OFFICERS ARE POOR
OH ACCOUNT H. C. L
Must Spend Two Months'. Sal
ary Gathering; Effects That
Are Necessary on the
Battlefield.
The cost of army officers' uniforms
and equipment, which has been r.sing
steadily for years, has taken such a
decided jump within the last six
months that it will cost most of the
officers being graduated from train-
ing camps at least two months of
their salary to purchase the necessar
ies of army life when they enter upon
their new careers.
While uniforms and equipment are
furnished free to privates and non
commissioned officers, commissioned
officers make their own purchases in
the retail market at prices necessarily
far above those which might be ob
tained if the equipment were manu
factured by contract with the War
department.
'o change has been made in the
pay of-officers to meet the increased
cost of equipment and the rising cost
of living generally.
The salaries of officers are: Major
general, $8,000 a year; brigadier gen
eral, $6,000; colonel, $4,000; lieutenant
colonel, $3,500; major, $3,000: captain,
$2,400; first lieutenant, $2,000. second
lieutenant, $1,700. Officers below the
rank of brigadier general receive an
increase of 10 per cent -in pay for each
five years spent in one rank.
Subsistence Provided.
.Army officers are provided with
heat, light and quarters, or in some
cases .receive an allowance tj provide
ior mem. juountea omcers, receive
$100 a year for feed of or.e horse, or
M5U a year tor two horses. Officers of
the aviation corps receive SO per cent
more than the usual pay for their
rank.
The price asked Tor officers' uni
forms, consisting of coat and trousers
vary tram about $30 to $la0. Few
aiakers of officers' overcoats ask less
than $45 at retail and prices go up to
pS and $100. Leather goods of all
, kinds have at least doubled in price in
the last year. Ordinary army shoes
have tumped from $3.50 to $7.50 and
leather puttees in some cases have
tripled in price.
At the army stores it was said that
the high-grade army overcoat which
sold six months, ago at $55 is now
priced at $00, while the officer's uni
form of olive drab serge that sold for
$37.50 six months ago now sells for
$4J. the following explanation was
given of the rise in prices: 1
' Rapid Rise in Prices.
The increase has not more than
kept pace with the advancing prices
ior civilian domes, ah kinds ot
woolens have gone up. The Aus
tralian yarn which was used in. an of
ficer's equipment a year ago is not
obtainable in this country at all, be
cause its shipment outside of the
British Empire ljas been -forbidden.
An American-made ' substitute has
been placed on the market at a higher
price than was formerly paid for the
Australian.
' "We are paying $5 a yard now for
materials which cost only $3.25 a few
months ago. The manufacturers have
been rushed with orders for this kind
'of material and cannot turn it out
fast enough to meet the demand. Of
ficers' uniforms have always been ex
pensive because good cloth and the
best kind of workmanship have gone
into them. - Ready-made uniforms
have been practically unknown in the
past, as an exceptionally good" fit is
necessary, e?pcially ito the breeches,
if the garment is to be comfortable."
Because of the great immediate de
mand for them, a large number of
ready-made unjforms has been placed
onthe market recently by dealers who
have not been in the uniform business
heretofore. A representative of one
of the best known clothing firms in
the city said yesterday:
"We are selling uniforms at from
$30 to $60. and army overcoats from
$45 to $75 and are carrying ready
made garments in stock as well as
making them. These prices are about
20 per cent higher than they were six
months ago. In ordinary lines of
clothing the increase in that period
has befcn about 20 per cent. This is
due even more to the rise in cost of
labor than to the rise in cost of ma
terials. We ha4 always figured on a
smaller profit on uniforms for army
and navy service than for ordinary
clothing.
MINUTE MAN SIX
$1345
A Car of Visible Value
- High pressure selling argument is not needed to sell the LEX-
INGTON Minute Man Six. We dont have to talk loudly about one
or two points to cover up the lack of others.'
LEXINGTON values are apparent. You can see them for your
self. The car abounds in features of construction and equipment '
that are usually found only in care of much higher price. -
Lexington Salient Superiorities . .
Red Seal 7-W Continental Engina.
Moore Multiple Exhatut System.
Westing-house Starting- and Lighting
System.
Connecticut Ignition.
Cut Steel Starting Gear on Flywheel.
Independent Ignition, Lighting and
Starting Circuits.
Double Universal Joints.
If you are looking for a car of visible value, a car that includes
everything that a good car should have, see the LEXINGTON
Minute Man Six. .
Before You Buy COMPARE
Th Lexington-Howard Co., Mfgrs., Connersville, Ind., U. S. A.
HAARMANN - LOCKE MOTOR CO.
' , Distributors
- TTWl II l " I . "" Willi -I I . , II' -, KJ f
Bell Travels to City of Blair,
Where Finds
By J. T. BELL.
Blair, Neb., Aug. 18. Day before
yesterday 1 came to this city over a
railroad that I used to know as the
Omaha & Northwestern, the trains
drawn for a number of years, by an
engine labelled "J. E. Boyd," in honor
of the first president of the company.
Great change in the appearance of
the country along the line of road. I
was surprised to see the hills between
Omaha and Calhoun lined with native
forests of dense growth. Formerly
that region was covered with hazel
brush and small shrubs. The explana
tion as tojtlus condition instead of that
land being devoted to farming pur
poses is that it is held for higher
prices by speculators.
What these owners have in mind
as to "Jiigh prices" for farm lands is
something of a mystery for it takes
from $100 to $200 an acre to buy
farms in this section of the country
now. - But these are real farms with
a wonderfully productive soil adapted
to growing anything that can be
grown in this latitude and with a mar
ket at Omaha which assures a .certain
sale for all that can be raised and at
profitable prices.
Locates Old Landmark.
Coming over the road I looked to
see if I could locate the former home
of the late Judge Crouse.. He had a
fine orchard and I remember of his
telling me ariout his taking a young
son to Florida on account of the poor
health of the boy. There was no gain
in this respect and the lad got home
sick and told his father that he wanted
to go back home, that he would not
give one apple from their own or
chard for all of the fftiit produced in
a year by the entire state of Florida.
I find many old friends here, among
them the man who, with his father.es
tablished the first newspaper in Blair,
that was published in Nebraska west
of Omaha and north of the Platte
Frank Hilton. His father, B. F. Hil
ton, was a member of the state sen
ate that set as a court of impeachment
when Governor David Butler was im
peached. The paper was the Register
and after a number of years success
ful management of it the paper was
sold and for ten years was the pub
lisher of the Dovers' Journal of South
Omaha. He is a booster of boosters
when this particular part of the
earth's surface becomes the topic of
conversation. He is now the pub
lisher of the Blair Enterprise. He
came to Blair in July 1869 and has
made this his home a large part of
the time since that date.
Blair Platted in 1868.
This town was platted in 1868 by
the Land and Lot company of the
Sioux City and Pacific Railroad com
pany. In the following spring there
was an auction sale of lots and Mr.
Hilton says his recollection is that
$1 10mr,C was realized from that sale.
The company bought a large tract of
land here, only a small portion of
which was then plated, but additions
have since been made and some of the
company's land has been sold for
farms.
It is a beautiful residence town with
a population of about 3,500. It has
wide, streets, beautifully-shaded; deep
lots in the residential district lined
with comfortable looking homes and
well-kept lawns. Indeed so many
trees have been planted on the streets
that hundreds of cords of wood have
been obtained from those cut down.
The city owns the water system; bas
a fine court house and city hall and a
high school building which would be
a credit to a community much larger
than this.
Farm! Easily Worked.
Speaking of the fertility of the soil
hereabouts Mr. Hilton says it is so
easily worked that it seems to him
the farmers have much time for get
ting service out of their autoes. And
there is an abundance of machines
here. On one street, in a distance of
a block, I counted twenty-five of them
parked and witn many more in motion
ot other blocks. Mr. Edward C. Jack
son, who has lived here since along
in the seventies and 'who has been
honored by his fellow citizens by be
ing elected to numerous terms as as
sistant county treasurer, as county
treasurer, county clerk, probate judge
and clerk or the district court, savs
he has seen a great change in methods
on the part of the farmers of this
county. Where formerly thousands
of dollars worth of farm machinery
would be left unsheltered from one
year to another, now buildings are
Foll-Floating Bear Axle with Spiral
Bevel Gears.
Wick-Feed Oil Cupa. , t
Engine-Driven Tire Pump. 'f
Double Bulb Adjustable Head lamps,
Rigidly Mounted on Radiator.
Oil Pressure Gauge.
Genuine Leather Upholstery.
Prosperity Aplenty
provided for housing them and in
orjier ways great improvements have
been made in the management of
farms and also in the improvement
and care at stock.
Com 10 Cents.
Mr. Al C. Tones, who has been in
the grain elevator business here since
1876, speaking of the extraordinary
prices that have been paid for corn
of late, says that he has paid $2.25
a bushel and that in 1896 he bought
just as good corn at 1.1 cents a bushel
and to the extent of 45,000 bushels in
one year. Mr. Jones and his wife I
have known many years and they
have been very kind in extending hos
pitality to me on the occasion of my
visit here. We all formerly knew a
man who was noted for his dislike
for manual toil. He was not really
afraid of work for he was like that
man who said that he could lie down
alongside of it and sleep all day. This
particular man whom we knew, ac
cording to Mr. Jones, rented a forty
acre farm one year and began plow
ing it on the outoide. He coutned
the steps for a few rounds, then com
pared the space he had covered with
the remainder of the field, figured the
whole thing out and threw up the job,
said he could never make that many
steps.
Blair is an unusual town in one re
spect; it has four weekly papers and
they all appear to be doing satisfac
tory business. One of these is run
by Postmaster Tom Osterman, the
Blair Democrat. He comes of a fam
ily of pioneers of this county and has
an extended acquaintance the county
over; Joe Cook, ex-county clerk and
ex-deputy county clerk is another
pioneer who has personal knowledge
of the great changes that have come
to this part of the state during his
residence here.
Bell at Fontenelle.
Fontenelle, Neb., Aug. 16 It is a
pleasant experience for one to return
after many years of absence to the
scenes of his boyhood as is my ex
perience in making a visit to Fonte-
THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: AUGUST
nell. once a town of considerable im
portance and one of many candidates
for distinction as the capital of Ne
braska Territory.
,It was in 1854 that the "Nebraska
Colonization company" was organ-
i iiea in yuincy, ill., lor the purpose
of locating its members in Nebraska.
That fall a committee representing
the organization was sent out to look
over the country. Of this committee
my father, James A. Bell, was a mem
ber. After visiting various localities
this committee decided that a location
on the Elkhorn river came the near
est to the object in view hence Fon
tenelle. The following yrfnr the town
was platted, with eight lots in a block,
the lots being 100x200. and streets
100 feet wide. The site overlooked
the LIkhorn and Flatte rivers and is
in the midst of a very fertile region,
as has since been demonstrated.
First Settler in 1855.
In 1855 there was a drawing of lots
bythe members of the colony, and in
1856 many houses were built. It was
in 1855 that th: family of Thomas
Gibson moved from Quincy to the
new Nebraska settlement. In his out
fit was an ox team, driven by a voung
German, Henry Sprick, who at the
date of his death, a few years ago,
was the owner of the greater part of
the townsite of Fontenelle, which he
had converted into a farm and was
growing thereon splendid- crops of
wheat, corn and oats. He owned
many other farms and was one of
the wealthiest men in Washington
county. His first home in Fontenelle
was a modest log cabin; then he built
a two-story frame, but kept the log
cabin standing near by. Then, a short
distance away, he built a modern, spa
cious, brick house, with the log cabin
and the frame still standing, and it is
only within a few years that the cabin
has disappeared.
Cemetery Set Aside.
It was a considerable tract of land
that the townsite of Fontenelle em
braced; now only a dozen blocks re
main, all of the other portions being
in cultivation. When the town was
platied the land in that part of Ne
braska had not been surveyed, and
when it was my father, then mayor
of Fontenelle", entered the land in be
half of the colonization company and
deeded to the owners their lots. In
A new creation! A .more beautiful
Packard is here announced. Now a re
markable accomplishment in body designing
matches the achievement of the epoch-,
making Twin-six motor. And thereby is
rounded out the - smartest and most efficient
motor car we . have ever built. Branches
and dealers today have ready for your in
spection new models 3-25 and 3-35. Open
car prices are $3450 and $3850 at Detroit.
See the Orr Motor Sales Company
10 1Q17 , -
cluded in the property possessed by
the company was a forty-acre tract
which was set apart as a cemetery,
the first burials in which were of two
residents of the town who were killed
just outside of the settlement by
Sioux Indians.
A few. miles out from Foiileiu-llc is
a half section of lairtl that was taken
as homesteads by four person.. One
was the late John A. Cuppy, who died
a very wealthy man; one was a widow
who had a grown son and daughter.
They built a house covering the junc
tion of four eighties, and, as each
member of the gioup had a room on
the eiolity, each claimed thev thus
complied with the law as to residence
on trie property. When the time was
up Cuppy and the girl were mar
ried. Arlington Prosperous.
A few miles southeast of Fontenelle
is the prosperous town of Arlington
with a population of about 800. Three
evidences df prosperity in town and
country are shownthe publication of
a twelve-page paper, the Review
Herald, H. E. Andrews editor; two
banks and so many automobiles own
ed by the neighboring farmers that
at the intersections of business streets
Al. - J ' f . 1
wic urivers oi ine macnines are warn
ed to "keep to the richt." 1 nassed
one night at Arlington in the vicinity
of a tent in which a chautauqua was
being conducted, there were not few
er than sixty automobiles lined up
in which tarmers and their families
had come from, the country adjacent.
Big Nursery Farm.
One of the important business en
terprises in the vicinity of Arlington
is the big nursery of the Marshall
brothers who annually send out uver
the entire country the name of this
state with their shipments of nursery
stock. The headquarters of the com
pany are in the town where they are
increasing the size of their brick
building to make it cover a space
of 140 feet by 180. Mr. C. G. Marshall
told me a story that was particularly
interesting to me. At the Omaha ex
position my brother, Will, took to the
fruit exhibit some apples from a vol
unteer tree from the town of Papil
lion. It was an apple of so superior a
quality that the Marshall brothers
Wtn and rarnam bts.. Umatn. also Lincoln and
had my brother send them some
scions from the tree. They have since
propagated this apple and say it is
one of the best in their nurserv. As
it was of an unknown variety thev
named it the "Bell" apple and now the
lieu apple stock is sent out all over
our country from a nursery within a
short distance of "Bell" creek, named
after the father of Will Bell in 1854.
Beautiful Auto Road.
At Arlington I found J. C. Black-
hum flll s n it 1 o I in h tnmLm.irit ! .
r " , , , v ""
uiismcss. wiui an iionprauic record
in that line in that town since the early
70's and there is still living in Arling
ton the widow of Samuel A. Francis
who put up the first building in the
town which building is still standing.
I cannot imagine a more attractive
drive for automobile people going
from Oimha than to go through cal
houn and Blair out to the western
part o f Wa s h i n g t o n c o u n t v toFon-
EXCEPTIONAL VALUES
In Used Stearns-Knight Cars
1917 7-pass., 8-cyl. touring car, slightly used as a demon
strator '. $1500
1917 5-pass., 4-cyl. touring car, slightly used as a demon
strator, run less than 2500 miles.. 1250
1917 4-pass., chummy roadster, run less than 2700 miles.. 1250
1916 E-pass., 'i-cyl., touring car 900
1915 5-pasB. touring car... 850
1912 5-pass. touring car 350
The above cars are equipped with the famous Stearns-Knight
motor and are in first-class mechanical condition and guaranteed
by us.
The Mclntyre-Hayward Motor Co.
2427 Farnam St.
T.laphon. Doug, 2406 Omaha', Nb.
Sioux City
tenelle, returning by way of Arling
ton. At Fontenelle' a visit should be
made to the bluff from which can be
had of the FJkorn and Platte valleys,
a view of surpassing beauty. And all
tne way trom Wair to AruiiKton via
Fontenelle, I see stretching away for
miles on either side farms of value
with red barns, herds of high-grade
cattle gracing in pastures, with or
chards and groves surrounding homes
of comfort, many of these being brick
houses.
Red Ames Still Pitching
In the Style of His Youth
When it comes to veteran pitchers
doing fine work don't overlook "Red"
Ames, of the Cardinals. The one-time
Giant has plenty ' of good pitching
left, though it is many years since he
first made his bow in the majors.
2429 Farnam Street.
' Omaha, Neb.