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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 30, 1917)
rv- MAHA DAIE STATE FAIR SECTION PAGES ONE TO FOURTEEN H BH LINCOLN SECTION PAGES ONE TO FOUETEEN VOL. XLVII NO. 63. OMAHA, THURSDAY MORNING, AUGUST 30, 1917. SINGLE COPY TWO CENTS. nr 0 4 A i f I, bin H mic LincolnCapital of Lincoln Its Attractions as a ity " By J. E. Miller, Mayor oj Lincoln You ask me to write of Lincoln and at the same time inform me that com merce, industry, education, churches and society must le eliminated. What have you left me but green grass, blue sky and folks? The first two of these must also be eliminated, for while we all know that our fields and lawns are greener than those of any other place west of the Missouri and that our sky is bluer than that of any other section east or west, north or south, neither green fields nor bright skies are peculiar to Lincoln. They are the 'heritage of Nebraska, from the banks of the Mis souri to the sand hills of the north west What a land of -delight is this in which we live! For some the altitude . t i r . . .1 may be a little too high; for others too low. For a few our winters may be too cold and for others our sum mers too hot. We have not the moun tains of our neighbors to the west, the abundant lakes of our neighbors to the north, or the seashore of the extreme east and west; but for aver age folks for the year 'round, all con ditions considered, we have the best for health and comfort that the earth fiords. In the dog days we like to fish in the lakes of Minnesota; but who wants to spend the winter there? In January and February Florida and California attract us tor a uttie wnnc; but who would spend, tht summer there? Our grams, grasses and live stock have a greater value than all the metals of our western mountains and the fruits of the whole Facihcand gulf coasts. , v Wealth of Climate. But I do not want to boast, for .all the world knows- of our wealth of climate and soil. I only want to con gratulate my fellow citizens of Ne braska. Occasionally I have heard someone speak disparagingly of Nebraska; . those who have lived all their days in the mountains and who do not appre ciate our great plains and broad val levs; those who have lived among factories or mines and have no appre ciation of our fields of golden grain and rich grasses, or those who have Hived all their days in the narrow en vironment of great citiesi and Citi, therefore have little understanding of the democracy; which so fully per hieates the social, business and polit ical life of a great western state; but native sons and daughters oi in? braska are all loyal, and however far ' they may wander to see tne resi oi the world, they return, rejoicing that theirlot has been cast in so goodly aland. , Rut I re neat, l do not care w , boast; but speaking to teuow inc braskans, I do want to say, surely we have a great Inheritance. s most of our wealth was a free gift, we can best express our felitigi in the language of the 4-year-old boy who, upon the arrival of a baby si ter, was asked whether he did not feel very proud, and replied, "No, not proud; just thankful." Conditions the Best. It is hard to discuss the people of Lincoln without some reference to the conditions under which they live, the intellectual, religious, social and political atmosphere which surrounds them; for largely, we are creatures of environment, even though the en vironment is of our own creation Al most two-thirds of my life has been spent in Lincoln, and someone may say I am prejudiced; but the one-third was spent in a goodly state, and much of it in a city not without natural and acquired attractions. It has also been my privilege to travel in other coun tries; but calmly and without hesita tion I say no other state equals Ne braska; no other city attracts me as Lincoln does; and no other folks are equal to Lincoln folks. Jll inillKS Hie ui uuuc pencil ti . Lincoln. With all due respect to the I AH things are not quite penec in fniinrtpd rmr ritv ana .hose deeds we this week celebrate, V I venture to say that it would have ' been better if they had planted the ' city a little farther east and south; but we are now overcoming the dis ' advantages of the Salt Creek bottoms, and soon, I hope, all that part of the city not actually used by the railroads will be public parks. The checkerboard plan borrowed from William Penn's Philadelphia was unfortunately everywhere the standard for cities in the period when Lincoln was founded, and while that was an imorovement on the cow Little Lines About Lincoln Manufacturing. I Nearly $231000.000 of goods formed I the output of Lincoln's manufactories J in 1916. , , I ) Lincoln Is one of the two largest ! buttermaking cities in the country, and has the largest creamery m the world. . Lincoln has the largest paint fac tory west of the Mississippi river. ' Lincoln has the largest broom fac tory west of the Mississippi river. Lincoln is one of the largest manu facturer of gasoline engines "in the United States, and no engines are so widely distributed throughout the vorld as the Lincoln-made engines. .' ', Jobbing. t As a jobbing center the volume of business done by Lincoln wholesalers in . 1916 exceeded $52,000,000. Lincoln is one of the largest centers in the United State for creamery products. ' Lincoln is the greatest fruit market 21 the Missouri valley. Lincoln is one of the largest job bing centers for threshing machines the Missouri valley. Lincoln is among the leaders in the middle west in the jobbing of auto- t mobiles. Lincoln has threNe of the- largest 'wholesale houses in the mid- Itile west. ' - . paths which determined the direction of streets in many cities of an earlier period, it was nevertheless far from ideal. If to our straight streets east and west, north and south, we had added wide, diagonal avenues, we would have saved much present incon- venien and future expense. Learn Better Planning. In recent years, we have been learn ing to do better. Our latest additions have wide boulevards and winding drives which make for convenience and comfort and appeal to good taste. We were slow to appreciate the neea or public parks. Our streets were wide and we had open prairie an arouna us, so tnat manv sood neo- ple honestly thought that parks would . never be needed. We have learnt ! better, however, and now we are Dro- . - . . r gressing toward a real park system. We have many miles of perfectly paved streets, but a few that should have been paved years ago remain dirt roads When we take our euests about the city we avoid these un- paved, by-ways, for in our fierce democracy we have no way to cor rect this blemish without the consent of abutting property owners. In the matter of sidewalks, and I say it with all proper humility, Lin- coin nas much to be ashamed of. We have argued, quarreled, resolved and legislated about sidewalks for thirty years and yet we are far from per fect. We have followed neither , straight nor curved lines. Until very reccmly each propcrty owner has done about as he pleased. Lot lines, street lines and grades have all been ignored. The result is that as a whole our sidewalks are worse than those of any other city, large or sma'll, I have ever visited. All Are Not Perfect. While I am cataloging our deficien cies and shortcomings, I want to be careful not to miss, anything, but to make the list complete. I want to lay a proper foundation for the other and pleasanter part of my story. I must admit, therefore, that we have a few folks in Lincoln who are not just perfect. They don't intend to be wrpg-headed, but, due to early in fluences which they have not been able to get away from or forget, they lag behind Lincoln's present stand ards. Some of them not all have grown rich, and for that they take all the credit to themselves and declare on. all occasions by word and deed, "What's mine is mine." "They object to good pavements, public parks and modem school buildings. Some of them live m personal luxury, put they would have municipal affairs conduct- ej Dn .a poverty basis.' They object to paying Uxe "and their names are seldom seen on suoscr.ptions tor charitable or other community bene fits. There will be fewer of such -individuals in the next generation, and Lincoln has less than its proportion, even now. And now I have told you the whole of the dark side of my story. Every thing else in or about Lincoln is just right. We have no slum district; not even a section of the city set apart for poor folks. Some poor and un fortunate we have, to be sure, and- a few are with us who are unthrifty and shiftless, but "relatively very few. A large proportion even of those we call poor own their own homes and cultivate their own gardens. We have no very rich. I have no personal ob jection to riches, but the absence of great wealth has saved us from some troubles and many temptations. Lincoln has many churches Protestant, Catholic-and Jewish and all unite in works of charity and benevolence. City of Churches. 1 Lincoln is certainly a religious cen ter. Religion may not mean the same thing to all those who in some form profess it, but Lincoln's churches have certainly had mucn to ao witn r 4 i- 1, mak'ng our city a good place in which 10 live, Lincoln has benefited greatly from being the political center of the state the center of state government. Governors, judges and other state of ficers are sent here for a few years, and many of them electing to remain when their terms of office have ex pired, help to raise our average of intelligence and character. Of Lincoln's many attractions as a place to live, perhaps its schools rank first. From the very beginning, the university has had a profound influ ence upQn the character and ideals of Lincoln people. Not only the wealthy Educational. Lincoln is the leading educational center of the west, having a student population of 8,500. Its leading educational instiruions are: University of Nebraska, embracing seven colleges, including the College of Agriculture, which has a separate plant located two miles east of the main university. 1 Nebraska Wesleyan university, the central college of the Methodist Epis copal church in the west. Cotner university, founded and maintained by the Christian church, a strong denomination in this section. Union college, headquarters in the west of the Seventh Day Adventists. Nebraska Military academy. Two important business, colleges. Three thriving conservatories of music. Private finishing schools for girls and boys. State Government. In Lincoln are located: The state capitol, the state university, the state agricultural college and experimental farm, the state historicay society, the state penitentiary, the state ortho pedic hospital, the state hospital for the insane (one of three), the state fair, three-fourths of the political con ventions are held in Lincoln and all of the state officers are required by law to maintain residences in city. Nebraska, 1 and the moderately . well-todo, but even the poor sometime&th very poor have taken direct and full ad vantage of the opportunity it Offtrs. riundreds of our best young men and women have profited by it, and many of like character from other parts of Nebraska and other states have re mained with us after graduation, and to our great benefit. Of Benefit to All. But the benefits of the university 'are not confined to those who are able to take direct advantage of its courses of instruction. Through lec tures, clubs and ordinary social and business intercourse, university men and women have had a wide and ele vating influence. For awhile, Lincoln's public schools lagged behind; but, thanks to the far sightedness -and " courage of recent school boards, we -have made rapid progress, and now can safely say that our schools are equal to the best. But I have noi intention of discuss ing Lincoln's educational institutions, except by way of calling attention to the great part they have had in mak ing this a most desirable place to live. I believe that the university has at tracted more families to Lincoln than any other influence.. Many have come for business, professional and social reasons; but many more have come that their families might enjoy the direct and indirect advantages of the yniversity. I cannot claim that Lincoln is the commercial center of the state. We are not lacking in commercial ad vantages, in commercial ambition, and in a considerable measure of commer cil success; but we take off our hats to the metropolis of the state and have our share of pride in its success. In all modesty and humility, may I not claim that Lincoln is the relig ious center of the state, and that this one of our attractions as a city? The political scepter remains witti us, and is likely to remain despite the efforts of a few envious rivals; and that is an attraction by no means to De despised. No one will deny our prestige in educational lines when we remember that, in addition to the state uni versity, we have Wesleyan, Cotner and Union college almost within our city limits. It would seem that this advantage is always to be outs. Many Attractions. What arc Lincoln's attractions? Churches, schools, a high average of education and culture, commercial success as evidenced by exceptional wholesale and retail business build ings and a commercial club quartered in its own magnificent home; lodges and fraternal societies with fine tem ples and buildings of their own; many fine private residences and thousands of modern comfortable homes, sur rounded by lawns and gardens, and all located on wide streets and boule vards; an abundance of clear, whele some water supplied at a moderate price; electric current for heat and light at 5 cents per kilowatt hour for the smallest consumer; well paved and well lighted streets;- a low tax rate for everything but schools, and of that we are not ashamed ; a very small municipal indebtedness, and a pa triotic citizenship as evidenced by en listments in the officers' reserve corp, the regular army, the National guard and the navy, and evidenced also by the cheerful and enthusiastic response on the recent registration date. A wisely generous and charitable citi- ! m P : P P P R R R P R I G B ; - k v v , , j N it kvVf , V W77r yf; 1 1 . k Jvv" n v I imiriMti)iiiftiiir S3 s Fii " I A 1J A Tk 4 . k j- wvmbwwbii - 1 1 '.-7? H t f&Jlrt aMiS2Sv - I I L t) L it iAfj Home of i Fair Week Entertainment Down Town This year there will be plenty of entertainment down town toy those who do not care to go back to the fair grounds in the evening to see the evening show and the fire works. Two new theatres and possibly three, will greet the people when thev come to the Nebraska exposition of 1917. ' The former Orpheum theater building which was vacated some time ago and the Orpheum programs moved into the brand new building built expressly for the Acme Amuse ment company. Since that time the old building has been used as a mo tion picture house under the name of "The Majestic." The lease on the building expired this summer and the owners, Kimball Brothers, the monu ment men, have entirely rebuilt the building on the inside and have placed a new front on the outside facing O street. This is now one of the finest the aters of the kind in the west. A fine $10,000 pipe organ has been installed and an orchestra secured which makes the musical part of the programs al most perfect. The shows consist of the very highest class pictures and two acts of high class vaudeville. The house is under the management of L. M. Garman, Lincoln's live wire along amusement lines which is an zenship is evidenced by the Young Men's Christian association building, the Young - Women's . Christian asso ciation bu;lding, the Charity Organi zation building and '. the large sums CQntributed annually for their support. It is demonstrated also by our con tribution during the past thirty months to Belgian relief, by our con tributions for the support of French orphans, by our more than 22.000 members of the Red Cross and our contribution to that cause of $27,000 and our decision to do our part toward the $100,000,000 fund by giving about $40,000 more. Men and women of Lincoln, native and foreign born alike, are not only loyal to their city, but to the state as well. Men and women of Lincoln have a public spirit that prompts them to support with all liberality all com munity enterprises. Men and women of Lincqln are democratic, not only in theory, but in all social and business affairs as well. All Are Loyal Men and women of Lincoln have a high average of education and intelli gence, as evidenced by their leader ship in many social and political movements. The successful Inaugura tion of state-wide prohibition and the partial success of the woman's suf frage cause illustrate this contention. If you are just beginning life, Lin coln offers you wide educational, pro fessional and business opportunities. If you are in the midst of your career and want a wider fif-ld for your ener gies, Lincoln will welcome you. If you have accumulated all that you need of worldly goods and want to spend your remaining years in the best possible social conditions and physical surroundings, where every opportunity is afforded you to serve your fellow man, make your home in Lincoln. . J. . MILLER. ( the State Fair, the Educational h Center of the Commonwealth, City of Beautiful Residences and Prosperous Business. Establishments indication tliat there will be nothing but the best all the time. New Movie House. A new motion picture house just west of the (lew theatre for motion pictures with the popular 5 and 10 cent prices, is another new amuse ment house which- will also be under the management of Mr. Garman and will be made a family house where the whole family can afford to come at a popular price and see the best in pictures. Mr. Garman will still run his popular "Strand" theatre on the south side of O street. The new Orpheum theater over on Twelfth and P streets is what can really be called a "dream." When the Acme Amusement company con cluded to build on P street many were the prophecies that it would not do for "you won't be able to get the crowds to go over there for they ain't used to it." However Manager Frank Eager, who never is afraid to take a chance, believed that the move would be a good one and his judg ment has been vindicated several times over, for the new Orpheum has shown that but one mistake was made by Colonel Eager in his diagnosis of the theatrical problem of P street, and that was that he did not build larger, for times without number this beau tiful palace has been crowded to the doors and the "S. R. O." sign has been in evidence quite frequently. The new Orpheum is a beauti ful theater, in fact one of the most beautiful in the west and the seating of the sarne gives a feeling of com fort not only in the high priced seats, but back in the gallery. The programs for fair week will be of the first class, the best that can be se cured for the week of high class vaudeville from the regular circuit on the last half of the week, while the bill for the first half will be of the best. Old Kentucky. The Oliver theater has been fortu nate in securing for the fair week run that popular old play, "Old Ken tucky." Manager Frank Zehrung could not have secured a more appro priate bill for fair week. This is the play which made Jacob Lilt, its au thor, popular and lined his exchequer with millions of dollars. The play as many know is laid around the race track. Four real Kentucky blue bloods who have won laurels on the race track are with the show. These horses will make all lovers of good "hoss" flesh happy when they see these old racers as they appear on the stage on the race track. A real race and real conditions as were shown around the races in the old Kentucky days will be in evidence, and what is fine- about the whole thing is that popular prices will govern the entire week. A pickaninny ,band is another feature of the show. There will be plenty of other thea ters for the people to attend. The ever popular home of Mary Pickford, known as the "Magnet," will have an especially fine program. The exceed ingly popular little theater on the south side known to every man. woman and child in Lincoln as the Palace and run by the Hillman & Sandlovich Amusement company, which always goes farther to get pop ular programs than most any theater in Its class, will have an especially fine run of. pictures, while the Won derland, the Lilly and the' Muse all will do their part in the entertain ment line. ! Plenty of Entertainment. With one theater of the regular line, one with entire vaudeville, three with mixed vaudeville and pictures and four more with entirely pictures, it would seem that the people attend ing the fair would have plenty of chance to be well entertained. On top of this will be the ever pop Lincoln History Condensed Darwin Peckham began the manu facture of salt in Lincoln in August, 1861. The cornerstone of the present Lancaster county court house was laid in 1877. W. T. Donavan, J. J. Forest and A. F. Wallingford were the first county commissioners. The Pioneer hotel at Ninth and P streets was Lincoln's first hostelry. It made history in its Mays. The first letters of administration in Lancaster county were issued in 1860, covering the estate of Henry Cramer. Lancaster county was organized in 1859. In 1861 the first election was held and twenty-three votes were cast. Lincoln was laid out as a town site in 1861, under the name of Lan caster. In 1864 it had a population of twelve. In 1874 the Lincoln City Library was founded, the fund being $300 ap propriated by the city council to give it a start. The first religious services held in Lincoln was by Rev. M. F. Piatt, at a spot near where O street crosses Salt creek, in May, 1861. The first insane asylum burned in 1871. It was about to tumble down, anyhow, and one historian insinuates that the insurance money was an item. The first marriage license issued in Lancaster county was made out on the 22d day of September, 1866, to Alexander Burd and Mathina Porter, who were wedded three days later. The capital of Nebraska was re moved from Omaha to Lancaster in 1867, and the name of the town was changed to Lincoln. At that time its population numbered thirty. The University of Nebraska began its activities in the fall of 1871. At that time trains had commenced run ning into the town from Plattsmouth. and the depot was in a box car. In 1870 Lincoln had but one school house, a small brownstone building on Eleventh street, between Q and R streets. The city jail was then a dugout on O street, west of the post office. Lincoln women took part in the "crusade" of 1873. and, while they did not succeed in establishing prohibi tion then, they did get an ordinance passed forbidding the pr;sence of. women in saloons. In the fall of 1868 the republicans and democrats each planted a flag pole at Ninth and O streets. Some thing happened to the republican pole, and no one has yet told who it was. ular Capital beach, with its swimminj pool of nice fresh salt water, the big lake for boating, band concerts, out side theatrical shows, base ball games and every conceivable kind of amuse ment, one of the most beautiful re sorts of its kind in the west, with nice shade, fireworks in the evening, good car service and what is always wel come, one of the finest cafes connect ed with any amusement place in the country. Capital beach is a gem and no state fair visitor can afford to go back' home without at least taking one visit to this very popular resort But the pole was' found lying flat on the ground one morning. In November, 1867, work on the first state house at Lincoln was com menced. Joseph Ward was the con tractor, and he brought thirteen stonecuttets from Chicago to work on the job, paying them $4.50 a day. In 1887 the most exciting episode in all Lincoln's history occurred. An election was held under a new char ter, and A. J. Sawyer was chosen mayor. His term of office was marked by a,n effort to remove the police judge, accused of grafting. The judge went to St. Louis and secured " an order from Judge Brewer of the fed eral court restraining the city council and mayor from acting on his case. On the 28th of September the order of the court was served ,on the city government, on the 29th the city council acted,, and on the 30th Lincoln had a new police judge, appointed by the mayor. On October 8 Judge E. S. Dundy of Omaha ordered the arrest of the mayor and city council for contempt of court, and they were accordingly brought to Omaha and placed in the county jail, where they were kept one week, waiting for the supreme court at Washington to act The decision was in favor of the in carcerated officials. Lincoln is the Center Of Railroad Activities Lincoln is one of the finest railway centers in the west. The chief roads of the east touch Lincoln, and the main branch lines radiate in all direc tions. They reach the Puget Sound country, the Texas Gulf coast, the southern ports and the Great Lakes region, with equal facility. Because there are so many roads radiating out of Lincoln, the switch ing facilities are excellent. Freight rates have been brought as low as possible, 60 that the jobbers of Lin coln are able successfully to serve a very wide area of trade territory. Special merchandise trains are operated daily from Lincoln through out Nebraska, northern Kansas, Colo rado, the Black Hills country, the Rosebud country, Montana, and the entire Pacific coast. Of 914 railway stations in Nebraska, 774 are nearer Lincoln than they are to any other jobbing center. Passen ger or freight trains arrive or depart once every eight minutes throughout the twenty-four, hours of the day. The first line of the Burlington was completed in 1871. Toay the Bur lington, the Rock Island, the North western, the Union Pacific, and the Missouri Pacific enter Lincolj t