherry trees, while nearly every
farmer in the county grows a liberal
amount of strawberries for his own use,
as well as other kinds of small fruit. All
vegetables for tha middleweat are grown.
The potato yield is a large surplus for
shipment.
Phelps county led all other counties of
Nebraska in wheat yield for three succes
sive years, vis. 1903, 1904 and 1906. Last
year the farmers of this county sold and
shipped out 1,171,000 bushels of corn, 1.900,000
bushels of wheat and 44,000 bushsla of oats.
This county also manufactured and chip
ped put last year 8,383,000 pounds of flour
and 1,122,000 Of mill feed. Last year these
farmers sold and shipped out Of the county
10,300 head of beef cattle, 34,600 fat hogs
and t,400 sheep. This oounty Is fast taking
the lead over other western counties in the
dairy Industry. Tha farmers at tha present
time have over (,000 cows on their farms,
and last year they were using 360 hand sep
arators. These ' farmers manufactured and
shipped out 282,000 pounds of butter and
344,000 gallons of cream, while tha dressed
poultry shipped out amounted to 350,000
pounds. At the present over 8,000 acres are
seeded to alfalfa, whloh Is returning a bet
ter profit than almost any other crop pro
duced to its oost.
Noted People
In 1901 Mr. Vanderllp became a vice-president
of the bank, and on concluding, a few
months ago, to retire from active service
and become chairman of the board. Mr.
Stlllman selected Mr. Vanderllp as his suc
cessor for the presidency. So this Is how
the young machinist, who was born at Au
rora, 111 only forty-four years ago, had
risen to tha presidency of the largeat bank
In tha UaiUd States.
When Roosevelt Failed.
An Arkansas man relates that when
President Roosevelt was In the southwest
on one of his bear hunting trips it was
found that the dogs which had become
sick on tha train going down, wouid not
hunt. The president and the members of
his party were greatly put put and a
search for good bear dogs waa Inauguar
ated. After the party had suffered a good
deal of discouragement a native of the
country brought in word thut a negro who
lived at the edge ot a nearby clearing had
some fine bear dogs, but It was said that
there waa no possibility of persuading him
to lean them, to anybody.
"He wlU lend them to me," said the
president in his well known deetslve man
ner, and, mounting his horse, ha started
tor tha clearing.
"I understand," said Mr. Roosevelt when
ha was met by the old colored man In front
of hla oabin, "you have some fine bear dogs."
"Taasir, yo' la shore right Dam dawgs
ob mine am de best b'ar dawgs in din whole
bUln' ob kentry."
"I wish," said the president, "to borrow
them for a few daya"
"Not much, boss. I nsvah loans dem
dawgs out to noboddy nohow."
"But you evidently do not know who I
am. I am Theodore Rooeevelt, president of
the United States."
"Ah caln't help dat, boas. Ah couldn't
loan you dem b'ar dawgs et you was
Booker T. Waah'n't'n heself."
Lincoln's Cettysber Speech.
'The usual stories about Lincoln's Gettys
burg speech were told In some of ths
papers on the morning ot his anniversary,
most of them centering about the circum
stance that few of the newspapers on the
mo Tilng after published any report of
Lincoln's address, though It was only 208
or 301 hundred words In length and although
they gave full reports of Edward Everett's
two hou.s' address. The late John Russell
Young, says a writer In the New York
Press, once explained this to me, and bis
explanation Is worth repeating, If only be
cause he was the representative of what
Is now ths Associated Press, and who re
potted the met-tlng. Mr. Young said that
he made a shorthand report of the speech,
but hesitated to put It on the wire bs
cauae the tolls to Washington in those
daya were such as to give pause to a then
feeble Institution like the Associated Press.
Moreover, none of the president's auditors
appeared to appreciate the value of hla ut
terance; It waa as short and, as delivered
in. his high key-voice, so unimpressive
after the big bow-wow of Mr. Everett The
latter'a speech was prlnte In full, partly
because the printed proofs of tha speech
were in the newspaper offices in advance
and required no transmission by wire.
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