r.
The Omaha Sunday Bee
OMAHA,
(Jrofe History of Omaha
Allflie truth an3 unlruft his fii lo know
Chapter IV Purchase of Louisiana.
Our history now leaps across
nearly three centuries. We pass over
the Revolutionary war almost in si
lence, because Nebraska did not take
part in that. It was a war in which
the thirteen colonies revolted against
King George III because he tried to
tax tea. They wouldn't stand 'for it.
George Washington became famous
in this war and is now "first in the
hearts of his countrymen."
The famous Liberty bell was
cracked during this war and there
was some other damage to property
and considerable loss of life, but the
Americans came out victorious. The
Liberty bell was never repaired. It
is a total loss except as a curiosity.
We come now to the purchase of
the Louisiana territory by the United
States. This vast territory was owned
by France. Napoleon (see foot note)
was afraid the English would cap
ture it. So he sold it to the United
FRANCOIS BARBE MARBOIS
States for $15,000,000, probably the
biggest real estate bargain the world
has ever known.
. Thomas Jefferson (see foot note)
closed this deal, comprising 761,000,
000 acres. The few acres on which
Omaha stands today are worth more
than Jefferson paid- for the whole
business.
Of course, there were "knockers"
even in those days and Jefferson's
enemies made fun of him for buying
the "great American desert" and pay
ing out good money that could have
been used in building postofnees or
paying the salaries of additional gov
ernment employes. .
, But Jefferson paid no attention to
them. He just kept the Louisiana
territory and went on about his busi-
'ness. .
Of course, the British were very
torry when they heard that the
Jnited States nad bought the terri
tory, because they were just about to
take it themselves from their enemy,
Napoleon, and they wouldn't have
paid him a cent for it either. They
didn't try to take it away from us.
They still remembered the Revolu
tionary war.
Little was known of this vast ter
ritory in those days. There were no
ML n'sitva f pcnszz
APOLEON 5EUETH -LOUISIAHA
Little Human Interest Stories
V"", Picked
Run on Religion and Psychology.
Are the people of Omaha detaching
their minds from sordid money mat
ters and following higher ideals? Are
they seeking for the better things in
life) ,
Either that or they are'turnltig over
a hew leaf and started on a program
of reform, if credence is to be placed
in the words of Miss Edith Tobitt,
' librarian. , "Omahans," says the li
brarian, "are showing a leaning fo
rward religion and psychc4ogyyThe de
mand for books along these lines is
nearly swamping the library-
"Since the war began and the
'Billy' Sunday religious program was
held, Omahans seem to be reading.
with a detinue end in view.
1 "They seem to be mors sober
minded," she said, '"I don't know why
they should take! this attitude unless
the war has sobered them up."
While many of the library patrons
have turned their attentions to re
ligion and psychology there still is a
large number who do not consider
themselves "high brows" and like to
browse among the pages of a meaty
novel or a magazine.
Then there is that: class of people.
Miss Tobitt says who have a technical
turn of mind. "We have tried to cul
tivate the technical turn of miftd in the
fiublic. We have eccn'tly added a
arge number of technical books of
all kinds." ,
Omaha people can have any kind
of books they desire if they make a
demand for it, says the librarian.
"When we see that the people become
, interested in certain subjects we
usually try. to get as many new books
in that line as possible. Just now we
are adding books 011 psychology and
religion."
What Some Wives Are Up Against.
' ("1 do hope you will succeed in lo
cating him." were the parting words
of a woman as she left the offictl
ot Mrs. Kose unaus at tne vveuare
board office in . the city hall. " The
woman was referring to her husband
whom she had not seen for more
thau a year. There was a bit of
charm in her manner. She spoke
without malice of the man who had
made life so hard for her. , She
wanted to locate her husband and to
plead with him to furnislimoney for
the education of the two daughters
, he left behind, when lie, deserted his
. family. She wanted to send him a
photograph of the girls, that he might
see how they had grown. ,
, The woman's life story, briefly
toid, was as follows:
"My father died when I was 3 years
of age, but mother managed to keep
- m; in school until I was graduated
from high school at the age of 16
years. The summer following my
graduation I met and married the
man, avho impressed me more than
any other man of the entire world.
- Aly folks approved of the marriage.
- My husband was superintendent of
construction with a large concern and
our prospects seemed to be roseate.
He was 26 years of age, well edu-
SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH
railroads in it. Telegraphs, of course,
were unknown. The only inhabitants
were the noble red men of the plains.
The buffalo, the coyote and the go
pher roamed at will over the vast
stretches of ground. Farms could
have been bought very cheaply in
those days.
Final deed to the property was
signed on Floreal !0, in the eleventh
year of the French republic. This
corresponded to April 30, 1803. At
that time the French were changing
everything around. They even tried
to change the months, calling April
"Floreal" because it was the month
of flowers, a poor idea which didn't
last long.
Francois Barbe Marbois was Em
peror Napoleon's agent in the deal
and Napoleon gave him 40,000 francs
tor his commission, ihis is only about
one-twentieth of 1 per cent. Most real
estate agents today would expect at
least 1 per cent. But Marbois couldn't
PEKSUADETH THOIXAJ J.
do anything about it.
He had to be
satished.
"It's a good price for a province
that I've never taken possession of
and might lose within twenty-four
hours," Napoleon said to Marbois as
he put the check in his pocket.
Napoleon, however, did not live to
see the greatness of Nebraska. He
died on the barren island of St. Hel
ena May 5, 1821. Long before that
he had spent all the $15,000,000 which
we paid him for Louisiana territory.
Foot Not Napoleon Bonaparte, a treat
French aeneral end emperor. Born la Cor
elca. faWpoor In hie youth thet he could
not afford to wear glove or have hie ehoee
blackened. Conquer,! moat of Europe. l)led
at at. Helena and burled under two willow
treea. J,ater removed to Parle,
Foot Note ?homae Jeffereon, preetdent
of the United Stem laol-l. Worked up
from eeeretary of etate and vice preeldont
to preeldenoy. A man with eandy hair, but
very Intelligent, skilled vlollnlat elao. He
waa ohoeen to writ the Declaration of In
dependence becauae of h's beautiful hand
writing. Questions on Chapter IV.
1. Who was Napoleon?
2. Why did he sell Louisiana?
3. How much commission did he
Lgive his agent?
4. State lour facts about Thmas
Jefferson.
Up About the Town
cated and apparently of refined man-,
tier. Our lives went along pleasant
ways for four years, Two children
w.ere bom. I was desperately ill in
a hospital when we lost the third
child.
After' convalescence, -my hus-
Dana sent me and the children to
my maternal grandmother m western
Nebraska, I was 22 years old t that
time."
Harry Zimman's hobby is opposing
public service torporations in their
every activity. He is always to. be
found at improvement club meet
ings, opposing gas franchises, fighting
against electric light contracts, boost
ing for seven-for-a-quarter street car
fares or seeking to take, over the
whole flock of corporations for the
city. i
Harry has a brother. Ike Zimman.
who draws salary largely for op
posing his brother's views. Ike Zim
" , Sntra.c,mJr. S
man is contracting agent for the
Omaha Electric Light and Power
company. , While Harry is opposing
corporate interests at an improvement
club meeting in one end of the city,
Ike is at the other end of town talk
ing before another meeting in favor
of an electric lighting contract, or
some other movement of the cor
poration. Asked why he and his brother
didn't agree to stay at home and play
seven-up and thus counteract each
other's influence in municipal affairs.
Ike said: "U. means my bread and
butter for rae, and it means nothing
to him. We fight on every subject,
except when he is running for office,
and then it 4s awfully hard to vote
for him."
Most people are mistaken in their
guess of what constitutes the hobby
of Senator Joseph H. Millard. They
think it is globe-trotting, or foreiga
travel. , ' v
True,, he travels a great deal , in
foreign countries, but not so much
for the sights in foreign lands. He
travels for the sea vovaoc Hiitino
on the galloping waves of the anltv
-deep is his c cat hobby. He says he
EVeTybolias a H6bW
4, 1917.
Comb Honey
Liberty.
An Omaha man says there is no
such arrimal as personal liberty. Para
doxically, there is and there is not.
People who abide in certain tropical
climes probably enjoy personal lib
erty. They shake a tree and their
breakfast falls into their laps. No
prescribed rules of fashion or eti-
quel disturb their routine of the day.
They do not have party telephones
nor finger bowls. Their heat is not
turned off at 10:30 p. m., by the enm
neer of their apartment building, nor
arc they kept in suspense by grand
jury investigations. They do not
have 'to kiss themselves good-bye
every time they go downtown, lest
they should be run over by an auto
mobile before they returned to home
and loved ots. They do not have to
vote themselves wet ' or dry every
now and then, nor run a marathon
with their wives every Sunday morn
ing to get to church betore the col
lectionplate had been passed. That
is one form of personal liberty, v
In the higher walks of civilization
however, liberty becomes more and
more a chimera. From the rising of
the sun until the going down thereof,
personal liberty is but a fanciful some
thing to conjure with.
Woman has more liberty than man.
Man- even talks in his sleep, because
he does not have an opportunity to
say his say during waking hours;
at least, that is the plaint of the mar
ried men. It said that Single men
do not talk in their sleep, which seems
singular. Woman can have thejast
word, but where is the nun who can
boast bf having had the last word?
Woman can wear any old fashioning
of fabrics and furbelows and that goes
for style. She can wear as much or as
little as she wishes and there is none
to say her nay. That is personal
liberty. . ,
What liberty does mere man have,
anyway? The Statue of Liberty on
Bcdloe's Island is the figure of a
Woman. Whether in painting, graven
image, in song or story, liberty al
ways is feminine. What further evi
dence is needed? - Woman gives and
woman takes away man's liberty. Man
imagines he is a freedman, a free
agent, with the right to pursue life,
liberty and happiness. He just pursues
liberty, but never quite catches up.
Some day man is going to be free,
and then he wiH be allowed to eat
chackers in bed, wear any kind of
necktie he desires, go without a collar
if he feels inclined, smoke a corncob
pipe and eat raw onions whenever he
has time ;.nd inclination, lhat will be
liberty. ' .
v Groh with Groh-ing Omaha,
Heard at the Box Office.
Have you any good seats?
They're all good seats; we took the
bad ones out.
I can't hear very good.
W will have the actors SDeak
louder.
Will you be sure to hold those seats
for me? ,
We have them nailed to the floor.
Do you know, I nearly was an actor
once? i
Your secret is safe with trie.
When does a man beiin to feet that
he is "getting along in years?" -
The answer is: When he begins
to read reprints of jokes he heard or
read in ihe days of his youth.
We are getting old. During the
last week we read two jokes we heard
right here in Omaha twenty to twenty-five
years ago.
In, a national magazine for Feb
ruary, printed particularly for women,'
pbut read more or less by men
pears an old joke about a man who
gave his seat in a street car to a wo
man, the latter remarking that she
was sorry to deprive the man of his
would rather spend eight or ten days
on the sea out of sight of shore than
do anything else in the world. He
was in Europe when war broke -out,
and had to sail back to America with
the lights of the boat all snuffed out,
through the nigh to keep from brJing
sighted by warships. That was an
experience on the sea he had not bar
gained for.
As soon as he got home and learned
the war was going to cut off Euro
pean touting the next summer, he
began to study the sea routes of the
Pacific to the orientTjust in order to
be enjoying ' -
"A life on the ocean wave,
"And a home on the rolling deerj."
C. N. Diet has a hobby for col
lecting curios of all kinds from the
farthest reaches of the globe. He
has a taste for art and literature, so
he gathers many fine paintings and
rare works of art. But he does not
stop at that. He will pay a good
price for an odd-shaped cocoanut, will
give up his dinner for a button off
the coat of the king of Siam, will
lose a week's sleep to get a plume
from the tail of an ostrich in the
gardens of a Zulu chief, or a bottle
of soil from the hanging gardens of
Babylon.
"Walt." Jardine's hobby Is , rivtr
navigation. He wants Uncle Sam to
spend $15,000,000 for improving the
Missouri from Sioux City to some
wheft down near Kansas City. He is
back of resolutions which are before
the Nebraska and Iowa legislature,
calling upon congress to make the
appropriation. ,
His dream is to bear the steam
Hoi?
From, -
io ike KuddievTdi
Be Came
By A. EDWIN LONG.
At one time John L. McCague
seemed more likely destined to be a
missionary, carrying the gospel to the
blacks of Egypt, than to develop into
a leading business man of Omaha,
Neb.flj. S. A. 1
No joke about it. He was born in
Cairo, Egypt. That settled it for him
so far as designs on the presidency of
the United States were , concerned.
For Uncle Sam's fundamental law
puts the skids under the presidential
ambitions of any man not born within
his borders.
'Johnnie" L. McCague was quite a
sliver of a boy before he ever heard
of Omaha, Nebraska, U. S. A. WhemJ
seat. The ii.an replies, No deprav
ity, no depravity." We heard that
on the Omaha stage more than twenty
years ago. -
Another loke which has been resur
rected from the grave is the one about
the .farmer whose barn was afire. A
lot of -popcorn popped and an elderly
cow' mistook the white substance for
snow, laid down and froze to death.
Free Advice. .
Swat the nyw' $ .
, Spit in the gutter.
Watch your Stesi. '
Count your chaffgei -
Overhead Bundles Are Dangerous.
Irk a "safety first" brochure, issued
by the department of police, sanitation
and public safety, the following is
rule 4 of advice offered to "You Who
Walk:"
"Never attempt to cross a street
boat's siren once more on the Mis
souri, He yearns for the good, old
days of the steamboat. He reads
stories of steamboats 1 and would
rather take a steamboat ride than at
tend a grand ball of Ak-Sar-Ben.
."If you keep after anything long
enough and hard enough, you will see
its accomplishment," is his motto.
When navigation shall have been
properly opened on the "muddy
waters,' he expects to get a job as
skipper. . -
If you have a position that calls
for a capable man who is willing to
serve without any salary attached,
call on Dr. D. E. Jenkins, president
of the University of Omaha. Its just
one of hi hobbies. -
When the University of Omaha was
scouting artfund for a president, it
just called upon Dr. Jenkins. He took
the position seven years ago, and al
though he has taught part of the time
in the university, he has refused to
accept a salary.
For three years, ending in 1916,"1w
was a member of the Board of Edu
cation, another salaryless position.
' Other positions that he is holding
and has held without, pay are so
numerous that it is almost impossible
to enumerate them. He has been
president and is still a member of the
Nebraska Prison Reform board; he is
one of the officials of the Nebraska
Presbyterian synod and is actively
connected with the Omaha Minis
teriaVunion. 1
' "Billy" Byrne, manager of the
Orpheum, admits-he has a hobtjy. The
name of bis bobby is "Billy Byrn
r 1 n vi IT 0
II II II . II II ssw -- -aaaaW Msv
ihe Tuddy
Waium
he was six years old be was diggii'.
his bare toes in the wet sands and
slime of the Mystic Nile, just out of
snapping reach of the crocodiles. At
Other times maybe he scratched
around the sides of the Pyramids at
Gizeh seeking to climb to the top. But
mostly he was kept at home, for his
parents were very devout, serious and
studious people.
His parents were missionaries in
Egypt. That's how he chanced to be
born there. In fact, it is said, 1 his
parents had not gone to Egypt, he
might not have been born there at all.
At 6 years his parents brought
him to America. The most notewor
thy thing he brought with him from
Egypt was a serious eye disease which
during those early years dug its pes
tilential fangs into the eyes of half
with a bundle or unmbrella over your
head or reading a newspaper. Either
hides oncoming vehicles from your
view."
Thus, it would seem, that the prac
tice, of carrying bundles on heads
should be abated; also, it would ap
pear, that he who- runs should not
read. .
Pointed Remarks.
Careful Observer What do you
think of taking my porcupine to the
pet show? '
Oldest Inhabitant Oh, I reckon it
would win on points.
Cool Cows. .
One of the instructions in a cir
cular addressed by the health commissioner-to
-dairymen reads: "Re
move milk from- barnimmediately
after milking each cow- and cool
promptly." Cool what? Milk, barn
or cow? A cool cow is a pretty sight.
Chambers," 13-month-old grandson.
When' Mr. Byrne wants to getaway
from the grind of managerial duties,
tie hies out to see this grandson, with
whom he enjoys a romp on the floor.
The parents of the child, charge this
grandfather with breaking nnto the
discipline of the Chambers household
Dy yielding to incwnims ui uicir suu.
. "It sounds strange to hear Billy
call me 'grandpa,'" remarked Mr.
Byrne, as he was relating the wonder
ful abilities of his namesake.
"My idea of having a good time is
to take a hike out to see Billy Byrne
Chambers, because we understand
each . other perfectly well and the
good times we do have," added the
Orpheum man.
Working problems in algebra is
Mrs. E. M. Syfert's hobby when she
isn't presiding at meetings of the
Omaha Woman's club. Factoring, ex
tracting the square root or the cube
root of. anything and similar mathe
matical undertakings are Mrs. Syfert's
greatest indoor -sport.
You see, Mrs. Syfert used' to be a
schoolma'am before her marriage, and
the habit has a strong hold on her.
Every once in a while Mrs. Syfert
has a haunting fear that she has for
gotten how to work out an equation,
so she will haul out her algebra book
and begin to review the problems.
Before her duties as president of
the largest woman's organization in
the city became so arduous, Mrs. Sy
fert took up a 'new study each year.
She studied German, French and
music after her marriage. Mrs. Syfert
is an inveterate reader; indeed, you'd
have to think hard to guess the name
of a book she hasn't read
IIT TTTT u... z -r-z TV
iiauaxji-iTii
Nile , - ... i$
llv TO i "Sci ' : 1
thepeople of Egypt. That gave him
serious trouble later.
With his parents young Johnnie
moved about from place to place in
the United States,' where his people
were pursuing their missionary ac
tivities. When Farnam street was lit
tle more than a buffalo pasture and
when net a rail spike had been driven
west of the Missouri river, the family
splashed across the ferry and arrived
at umana.
While-iis father was foundinc the
United Presbyterian church in Omaha
Johnnie was probably playing mum-
Die-ty-peg on the grass Where the"
United States National bank now
stands. .
Maybe he was not olavifli there.
either, for Mr. McCague insists he
never had any real boyhood.-
Anyway, he existed around here for
a time until at 11 he became mes
senger boK for a transfer company
transferring freight from the Iowa
railroads to the ferry boat and from
the ferry boat to the warehouses in
the village of Omaha. He trudged
through mud and snow carrying mes
sages, and getting pretty tired by
night, for he was slender to excess.
Ihen Omaha lost him for a time.
At 17 he was whacking mules over
the backs with a blacksnake, freight
ing between Sterling and Fort Mor
gan, Colo. , That was tough- work.
He was either burning under the noon
blaze that smote the prairies or he
was shivering in the blizzards that
gnawed their way1 through every
thing. Then ah, then the old Egyptian
eye disease grew worse. He came
back to Omaha and in a short time
grew totally blind. For two years
this young man was blind, and during
that time neither he nor his parents
expected he would see the light of
Nebraska's sunshine again. Eventu
ally he came under the care of an
eastern specialist and recovered his
Omaha Lad Makes Good at College
' By Living a Most Strenuous Life
Debating honors, oratorical honors,
class and college honors have fallen
thick upon an Omaha boy at Ne
braska Wesleyan university at Univer
sity Place. .
The lad is (Stanley H. High, son of
F. A. High, Omaha district superin
tendent of the Nebraska Anti-Saloon
league.
Young High is a senior in Wes
leyan university. He was president
of the freshman class and as such was
kidnaped by the sophomores aVid
locked in a basement for days. He
soon became a member of the Boost-
Lers! club and is one of the livest boost
ers ofthe school. He is a member of
the Everett fraternity. Last year he
was manager of the Coyote, the an
nual publication of Wesleyan. . J
A Prize Debater.
From the first he has been a de
bater. He has debated for three years
in class, interclass and intercollegiate
debates for the school. He s recog
nized by the professors as one of the
best debaters" the school ever had,
and is always reserved for the rebut
tal, in which position ne has on sev
eral occasions charged the enemy on
a seemingly lost field and carried
away the victorjr for Wesleyan.
On February 19 last he won the
Hero day oratorical contest r.t Wes
leyan with an" oration prepared by
himself on "Billy" Sunday as the mod
ern hero. For this he received a
handsome "cash prize and a gold
medal. ' '
The youngt Omaha chap is ambi
tious. He is not satisfied with mere
class, interclass and intercollegiate
honors. When his school work is
finished at the end of each week he
flies to Lincoln, where he catches a
train for Ashland. From Ashland he
walks seven miles west where he1
preaches on Sunday in a little country
church. So much enthusiasm has he
stirred up there during the year that
sight. Hisvision today is not the
strongest, but he gets, along very ,
well and wads every night until 11
o'clock to keep up with the march "
of events.
With his sight regained young Mc-
Cague began to work at the Union!
Pacific warehouse, for the Union Pa-J
cine had driven some spikes by this?
time, including the golden spike at i
Promontory Point. . - j
As he was too short and slight to :
make much of a freight pusher withj
a truck, they put him into clerical;
work, where he finally drifted into ,''
the auditing department. It was his
peculiar work to handle the. Union
Pacific land accounts.
Then and there he developed a
taste and a liking for the handling
of land matters, and then and there ,
followed his taste for real estate ac-
tivities.
He quit the railroad auditing woYk
and drifted about the state, alighting
at a score of Nebraska towns seek-,
ing a location. Grand Island might
have had him today if he had de
cided to land there. Beatrice might
have had him at the head of a bank
or a real estate concern, but he did
not stay. Hastings might be sending
him to the legislature or to congress,
but he did not stay there.
No, he made the circuit and finally
rolled back into Omaha, convinced
there was no better place on the maps
then printed by the current geogra
phies. At 35 he was president of the
American National bank here. He
tackled various enterprises, started
from the bottom four distinct times.
anil is liwlav at th A nt ti 1..
Cague Investment company of Oma- ;
ha, expresident of the Omaha Com-'
mercial club and a man who has tak-vj
en an active part in every big move
ment in 'which Omaha has been in
volved for a third of a centurv. ,
Next Week In Thle Strict "How Omaha
Got A. Hoepe."
STANLEY tf.HIQH
the members are now making a cam
paign for funds to build a new church
building. , t
Upon completion of his course at
Wesleyan, Stanley expects to enter
the Boston School of Theologv, and
at the same time take post graduate
work in Harvard. .
Eftty Sunday Ihispage of bright
and breezy local features Kill
await you.Get the habit : : :