The Omaha Sunday Bee
OMAHA,
(Jrofe His W of Omak
ABflie irutli and iinlrufti lliafe fit fo lenow
By A. R. GROH.
Chapter XIV Hotels.
' At an early day in the history of
our city it was decided to have some
hotels It was a good idea. One can
not. think of a city without hotels.
The first hotel was built of logs at
Twelfth and Jackson streets. It was
sixteen feet wide and eighteen feet
long and one story high. The build
ers wanted to call it the "Imperial and
Royal hotel." Better counsel, how
ever; prevailed and it was etecinca
that this name would not be suitable.
So lit wa called the "St, Nicholas
hole! '"
It was run by William Snowdcn.
His wife was appointed cook. Mr.
Snowdcn later attained political dis
tinction, being appointed constable of
Omaha.
The Douglas house was another
early hotel. It was nearly two stories
high. The rear part of it was built
of cottonwood slabs, placed vertically.
In the winter time there weni many
complaints from guests because of
cold rooms and snow sifting through
the chinks.
George Francis Train, whose in
spiring life we studied two weeks ago,
built the Edwards House in 1867. Jt
did not do much business, so the name
was changed to Cozzens house. Later
it was known as the Casement and
still later as the Wyoming. But still
it never prospered.
A pleasing occasion was had at this
hotel February 4, 1859, -at which two
baskets of champagne were sampled
and consumed. Mr. McConihie
' responded to the toast, "The lady of
the present day. She wants but little
on her head, hut much below to make
a spread." From this we see that
SaiurJsiylltgM ittaJioneerJokt
timet have changed much since then.
Those were the days of flowing
skirts. - . v '
Mr. Train, that eccentric gentleman,
was much put out one cold day when
he was having a noonday lunch at the
. If efndon house There was a broken
window pane right by his table and
the wintry blast blew in on him.
de Narrative of Douglas Street
This Interesting Account is Taken
Douglas street was named after the
Little Giant of Illinois Stephen A.
Douglas who at one time was the
idol of the democratic party, second
only to Andrew Jackson. In 1880
there were but few substantial busi
ness blocks. on this street, aside from,
what, was then called the Caldwell
block.. On the south side of that
street, between Thirteenth and Four
teenth streets, there were a few brick
structures. . That block alone pos
sessed the only evidence of business
on the street. The Paddock block,
on the southwest corner of Eleventh
street, and the Glynn block, on the
northwest corner, were the first evi.
dences of permanent buildings on
the street. They were erectid about
1883. The Uillard hotel, on the north
east corner of Thirteenth street, was
built about the same year. The
Metropolitan hotel, on the northeast
corner of Twelfth street, is an old
landmark that runs back to Omaha's
early days. It was a popular resort
in the early '80s, .but has of late
rears been used chiefly as a cheap
odging house, Where the Millard'
hotel now stands the Vischer block
stood. That was a two-story frame
building, used for stores and offices.
Gladstone Bros, occupied one of the
stores nd carried on an extensive
grocery business. On the southwest
corner of Fourteenth there was a
rwn-stnrv hrielr. th tnr nar-t nf
which was used by William Flem
ming as a grocery store, he retiring
from business in 1895, since which
time a new three-story brick has
, taken its piece.
At No. H07 for years Little & Wil
liams ran grocery store. At No.
1409. in 1888. Charles Higgins opened
a saloon and restaurant, this venture
lasting but a short time, as he went
hroke.. Numerous other parties there
after engaged in various lines of busi
ness in that building, but'for one rca-
. son or another, they were but short
lived. In 1898 the present occupants
rented th; building for a saloon,
which is known as the "Budweiser,"
and owned by William Nestlchouse,
but the name should be the "Palace,"
. as it is the political home of the
political-king of Douglas county, the
man who holds the destiny of both
the democratic and republican parties
in the hollow of his hand.
The Continental block, on the
northeast corner, was erected in 1888.
Prior to that there was a number of
one-story frame buildings running as
far east as No. 1412, one being occu
pied by a restaurant and another by
mine, mr iiaucr, anu me corner Dy
'' Owen McCaffrey as a saloon.
On the northwest corner of Fif
teenth street is the old Creighton
block, erected in the earlv '70s. For
fifteen years the corner store was oc-
. ctiuicd and run bv Norman A. Kuhn
. is a drug store, he retiring from the
, business in. 18. It was there that
joth Sherman & McConnell, Omaha's
.. leading druggists, learned the busi
ness. ..There were a number of small
frame-buildings between that and the
v :oruef west. Most of - them were
orn down in 1912 to make room for
lit Empress theater, an exoensive
lidding built that year by J. L. Bran-
en company ot uniana.
' The building on the northeast cor
pr of Sixteenth street was built in
885 by William Bushman lor a store
nd office building, the store being
' rscd by him for a dry goods store,
'he building is on leased ground.
- liishnian's lease having expired some
cass ago.' In 1914 the ground and
uilding was leased by ex-Congress-uan
I. I . Kennedy for a term of
mnrtv-mne vcars. ' '
' Uu the southeast comer of Fif
SUNDAY MORNING, MAY
lie called the proprietor and asked
him to have it fixed. But when they
stuffed some rags into it Mr. Train
was still unsatisfied. He then hired a
colored waiter to stand in front of it,
paying him one dollar ($1.00) a min
ute for this servicer
When he paid his hill he was so
disgusted that he said he would build
Qi'Team reside ts displeasure
a decent hotel. That same day he
bought a lot and had men at work
digging an excavation. Mr. Train
was a great hustler. Two, months
later the hotel was completed and Mr
Train ate lunch in it without feeling
any draught from ' broken window
panes. Me called it the Jennings
house, after Al Jennings, the reformed
bandit.
Great excitement was occasioned
when the Grand Central hotel burned
down in 1878 (102 years after the sign
ing of the immortal declaration of In
dependence in Philadelphia).
The fire started from a candle left
burning there by workmen, forming
a striking parallel to the great Chi
cago fire which started from the kick
ing oyer of a lantern by a cow be
longing to a Mrs. Murphy.
None of these hotels, however, can
compare in beauty and conveniences
with our hotels of today. In the early
days bathrooms were unheard of.
Some of the later hotels liad only one
bath room and on Saturday nights
the rush was tremendous. It was a
long development from that time until
today when rooms with private baths
are common and guests can take baths
at any time. Tiius does the world
move forward.
Questions on Chapter XIV:
1. What position did William Snow
dcn occupy?
2. Give the name of the cook at the
St. Nicholas hotel.
3. Describe the pleasant occasion at
the Wyoming house.
4. How long after the signing of
the declaration of independece was the
Grand Central hotel burned down?
from Ed. Morearty's Book of
teenth street stands the Karbach
block, erected by Charles Karbach
in 1887. It is an office and store
building of six stories. , This coiner
was, from 1888 to 1898, occupied by
C. S. , Raymond, the leweler. from
which time the Ryan Jewelry com
pany has rented it. The German Sav
ings bank occupied another of its
stores from 1890 to 18. when it went
into the hands of" a receiver. From
1880 to 1885 on this corner was located
two-story frame store and office
building known as the "Bushman
block." William Bushman during that
time ran a dry goods stores in the
corner room. . Many of Omaha's
pioneer lawyers had their offices in
that building, anions them heinor N.
J. Burnham, Albert Swartzlander,
Judge A. N. Ferguson and Sam Bal
let, all of whom have passed beyond
the great divide.
On the northwest corner of Thir
teenth street in 1880 was the old
Republican building, a two-story
brick. The Omaha Republican, a
morning paper, was issued from there.
The building was torn down in 1884,
when the company moved to its- new
.place on the southwest corner of
tenth and this street. On this lot,
in 188a,, was. erected a three-story
building, since which time the entire
block has been built solidlv with sub
stantial business houses. At No. 1402
is ocated the old Fuller block,-which
from 1883 to 1906 was orcumVrf hv
J. A. Fuller as a drug store. During
me last eigni years it nas Been used
as a saloon run by Jabcz Cross. At
ao. itu is located one of the first
picture shows in Omaha. At No.
I408 was the Duke Hardware store.
It went out of business in 1888, hav
ing been sold to C. O. Lobeck, our
present congressman. At No. 1410,
l. J. Beard & Bro.. have h,l
their paper and paint store since 1885,
Srior to which time it was occupied
y Welte & McDonald as a ready-
made ladies garment store... At No.
1412 is a saloon, which was opened
up in 1886 by Folev & Darst. hut
since 1889 it has been run by Tom
Foley.
The Browning-King building, on
the southwest corner of Fifteenth
street, has been used by the company
as a clothing store since 1886: From
to 1886 It was the drv muul
store of Cruickshank & Falconer. The
property is ownen Dy tne heirs ot the
late Lew Hill. The building west of
this, No. 1507, has been , owned by
Thomas Kilpatrick & Co. since 1890
at which time they started the pres-
mii 1U4UUIIUU1 reiaii ury goous nouse.
The two-story brick store at No. 1519
vas built by A. Martin, the tailor,
in 1886. The lot was purchased by
him in 1882 for $12,000; I was pres
ent at the time and witnessed the pay
ment of the option money. This
proved to be one of the best invest
ments in real estate in those early
days. .....
On the southeast corner of Six
teenth street is the Brown block, a
five-story, narrow office building, with
a one-story space. J. J. Brown built
this- structure in 1886. It was the
first home of the City National bank
when organized in 1906.
On the. northwest corner of Six
teenth street is the gentlemen's cloth
ing department of the Brandcis
stores, which was built and occupied
by that company in 1892, In Febru
ary, 1894, the building was totally de
stroyed by fire, and that year it was
rebuilt and occupied by the same
firm. The six-storv brick next to it.
on the west, is owned and used by
nayucn iiros. as tlie piano depart
hient of their store, ft was built in
1900. . On this ground for more than
13, 1917.
Comb Honey
By EDWARD BLACK.
Mother's Day.
Today is Mother's day. Wc have
heard it said that the hand that rocks
the cradle rules the world. The word
"mother" has been one to conjure
with ever since the beginning of the
world. The world bows in reverence
at the shrine of motherhood. Ella
Wheeler Wilcox wrote, "Fatherhood
is but a poor accomplishment at test."
A mother with her babe ' has ' a
friend wherever she goes. If a father
is seen with an infant somebody will
say, "Guess he kidnaped it."
Do you remember the time when
your mother tucked yon in your little
bed with the admonitioln, "Early to
bed, early, to rise, make a man
healthy, wealthy and wiser" Do you
remember the time you were afraid
to .meet dad and mother interceded
for you?"
Why Not? '
"Mother's day"- is a splendid idea,
but why not have "Father's day?"
Somebody pleaseoffer a motion.
Interesting if True.
Navy posters in windows at
teenth and Farnam streets read: '
navy will be full on May 1."
thought Joscphus had cut out
grog.-.
Six
The We
the
A Contribution;
It is reported that a man in the
north part of the city is so patriotic
that he will not plant a garden this
summer. , Why? . Because he is afraid
it will German-ate. A. R. G.
We Told You So.
Even the price of ..sand has been ad
vanced, l'lease pass the sand.
Mrs. Ohaus Says:
"There is no such thing as luck.
When you leave an event to chance
you cast aside the advantages which
the intelligent person has over the
unintelligent. In every work thatvou
do take your responsibilities with suf
ficient appreciation to insure their be
ing taken care of. In reality acquir
ing a sense of responsibility is obtain
ing a diploma in the art of living."
Signs Fail.
Careful Observer All signs fail in
wet weather.
Oldest Inhabitant How's that, old
top?
C. O. Well, I was meandering
along a public thoroughfare this
morning and stopped in front of a
place whose sign read "Saloon." No
body home.
O. I. They're walking out on you.
Swatting Time.
Swat the fly and the, slacker.
Personal Reminiscence Just Out
thirty years stood the German Cath
olic church and the parochial school.
They, in 1902, sold the property to
the. present owners, erecting a church
the same year at Nineteenth and
Dodge streets.
On the northeast corner of Seven
teenth street is a three-story brick,
formerly called the "Patterson block."
For years the second floor was used
as a dance hall and lodge rooms. The
Central Labor union at one time occu
pied rooms there. In March, 1899,
the building -was partly destroyed by
fire, but was soon repaired, since
which time it has been occupied as a
grocery store by Courtney & Co.
On the southwest corner of Six
teenth' street is a seven-story brick,
extending the entire' length of the
block west, covering the entire half of
a -city block, including the-old Kar
bach residence. It is owned and oc
cupied by the J. L. Brandcis company,
the four upper floors being fitted for
offices. This building was erected in
1906. In 1882, on a part of this prop
erty facing Sixteenth street, was a
frame fashionable hoarding house,
which was moved in 18 to make
rodm for'the elegant headquarters
erected by the Young Men's Christian
association, which in turn gave way
for the-present' structure.
Before going west of Seventeenth
street it might be of interest to learn
how and when. this street, from Sev
enteenth to Twentieth, secured its
present grade and the difficuties inci
dent to it, which occurred' in this
way: In 1890 when I entered the city
council, that, part of the street was
in such a wretched condition that it
would have been difficult for a jack
rabbit to climb the hill. It was not
graded because of failure on the part
of the property holders to agree to a
change from the original established
grade, which if permitted to stand,
would prevent it from becoming a
business street. Finally, through the
efforts of Dr. George Tildcn and Ed
ward Rosewater both living on that
street I secured . a . compromise
grade, the one the street now has,
the street being graded in 1891, after
which expensive business blocks took
the place of both the large and small
frame buildings that were located on
the lots.
These changes may be evidenced
by the remarkable improvements that
have since taken place, as. where for
merly stool the residences of Henry
runot ana tawara Kosewater, on
the south side, between Seventeenth
and Eighteenth, there is now the
Brandcis theater, a six-story office
and theater building, extending al
most the entire length of the block.
Added to this On the west end, for
merly the Saunders lot, is the six
story Saunders & Kennedy building,
used for offices and stores. While
on the north side, between the same
streets, the entire block is built up
solidly with creditable business build
ings. On the northwest corner of
Seventeenth street, where for years
lived Dr. Grossman in a two-story
frame house, is now a five-storv brick
office and store building called the
"Baird block." The lots west of that
, v. .. t' i. t . . i .N
4IG uj UlllIL siuirs. n me
northeast corner is the Strand the
ater. On the northwest corner of Eight
eenth street is erected the Fontenelle
hotel, an eight-story brick and stone
building, embracing the entire half of
the block. It was erected in 1914 and
opened to the public in February,
1915. It is one of the finest of its
kind in the entire west, and was built
at a cost of $1,000,000. It was built
by the Douglas Hotel company. Com
posed exclusively of Omaha capital
ists, and is a thing of beauty and a
joy forever , ,
u r i (p l Ui
Sisttaps of 3Kill(iitg
Time. ZeaJ zffixt -to
" Safely in Courts "PV.
Ml'
J oat
By A. EDWIN LONG.
On a little farm neSir De .Witt, 'la,
Francis A. Brogan, present member of
the Board of Education, used to milk
cows long before daylight. He used
to try to get up before the mosquitoes
and flies got to the cows, but they
often beat him to it at that.
When the cow would whip his face
into a slineina ouln with her tail while
fighting flies and mosquitoes, Francis
A. Brogan would roll his eyes sky
ward, fix them on the morning star,
and then and there would vow lie
would desert the farm some day and
go where there are no cows to milk
and no winged monsters to pester the
cows.
Once he vowed this louder than at
any other time and with more em
phasis. It was when a big greenhead
fly torpedoed the cow aft, just when
the bucket was full of foaming milk.
The cow responded readily by whack
ing one hoof into young Brogan's
face and with the other deftly turning
the bucket of milk over upon his ear
as he sprawled in the dirt.
Brogan s adventures on the farm be
gan a. most as soon as he was born.
He was born near De Witt, la, in
1860. He was scarcely 6 when a
clumsy farm horse tried to step upon
his face, sharp-shod, the hired man
had turned the team loose in the even
ing after work and allowed them to
trot to the barn. He did npt know
that little Francis was crawling over
the threshold of the barn door at that
moment. The lad's father was near
the barn door, however, and turned
just in time to save the situation. The
child had tumbled over the threshold
Mathew Gering has a hobby. One
would never guess his hobby by look
ing at mm, wnats your hobbyr
was asked. "Rugs," he replied.
He just dotes on rugs. In Chicago
a few weeks ago he looked at an ori
ental rug, about 4x6 feet, with a price
tag reading "$7,500." He did not buy
it. He has, however, a fine collection
of rugs in bis home.
"You see," he explained, "some rugs
have 1,200 knots to the square inch.
Those are very expensive. Rugs mean
something if you understand ' them.
One rug will ruggest a wedding, an
other a marriage and another may be
a prayer rug. When the Persian
prays he turns the design of his rug to
the east. I have a prayer rug," ,
He added that real oriental rugs do
not deprecate in value, but usually in
crease. "Whenever I need the money
all I have to do is to sell my rugs,
he added.
When Ben S. Baker says, "Mother,
mother, pin a rose on me," it means
something more than empty words.
His hobby is rose cultivation.
"It is true that my hobby is roses,"
said Mr. Baker when the matter was
put up to him. Then he told about
nis rose garden and his love of roses.
Tea roses and American beauties
are his favorites. He set, out 200
bushes last season, but many were
winter killed. II is putting out as
many more this season. He has
counted as many as 400 roses in bloom
in his garden.
To say nothing of the pleasure of
having the roses and giving them to
friends, he adds that he gets exercise
by getting up with the sun and culti
vating his rose garden.
"That is the way ITind my place in
the sun. Did you ever get up in the
early morning when the air is dew
laden, and get out into your rose gar
den and TStretch yourself? If you
haven't, you have lived in vain," Vere
comments he made when discussing
his hobby.
Work pure unadu.terated work
is the one and only hobby of Emery
O. Peterson, secretary of the Festner
Pointing company and well known
among the younger business men of
the city. Mr. Peterson has the reputa
tion of keeping Uitgcr business hours
EVerjyboJylias a HobLy !
' vhafe Youre fljpf
Miana
v a i m . i
earck do lace1
ettr itt
at).
and fallen on his back. The lead horse
had raised a ponderous hoof and was
just ready to step on the childish face,
when the father caught the hoof, clung
to it madly with both hands, while he
kicked the, child out of the doorway
and out of danger.
When the chap was big enough to
drive a team, he used to rake hay and
thus disturb many a bumble bees'
nest, to his everlasting regret and
chagrin. Blizzards of yellow jackets
also linger in his memory.
When the lad was 14 the family
moved to a farm near Hartford, Kan.
For two years he pitched hay and
trotted after the plow, and at 16 he
entered St. Benedict's college at
Atchison. He was graduated from
Georgetown college, Washington, D."
C, in 1883 and from Harvard law, in
1885.
With three diplohjas under ode arm
and a volume of statutes under the
other, he began to appear before
juries in Emporia, Kan.
It was Justice Miller of the supreme
court of the United States who pushed
forjiimself than any of the print shop
crowd. He arrives at the office be
fore any of the "help" mornings and
is always the last one 'to leave in the
afternoons. And he always goes
down to his office evenings and works
two or three hours. Sunday morn
ings will also find him bending over
his desk. He says he works because
he likes to, not because he has to. On
rare very rare occasions his busi
ness associates drag linn off to the
golf links, but even at these times he
often "ditches" them and hurries back
to his office. Oftentimes his wife has
to go down to the office herself and
drag him away from his desk in order
to get him to go to a theater or some
social affair. Mr, Peterson acquired
the work habit several years ago
when he was bookkeeper for mining
companies in Nevada and other west
ern states and in old Mexico. It is
said that, while employed in Bandit
land, he worked eighteen hours a
day with a revolver lying beside his
ledgers, and spent the rest of the time
watching the mine so th "greasers"
did not run away with it. . . s
Grant Yates, deputy United States
marshal, has a hobby. It is hunting.
He is a mighty nimrod and when the
birds and beasts of the wild see him
coining they hunt their holes and hide
in the most secluded places.
This avails them not. however, for
Grant and his gun get them out every
time. He has stalked the mighty
lalapaloosa to its hidden lair and has
gazed unflinchingly into the fiery eyes
of the wimpusiferousj ,
He particularly likes the marshy
places, where he will wade for hours
in a pair of hip boots (and other nec
essary garments, of course) for hours
in quest of the beasts of the wild. And
when he returns his hunting bag is
loaded to the guards sometimes.
fiorted, some of the animals surrender,
ike Davy Crokett's coon, when they
see him coming.
Harry Byrne studies Shakespeare
in his spare moments, Harry has few
spare moments, for he takes an active
interest in life insurance, in politics,
in republican clubs, in Ak-Sar-Bcn,
and many other organizations. But
when he gets a moment to himself lie
buries his nose in a thick volume of
this young man into Omaha eventu
ally. Justice Miller did not tell him
to go to Omaha, but what he did tell
him was this: "Practice in a good
sized country town for about three or
four years. You get the law in its
elements fliere. When you feel that
you have found yourself, then move
to a city as last as you can and'get
down to big practice."
Brogan kept this in mind. In three
years' practice, in Emporia he felt he
had found bniiself. "He looked long
ingly at Kansas City, then at Omaha.
He chose the' latter, and arrived in
1888. . '.'.'
Though Mr.. Brogan has command
ed the fieldHn some big legal battles,-
though he has been wrestling with i
the problems of running Omaha's I
Shakespeare. It is said he once sat
half through a Shakespearean play in
which an ordinary "Ham Fat" was
playing Hamlet. Byrne was growing
more and more disgusted with the
leading man's interpretation of the
part of the Melancholy Dane. Still
he held his temper. Then came the
"star" again with tfle line
"Something too much of this."
Byrne is said to have leaped to his
feet, snatched up his overcoat and.
shouting "Much too much of this,"
stalked from the theater.
By others it is held that this feat
was really perpetrated by Edward
Fitzgerald, the English writer and
critic of other days, and now in this
later day merely attributed to Harry
Byrne. Nevertheless if Byrne did not
do and say these things he had it in
his soul to act just so many a time
as he sat through a weak interpreta
tion of some of Shakespeare's best.
Playing practical jokes on his
friends is a hobby with E. J. Scroy.
He recently made a special trip to
Ak-Sar-Ben office to tell Secretary
"Dad" Weaver that W. A. Picl, the
druggist, was hopping mad at Weaver
and at outs with the whole Ak-Sar-Ben
organization. He had taken Pjel
into his confidence in advance. "No,
sir," he said, "we can't get that fel
low Piel to join this year. He is mad,
and he wants to see you to give you
the devil personally, and to tell you
once and for all what he thinks of
the whole Ak-Sar-Ben organization."
Weaver shifted his cigar to the
other side of his mouth and looked
worried.
"I'd advise you to go up there and
fix it up with Piel some way," con
tinued Seros'.
Going out he met E. L. Potter and
he primed him to carry the same
story to Weaver. Potter did so. and
declared he also had received an
awful calling down from Piel. Seroy
found Randall Brown and George
Haverstick and got them to carry
similar stories to Weaver about the
foaming wrath of W. A. Picl. Re
peatedly all these fellows urged
Weaver to go and pacify -Mel. For
two weeks Weaver could not muster
the nerve to approach the man who,
he believed, had some terrible grudge
schools, though lie led the legal pari
of the fight to get Omaha's Federal
Land bank, and though he is con
stantly identified with important pub
lie movements in the Nebraska
metropolis, he has not forgotten to be
proud of his life on the farm. "I(
gives one a familiarity with nature;
which is very important," he says. "I
am so taken with the importance oj
raising boys close to nature that I
bought a small tract in the western
:part . of the. city, and moved there sa
that my boys might grow up close to
nature and get their bare" toes int
the black earth in the furrow behind
a plow. There is an exhilaration in
that which can be found nowhera
else."
(Next Week: "How Omaha Got VMlaf
Hiirenh.)
against him. At last, under the great
est pressure, Weaver walked into
Piel's drug store, sidled up to the
cigar case, bought a cigar and glanced)
fearfully about him for sight of the
terrible proprietor. At last tho
"monster" emerged from behind tha
counter, with an application blank for
Ak-Sar-Ben alt filled out in one hand,
a check for the membership fee in
the other, and a grin that forced
Weaver to buy the drinks.
When L. N. Bunce is not sellins
real estate or handling rentals be is
practicing the various parts to which
he may be assigned in the Ak-Saw
Ben show in the fall. Bunce is on
of the most dependable of the workers
at the Den. Samson knows he may
depend upon Bunce to take a part ana
carry it off well. Ben Cotton may
flash upon the stage one year with a
lively clog or pigeon wing. Charley
Gardner may he the leading man for
a year or two and disappear from the
stage. Jack Alvord may be a big chief
for a season. Chief of Police Henry
Dunn may be booked as one of Sam
son's coal stol:ers for a succession of
seasons,' and then get appendicitis
and enthusiastic. ' He never gets sick.
He never quits on the job, and he is
always on deck when the Monday
night performance come; on. On ac
count of his diminutive size he has
with peculiar aptness adapted himself
to the parts of the bodyguard for tho
giant, "Doc Cayenne Pep," and again
for the magnificent "King Tatarax"
last year.
When he is not practicing his part,
nor selling real estate, he is hustling
members for Ak-Sar-Ben, for he is a
tireless worker in the cause of Sam
son. Losing a walking-stick is a funny
hobby for anyone to have, but Lucicn
Stephens admits that to be one of his
hobbies. 'He can afford to spend con
siderable time at it, too, for every time
he loses his stick, it is returnel to him.
Many Omaha people confidently ex
pect Stephens to leave his stick at
their store, bank, movie theater, home
orlsewhere, every time he calls. Each
time he forgets it, they bring or send
it back to him. "Maybe I wouldn't be
so lucky, if it was au umbrella," h
sayi