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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (June 20, 1909)
The Omaha Bee. FAST THRZE HALF-TONE PAGES l TO 4. unday A PAPER FOR THE HOME OMAHA BEE YOUR MONEY'S WORTH VOL. XXXVIII NO. 53. t i ! r a. OMAHA, SUNDAY MORNING, JUNE 20, 1909. SINGLE COPY FIVE CENTS. ANCIENT ART AND MODERN BUSINESS METHODS MEET New Business Office and Counting Room of The Bee Shows a Most Effective Mingling of Byzantine Art and the Very Latest of Equipment for Doing Business. . .T JL .. "ill '" rmi'i i f t-- .. i . .' :. i . jj !, ' ; f l-"": .'' I L f i r v ' . - ; i t - ;.'.. r- 1 I : '.v - ! ,','C V vy r 4V. . now would have swamped the facilities of the local office of that time, while the local matter prepared dally in The Bee office now would have sufficed an Omaha paper then for many days. These are but few Incidents in the development of the paper with the I growth of the world. It was established first with no Idea of per nanency, but it grew even greater than Its founder dreamed, and with his personality It expanded to become an institution of influ ence and importance in the affairs of the city and state, known throughout the land, and permanent in its existence and prosperity. Naturally, the growth of the newspaper has been accompanied by a growth in its publishing plant. Originally The Bee was pub lished In. a little Job printing office, with a dry goods box for the editor's desk, and its business was transacted wherever the editor and publisher chanced to meet a customer. From this start to a plant of its own was the first step In real expansion, and then tae continued growth of the paper and Its steadily increasing business took It through several buildings, each with equipment commensu rate for the time, until it finally was moved into the Bee building twenty years ago. But even here the growth did not stop and the plant that was adequate at that time has long since been outgrown, and the latest of machinery has supplanted the equipment 'then thought to be complete. And tho quarters assigned to it In the new building have also been changed, so that room might be had for the accommodation of the increasing force needed to carry on the work. 1 ENTRANCE TO THE B EE BUSINESS OFFICE. r-w, HIRTT-EIGHT yeara ago The Omaha Bee came into exlst I ence. June 19, 1871, its first edition was printed, and wnat naa neen merely an idea in the brain of the lata Edward Rosewater became a physical entity. Like most institutions destined to long years. and great' growth, the beginning was not pretentious and the first edition was In size no larger than two pages of the present paper. Those know ing the founder might have foreseen that an enterprise fathered by him was likely to increase in influence, but would scarcely have had a clear 'mental Image of the proportions to be attained In later years. During the days that have passed since The Bee was born, back In 1871, many changes have come Into the world. Especially has the newspaper business undergone the expansive operation, with the consequent Improvement In methods and results. Newspapers now do each day as a matter pf course things that would seem miracles to one who dates no further ahead In the world's experience than thirty-eight years ago. Social life Is more complicated and Its com plexities Involve the newspaper to a greater extent, perhaps, than any of Us other agencies or manifestations. Thus In 1871 only a very Tew newspapers used the rotary printing press, such as is now so common that even the dailies in towns of 20,000 have them. Only a very few published papers seven days In the week. The gi gantic Sunday Issues were unknown; telegraphic news was gathered at great expense and with much labor by a few of the more preten tious papers, while the vast majority depended on the malls for their Information outside their immediate local field. Even the local field was taken care of In a way that would now be considered decidedly slipshod and Inefficient. From the "flat bed" press of 1871 to the great accumulation of multiplied units that constitutes a newspa per press of these days Is a far cry, but It only marks a little of the progress In methods of publishing. All the papers published in Ne braska in 1871 would not have used in a week the white paper The Bee now consumes in a day. All the printers employed in Omahat in 1871 could acarcely set the type in a day for a single issue of Th-, Bee of today. The telegraphic report that comes to The Bee dail; was thoroughly oriental. Its exquisite treatment of every detail, where Roman art was so careless, was thoroughly Hellenic; its devel opment of interior effects, its centralization and use for a systematic propaganda of Ideas was thoroughly Roman. But In noue of this was Byzantine art a plagiarist. It simply utilized these various ele ments In the service of a perfectly original scheme. Outside of its home sphere its influence was most Important. It is quite certain that If, when the northern tribes wiped out Roman culture in the west, Byzantine influence had not been actively exerted In Italy; If ' Ravenna, and then Venice, had not been preserved as Byzantine out posts, and Rome resuscitated by Byzantine monks and Immigrants; if Greek colonies had not been thrown Into southern Italy; If Sicily, under the Normans, had not subjected itself to Byzantine Influence, and If the great maritime republics that held the trade of the world In their hands from the ninth to thirteenth century Anialfl, Venice, Pisa, Genoa had not brought to the west all portable works of By zantine art and themselves become Impregnated with the artistic at mosphere of the east; and finally, ir the Crusades had not opened up before the barbarous west superb vistas of the artistic civilizations of Byzantines and Mohammedans if all this had not happened as It did, the torch of progress would not have been handed on and the great Gothic and Renaissance eras would not have been w hat they were." Byzantium's chief ambitions to the art assets of the world In clude the dome on pendatlves, which made it pos sible to secure varied Interiors; figured mosaic wall paintings, the most harmonious surface decoration for- architecture; the preservation of classic tradi tions which otherwise would have been broken, and the Imparting of them in modified form to the Mohammedans and Europeans of the middle ages; the development of the minor arts to a higher pitch of perfection than ever before, giving models to all branches of art elsewhere. It is well known how Byzantine ivories, miniatures and enamels were the Inspiration of mediaeval sculptors and painters In Europe, their minute figures being en larged Into monumental copies. It Is with respect to interiors of buildings that most Is owed and the elaborate arcades In the court of the Bee building are a direct result of Byzantine invention. f '" 111 - , - 'r- - v ..""" . .,,:- .. ... - -ill I t .. j-.J S ; . I t'!- I. t. ... Ml Willi if ?i " : - - ' - ...... t f, , - - i: -i The latest step taken In thli direction has been to remodel and enlarge the room set apart for the uses of the busi ness office. It was determined 1 when the enlargement was con ceived that the work should be so treated and carried out that harmony with the gen eral architectural scheme of the Bee building might result. Plans were laid that In gen eral arrangement and in deco rative detail this concordance might ensue and these plana have been thought out and achieved. The Bee building Is an ex- m if 1 i i' 1 i i li e Is I OFFICE OF THE GENERAL MANAGER. ample of a style ot arennecture little known In the modern world the Byzantine. It is the only known example on a large scale in Omaha, and for that matter in this part of the world. Admit tedly a remarkable development in many ways upon earlier forms and with certain distinct merits of its own the salient features of Byzantine architecture are gen erally unknown and are likely to remain In obscurity so long as American architects are trained chiefly at the Beaux-Arts, with the devotion there to renaissance ideas completely dominant. Viewed simply as an example of this rarely seen type of architec ture, the Bee building would be much worth while. Accordingly, the determination to carry out In further detail the Byzantine effect may fairly be described as praise worthy. Byzantine art was a com posite, but not an Inorganic art. Its inheritance was varied. De riving intense love of color from the orient, power to idolize from the Greeks, it added to these abil ity In architectural composition which came from the Romans. "Its use as an Impressive part of the pomp of imperial power in pal ace processions and ceremonials WHERE THE WANT ADS ARE TAKEN. CIRCULATION DEPARTMENT IN NEW OFFICE. GLIMPSE OF THE ACCOUNTING FORCE. As respects the business office of The ffee, Byzantine forms were perforce chiefly to be carried out in decorative detail, in de sign of furniture and so forth. The general lines had been laid down when the building went up. The result has been wrought by carrying in an arch form of the kind which mounts the main entrance of the building. This arch form has been reproduced in the business office In several ways. It appears on the frieze running the walls of the rooms; It is reproduced on the capitals of the sup porting columns and In the paneling of the counters. ' Harmony In thecolor scheme was also carefully worked out. The dominant note is a yellow under a grey background, though the dull red has been effectively employed for relief. All the Interior woodwork has been treated with a harmonic color scheme In view, baseboards, wainscotings and furniture, being so dealt with. The general lighting plan Includes three torcheres, stationed at Intervals on the long counters, designed to break the monotony of counter length. The ivy leaf worked Into the paneling of the coun ters appears, also, as a decorative effect on the torcheres. These torcheres supply that architectural Item dear to the designer's heart whlcn are known technically, as "points of Interest." To the stu dent of Interior Illumination they show a means of giving that dif fusion of light from the celling which Is a much desired objective. Secondary Illumination Is afforded by individual desk lamps. The office furniture was built for The Bee by Orchard & Wll helm, working from designs furnished by Lionel Robertson, a well known western decorator. The convenience of the public was a consideration In planning the arrangement of fixtures. The amount of counter space is large and the aisles are too broad to admit ot crowding. Every desk used by a clerk who deals with the public, la situated beside the counter, and the maximum of speed In waiting upon people is thus to be attained. The desks and other furniture Just Installed are about the last word in office equipment. Nothing that Is known to modern meth ods has been omitted, and whether It be the head of one of the de partments or his stenographer, the desk employed contains all the conveniences devisedby man us the result of experience for the ex peditious and comfortable dispatch of business. These desks are so arranged that a maximum of result may be accomplished by the minimum of effort. In design they harmonize perfectly with the building Itself, giving first the Impression of massive solidity, but along such lines as please rather than depress with the suggestion of massiveness. Solidly constructed of oak, in a soft tone of gray, their arrangement adds to the general effect of the picture and makes the Interior Beem the acme of comfort as well as substan tiality. An aisle parallel in direction to tho front aisle gives on the Inner court of the building, affording immediate and direct entrance , to the business office from the elevators. Along this rear aisle Is located the quarters for the advertising solicitors. They are furnished with desks and other equipment In keeping with the general plan of the whole office and are so situated as to be easily reached by customers who care to consult with them. The entire arrangement Is part of the general plan, looking to the convenience of the public as well as of the office force. Everything la up to the minute in all regards. The latest office appliances, such as filing cabinets, card indoxes, "ticklers" and permanent record cases, have been Installed, and these, with telephones, phonographs, tickers and other modern Inventions, make the installation of the counting room and business office of The Bee as complete in each detail as its mechanical plant. Besides the main counting room quarters the business office Includes tho private office of C. C. Rosewater, business manager of The Bee. This room, which Is of large size, Is shown In one of the accompanying Illustrations. The docoratlve scheme is similar In general to that of the main office. There hnvo been some small but not inharmonious variations worked out here. The street win dow lights are of leaded panes, after the Tudor style, and a darker color was employed in tinting he walls. The furniture is of fumed oak, a rich brown tone, resulting from nn ammonia process. A win dow which gives on the main business office is of stained glass, the figure being Byzantine in design. In both offlces hang several of the twelve pictures of the TransmisstsMpni exposition painted m oils by John R. Key. Mr. Key,' who is a son of that Frapcl 8. rcv wuo wroto "The Star Spangled Banner," was brought to Omaha by The Bee that he might reproduce in color the principal buildings of the exposition. His pictures were the only ones of the sort made and are noteworthy for their accuracy of coloring. Others of the series are hung in the court of the building, and one Is over the main stair way of the Omaha club. The change in the quarters of the business department of The Bee are such as will sorve to keep the institution abreast of modern development. It provides ample space for the transaction of the great and growing volume of business of the paper, affords room for the public and for the employes as well and will permit of hand ling the various matters that come up between the public and the paper In a much more expeditious and satisfactory manner than ever before. The main entrance on Farnam treet brings the customer di rectly into the office, where he can quickly be di rected to the department may thus complete hla errand If it be a want ad to In- or person he Is seeking, and without unnecessary delay or confusion. sert it is taken at the counter directly In front of the main entrance. City subscriptions are also looked after from this counter, while complaints as to delivery, changes in address or similar business la taken care of at the side couuter, where the clerks In charge may be easily reached. The cashier's desk is Just at the left of the main entrance, protected by a grille designed In harmony with the other furnishings, and the accounting department is adjacent. The for eign advertising departments of The Bee and the Twentieth Century Farmer are easily reached, and the superintendent of the Bee build ing has hla desk near the door to the court on the rear aisle, bo he can be easily reached by tenants of the building or others who wish to see him. (Copyright. 1909. by FrDk Q. Carpenter.) EOUU 1908. (SpacUU Corr- I situation . her in Korea U Philippine at the cloae of our war with Bpaln. It U even wore on aocouut ot the horde of low-clu Japan who are overrunning the country ud In many case outraging the native. The averac Korean oannot believe that Japan 1 anxloua to develop this country for hi rood and he consider It a patriotic duty to drive out the ao-called 'invaders. There ar organised societies of insurgent who hav sworn to kill any Japanese soldier or citizen If they catch hliu apart from his fellow a Small bands of than societies aie now scattered all over Korea. They have taken into their rank the disaffected and rascally official who hav lost their Jobs by the Japanese taking hold of the gov ernment, a well a idlers and x-oldler and even the old bandit element which taa for generations preyed upon th country. In th meantlm th Japanese army Is doing all It can to wipe out these Insur genta General Hasegawa, th commander-in-chief, ha something Ilk W.000 men in th field. These ar scattered from -on end of Korea to th other, and they shoot or hang th Insurgent on sight. For" a Urn th military policy was to wtp out every village which was found to be har boring Insurgents, and today all who feed or ttinmal auokt rnea ar enot without Emp Yung- League Organized to Drive the Japanese Out of Korea mercy. Within th lost year it Is estimated that something like 12. (W0 people have been killed on the charge of being Insurgents. Th chronicle of th Insurrections ind the numbers killed and wounded are pub lished from day to day In the Seoul Press, which Is th organ of the government and foreigners who have kept count tell me that the deaths are running very close to 1,000 per month. This seems an enormous number, especlally"as the authorities say that the conditions are growing better end better and that the rebels, with the ex ception of bandits and professional bri gands, hav almost disappeared. There Is no doubt but that Japan must manage Korea with a strong hand If it would bring about peace and order, but It la question able whether It methods ar not over-severe. Bible Veree the Revolver. And still th situation Is serious. There ar perhaps 15.000,000 people on this penin sula, and If th rebellion la allowed to go on this guerrilla warfare will be con tinued for yeara Th Koreans ar to om extent divided up Into partle. Ther ar a number of pro-Japanese who ar accepting th situation, cutting off their topknots and taking advantage of th new civilisation. Th rebel consider these men traitors to their country, and they shoot them even more readily than the Japancoe themselves. At the same time the pro Japanese Inform upon their enemies among the Insurgents and aid the soldiers In hunting them down. Indeed, It Is Impor tant for a Koreau now traveling over the country to show that he is not In favor of the Japanese government. If he wears foreign clothes or has cut off his hair he la almost sure to be spotted by the rebels sooner or later and he may be shot upon sight. ,A curious phase of this situation Is that the Korean Christians are supposed to be neutral or not In favor"bf the Japanese government. For this reason If a Korean traveler la met by a band of Insurgents he tries to convince them that he belongs to our church. The rebels make him prove his faith and demand that he shig a hymn or recite the Lord's prayer. lie Is some times asked to say the ten commandments as well. Indeed, an increased demand for hymn books and liibles In Korea has sprung up and many who ar not Chris tians buy these to carry with them over the country. They ar better than revol vers and often save th life of the owner. Th largest association of these rebels Is known as the Emp Tung league. Th people her nrooeuiw it Weep Yung. It means the ever righteous and patrlotlo army and Its members are sworn to kill all Japanese, found alone, upon sight. It was to this league that the assisslns who murdered Durham White Stevens belonged and it Is said there are branches of It In the Hawaiian islands. In the United States and elsewhere. The Emp Yungs operate In small bands. They have no organized forces and they are merely guerrillas. At first they were largely composed of patriots who hsd sworn to die for their country. They are now made up of the dissatisfied of all sorts. Many of them are ex-soldiers of th Korean army, which was disbanded by the Jap anese at the time when they deposed the old emperor and put his son in his place, They have no money, and live on .the vil lages. This fact puts the peace-loving Korean between the devil and the deep sea When a band of rebels comes to him and demands money or food he replies that he dare not give It, for th Japanese sol diers will shoot him as soon as they learn he has helped th Insurgents. Thereupon, th rebel reply: 'Well, If you don't give us what w want we will kill you right now. If you give up, you have at any rata th chance of living a day or so longer. Otherwise you will die." Th rebels mean what they say, and th villager know It. They give, and in many cases are actually slaughtered by the Japanese soldiers for giving. Indeed, I am told that many of the so-called Insurgents whose deaths are reported in the newspapers are members of vllages who have thus forcibly been mad to harbor Insurgents. Soldiers and Christian.' Th soldiers are Instructed to put down the insurgents, and they hav trouble in finding out who the Insurgents are. The native Christians ar generally neutral, but the soldiers suspect them. Not long ago they surrounded a church far off In the Interior, where 3u0 people were worshiping. Th officer instructed th pastor to go on with hiB devotions, but as soon a the church was over he corralled the member as they came out and aked their names. A he did so he looked over a list of th suspects In the neighborhood and checked the name off. At the close he let them all go. He said these people ar all Chris tiana and roust not be molested. Another congregation was less meroifully treated, th soldiers stopping th congrega tion and tearing up th hymn books. What provocation they had I do not know. From a large army ilk this, scattered In mall bands over th country, away from their officers, ther ar bound to be out rages now and then. On small officer. for Instance, upon being told not to tie his horse in the churchyard because It would eat th trees cursed the sexton and cut him over the head with his sword. This was reported by the mis sionaries and the man was degraded. I have met foreigners who have claimed that they were badly treated by the sol diers by whom they were stopped when traveling over the country. One such cas was that of Mr. A. R. Welgall, an Aus tralian mining engineer, who had his wife with him. The soldiers Insulted th latter and Welffi.ll narrowly escaped being shot. The treatment of Mrs. Welgall was barbarous. The Japanese excuse this, how ever, by saying that Welgall refused to give Information about himself to th sol diers. When they asked him how old he was he said: "On hundred and ten," and ha claimed that his name was King Edward th Sixth .and that he lived in Buckingham palace. Similar answers given to a company of our troops In th Philip pines would not lead to good treatment, although non of them would commit th barbarity and Indecencies performed by this Japanese squad. Korean Against Korean. ' It 1b also claimed that a great deal of the fighting is a matter of private war far between th Korean. Ther ar no end of feuds among these people, and th average native will do anything to bring about the death of those against whom he ha a personal grudge. The Japanese do not understand the Korean language and they hav to rely upon th natives as' pies and Interpreters. Such men point ,' out those whom they hat as Insurgent and as a result hav them killed. Th Japanese have taken many of th old Korean soldier into their polio fore and ar using them a genadarmea throughout the country. Such Korean ar much more cruel than the Japanese themselves and they are believed to be responsible for a large proportion of at tack upon th so-called Insurgents. Coaatry fnaaf. With condition ilk these, th country 1 unsafe for foreigner when traveling without some kind of protection. Th Korean people believe In th missionaries and th rebel respect them, but many of th band ar Ignorant to an extreme and at a distance they cannot tell th differ ence between a Japanes and a European. Many Japanese dree in European clothes, and th rebel ar pron to thiuk any maa so dressed a Japanese, and to shoot him on sight. Not long ago Mr. Erdman, a Presbyterian missionary at Talku, about 100 miles north of Fusan, went on a trip over tli country. H had on a khaki suit, ana (Continued a Xaaa rhr4 r 1. IT i ck fits .r lei- In-.. Ihe u.l U:- te lm K Jno jus n iha the lire he til ing In pil ot rne :01 t-.n :T irr :M M .3 ;01 ! per ItU Ot ll. i:S0 44 A 30 1:04 16:05 t.U, IBM fist P:4i CM :13 c a Hat red tree lau his- kith tth Iter I' of ?6w )"i ' ,o- f r- art, terk ;ui ani-toft-iook litk. for .th in. iet a fwn He fttv to itng into was . (snt rth lead jow- aitn the ade rish than lave and (lap, (lme ilea, (the lime had th or top f ur- th so fitch lln tent- r hi nth ffU), ( i