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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 4, 1917)
14 THE BEE: OMAHA, SATURDAY, AUGUST 4, 1917. HOME GUARDS ARE TO REPLACE N. H. G. Governor and Adjutant General Are Now Working On Next Troops to Protect the State. National Guard regiments are ex pected to leave the state within the next week. This will mean that all of the organized militia will be far from Nebraska. "What will the state do if trouble comes up." is the question in the minds of the people. That is exactly the problem that - Governor. Neviiie and Adjutant Gen eral Steele are going to solve. Follow ing is a letter to the chairmen of the county councils of defense: 'Home Guards "Many inquiries have reached the State Council of Defense relative to the formation of the Home Guards in the several communities of the state. The state council, after consultation with Governor Neville and Adjutant General Steele, is authorized to give you the following information: "That as soon as the National Guard regiments of Nebraska leave the state, the adjutant general, at the request of the governor, will im mediately commence the organization of reserve militia forces, under rules and regulations as provided by law. This reserve militia will take the place of the present National Guard. When the reserve militia organiza tions are completed, if it becomes necessary in the smaller communi ties of the state, the governor will commission officers who will -be auth orized to organize Home Guard con tingents for local purposes of pro tection and patriotic endeavor. Counties Should Help "The several county councils are urged to encourage the work which Adjutant General Steele has under taken in organizing reserve militia contingents and to assist him aj much as possible in accomplishing this special task. 1 "The state council also calls the attention of the county councils to the mess fund movement which seeks to add additional provision for the comforts and needs of the enlisted tnen of the several National Guard regiments which are about to leave Nebraska. It is a very necessary and commendable thing to do and we ask the several county councils to assist generously this particular patriotic effort" Robber Strikes Woman on1 Head and Takes Her Watch While sitting alone at her home, 0Sy4 North Eighteenth street, Thurs day night Mrs. Bessie Weinberger heard someone knock at the door. When she opened the door a man stepped forward and struck her on the forehead with an iron bar. He then asked her where she had her money Tliidden. "In that drawer," she replied. The man reached in the drawer and took a lady's gold watch, but left a $5 bill behind that was lay ing beside it. He then left, strik ing Mrs. Weinberger again as he went out. Police Surgeon Mullen was railed to attend the lady. Little Boy Injured in Accident Improves Robert Hastings, 4-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Byron It, Hastings, spent a fairly good night at Edmon ston hospital in Council Bluffs fol lowing the automobile wreck north of Council Bluffs, in which he was badly injured and rendered uncon scious. Surgeons now bold out a good hope for his recovery, though they have not yet been able, to ex amine him thoroughly for fractures and for internal injuries. The boyi regained consciousness during the day Thursday after arti ficial air had been administered to tide him over until he cbuld take care of respiration normally. Thursday's Rain Precludes All Chance for Crop Failure During the twenty-four hours end ing Thursday night reports to Omaha headquarters of Nebraska railroads in dicate that Thursday's rain was gen eral ver all of the state and ranged (roir. one-half to two inches. Railroad officials who gather crop information contend that the rain over the Nebraska corn belt was so heavy that it precluded all possibility of a drouth during the remainder of the growing season. They add that the rain has been of great benefit to the range country, giving the grass a new start sufficient to keep it in good con dition until fall. PERSONAL MENTION. Or Russell, assistant supervisor of writ ing tu th publlo schools, hss tons to Co lumbus. O.. to attend s, penmanship con clave. . . Commissioner Harlan's Opinion on Railroad Freight Rate Question Opinion in full rendered by Commissioner Harlan of the Interstate Commerce commission on the railroads' request for permission to increase freight rates IS per cent, concur ring with majority opinion, but also dissenting in a very im portant particular: "Under the law, this commission may act only upon a concurring vote of at least four of its members, and in view of the, recent death of Commis sioner Clements and of the varying conclusions entertained among my colleague on the important questions presented by the record, it became necessary, in order that some affirma tive results might follow from this extended and laborious investigation, that I should concur in the course outlined in the commission's report. I did this, however, because its find ings are in the direction of what the record seems to me to justify and re quire and not because I regard the relief granted as adequate. "From the mass of statistic! offered in evidence on both sides it is not difficult, as the commission's report indicates, to compile figures to illus trate almost any theory respecting the troubles of the carriers of the country. Laying some stress upon the figures for the last four months, the commission's finding upon the whole record is that the fears of the railroad officials, when they laid their request for increased rates before us, have. not teen realized. The report, then, indicates the purpose of the commission to follow the develop ments through the medium of the monthly reports of the carriers, and should their earnings make it appear that the dangers feared by the car riers are imminent, the commission will then meet the situation by promptly amplifying the limited re lief now permitted to them. Month-to-Month View Inadequate. "This month-to-month and purely statistical view of the matter seems to me to be wholly inadequate. Nor do I regard that course as altogether safe. We are facing a much larger problem and it must be approached itia much broader way if'we are to reach a sound solution. The report of the commission states that some of the symptoms disclosed of record are unquestionably unfavorable. As I read the record, that is undoubtedly the case and, being so the wisdom of deferring full relief is not apparent to me. What the country as a whole needs, as all participating in the hear ings seemed to agree, U much larger terminals, more tracks, more cars and more locomotives. This enlargement of pur facilities is not required merely to meet the exigencies growing out of the war. but to keen our transpor tation facilities up to the measure of the country s growing volujpe of busi ness We are now a creditor nation and it may reasonably be expected that the trade balance in our favor will continue at least for some years. With the aid of our new merchant marine this may become a more or less permanent condition. With such a prospect before us a foundation should be laid without delay for a defi nite plan for the development and building up of our transportation sys tem. For seven or eight years com petent railroad officials have been warning us that the carriers are not keeping abreast of the retirements of the country. It is true that there are periods when a substantial part of the carriers' equipment is lying idle. On the other hand, the carriers cannot prudently undertake to meet extreme and extraordinary demands. But a rough estimate of $1,000,000,000 has been suggested as the yearly expen diture necessary to enable them to open up new territory and to enlarge and extend, their present facilities in order to meet the rapidly growing vol ume of the general commerce of the country. No such investment, how ever, has been or is being made in our railroads. On the contrary, an exhibit of record shows that begin ning with 1895 the new construction increased year by year until 1910, while from the latter date it has stead ily diminished. In other words, our population and commerce have largely expanded, but there has been no ex pansion, relatively speaking, in our transportation facilities. Industries Have Been Embarrassed. For 'two years the commerce of the country has been moving under inter mittent embargoes, an experience, as must be observed, that we have had in the past not only while we were at peace, but while the world at large was also at peace. Great losses have resulted to the whole country. The producer and manufacturer, with ample supplies which the public was demanding, have been unable to make deliveries. The coal operator, with no shortage of coal at the mine, has not been able to deliver it promptly to those needing it. "Prices for jhe necessities of life have a increased, partly at least because existing sup plies could notTe brought to the con sumer; and the speculator has been enabled to demand unreasonable prices because inadequate facilities have prevented the competition in the I consuming markets of those who were prepared to furnish the same com modities at lower prices. Large indus tries have been greatly embarrassed It will suffice to say that, while the strains of the war have much to do with the present transportation con ditions, the one outstanding fact dur ing the hearing, as to which there was no disagreement, was that our trans portation system is lacking in the ca pacity to meet the demands of the shippers and that the resulting loss to the general public has been very large. This condition is one of pres ent danger, with a possibility that it may even become disastrous during the war period. But aside from this military influence, the record leaves not doubt that our transportation system, as a whole, must be promptly enlarged and expanded. Rate Advance in Public Interest. ' "The shippers of the country recog nize the dancer and have given ex pression to this apprehension upon the record. They regard a prompt and sound cure of the trouble as being as vital to them as to the carriers. Representatives of some of the largest industrial centers, officers of some of the largest traffic organizations, and officials of some of the most import ant shippers of the country, availed themselves at the hearing of the op portunity to refer to the situation, and to point out that in their own in terest as shippers, and in the interest of the general shipping public, the rates of the carriers might well be increased in order that they may be put in a position to increase their tecminals and facilities. Many earnest objections were of course made to any increase. Other shipping interests were reaay ip acquiesce in an increase provided no discriminations against them were involved. But the whole discussion, unusually free from selfish contentions on the part of the ship pers, and approached by the carriers, as I understand the record, in no self ish spirit, leave me with the convic tion that the shippers at large are ready for a substantial increase in their rates, provided it will result in an early betterment of their transpor tation service and in a rate structure free from discriminations. The rec ord in my judgment demonstrates a proposition that has long been clear to me, namely, that a rate is a public question and that the existing rates, aside from any interest that the own ers of our railroads may have in the matter, could well be advanced in the public interest, in order that assurance may thus be given for the early en largement of our transportation fa cilities. ; "I express the thought in that way because it is clear that so long as we look to private interests to furnish a transportation service for the country we must see to it that the rewards are sufficient to attract capital for its further development. Under pres ent conditions this appears not to be the case. Executives of great in surance companies and of great sav ings institutions testified during the hearings that the volume of their holdings in railroad securities has been steadily diminishing and that they and other large investors are looking with decreasing favor on railroad securities. Possibly this may result to some extent from an impres sion, which I think is very erroneous, that this commission takes too nar row a view of such questions as are before us here. But, in any event, we must not overlook the fact that at this time,. and apparently for the, next few years, new capital must be sought by the carriers in competition with the. demands of many governments for war loans and in competition with the very large returns of industrial companies. Nor must be overlook the fact that the returns on property Investment in railroads, even under the unusually prosperous year 1916, were not such as to give any preference to the rail way investor, and for the last six teen years this average return vhas been, using the principal and repre sentative roads, for the eastern dis trict 5.48, the 'southern 4.69, and the western 5.04 per cent. "From the whole record it is clear to me that the 15 per cent increase proposed by the eastern carriers which in its actual results would probably not exceed 10 per cent should be per mitted to become effective. The rec ord shows that conditions with the western and southern lines are some what better than with the eastern car riers. Nevertheless, in my judgment, they also should be permitted some VAT J can st all th hot v wtaiJ,er clothes you need by paying mo $1 or so each week. BEDDEO 1117 Douglas St. "TV"-""' '"""" 1 M 1 t 1 " l'"c I ,M i "1 I NON -INTOXICATING y ("'IMMMS.W. , V" . LZHZZL fit. Mil fp&K increase in their rates on the general grounds that I have attempted briefly to outline. In view, however, of the findings of the commission's report, it will not be necessary to discuss the extent of the increase that they should have. "In the light of the refusal by the commission of what, in my judgment, is sufficient additional revenues to the carriers, it seems appropriate again to call attention to the econo mies that may be and should be ef fected through the co-ordination of terminals, the elimination of unhealthy competition, the waste in service through the light loading of cars, and the performance of special services for particular shippers without charge. Much of the service at the larger in dustrial centers and ports is special in character and the heavy terminal cost encountered by the carriers in performing them is spread over the rate structure instead of being com pensated under a special charge. The smaller communities grouped with the larger centers thus bear burdens that should be borne by others. Sooner or later matters of this kind must have serious attention by the com mission, and they will open sources of substantial additional revenues to the carriers." Fifty Vags Rounded Up By Crew of Detectives Detectives Dolan and Jolly started things wiren they raided an alleged gambling house at 522 South Thir teenth streets, arrested the keeper and four, inmates. Sergeant Frank Mur phy, Detectives Rooney, Holden, Lahey and Dolan then proceeded to round up fifty vags from lower Douglas street. Less than half re ceived jail sentences for vagrancy. But the rest submitting transportation tickets from employment agencies, were given their freedom on condi tion that they leave town, at once. Body of I. W. W. Leader to Be Buried at Yale, Oklahoma Butte, Mont., Aug. 3. Officers of the Mine Metal Workers union said today that the body of Frank H. Lit tle, executive officer of the Industrial Workers of the World, lynched here early Wednesday, is to be shipped from Butte Sunday night to "Yale, Okl. A brother of Little lives in Yale. According to present plans the cas ket is to be followed from an under taking establishment to the railroad station by a procession of miners. City officials said the procession would not be interfered with so long as there was no disorder and no ban ners were carried by the marchers. Bee Want Ads produce results. AMIBEMENTS. IT IS COOL 'manawa PARK Bathing Boating Dancing Free Movies Picnic Grounds MANY OTHER AMUSEMENTS Green's Band Two Concerts Sunday Only Vaudeville in the City PHUN PHIENDS Mutie and Comedy Galore BELL SISTERS Pretty Singers end Dancers ' D'AMICO Wizard of the Accordeon. JOHNSON AND WELLS Colored Comedians A Loving Sister's Kindness Saves A Youthful Waster. GLADYS HULETTE in The Last of the Carnabys' From the Story by Samuel Morse. George Ovey in Cub Comedy. PHOTOPLAYS. MARY , PICKFORD in " "A ROMANCE OF THE REDWOODS" MUSE- vivian REED 'TOE LAD AND THE LION" 7lm v Last Time Today ROY STEWART "THE DOUBLE STANDARD" tf. J. Hughes Co, Wholesale Distributor Omaha, Nebraska Tel. Douglas 1334. Bell-ans Absolutely Removes Indigestion. Onepackage proves it 25c at all druggists.. Buy a Good Bag or Suit Case for Vacation Time brandeis Stores TRUNKS sturdy and strong Steamer to Wardrobe Styles. 1 '. v ..V..1. 1 1 .-.assist- Men's Outing Pants Values $3.00 to $7.00 $1.98, $2.98, $3.98 An extra pair of trousers at this time of the year is most desirable and when you can get them for as little money ' as we quote now, it is real economy to buy them. White Flannels, White Serges, Black and White Self Striped Serges, Worsteds, Cas simeres, etc. About 500 pairs in the lot and every pair extremely de sirable. ' 385 Palm Beach Suits, $4.50 Each Pinch backs, belted all around and conservative models, Suits that have sold here at $7.50 to $10.00, now for quick disposal, $4.50. Splendid Summer Suits at $9.75 Worth $12.50 to $15.00 A grouping together for quick selling, of Mohairs, Kool Kloths, Feather Weight Worsteds, etc., all new shades. In pinch backs, belted all around and conserva tive models. Second Floor, Men's BldgA Ride Up on the Escalator. Men's Shirts, at 85c Very Exceptional Offerings Inventory brought to light a number of broken lines of Men's Shirts, in all about 1,200, that have sold here at $1.15 to $1.50, consisting of corded, madras, soisettes, oxford weaves and repp cloth, with band collars, collar attached and laundered and soft turn-back cuffs. All grouped to gether at the one price for Saturday, 85. Men's Sport Shirts, at 75c Cool, comfortable wear, with large sailor collars and elbow length sleeves; in plain and fancy trimmed collar effects. Men's Silk and Fibre Hose, 25c Odd lots of our Fibre silk and silk Hose, in desirable shades; run of the mill quality, splendid values at this price. Men's Athletic Union Suits, 65c and 95c v Pongee, Nainsook and Crepe Union Suits, closed crotch, sleeveless and knee length; any size. Men's Wash Ties, 11c In neat and desirable designs; hundreds of them for choice. Main Floor, Men's BIdg. Mid-Season Clearance Men's Oxfords $4.00 to $6.00 Values, at $2.98 About 450 pairs in the lot. Every line that has become broken, grouped together for this sale. Not all sizes in each style, but every size in the lot. . Leathers are tan Russia calf, in several different shades; patent leather and black dull calf, and the styles are English laced, high toe, button and blucher. Every pair right from regular stock and made up to our standard. All Men's White Oxfords, $2.48 Canvas, Linen and Palm Beach Cloth that have sold regularly in stock for $3.50 and $4.00, sizes are somewhat broken. Main Floor, Men's Building I Men's Straw Hats til Hni Includes all $2.00 to $3.50 Porto Ricans, Milan's, Split Braids, Javas and Italian Braids a radical clearance now all at the one price, 95c. All Balibuhtals Jjo no And Panamas ; . . V&0 , These hats have sold here right along at $5.00, $6.00 and $7.50 you will certainly get a remark able value in these at $2.98. Main Floor Sporting Goods Modestly Priced 1 Standard makes in everything we carry and just now prices have been reduced in many instances, affordincr excellent economies to anyone who has need of these. Golf Clubs Complete line of Spalding, Wright & Ditsonand MacGregor Clubs, at prices that are remarkably low. , Children's White Canvas Wall Tents 6 feet wide, complete with ridge pole and upright poles and stakes, $5.00. Boys' Low Tennis Shoes, reduced to 90c pair. Baseball Goods Gloves, Mitts, Bats, and Balls, at reduced prices. Fishing Outfits Tackle, Poles, Baits, Minnow Buckets and everything to make your outing a success. Higher Prices On Shotgun Shells This Fall should make the sportsman buy what he needs right now our information from the makers and jobbers in the East confirm the report that prices will be considerably higher the coming season. BETTER BUY NOW. Main Floor, Men's BIdg.