1
0
V
By JOHN H. KEARNES.
"Safety first" is the motto of
Charley Franke, main squeeze o the
Municipal auditorium.
When he first heard of the Spanish
flu he developed an abnormal appe
tite for information on the subject,
and, as a layman, absorbed sufficient
knowledge to print a volume on the
subject.
After, interviewing a dozen or
more leading physicians of Omaha,
getting advice free gratis, for which
they had paid many hard earned
dollars, he came to the conclusion
that the best thing he could do to
become immune was to take a few
shots of the preventive serum pre
scribed as a "safety first" measure.
After becoming a host for the
vitiated germs, or bacilli of the "flu"
he went among his friAids, bragging
of his up-to-dateness and impressing
on the multitude he was one ott the
few Omaha citizens to beat the real
old fashioned "flu" to it.
But alas for Charley. He may
have acquired peace of mind and
may have worked himself into a
state of mind where he could bid
the disease defiance, but he is only
immune for a short time, and to
keep himself in that condition he
must take shot after shot of the
serum, in two weeks periods for the
next three months in order to land
in the zone of safety.
Serum that is used for prevention
is produced in. a horse and only
gives protection for a couple of
weeks, or even less a 4emporary
immunity at best.
. Offensively Teutonic.
Spanish "flu" is a misnomer, ft
should be called the German "flu,"
for, when it engages in an offensive
it is peculiarly Teutonic. It treach
erously and insidiously strikes
its foe . without warning. It
ignores all the symptomatic prog
nostications of conventional and
weji-behaved diseases such as
small pox, measles, scarlet fever,
diphtheria and the mumps and from
the first attack progresses along the
lines of frightfulness and schreiklei
theit. Its German deceitfulness is evi
denced by the fact that after a three
day barrage it will declare an armis
tice and leave the victim in a nor-
mal condition for 48 hours', and
then, with true German ferocity
mass the hordes of pneumonia and
' meningitis and make a renewed as
sault on the weakened forces of the
surprised and trusting victim.
Germ Baffles the Doctors.
Just as the statesmen of the
woq,d are taking apart the Teutonic
mind and analyzing it to find what
species of madness has impelled a
whole race to run amuck in its ef
fort to murder, with the forces of
' hellish malevolence, the civiliza
tion of the earth, 50 are the doctors
trying to take apart", analyze and
isolate the "flu" germ and find what
element of it posesses a malignant
virulence.
Years ago a Hun scientist, Pfeifer
by name; and who must have pos
sessed a sympathetic love for so
atrocious a germ, was able to iso
late it so it could be recognized.
He found this subtle, sneaking,
treacherous, venomous germ mixed
in . with a lot of respectable strep
tococci pneumococci and other
bacilli and recognizing a spirit kind
red to the German character, he as
lumed so parental an attitude to
ward it that he named it after him-
' Spanish "flu" is an age-old disease.
. It is recurrent, breaking out at in
... tervals in certain places and makes
a cycle of the world while in a viru
lent stage. It is a pandemic disease,
and like the present day Hun, is the
scourge of the world.
'Zack Knew It as "Shake Bone."
When the Mexican war was go
ing on -in this country it made a
' cycle of the nation,, killing its thou
sands and leaving in its wake a
memory of terror. It was known
In the days -of Zachary , Taylor as
, iengue, or "shake bone" fever.
" v Treatment,- in those days, was
heroic, if not effective. Oreat bolus
- kills, salts and senna, "composition"
-tea, to start a, sweat and heighten
"' jhe f,ever were used, together with
Mrong potations of whisky, brandy,
r Medford rum to build a fire on
'.. lop of a fire. The constitution that
tould stand the disease and the treat
I ment was'a strong one but, hap
pily for the, country, constitutions
f that day,1, physical and political,
' xtrt strong enough to stand the
' Urain.
We had la grippe in the late 80s
md early 90s with spasmodic out
breaks ever since, and would have
recognized the present pandemic
' "s our ancient enemy had not the
3ng of Spain been one of the
' irst victims and thus given it a new
Identity.. v ..,.
Omaha paid but passing attention
. to the disease vtmtt'l the Board of
' Health gave -its - order , closing
churches, .theaters, moving
picture shows and all places of in
door public gatherings.
Many People Are Hit.
Since then it has been much in
the limelight, brought gloom and
pain to at least a thousand homes.
Many persons in the city have
experienced the horrors of the dis
ease, which is heralded by sneez
ing or coughing, then a headache
and a backache, and then an aching
of every bone, muscle and joint of
the body.
It may be preceded by a chill fol
lowed by a fever as high as 103
and which will persist for three
days and then disappear, leaving
the person afflicted apparently nor
mal. But there is the danger period.
Where the disease is virulent, after
two days the victim- complains of
feeling chilly, has a rise in tempera
ture, coughing, has pains in the
chest and a tightening of that re
gion. It is pneumonia, one of the
most dreaded of diseases. If it is
fatal it finds its culmination on the
seventh day.
It is best for the victim, when he
has the first symptom, to go to
bed and stay there, stay there dur
ing the two days he has a normal
temperature following the first
three days of attack.
Omaha's health board took the
advice of the national Galenists and
told the people to avoid crowds
and 200,000 of us have obeyed these
directions as best we can despite
our gregariousness. Yet they don't
tell us why so many soldiers and
sailors, young men of full vitality,
with the best of habits, surrounded
by sanitary safeguards and living
so much out of doors, seem to be
subject and yield so easily to this
disease.
Days of Forefathers.
The closing order, which brought
Omaha to a realization, in the past
week, of how our forefathers lived
when there was a poverty of amuse
mentsno theatersjvno moving pic
tures, no cabarets, no dance halls
and no artificial indoor allurements.
It recalls the ancient days when
there was no "white way," no bright
lights to seduce the populace to
the main city streets for amuse
ment and sometimes' blase' boredom.
This unique condition has brought
about a recrudescense of the sweet,
old-fashioned, wholesome home life.
There are more Omahans gathering
in the living room of the home now
and getting acquainted with the var
ious members of the family than
there has been in many years.
Children are finding out what fine
persons mother and daddy are and
what splendid company they can
be on a quiet evening. Family
PLATTSMOUTH
Somebody has remarked that
Flattsinouth is a town of magnifi
cent distances. The visitor should
not merely jump from a train, at
the Burlington station, for instance;
say "Hello!" to O. A. Moore, who
sells tickets there and also serves
as secretary of the Commercial club;
walk uptown and observe a picture
of Theda Bara on the billboards and
a large "Come to church" sign; look
at the old cannon in the court house
yard; pay his devoirs to Chief of
Police Bill Barclay and Sheriff Carl
Quinton, and then say he has seen
traditions are being resurrected and
the children themselves are develop
ing unthought of talents for enter
taining. Omaha Families Getting Acquainted
Families in Omaha arc getting
acquainted with their next-door
neighbors in their desire for so
ciability during a time of temporary
isolation from gregariousness. Old
fashioned parties are gotten up in
an impromptu manner. There is
music, dancing, the games of dear
departed days of childhood, and
story telling healthy amusement
which is enticing and exciting be
cause of its novelty.
This is one of the blessings
brought by the scourge of the Hun
nish "flu," just as the blessing of
universal brotherhood will result
from a world suffering from the
Berseker rage and blood lust of the
Beast of Berlin.
After all none of us should worry
too much about the Spanish influ
enza. At the worst it is no more,
in many cases considerably less
than the old grippe, without the
Iberian adjective, which we all en
dured and mostly had, say in 1893.
iy & m ir-
BY A. 8TI1
POEMS OF IBID ARE
ATTRACTING WIDEST
ATTENTION OF FOLKS
Two More of the Works of the
Nearly Forgotten Bard Dis
covered by A. Stinger and
Quoted to Readers.
Doubtless our publication to the
world of a poem by Ibid last Sunday
occasioned a great deal of interest
among the literary people who read
The Bumble Bee.
Some of them, no doubt, are pre
paring to write to us and tell us of
the service we have performed in
the cause of literature by bringing
to light the works of this poet whose
name even is unfamiliar to most peo
ple and whose biography is unknown
to the encyclopedias.
In. fact, even with further search,
we have not been able to find a
single word about where and when
this poet was born, who were his
parents, what occupied his earlyJ
ana later years, where he lived or
when he died!
We know not whether he was a
simple poet of the people or a lord
like Lord Byron.
The editor of The Bumble Bee
discovered some of his works,
quoted in a rare book, "Gems for
the Fireside," which he was perus
ing one night in his big library, as
is his custom, beg a man who
loves the works of poets and other
great writers, besides himself.
Today we treat our readers to
two more quotations from the poet.
Ibid. The first is a soliloquy about
immortality, intimating that it prob
ably is so or, rather, must be true,
that man is immortal. Listen to
the majestic words of Ibid:
It must be so Plato, thou reasonest well!
Els whence this pleasing hope, this fond
desire
This longing after Immortality?
Or whence this .secret dread and Inward
horror
Of falling Into naught? Why shrinks the
soul
Back on herself, and, startles at destruc
. tion?
'Tls the divinity that stirs within us;
'Tii heaven Itself that points, out a here
after And Intimates eternity to man.
IBID.
The second we have selected be
cause of the majestic picture which
Ibid draws here of the soul of man.
Again our great bard sings as fol
lows: 1
"The stars shall fade, the sun himself
Grows dim with age, and Nature sink In
years. v
But thou shalt flourish In immortal youth
Unhurt amid tho war of elements.
The wreck of matter and the crush of
.world
-IBID.
Metz and Metz.
Harry Hayward telephoned to
Louis Metz last week, "I see Per
shing is working for you."
"Whaddya mean, Pershing is
working for me?" queried Mr. Metz.
"Why, it's in the paper," replied
Hayward, "Headline says, "'PER
SHING DRIVING FOR METZ."
SOUNDS PROMISING.
Deer Mister Stinger: Tfoar oppor
tunity to become extinguished is
nocking at yoar dore.
This is the Idee-er: Why don't you
muster the bum poets of this here
town Into a sort of hot-areo squad
ron rtnd fly over-seas with 'em and
bombard Mets with 'em. That kind of
mustered gas would be a new one on
tno Hun. t
think such a bombardment would
guarantee a speedy evacuation of
ilotz. Don't you? A grande rlter
once sed, "The pen Is mightier than
tne soard," I ferget that rlter's name
now but seems to me It was Dave
KltchJe. But we all know some of
the lines penned by our local poets
far surpass the Hindenburg line, as
far as length and strength are con
cerned. Hoping that you will, act
upon this timely hint.
Toars to command,
A. VOLUNTEER.
P. 8. This Is the chanct for which
I've long been achin'.
To erosa the Bine and nab the
kaiser bacon. A. V. P.
AINT IT GRAND?
Have you that glorious feeling
which comes -from subscribing to
Liberty bonds all- the money you
have or expect to have in the next
six months above bare living ex
penses,' A KINDLY WORD.
The war correspondents lack orig
inality. . Last week Hindenburg re
signed again "after a stormy inter
view with the kaiser." Three months
ago they reported he had resigned
"after a stormy interview with the
kaiser." We juggest that the
"stormy interview" preceding the
next resignation be with the crown
quince. -
"And Still the Wonder Grew."
No, Jabez, conducting a
column like this isn't so very .
hard provided one has a GI
GANTIC BRAIN. Looking at
the grand aggregation of clever
ideas one might think that a
single brain couldn't possibly
give birth to them all. Of
course, as stated before, it is no
work of ordinary mortals. Yes,
you may send in contributions
and, if they are up to standard,
we will print them.
These military "experts," who
write in the newspapers didn't fore
see that there was even any danger
of Bulgaria falling down.
One can't help wondering how
people found, life worth living be
fore the movies, railroads, tanjac,
talking machines . and . automobiles
were invented;
WE'D LIKE TO SEE THIS.
"Every morning I take a run fol
lowed by a shower bath," says a
writer, telling of his physical train
ing. Tourists.
We weje out driving in the
Chandler and turned off to a road
half a mile south for a short dis
tance, returning then to the main
road. 'We just made a detour," Said
our companian, giving the real high
brow pronunciation, "day-tour."
Right away we replied, "Yes, we are
making a day tour now but after
dark it'll be a night tour." Buy
Liberty bonds.
Imagination.
First National Bank building al
ways reminds us of a tall man with
out any hat on. It's the lack of a
cornice that does it.
Think.
It's a good thing to have lots of
"pep." However, some people are
full of pep but don't direct it in an
advantageous direction. And, like
the pepful revolving door, they
never "get anywhere."
Confusing.
When the war is over and the
boys come home and get into civil
ian clothes again it's going to be
mighty hard to remember whether to
greet 'em as "Lieutenant" or "Cap."
or "Major" or "Ensign" or "Ser
geant" or just plain "Bill."
PROGRESS.
Private dispatches oyer our
leased cable from our Swedish cor
respondent state that a movement
is on foot to put inflammable wood
into Swedish safety matches.
CHECK UP ON THIS.
Have you noticed the name of
the register of the treasury on your
Liberty bond Houston B. Teehee.
And yet, the Liberty loan is not a
laughing matter.
Envy.
Can this be envy, this strange de
sire to give a swift kick to beautiful
Francis X. Bushman when we see
him in all his beauty in the movies?
CHINK.
How would vou like to be a Nebra
Skan and an Oma Han. Separating
the words that way makes it look a
lot different, doesn't it?
PARDON.
We really had to laugh when we
saw a man at Sixteenth and Howard
t'other day, drop a bag of potatoes
and they rolled all over the side
walk. -
Repartee.
, Don't gfive a mock salute when
you see your frierd for the first
time in uniform. That is considered
second-rate humor nowadays. It is
better to ask him if he is working
for a commission in the kitchen
police or inquire whether he belongs
to the horse marine)
Flattsinouth. Not at all. He should
"percolate around a little," as the
man from Missouri said, to obtain
the full benefits of this busy seat of
Cass county.
To view these magnificent dis
tances the visitor should ascend the
hill upon which has been erected a
splendid new high school as a trib
ute to education; also traverse the
hills and bluffs near the Burlington
shops and enjoy a birdseye view
of the Missouri river in its sinuoiii
mood, with the distant hills loom
ing on the Iowa side.
Everybody Busy as Beavers.
Plattsmouth, however, is not con
ducting excursions at this time on
account of its scenic assets; on the
contrary, it is too busy these days
to give much heed to scenery. Ev
erybody seems to be as busy as a
beaver, and if the war had not
placed a quietus upon industrial im
provements, some substantial ac
tivities would have been realized
this year.
This town began to move and
have its being as a civilized commu
nity about 60 years ago. It was one
of the steamboat towns and before
the advent of the bridge across the
river, cars were transported across
on ferries at a point near the lo
cation of the present Burlington
.bridge. Todav it has a population
of 5,000 and the county has 25,000.
We will take a little make-believe
journey this morning to the seat of
Cass county and see what we shall
see. Proceeding along Main street,
we observe a sign over a store,
which reads: "George E. Dovey,"
reminding us that once upan a time
the Dovey sisters were luminaries
of the stage, well known in Omaha
and in many cities. Mr. Dovey tells
us that Ethel and Alice are married,
one living on the west coast and the
other in the east. Alice made her
big hit in "The Pink Lady." Mr.
Dovey settled in .Plattsmouth in
1863 and is still behind a counter,
attending customers with his usual
gracious manner. On the same
street appears the sign, "C. E. West
cott's Sons." This esetablishnient
observed its 35th anniversary in
1914 and is one of the institutions of
the town.
Up-to-Date, Old-Time Family.
An inscription on the cannon in the
court house yard informs the way
farer that this piece of ancient ar
tillery was obtained for Plattsmouth
through the efforts of Henry C.
McMaken and Joseph W. Thomas;
that the cannon was used at Fort
Miffen, Pa., from 1861 to 1866.
Henry C. McMaken was a civil war
veteran with the Second Nebraska
and was a frontiersman and freight
er of wide experience. His son, J.
N. McMaken, and the latter's son,
Henry C, last March opened the O.
K. garage, on the main highway out
toward the Masonic home, at a cost
of $75,000. It is said to be the finest
garage in Cass county.
J. R. McMaken, native of Platts
mouth, has the most interesting col
lection of scra books in the county.
One of these tomes of olden days is
their contributions with J. C. Wood-
yatt and company.
Popular Indoor Sports.
Other items indicate that the na
tional game was honored by teams
known as "Coyotes" and "Ante
lopes." The cantata, "Esther," was
presented in Fitzgerald s hall, re
served seats for which were sold by
H. J. Streight. Oyster suppers'were
aiuong 'the popular indoor sports of
50 years ago; also playing "postof-
nce, and spin the plate.
On June 30, 1871, Plattsmouth
was visited by the most destructive
hail storm of its history. "Our
worthy P. M. went to Fremont."
was another entry, to which a vil
lage wag appended, Bully for him."
"Whortleberries for sale at the Star
store.
Business was suspended for the
day when the folks read this item
in that old book nearly half a cen
tury ago: 'Received news from
Boston that the B. & M. R. R. will
bridge the Missouri river. Also
telegram from Mayor White that
James F. Jay intends construction
of trunk line via Plattsmouth im
mediately." "Joe Nesbit of Ashland is in
town." j
The book also shows that in
those bygone days, before Nebras
ka voted dry, there was an organiza
tion of white ribboners in Platts
mouth, known as the Independent
Order of Good Templars, which
met frequently, according to the
good book.
"Found a pocketbook. James
O'Keene, watchman of the steam
boat Gallatin."
The name of D. H. Wheeler was
inscribed as president of the Young
Men's Christian association. Chief
Justice Mason and Hon. G. W.
Frost were announced to discuss
the constitution in the court house.
"The entire republican ticket
elected," was another important an
nouncement. Also; "Mass meeting
in Fitzgerald's hall to aid the Chi
cago fire sufferers."
Leap Year Parties Popular.
Other items referred' to Bishop
Clarkson holding a special service
in St. Luke's Episcopal church and
addresses "by J. I. Redick,and A. J.
Cropsey. Frank White received 22
invitations to a Leap Year party.
The railroad fare to Omaha was
$1.10. An item of interest at this
time, in view of the price of hogs,
states that C. H. King of Eight
mile Grove brought in a load of
hogs which he sold to E J. Dovey
for $3.75 per hundredweight. J. A..
Connor was captain of the old fire
department.
And one more: "Dr. McCluskey
will be at Dr. Livingston's office
tomorrow. Any needing .work on
their teeth will please give him a
call."
Plattsmouth has the most modest
mayor in Nebraska. His name is
Henry Schneider and he is so un
assuming that he will not permit
his photograph to appear in public
places or print. He is a republican,
which is said to explain his bashful
"r-y; 7 - TED
w v r- rzz a ri cv ' i u -
4&W' Ail SI v , a w ry y
5 Omaha Sunday Bee
MORNING, OCTOBER 13, 1918.
Dream On, Razz Old Dazz;
Dream On! Even Laughs
Will Help Win the War!
egg-'
the
"How much for a dozen
asked the country shopper.
"Twenty cents," answered
storekeeper.
"Twenty cents!" Business of rais
ing the eyebrows and gasping. "Why
we ain't been paying but 18 cents."
"That's the yesterday price; they're
20 cents today." Supercilious sneer.
"Well, I'll take a dozen, just be
cause I ain't got time to look around
and get them cheaper. What's but
ter today?"
"Twenty-four cents." Bored look.
"Twenty-ty-ty four-r-r cents 1"
Mouth wide open; eyes dilated in
horror. "That's a raise of 4 cents."
"Costing more to make butter
Forgets flis
Patriotism
Tom Brown, clerk for local draft
board No. 3, is a trap-drummer joi
considerable local fame, and, as such
is a regular member in good stand
ing of the Omaha Musicians' union.
One day Thomas was chatting
with a number of musician friends
when one of them casually inquired
his reason for toiling for the draft
board as well as playing in an or
chestra at night.
"O, just patriotism," drawled
Thomas, loftily, and then he switch
ed the conversation into other chan
nels. Some days later, Tom in his haste
to arrive at the office promptly on
time, left the room rather hurriedly,
neglecting as he did so to take his
monthly check for services which a
few moments before he had laid on
a bureau-.
"Oh, Tom!" shouted Kenneth E.
Nash, a brother musician and Tom's
room-mate, as he held out the ne
glected check, "You forgot your
patriotism."
At least this is the way Henry
F. Meyer's tells the story and as
Henry is Tom's boss, he can't
deny it.
now." Flecking off speck of dust
from the sleeve.
"Gimme half a pound."
"Can't break a pound any more.
The retail grocers' association has
made a rule against it. We've been
losing money by that 'practice."
"No doubt. I'll take the full
pound. Let me see it weighed,
please." Compressing of lips into
tight line.
."You may also send up 100 pounds
of sugar; what is today's price?"
"Five cents the pound; you ought
to take 200 pounds, because it's go
ing up a quarter cent soon, I hear."
"What you hear and what I know
are two different things." Elevation
of eyebrows and bold stare.
"Is that all for today?" Polite
poising of pencil over pad. "Charge,
of course."
"Yes, charge; pay first of year as
usual. Let me see." Mental scratch
ing of the old thought dome. "I
think we've got room in the cellar
for 1,000 pounds of flour. How much
is it?" '
"One dollar and 40 cents a hun
dred." Apologetic cringe.
"Oh, dear; oh, dear; the high cost'
of living is a literal fright; well,
send it up. Delivered free, with
trading stamps, of course."
"Yes, indeed. Glad to have your
trade. Just a moment I'll have the
boy take you home in the car."
Following which the storekeeper
turned to his copy of the Omaha
Bee of October 13, 1958, and re
sumed his reading of an article en
titled, "What we paid for things dur
ing the great war and how the down
fall of the kaiser's ruined the grocery
trade." - '
Appropriate Army Pets.
For trench-diggers: molea. .
For engineers: cranes. J -For
quartermasters: seals.
For aviators: eagles.
For submarine sailors: sharks.
For men at listening posts: fen
rets.
For General Pershing: the kaiser
goat. Cartoons Magazine.
disposition. The mayor is also cash
ier of the State bank.
Schools in Charge of Woman.
A woman superintends 93 schools,
190 teachers and 3,400 boys and girls
in the county school system. Her
name is Alpha Peterson. The an
nual expenditures for all county
schools is nearly $250,000 and the
property is valued at $500,000. The
county has 12 high schools, includ
ing the new building in Plattsmouth.
A patriotic spirit pervades the
schools of the town and the county.
Patriotic posters appear in every
school and the importance of speak
ing, reading and writing the English
language is being emphasized.
George DeWolf is superintendent of
Plattsmouth schools. A new publi
1 ' 1 1 1 . .1. . . If.' j . T
nign scnooi at tne top oi iviam street
has just been occupied. It is an im
posing structure, erected at a cost
of $85,0000 and stands as a monu
ment to the progressiveness of this
county seat. The Plattsmouth pub
lic schools have an enrollment of
1,200 pupils and a staff of 32
teachers.
Matt Gering's Prayer Rug.
One of the show places of Platts
mouth is the law offices of Mathew
Gering, across from the court house.
"The Orator of the Platte" is said
to have the finest suite of offices in
the county. The walls are covered
with valuable works of art which in
clude an autographed ink drawing of
Haldane, former British chancellor.
He has a copper portrait of himself
in relief and pictures of Voltaire,
Tom Moore, Paginnini, Burke and
other notables. He also has in his
office a valuable Persian prayer rug.
Mr. Gering is the man to whom the
chairman of public occasions refers
to when he says, "We have with us
this evening," or, "We have with
us today." Whenever there is any
unusual occasion or demonstration
in the county, Mr. Gering fashions
word pictures for the delectation of
his fellow citizens.
Plattsmouth has several important
industries. The Chicago, Burling
ton and Quincy shops, one of the
largest institutions of its kind in the
state, employs upwards of 700 men
and represents an estimated invest
ment of $2,000,000. William Baird
is master mechanic and R. C. Hsyes
is superintendent. The Olson Photo
company has developed an industry
which covers many states and keeps
tZ&M - - U : j
a. 14
i r i ..Vat si.
6&
' i
ScAocl Opened wis Tatl
a book which was kept at the Platts-J
mouth postoffice nearly 50 years ago
by J. A. Marshall, postmaster. It
was a medium, of general public in
formation and in which eyerybody
was privileged to indite public or
private notices. It contains many
items of historic information as well
as scribblings by the village cutups.
An entry of the date of June 14,
1871, reads: "All persons wishing to
contribute anything toward clearing
Plattsmouth of deadbeats, will please
call at 10 o'clock tomorrow and leave
25 people busy. A branch of th
M. E. Smith company of Omah(
maintains a payroll of 40 to 50 eni
ployes. L. L. Wiles has gained (
wide reputation as a breeder of ReJ
Pole cattle, which have won manj
prizes at fairs.
1 Water and Gas Ratea.
L. C. Minor is president of th
Plattsmouth Commercial club an
head of the water and light com
pany. He claims that the Platts
mouth water rate of 30 cents pel
thousand gallons is cheaper thai
the Omaha rate, considering oper
ating and overhead expenses. Th;
water plant has a capacity of 1,
000,000 gallons and an average daily
pumpage of 350,000 gallons. Thera
are nearly 15 miles of water mains
and 800 patrons are served. Ths
city council ' recently granted the
gas company a rate increase of 20
per cent, from $1.75 to $2.10 per
thousand feet.
Four banks in Plattsmouth reflect
the financial strength of the county.
C. C. Parmele, H. N. Dovey, Tom
Patterson and J. M. Roberts are the
presidents of these monetary insti
tutions. Realtors of the town re
port that there is not a vacant de
sirable house at this time. There
are 109 substantial horn and more
than 100 brick business structures.
Important improvements during the
last 12 months include: Garages,
$75,000 and $25,000; high school,
$85,000; paving, $75,000.
Nebraska Masonic Home.
Another important institution is
the Nebraska Masonic home, which
is supervised by William A. Asquith,
former Omahan. This home has 55
residents and an adjoining building
accommodates 12 orphan 'children.
One of the interesting persohs at
the Masonic home is J. V. D. Patch,
pioneer of Nebraska City and for
mer resident of St. Joseph, Mo., at
which latter place he gained prom
inence as an artist and art instructor.
In his room at the home is a prize
painting by himself, of Joseph
Robideaux, founder of St. Joseph.
The famous racer, "Dan Patch,"
was owned by a relative of this
venerable artist
Michael Archer, police judge, has
broken all Nebraska records for
continuous service of more than 30
years in the elective position which,
he now holds. The favorite pastime
of Sheriff Carl Quinton is impeding
the progress of bootleggers as they
blithely motor along, Omaha-bound,
with cargoe of contraband elixers.
The sheriff is collecting a string of
confiscated "booze cars." Another
officeholder in whom the public
seem to have considerable con
fidence is James Robertson, who has
been clerk of the district court for
a score of years. Fred Patterson
I has been county surveyor "ever
! since Heck was a pup," as one of
the old settlers expressed it.
j Doctor With Two Night Call Jobs.
Dr. A. Sandin has the honor of
being the captain of the volunteer
i fire department and it is said of him
I that he responds to an alarm of fire
as quickly as he docs to the bed
side of a patient. George R. Sayles
is city clerk and the councilmen
are: i Rav Paffprsnn fi-i-.i
j .Mauzy, Wank I Buttery, William
j Weber, L. G. Larson, John Von j
j dron, George Leuschnisky, C. A.
ijonnson, KoDert Mams and John
T
Among other features of Platts
mouth to which the Commercial
club points with pride are: Ten
church edifices. Catholic academy,
three hotels, flour mills, broom fac
tory, 30 fraternal societies, two loan
and building associations, local in
surance company, daily newspaper,
brass band, real estate exchange,
two concrete and cement nlant
; machine and foundry plant, auto
. bridge across the Platte river, 800
, acre rifle range, steam laundry, bas
j ball park, new county jail, Elks
home, carneigie library, artificial ice,
plant, sewer system, $40,000 apar,