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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 29, 1911)
Governor and Members of Legislature Guests M.It &ALDRIG-Z 7ouit 0R THE second time In four years Omahs entertained the NebraHka legiaiaiure Tuesday. On the first occasion, Janu ary 29, 1907, the McKinley club pave a complimentary banquet at , the Millard hotel to Governor Sheldon, the state offlcerb and members of the legislature, last South Omaha Joined with Omaha in Tuesday entertalnlnK Governor Aldrlrh, the state officers and the senators and representatives. On both occasions special trains were furnished to bring the slate offi cials from Lincoln, and on this most recent visit, as on the earlier one. the governor and the spokesmen for the legislature found themselves able to give voice to sentiments ol good will and appreciation that gave decided pleasure to their hosts dn both occasions the hospitality extended was unstinted and the wel come most hearty, and found acceptance In the same spirit In which It was tendered. Governor Aldrlch, speaking at the luncheon at the Exchange building In South Omaha, made one of th heat short addresses of his career. It was spoken In broad spirit and brought home to the minds of his hearers the truth that, no matter what walk men fol low in life, they are inspired by the same motives and meet with the samo difficulties. "The men in charge of this tremendous industry, 'nTolving, as it does, great amounts of capital, have to meet every day about the same pnblems that we are compelled to face in our various lines of effort," he said. "They are continually worrying over the ques tion of making the balance show on the right side, . lust as we are compelled to struggle to make ends meet. Their hearts are the same, and they must wrestle with obstacles of many kinds that perhaps wa , hare no conception of. After an inspection of these 'mmense packing plants we cannot fall to realize how much they mean to the farmers .of Nebraska in fur nishing a ready market for their live stock. All things considered, these packing houses can be con sidered among the greatest in the world. In dealing with measures affecting their Interests tho legislature must exercise the fullest degree of caution, so that we do not put our foot down until we know Just where we are going to light." Kuhl and Morehead Respond. Speaker of the House John Kuhl and Senator Morehead, president pro tem of the senate, also mad brief addresses when called on by T. B. McPherson, who presided at the luncheon. Both expressed the view that the visit could not fall to bring to the minds of the legislative members a better understanding of the extent and Importance of the stock yards and packing house Industry and their intimate association with the material prosperity of Nebraska. The two legislative officials gave warm expression to the thanks and appreciation of the members of their respective houses for the arrangements made to give them an Inside view of the packing plants and for the enter tainment ao generously provided. Incidentally, it may be said that the luncheon erved in the Exchange dining hall was complete in every detail, from oysters to ice cream and cigars. Mr. McPherson extended the formal welcome on behalf of the Union Stock Yards company and in doing o he aald the only object the entertainers had was to give the legislators an opportunity to see everything at first hand and examine for themselves Into the con ditions surrounding the buying, handling and packing of thelive stock products of the farms of Nebraska and the country west. Through the Tacking Plants. The special train on the Burlington from Lincoln arrived at the South Omaha depot at 10 o'clock. Au tomobiles were in waiting and carried the party to the Cudahy plant. The inspection here was confined to the hog-kllllng department, because of the great amount of ground to be covered before the luncheon. Methods of receiving, killing, cleaning and dressing the hog were explained by experts. The members saw the work In actual operation, and from the gov ernment Inspectors here and in the other houses they learned the thorough-going character of that branch of government supervision of meat products. "Uncle Sam has certainly made the packers toe the mark in great shape." waa the comment of an ob serving member of the senate, after he had seen the close attention given by the inspectors to every single carcass before it gets the official stamp. At the Armour plant the visitors saw the work in 11 departments "in the raw." Beef steers were killed and dressed while the lawmakers watched the opera tion. They had opportunity to see the butchers, trim mers and cutters perform their various tasks with an astonishing celerity; and the method of cleansing very part of the beef with stiff brooms to which a hose spouting hot water was attached was not the least Interesting part of the work. In the Armour plant Manager "Bob" Howe and Superintendent O'Hearn had evidently determined that dress parade arrangements should not be at tempted, witli tL liiuTt titt their visitors got a first Fl pntertatnei the Nebraska legiaiaiure . . v - ' H r " ,.T r-'f JT i -Sir . - 41 A. ; . , -rC'1, H V, Tuesday. On the flm ocoaMon, Janu- '.. -V H' ; J ' 1 ' 1 "". i n r I s ; 1 II- i lit -., . II , 7? Trrrr I trrmyrTTi -Brrrm-rxrsT - 1: ' 1 .-..' f . -i , 1 ; . . - ' . sill ' .-, iuxuL-iw, i, iuun- ; r 1 M mill I I I HIMMlM III IMIIIM I . X ..' , t 1 I -.v : " . , Going into Livestock J Exchange Jbj ZzzncEeon hand Impression of the dally work of a big packing plant such as they never had before. ""'so oleo manufacturing department of Armour's was keenly Inspected by the legislators. It waa found In full operation, and the manner of treating the fat from start to finish was shown and explained. A close view was also given of tho means of smoking the hams and bacon and salting the side meat. In the Swift plant attention was devoted mainly to the rooms wherein are bung up the finished pro ducts of beef, pork and mutton. Such a view as waa given of these rooms was a revelation to most of the visitors: and, Indeed, the same thing may be said of the whole proceeding. Those of the party already familiar with the operation of the stock yards and the packing houses found themselves becoming as Inter ested and as enthusiastic over the fine showing as the people who were getting their first view of the In dustry. Kven the most critical among the visitors had lit tle or no unfavorable comment to make as the long procession wound its way through the hot, the cool and the wet and dry rooms of the different plants. Inspected the Ianl Show, After the luncheon the automobiles were again brought Into use to take the guests for trips through Omaha and to the Land show. As a goodly propor tion of the visitors are practical farmers themselves, or farm owners, the exhibits at the Land show were intensely interesting to them. But one regret was expressed, and that was given voice by Lieutenant Governor Hopewell and Secretary of State Walt. "It Is very much to be regretted." said Secretary Walt, "that Nebraska lias so far failed to provide a fund to be used in fathering and placing a state ex hibit, under a competent man. at such shows as this. We have the material to put up a display of Nebraska products that would compare more than favorably with that of any other state, and yet for years we have been letting our opportunity slip by without grasping it. I hope that from now on this atate will be prop erly put before the people at exhibitions of this character." Lieutenant Governor Hopewell spoke in the eame strain. "Such a show as this, of western enterprise and productivity, must prove of Immeasurable ben efit," he said. "The men who conceived and organ lxed it deserve the highest commendation; and our neighbors of other states have very practically indi cated to the people of Nebraska wherein we are' weak. There Is not only an Insistent demand for good land, but those seeking it want to see for themselves what It will produce. Nebraska can, if -it will, make as good a showing as any state, and in certain crops a I ! v-7 f I HOPEWELL I ) -CoverjiDT y L k U 1 ; i,r r.ii;. better Bhowing than many, and the lesson of this most ' enlightening exhibition of the prolific character of Western soils should not be' lost on our people." Several hours were spent moBt profitably by a bi majority of the Visitors in examining the various ex hibits of the Land show. In fact, to many this ex-" position of western crop possibilities was more inter esting and pleasing than the sights of the morning at the live stock center. Some of the legislators and state officers were compelled by other engagements to return to Lincoln before the banquet given at the Commercial club in the evening, but enough remained to test the capacity of the club rooms. Chief Clerk Richmond of the house and Secretary Smith of the senate, who handled the distribution of tickets, saw to It that every mem ber of the legislature was properly cared for, and the committee of the Commercial club was indefatigable 'n caring for the comfort of the guests, both before r.nrt Rfter the banquet. & President Cole Leads Off. After extending the welcome of the city's commer cial body to the city President David Cole said Omaha is very proud of the fact, as Nebraska should be, that, "While we are the thirty-seventh city in population, we are fifteenth In business transacted, outstripping twenty-five other cities with a population ranging up to 425,000. "I desire to congratulate you that no grand Juries are investigating your election; that no scandal at taches to our state the same as now appears so com mon In many of the other Btates of the union. This I think is an evidence of the intelligence of the aver age voter of the state of Nebraska. This is no soil In which vice and corruption can thrive, and It Is com plimentary to our people that they cannot be driven to the voting precinct and sold as cattle In the market. "We are here tonight because one of our members had a dream, end from that dream first built an air castle In his mind's eye. To C. C. Rosewater should be given credit for the air castle which he first built and which now lias taken shape in the magnificent Land Products exh'bit in our Auditorium. In years to come there will be many people who will bless the enterprise that will result from the things that are shown to be possible to the most humble citizen. "During the year 1910 there were imported more people than are in the state of Nebraska. These peo ple will fill up the eastern cities. If we had an immi gration commissioner those with strong arms and sound constitutions could with profit to themselves be placed on our unoccupied lands and In turn would add to the material prosperity of this commonwealth. Farm at Rase of Prosperity. "The products of the soil are the basis of our pros perity. No city can be great unless it has a support ing territory surrounding it. Taking Omaha as a center and 200 miles as a radius, there Is no such other 200 miles of productive soil In the world. The land within this 200-mile radius has never known a total crop failure. Year in and year out there Is a constant output from this territory that affords food enough not only for its own Inhabitants, but for a very large part of the balance of the country. "In times gone by our farmers found the surplus products of their soil, which were abundant enough after supplying their physical needs, were of little value until the railroad enabled them to transport the same to a profitable market. While the railroad alone la not the basis of the prosperity which la now ours, without the railroad we could do nothing; with it no part of Nebraska is too remote to be able to ship Its surplusage wherever needed. "The Invention of the modern cold storage gave a new value to the product of the farm. Butter, eggs and poultry represent in Nebraska greater value "..'iVf .fv;:'-; II .. i vfe - I ) ''-"J -' 1 luu Jpcajfer than the wheat crop, corn crop or any other single crop produced. Until the invention of the modern cold storage butter, egga and poultry were negligible quanities; therefore, these are the things that have paid off the mortgage from the average Nebraska farm and made the owners of the same the automo blllsts of today, when there are more automobiles on Nebraska farms than in Nebraska cities. "However, the farmer who succeeds must be like the business man that succeeds; he must know his business. . It is for the successful, progressive farmer that the Land Products Exhibit is now being held, and the community at large Is Indebted to the thought that has crystallized in the finished exhibit, which brings so ninny people together at this time from all parts of the country." Ilaldrlge Happy aa Toast master. President Cole introduced Howard II. ISaldrlge as toastmaster, and In assuming the chair Mr. Baldrige put everybody in good humor by remarking, "However much you may desire to see us, we are really more anxious and delighted to see you. "This being one of the few times tho legislature has met In Omaha since 1867, you have never had such a glorious chance before to learn what we want," said Mr. Baldrige. still In facetious vein, "and we have never had a better chance to get what we want. It has been said that Omaha wants much, and If she got all she wants she would not get more than she deserves." The guests were assured that the Omaha welcome was sincere and without strings. "We have thrown away the keys to all the doors within the city walls and they will swing Inward to your touch. Our homes and our hearts are open to you. We have re moved all the 'Keep off the grass' signs and want you to take home nothing but the recollections of a most delightful and profitable visit with us." Paying tribute to the Commercial club as the most potential factor In the growth and development of Omaha, Mr. Baldrige said : "In the last analysis the prosperity of a city de pends, not on the many material evidences of Its greatness, but on the character of Its citizenship. We have in this organization a body of the most active, energetic, far-sighted, up-to-date young business men of any city in the west. Their citizenship means progress, and their whole effort Is centered in adding, by their work and their genius, to the greatness of Nebraska and Omaha." Interest of City anil State Identical. Arthur C. Smith, responding to the toatt, "The Commercial Club," laid emphasis on the thought that of Omaha s u2i2 zzid Chief c'Jcr &jc2imond the organization stands for the advancement of the Interests of Nebraska no less than of Omaha, "because the welfare of the state Involves the welfare of the city." He was felicitous In his analysis of the rela tions of the business men of the metropolis to the general interest of the slate and pleaded for a greater publicity of the undeveloped resources and opportuni ties of Nebraska, to which movement the Commercial club Is unreservedly committed. Speaker John Kuhl had noticed the absence of a Nebraska display at the Lend show and said this state could duplicate almost anything shown, and better some of the exhibits. He paid tribute to the good work of organizations like the Omaha Commercial club and the benefit to am agricultural state of the packing plants visited In the mornln:?. City Attorney John Rlne devoted his brier talk to the community of Interest that naturally exists and should bind together the city and the utate. "Inspired by common Impulses, aims and purposes," Bald Mr. Rine. "we can have no real line of cleavage as to where our Interest lies." Senator Morehead followed the same line of thought as to the decided need tor good understanding and willing co-operation among tho civic divisions of the state. He expressed the view that, with the tre mendous extent of grazing country It draws from, th South Omaha maiket fun, with everybody pulling to gether, be made the greatest In the United States. Ne!raka'n Material Grcutnens. Lieutenant Governor Hopewell and former Lieu tenant Governor McGilton, In responding to calls, dealt succinctly with the material greatncH of Ne braska and the possibilities still dormant. Mr. Mo ClHon, analyzing the figures of Nebraska production, said the total, divided, would provide $ 400 for each man, woman and child, ami $2,000 or more for each family In the atate. Mr. Hopewell, In a reminiscent vein, recalled the day when the Idea prevailed that farm crops could not be profitably grown outside th eastern counties of the state. From thU premise he passed to the surpassing development of production that has come about and predicted the wealth of the atate can be doubled, possibly trebled. In the next twenty years, because of modern methods and a higher degree of agricultural education. Toasts were called for and drunk standing to tile president of the United States by Toastmaster Bal drige; to Governor Aldrlch by A. W. J-fferts, and to the Omaha Commercial club by Chief Clerk Rich mond. Enthusiastic cheers accompanied each toast, letter Representativi s Prim e and Gustafson moved a vote of thanks to the club for its hospitality, and this met with a gladsome response. Hi 3 r t i