Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 31, 1917, Page 4, Image 4

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    THE BEE: OMAHA. MONDAY, DECEMBER 31, 1917.
The Omaha Bee
DAILY (MORNING) EVENING SUNDAY
FOUNDED BY EDWARD ROSEWATER
VICTOR BOSEWATER, EDITOR
THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY, PROPRIETOR.
Entered at Omaha poetoffiea aa aeeond-elati matter.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
Be Ceirtef. Br Me'L
ftaUy and Suodej.... par matt. IV) itr tear, 16.00
Hatty without Sunday " 10e j.o
Kreeiina and Sunday 100 ,'H
BveniM without Sunday (V) 4 00
Bandar EM onlr " So t)
s-d noUoe of ehame of addnee or Inefnlarltt to deUrerr to Omslia
Bee Ctrcoluloa Department
MEMBER OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
rrw AvryrltM Cm, of l'h The Bet li I member. It exclm)rel
untitled to Uw 0 for publication of all aeira dttpatrr.es credited
to tt or not othenrue credited Id tnle paper and also the local nm
tmbuerieel herein. All rlat.u of publication of our special dispatches
ira alio referred.
REMITTANCE "
Rewit tv draft, eiprtea or postal order. On I; !-emt ituin takes In
oanneeit of null amount. Personal oh cell, except on Ottilia and
.astern exchange, sot accepted.
OFFICES
Dmics Tha Bee Building. hlcaa-o Wmie'e Oaa Butldinj.
outh Omsne-Mls N Ht New Yort-J f.fth -
I'oniKrll Bluffs-14 X. Mala St St. Ijis .New B of Commerce,
Lincoln Utile BulldJn, Weehlrurtoo 1311 O St.
CORRESPONDENCE
tddrees enrnfflnnlrattoiie relitlnf to newi and editorial matter to
I ""aha Baa, Editorial Department I
NOVEMBER CIRCULATION
58,715 Daily Sunday, 51,884
.met elrrglaUen for the month, subsorlbad and sworn ts bt Dwlght
WHUame, Ctrotiletlea Meneaw.
Subacribara leaving tha citjr should fcava Tha Baa mallae)
la them. Addrta chant ad as eftaa aa raqueated.
Goodbye, old 1917! Take keer o yerself!
Will the new "morals" squad bring any bet
ter morals?
As a speedy war ender even the kaiser must
admit the submarine is a dismal failure.
Lincoln is down in history as the rail
splitter. Wilson is qualifying as the rail-joiner.
But it isn't the war that is making it a
drinkless New Year eve for the inhabitants of
the dry belt.
One Omaha business man refused to eon
tribute to the Red Cross fund. He is lonely as
well as unique.
Over in England and also in France, they
have had several secretaries of war since the
conflagration started.
The United States is still at peace with Tur
key and Bulgaria. Perhaps there's a reason, but,
if so. no one knows it.
Tammany again hits the high spot by re
gaining control of New York's city government.
You can't lose Tammany.
Breaking its own building record would have
well satisfied Omaha, without setting up a new
mark for low temperature.
.--.- , San Antonio is showing Omaha that losing
balloons is a game two can play at. It is not
so hard, once you have the balloon to start with.
Patriotism seems to have been considered as
synonymous with profits in the minds of some of
the ship builders. Names are withheld for the
present.
Attributing coal shortage to transportation
inefficiency is not at all helpful to the house
holder, who views his diminishing store these
snappy December days.
. Maybe those wrangling lawyers may find some
comTcrrert in the fact that a little later the people
will determine who tre to be candidates for the
supreme
bench
eSl
in Nebraska.
Ferdinand of Mumania found the pace a little
too fast for him, bJ;gut he cin consoje himself with
the thought thate,other Hoheniollerns will be
out of the 8ame4 good
season.
beauttfjjTi job of
offie'rf surplus,
ins? drafted for
Food admin jstr.tor. ar, wrestline with the
problem of n0iy to get the citizens to conserve
as promised- $!t is hard to do, but keeping at it
may wake urft the thoughtless before It is too late.
The strangest thing of all is how, after his
camouflaging a $9,000,000 post-
Burleson managed to escape be-
the job of director-general of
fj the railroads.
Small calibre politicians in Britain differ little
from the American variety. Antipathy to news
papers, excepting campaign times, manifests it
self in ridiculous ways. The small bores in
Parliament resented criticism and intimated that
the London profession as a whole dodged fight
ing. London newspapers answered the slur by
showing a total of 1,096 men out of -1,643 men on
the staffs are in the army service. The record
squelched the sneers but could not extract an
apology from small souls.
Our Future Commerce
-St. Laala Globa-Deimocrat.-'
The bureau of foreign and domestic commerce
became so enthusiastic over the marvelous ex
pansion of American commerce and the enor
mous inflow of gold that it felt moved by the
spirit of prophecy to predict in its annual report
that our commercial and financial supremacy will
go on forever. We have a good start. The first
increase of our exports was a strict war demand.
This was attended by a general decrease in im
ports of manufactured articles and an increase
m imports of raw materials. The new demand
for war materials proper and the abnormal de
mand for other articles, on account of the war,
were at first restricted to Europe. It was. only
after the war had gone on tor nearly two years
that we began to heed the clamor of countries
elsewhere. We have now greatly increased our
business with other parts ot North America, with
South America, with Asia and with Oceanica,
although much of our exports to Asia were really
designed tor Russian war uses.
There is bewildering speculation as to just
what will happen after the war. The bureau
predicts that reconstruction work in Europe will
cause a greater demand for certain materials than
at present But there will be a complete and
instantaneous cessation of exports of all war
materials. We shall not feed and clothe millions
of soldiers and furnish them billions of dollars'
worth of stuff to shoot away. They will be back
at work, producing useful articles in competition
with us. Every nation will buckle down to in
tense production and economical living, with the
hope of reducing its debt Russia, as we have
frequently remarked, would offer the finest od
portunities for American trade and investment
of any European country, after the war, provided
oerraany does not swindle the Russian govern
ment into granting it si practical monopolv. The
,. question of rehabilitation is debatable. The zone
of war destruction is not geographically large
and there is no assurance that all things will be
restored to the pre-war condition.
After we have taken sensible steps to pre
serve our home market, our chief concern should
hf the retention and expansion of our trade on
iji hemisphere and in Asia and Oceanica.
Steadying the Stock Market.
One of the first effects of government opera
tion of the railroads has been its influence on the
stock market A stronger tone and an upward
movement in prices followed immediately on the
announcement of the plan of the president for
dealing with the transportation system of the
country, and this has been well sustained. Share
holders and security owners were facing a doleful
prospect. Depression of prices was general and
no reason to expect any improvement existed,
until the government took charge of the rail
roads. How much of the situation was due to
artificial control is hard to estimate, although
good economic causes were responsible for much
of the decline. "Industrials" had ruled as favori'es
in whatever dealings were had, but had shared
with "rails" in the general drop. Not a little
of the falling off was ascribed to the liquidation
incident to the purchase of Liberty 4s. The end
of the year saw stocks and bonds of all kinds on
the toboggan, with holders marking off huge
losses. Much of this gloom has been dispelled by
the action of the president, whose railroad procla
mation sounded like emancipation for Wall
street. Closing days of the year have seen a
general recovery in prices as well as greater ac
tivity in trading, a very hopeful sign. Financial
nerves sadly needed a bracer, and a better tone in
money affairs has followed its administration.
Not only has the commerce of the country, but
the means for carrying on its business oeen
helped by the move.
Professional Standards Here and Abroad.
By none has maintenance of professional
standards been insisted on more than by The Bee
which, in season and out, has preached the need
of upholding higher ethical levels. The pro
fessional codes are essentially the same here as
abroad, but there is altogether too great a dif
ference in the matter of their enforcement. In
this country, the tendency is almost general to
overlook offenses in violation of ethical stand
ards and to permit the offenders to continue with
impunity to bring odium not only upon them
selves but upon their innocent associates as well.
In other countries the reputable and high-minded
members of the professions constantly exercise
a jealous guard against such infractions and havt
no hesitation whatever about imposing the de
served penalty.
Two striking examples have just come to
notice illustrating what happens in Great Britain
when the black sheep turns up. A divorce was
granted on application of the injured husband
after a sensational trial in one of the courts which
also entered up for him an award of $10,000
against the co-respondent, a physician carrying
a commission as captain in the military estab
lishment. On the very next day, the general
medical council ordered the name to be struck
off the medical register for unprofessional con
duct, although the doctor's defense was that he
was in the complainant's home only as a friend
and not in his professional capacity.
In another case it was developed that a
woman, arrested for stealing jewelry, set up the
excuse for the theft that she was driven to it
to satisfy a drug habit for which she was being
supplied by a physician who was furnishing her
heroin at exorbitant prices. The physician tried
to put the blame upon his confidential assistant
who admitted supplying the drug several times
without the doctor's knowledge, but that did not
go with the council, which forthwith ordered his
name erased from the medical register.
Would not occasional drastic action along
similar lines conduce to the elevation of profes
sional standards over here? Would not the pro
fession as a whole gain in influence and public
estimation if membership were promptly for
feited for flagrant abuse of its privileges?
Buy the "Baby Bonds."
A systematic canvass of the city for the sale
of war thrift stamps impends, and, gauged by ex
perience in other drives, this is certain to be a
success. And it should be. These war thrift
stamps are devised to enable anyone to contribute
to the financing of the war. Whether our peo
ple have fully realized the stupendous task on
which our country has entered may be doubted
but the demands made by the government for
money will impress them more and more with
the magnitude of the job. The entire circulating
medium of the country is less than $3,000,000,000;
in other words, a single Liberty loan calls for
all the money in the country. Big appropriation
bills now before congress contemplate expendi
ture within two years of four times the amount
of money in use in the United States. Federal
taxes for the current year will take half of it.
Nobody can fully comprehend the meaning of
these huge sums, but all can appreciate the need
of everybody helping to raise them. Liberty
loans, war taxes and the like give those of means
full chance, but the thrift stamp reaches down
to the multitude, and offers opportunity to con
tribute to all. Each of the "baby bonds" is well
secured, having back of it the credit of the en
tire government; a liberal rate of interest is al
lowed, and they are sold on the installment plan,
for payments of as little as 25 cents at a time
can be made. Possession of a thrift stamp does
its owner double credit It shows a disposition
to help the government in its need, and to help
the individual by laying up even so small a
sum against the future. Buy a "baby bond,"
Lesson in Applied Conservation.
Accompanying pleas to housewives for the
conservation of fats and meat refuse, illustrations
of what might be accomplished are familiar
enough, some of them appealing to the imagina
tion quite strongly. From the British army comes
a report that gives support to about all that has
been asserted by Mr. Hoover and his associates
on the point Graphically, it may be, the report
shows that glycerin enough is secured from army
camp waste to provide propellant for 17,000,000
shells per annum. On another way of stating the
fact, the British government relcives now the tidy
sum of $400,000 a month from sale of camp refuse.
The system whereby the formerly wasted mate
rial is thus taken care of is being extended to
all British army camps, and to the grand fleet,
and both revenue and benefits are expected to
correspondingly increase. Housewives should be
encouraged in their conservation efforts by
knowing that the great war machine of the al
lies finds time to do just what they are asked to
in the matter of saving fats.
Remember all those terrific onslaughts on
The Bee for upholding the republican platform
declaration favoring exclusive federal control of
railroads and the fervid appeals to vote the demo
cratic ticket to save the country from this awful
menace? What about it?
Washington That Was
By Frederic J. Haakin
Washington, Dec. 29. "'Other times, other
lobbyists," remarked the Old Timer, as he sat
in the cafe of a leading Washington hotel and
watching the crush of dress suits and powdered
shoulders that formed at the door and slowly
among the crowded tables. It was an essentially
metropolitan crowd close-lipped, smooth
joweled, shrewd-eyed as to the men: perfectly
trimmed and polished as to the women. A long
haired, frock-coated legislator from a southern
state somberly sipping ginger ale in a corner,
looked almost archaic.
"By lobbyists I mean all ot those gentry who
come to Washington in an extra-official capacity
for what they can get. They've always been with
us, and they have always been the obvious and
unavoidable figures in the picture, but in other
ways they've changed. Fifty years ago they were
all majors and colonels and judges. They fore
gathered right in this hotel, one floor down, in
what used to be the bar. There was a long
leather-covered seat, you remember, along the
west end of the room, and it was always filled
with whiskers and dignity. Frtom the way those
old boys sat there, solemnly conferring, you
would have thought destiny hung upon their
words. , And they were discussing a question
problematic in the extreme, and important to
them. Would the latest congressman or senator
to enter the room buy a drink for j,he crowd?
Occasionally a light bet was laid on the matter;
IS or 20 cents would silently change hands after
this event. Then the assemblage would relapse
into dignified and comfortable silence, broken
now and again by a sharp 'spat.' as someone dem
onstrated upon the spittoon 20 feet distant that
marvelous skill in expectoration which gave to
bacco chewing its place among the arts.
"The archtype of all these Rentlemen of the
bar was one whom we will call judge Brown, and
who furnished the original of many a character
in fiction and on the stage. T.ie art of pestering
a favor out of a congressman or senator he had
reduced to a science; he seemed to know just
how far he could go without provoking a man to
homicide. He also had more ways of hinting at
the propriety of buying a drink than any other
man I ever met and by the spontaneity with
which that courtesy was performed he gauged
the size of the 'loan' which it would be safe to
solicit he never asked for more than a quarter.
"There was considerable discussion up on the
hill in those days as to what would be a suitable
office for old Judge Brown. The position must
fulfill two requirements: To wit, its duties must
be such as could be performed by a gentleman
of a certain age who was never wholly sober, and
its scene must be far, far away.
"James G. Blaine, then in the senate, is cred
ited with the idea of naming Judge Brown as
our diplomatic representative to the Island of
Zanzibar. It is said that the appointment was
confirmed by the senate in record time, and with
out dissent. At any rate, in due course the judge
sailed for the scene of his new duties, and in
about three months he came sailing back. The
story which he told over many little red glasses
at the familiar hotel bar made it quite plain why
he had not stayed longer.
"The judge's residence at Zanzibar, it ap
peared, fronted upon the beach, and was not far
from the royal palm-thatched palace. On the
morning after his presentation at court, which in
itself had been a strain upon the sensibilities of
a southern gentleman because of the extremely
doubtful color of the royal family ('I don't say
black, but high yaller at best, suh'). the judge
was surprised to see a woman disrobing at the
edge of the water and right before his door. A
closer inspection revealed the sensational fact
that this woman was none other than the sultana
and that her evident purpose was to conceal
nothing from the diplomatic representative of
these great United States.
"As intimated above, the judge was a south
ern gentleman, with a southerner's conception of
what a lady should be and do. With stern de
termination he got out his muzzle-loading shot
gun, which he had brought along on the off
chance that there might be a bit of quail shoot
ing in Zanzibar, loaded it with a handful of high
grade beach, sand and unerringly peppered the
erring sultana upon that part of her anatomy
whica should have been occupying the throne.
"A merciful curtain must be drawn over im
mediately subsequent proceedings. Suffice it to
say that by this act of impulsive Americanism
the judge was rendered persona non grata at the
court of Zanzibar, and that, like the cat which is
supposed to be drowned, he reappeared in his
ancient haunts, not in the least depressed or
discouraged and heavily freighted with reminis
cences of his diplomatic career.
"Once more grave statesmen put their heads
together and considered the case of Judge
Brown. It was again solemnly proposed that
Judge Brown be given the post of minister to
Zanzibar. The judge, upon being informed of
his appointment is said to have been perceptibly
flustered for the first time in his life; he was a
man of delicate and chivalrous feeling wherever
a woman was concerned. After a few days, how
ever, he recovered his composure completely and
shortly thereafter took his departure.
"Nothing more is known of the diplomatic
career of Judge Brown except that friends fre
quently met him in New York, where he was
always just stopping for a few days. Whenever
inquiry was made of him as to the health of the
sultana of Zanzibar, he would always gravely
reply that it was of the best and propose a toast
to her highness on the spot,
"Judge Brown is gone and so are all the
other picturesque figures of his time. Gone is the
leisure, the large expansiveness. the jest and
story of the old-time hotel bar. The lobbyists of
those days Jold their stories and their business
to all comers over the drinks, and made the
walls shake with their laughter. The modern
lobbyist sneaks in like a chicken thief, secretly
bribes the waiter for a seat, in a guarded whisper
orders a lemonade."
The War Won't Wait
New York Timee
President Wilson has set the stamp of his
approval upon a timely injunction addressed by
Secretary Redmond to his bureau chiefs. It is
to be circulated, posted up, and made a guiding
rule in the transaction of all war business. It
should be a golden rule, a precept always to be
heeded:
"Forget how things were done before t he
war, eliminate red tape. We must learn with the
Germans that 'the war won't wait.' Delay is
the kaiser's ally."
It is hard for subordinates bred up in pre
cedent to forget what they have learned and
practiced. Red tape is routine, and sometimes
it is evasion of responsibility. Seldom can an
old dog be taught new tricks. There are
mastiffs in the departments that fetch and carry
the livelong day in the same old way. They
can be 'reformed only from the top and by
peremptory command. Thev will pay no at
tention to Secretary Redfield's injunction, or to
the president's indorsement of it, unless some
body blazes the way. No one is too high up
to practice what he preaches. The cabinet offi
cers must forget how things were done before
the war and cut the barbed wire known as red
tape.
General Leonard Wood cut red tape with
shining shears when he bought 20 000 overalls
for his men at Fort Funston. who had no tos
to work in because none had been supplied by
the ouartermaster eeneral. That colonel com
manding at Fort Ethan Allen who se;7ed sev
eral thousand pairs of blankets at a Winooski
woolen mill working on a government contract
and carted them out to the reservation was an
other full-sized man who stood in the breach
and accepted responsibility.
Preparedness is impossible with reactionaries
on guard. Eliminate them if they can't be cured.
Certainly they can't, be endured. Take the
short cut. When in doubt assume responsibility.
Read the "Message to Garcia" over and over
again. Do it vourself. Thus the war won't
have to wait. Thus delay, the kaiser's ally, will
be abolished.
I" "'lP'gTIg A
Right In the Spotlight
General Tasker H. Bliss, United
States army, who reaches the age tVr
retirement today, has been filling the
high post of chief of the general staff
since last October. Born at Lewis
burp. Pa., 64 years ago today, he
studied at Bueknell university before
entering the Went Point academy,
from which he was graduated in 1S75.
He has had a varied career in the
service, serving on Important federal
commissions as well as in the more
distinctively technical army work. He
paw distinguished service in Porto
Rico and the Philippines, acted as
collec tor of customs during the Amer
ican occupation of Cuba, and Vent
through several Mexican border cam
paigns. In addition, he has taught in
the Naval War college and has been
president of the Army War college.
In view of his marked attainments as
an administrator and strategist, it is
expected that the services of General
Blips will be retained by the arovern-
I ment and that he will be employed in
Rome important advisory capacity
during the period of the war.
One Year Ago Today in the War.
Rimnlc-Sarat was occupied by the
Teutons.
French cruiser Gaulois torpedoed
and sunk.
Berlin claimed that British force
operating near Kut-el-Amara was re
pulsed. In Omaha Thirty Years Ago.
Articles of Incorporation of the Al
fred Meinburg company were filed
with the county clerk. The incor
porators are A. M. Meinburg and Will
W. McBride.
In Omaha Thirty Years Ago.
There wilt be a grand New Year's
supper at Seward Street Methodist
Episcopal church. Oysters, turkey
and roast beef, 50 cents.
Mr. and Mrs. Woodworth left on
the fast train for California on their
way to old Mexico City. They expect
to be absent two months traveling in
the south, after which they will re
turn to make Omaha their permanent
home.
The Bee will Issue a superb New
Year supplement, illustrating the new
buildings erected in Omaha during
the last year.
During the present year the fire de
partment has been called out to 178
fires. The total amount of loss and
damages to buildings in these fires is
estimated at $66,156, and the loss on
stock $89,405, making a total loss of
$155,561.
The Swedish Library association
gave their eighth annual ball last eve
ning at Masonic hall. Rohr's or
chestra furnished some excellent mu
sic and 24 numbers were danced.
A kensington tea was given by Mrs.
Judge Wakeley.
The marriage of Mrs. Mae Black
and Dr. J. M. Swetnam took place at
622 North Nineteenth street, Wednes
day evening.
This Day in History.
1783 General Joseph G. Swift, one
of the first two graduates of the West
Point military academy, born at Nan
tucket, Mass. Died at Geneva, N. Y.,
July 23, 1865.
1815 General George G. Meade,
who commanded the Union forces at
Gettysburg, born at Cadiz, Spain.
Died in Philadelphia, November 6,
1872.
1817 James T. Fields, noted pub
lisher and author, born at Ports
mouth, N. II. Died in Boston, April
24, 1881.
1833 First successful reaping ma
chine patented by Obed Hussey.
1862 Beginning of the battle of
Murfreesboro, or Stone River, Tenn.
1864 George M. Dallas, vice-president
of the United States, died in
Philadelphia. Born there, July 10,
1792.
1872 Germany severed diplomatic
relations with the pope.
1892 Henry P. Baldwin, governor
of Michigan and United States sen
ator, died in Detroit Born at Coven
try, R. I., February 22, 1814.
1914 Russians hel dthe Carpa
thians from Bulowina to L'ssok Pass.
1915 Austro-German troops shifted
from Salonica front to meet heavy
pressure of Russian advance in Buko-wina.
The Day Wc Celebrate.
George T. Morton, real estate, is
40 years old.
Dr. Charles H. Newell was born
right here in Omaha, December 31,
1882.
Dr. R. E. Marble was born at
Council Bluffs, 35 years ago today.
Lord Ashton, the world's greatest
linoleum manufacturer and one of
Britain's richest men, born 75 years
ago today.
Harry S. New, United States sen
ator from Indiana, born at Indian
apolis, 59 years ago today.
George McLean Harper, professor
of English literature at Princeton
university, born at Shippensburg, Pa.,
54 years ago today.
Emile Loubet, former president of
the French republic, born 79 years
ago today.
Timely Jottings nnd Reminders.
Adieu to the Old Year, which has
been one of the most eventful in
American history.
General Tasker H. Bliss, chief of
staff of the UnHed States army, today
reaches the age for statutory retire
ment. The "Billy" Sunday tabernacle in
Washintton will be formally dedi
cated tonight with a community
"watch night" service.
The initial muster of all national
army organizations at Camp Dodge.
Oos Moines.' upon which will be
based tho permanent government rec
ord of each man, will be held today.
So ninny members of the Mississip
pi legislature have resigned to enter
the military service that Governor
Hilbo hs cal'ed special elections to be
held today in all the districts where
vacnneies exist.
Wartime methodR in agriculture,
with a view to increasing production,
will be presented to the farmers ot
Minnesota at a series of meetinTS to
le onened today at the state univer
sitv farm.
The Hed Cross community house at
Camp Shernnn. Chillicothe, O.. will
be tho scene of a brillHnt military
wedding today when Miss Glenn,
daughter of Ma lor General Glenn, the
commanding officer at the camp, will
become the bride of Captain James
K. C.artleld, grandson oi -the late
President Garfield.
9m
7 J A
Says Complaints Go To Exceptions
Oniy.
Callaway, Neb., Dec. 26 To the
Editor of The Bee: I was in Camp
Funston in October when the heat
was turned on, so I know they are
not without heat, in most of the camp
at least. Soldiers from here are home
on furlough, and none of them have
frozen. My wife was in the camp De
cember 13 and the dust was thick, so
the camp is not all "swamp." Our re
turned boys show no evidence of mud
nor mire on their boots.
The facts are universally, they say
they are well cared for, and are get
ting fat, one boy increased 40 pounds
in weight, they all say they have
first class food, well served.
Sickness thero will be anywhere
among 40,000 human beings. Contag
ious diseases were there before cold
weather came on.
The exception is not the rule there,
and your Mrs. McConnell or what
ever her name is, seems to enlarge on
the exception and fails to understand
the value of adjectives to the extent
that her writings are 60 perverted that
they convey wrong impressions, and
ones that should not be conveyed in
such a paper as you publish..
H. H. ANDREWS.
Amends to Mr. Rankin.
Omaha, Dee. 27. To the Editor of
The Bee: In printing my letter in
The Bee suggesting the appointment
of Roosevelt as secretary of war, you
make me say "one A. C. Rankin." 1
did not write it that way. I wrote
it "Mr. A, C. Rankin." I consider
the writings of Mr. Kankin as being
of a very high class and it is not like
ly that I would refer to him in any
such way as you have it in The Bee.
I think It is due to Mr. Rankin that
this explanation be printed.
F. A. AGNEW.
Effect of Prayer.
Omaha, Dec. 27. To the Editor of
The Bee: I have been very much in
terested in letters printed in your
paper concerning "Answers to
Prayers," and want to express my sen
timents on the subject.
I cannot understand how anyone
can doubt the possibility of their
prayers being answered. Without that
faith, life for me would be very un
satisfactory. I like to feel and know
that by trusting God the difficult
tasks can be made easier, through
prayer. Not all my prayers are ans
wered, but by close observation I
have learned that had most of them
been answered the way I was asking,
it wou'd have made me most unhap
py. That only strengthens my faith,
for it convinces me that God sees
much farther into the future than I
My sister lost her health sometime
ago, but through faith in God and
prayer, has regained it. I have had so
many prayers answered that I cannot
help but feel sorry for those who
don't believe in prayer. I know that
if they go to God with their troubles
and pray, not in a half-hearted,
doubtful way, but with faith and con
fidence, knowing that He loves and
cares for them, they will be convinced
that He does answer prayer and that
their trial was only a lesson to learn
to make them broader and stronger.
MRS. J. A. MURRAY.
Wages of Carpenter.
Omaha, Dee. 27. To the Editor of
The Bee: There seems to be a gener
al supposition that the carpenters of
Omaha receive very liberal wages,
the figure set by the uninformed, be
ing usually $7 per day. In justice to
the carpenter, it might be well to
know the truth of the matter, for
there seems to be a deliberate attempt
on the part of some sinister influence
to misrepresent the wage6 of this
craft, either for the purpose of fore
stalling any attempt to procure an ad
vance, or for the purpose of discour
aging the prospective employer of
labor, from having work done which
would involve employment of thi
craftsman.
The carpenters' scale Is 60 cents per
hour, or $4.80 per eljrht-hour day, or
$26.40 per 44-hour week. The carpen
ter's employment is not steady, is sub
ject to the weather at all times, wait
ing on brick laying, pouring of con
crete, delay of material, etc. Tha
work is hard and sufficiently danger
ous to be classed as hazardous. Th
work is such as to wear out clothes
and shoes very rapidly. The carpenter
is reuuired to keep up an elaborate
kit of tools, which represents a con
siderable investment. In view of these
facts, which are known to all, it would
seem that the carpenter of Omaha is
far from beins- an overpaid man. The
uncertainty of employment is such
that the average yearly wage in Oma
ha is not above $900 per year, at a
liberal estimate. Not an excessive
wa?e on which to raise a family in
accordance with the American stand
ard of living, whatever that Is.
FAIR PLAAT.
Plenty of Seed Com.
Silver Creek, Neb., Dec. 27. To the
Editor of The Bee: Today there is
being shelled on my farm 1,200 bush
els of corn huskers' mensure which
was grown for a seedman and is now
being delivered.
One-half bushel of ears of this corn,
picked at random over the field, test
ed at the seedhouse 72 per cent. When
this corn is cleaned and graded the
test will doubtless be much higher.
This corn is of the variety known
as "Golden Glow," which is perhaps
a week or 10 days earlier than ordi
nary field corn, but it was planted in
the very last days of May and first
do vs of June.
This goes to show that what I rnwe
all along contended is true, namely:
that there is plenty of good seed corn
in everv locality all over the state of
Nebraska, and that all this seed corn
agonizing and belly-aching on the
part of our sapient professors and
professional patriots of the council of
offense at Lincoln is "incompetent,
irrelevant and immaterial."
And then there was the 6eed wheat
craze, last fall, when these same
wiseacres and universal busybodies
went into conniption fits through fear
that the farmers could not get seed
wheat. But there was no trouble ex
cept that that hue-and-cry undoubt
edly caused many farmers to hold
their wheat, raised the price, and re
sulted in a less acreage being planted,
when a small acreaie was the very
thing they were trying to guard
against.
And then again this delectable
council of offense went Into hysterics
over the corn crop: said there would
not be enough help to husk it, and
wanted the schools dismissed all over
the state so that the school ma'ams
could don overalls and go to work in
the fields to "save the corn." But
again, as I publicly stated at the time,
it was a false alarm. Not only was
there no lack of help, but men actu
ally went begging for jobs. More than
a dozen have c""rt at my place only
to be turned away.
Don't worry i.ut seed corn for
next spring; there will be enough for
all and farmers will have sense
enough to provide themselves with it
without being told.
It ought to be enough that we have
to fisht Germans in our front, with
out having a lot of cackling old wo
men to ball things up in our rear.
CHARLES WOOSTER.
Every day during this season
of the year the four palatial
daily trains of the Chicago, Milwau
kee & St Paul Ry. between Omaha
and Chicago are veritable clubs of travelers jour
neying to Florida, the Gulf Coast, t)uba and Panama.
An anticipated feature of the trip is always the in
comparable service of the "Milwaukee."
'longer-higher-wider" berths steel cars electric
block safety signalsdouble track.
Chicago, Milwaukee aSt. Paul Ry.
Thnth tkktt tnc tkeflnt tm mentUcm ef
407 South ISth Straat, Rairwar Eiciant c Bui (Sag
EUGENE DUVAL, Caneral Agent
Jnyg doesn't Anoz&ytn
1
esmo.
would clear her skin
"She would be a pretty girl, if it wasn't
for that p'mp!y, blotchy complexion!"
But the regulars, of Rednol Soap, aided
at first by a little Resinol Ointment, would
probably make it clear, fresh ar.d charm
in?. If a poor skin isjvvrhandicap, begin
using the Resinol treatment and see how
quickly it improves.
ResinM Soap and Resinol
Ointment are eiccllent, too,
tor the ore rf the hair, die.
prllir.g dandruff a-d Iteepire
ththa rliveanUl. stroua. All
dmj-ista sell Resinol Soap
ami Resinol Oinrment.
Tkf Resitioi Treatment cn
tains nothing that eniditfr
cr imuitt the nut sensitive
skin.
Stcryette of the Day.
A trainload of newly drafted men
reached their cantonment late In the
afternoon. By the time they had
passed through the receiving station
and the hands of the doctors, it was
nearly midnight. Several of them
were awakened at 4 o'clock the fol
lowing morning to assist the cooks
in preparing breakfast. As one well
built sleepy drafted man got to his
feet he stretched and yawned:
"It doesn't take long to spend a
night in the rny," Everybody's
Magazine.
THE OMAHA BEE INFORMATION BUREAU
Washington, DC.
Enclosed find a 2-cent stamp, for which jou will please send me.
entirely free, "The Navy Calendar."
Name M
Street Address 1
a aj an
City state J