' .. ' "'This
Omaha Sunday BiB
OMAHA, SUNtuV kOttKISSTSCTOBER 26, IMS.
His Majesty Distributes
Rewards for Duty Done
By ROBERT J. HORTON
The walls of the castle showed
gray against the red flares of the
sunset. Hundreds of soldiers stood
at attention, the spfkes on their hel
mets splashed with color in the fail
ing light. There was no sound ex
cept the occasional sharp spoken
cotrimand of an officer. AH was
Hi
t T
By JOHN H. KEARNES
"Unconditional surrender 1"
This' is the Spartan cry of a new
World.
The old world, with its easy-going
stride, following the path of the
least resistance, receded from view
on that fatal day when the "Blonde
Beast" of the withered hand and
-Berserker soul cast aside the sheep
skin cloak and, in the raiment of
the werewolf, unleashed the pack of
hell on an unsuspecting world.
It receded from view when Amer
ica joined the forces of democracy
in its titanic struggle against the
.last bulwark of autocracy founded
-by thereudal baron j who established
, their caste and state by predatory
banditry when civilization in Europe
i v Aas young, and the 4aw of might
was the.only law.
To adapt ourselves to the new
Universe we have surrendered un
conditionally many or our old pre--rogratives,
much of our savoir faire,
a multitude ot our old beliefs and
practices and considerable of our in
dividual idiosyncracies.
In fact, we have almost rehabili
tated our personalities and our so
cial and political condition sur
. " rendered the old, unconditionally, to
the new.
It has been the natural conse
- quence of a world catastrophe the
evolutionary process of the greatest
of revolutions.
Our Greatest National Sin.
In America, before we entered the
war, our greatest national sin was
1 that of extravagant waste. It is
true we had heard of conservation,
but our practice of the virtue was
largely along academic rather than
practical lines.
i Waste was a condition that en
tered nearly every phase of our
lives, and it was a saying in this
country, and we were rather proud
of it, that the waste from an Amer
; ican table would feed two or even
three old world families.
It took the shock of war with theJ
' gaunt spectre of famine at our
. threshold to compel us to surrender
unconditionally to Old Man Thrift.
'Inthe far-away antebellum days
food was so plentiful that it was
an incident-in our lives. We dined
' as a mechanical function or as a
source of pleasure.
Food Viewpoint Changed.
Today food is an obsession. We
' are interested in dietetics. We study
' food for its values as a fuel to
- keep the human machine in running
order. , General Hign Cost of Liv-
ing compels us to study every ele
ment of food from the economic
. rather than the , gustatory stand
point. '
Prices are fascinating to us and
we watch their fluctuations from day
today and it has come to pass that
t'te bachelor who 'was as ignorant
of the cost of butter, eggs, bacon
and beans in 1914 as he was of the
Xmeaning of Egyptian ,heiroglyphics
is now as' conversant with these
costs as is the average housewife.
Food conservation has become a
momentous problem. .The price of
beans and-sugar is so much of a
" tragedy that the public will no
longer laugh good naturedly at the
. grocer or the restaurant man, who
will adulterate the legumes with
small stones or the saccharinous
product with sand. -
Boston Bean. Eater iin Court.
" Only recently a case of public
intolerance with such petty profi
teering came to the august notice
- of the. Massachusetts supreme court.
It happened this way.
A certain woman went into a Bos
ton restaurant f nd asked, lis is the
custom, for Boston's sacred food.
But sheJater brought against that
food provider the charge, whereas
she had asked for beans, they had
given her a stone. . That is, a false
and "perilous pebble, disguised as a
bean, bad secreted itself among the
priceless legumes. Bitting upon it
with that trusting eagerness with
' which Bostonians approach beans,
she wrecked upon its resisting rock
two good teeth, one natural, the
other artificial.
. So she did appeal to the courts to
award her recompense for so rude
and disastrous a betrayal of confi-
: dence, and in the coarse of time the
' matter came before the , highest
court of the state. ; ,
The lower courts awarded - the
plaintiff damages of $150. It seetns
to have been agreed -without hesi
tation that to adulterate beans with
f stones was a very serious thing,
lh even though the adulteration was in
Da5 voluntary. ; Thus , the integrity of
j"6! --beans was maintained. ; . ,
iTii Beans Must Be Beans.
furi ; .But the defendant restauranteur
pr"' quibbled. .Granted that the stone
Licft ought not to have been there it was
of tl; not admitted that its presence was
teichf' the fault of the restauranteur.' He
.Split 1 bought it for a bean, he served it in
Good faith as a bean. Theymust go
back of him for the responsibility.
It was on this contention that
the case came up to the supreme
court.
But the woman is vindicated, as
is also the public, when it takes the
stand that beans must be beans. Six
of the seven justices said she should
have justice, and that, there being
no other responsible party in sight,
she should have it out of the restau
rant. It is regrettable that the sev
enth did not concede this point, but
it must be assumed as granted that
he recognized the important truth
that beans must be beans. ,
As there must be no shams in
food, so must there be no shams
now in society. Men are now being
reckoned according to their real val
ues. So also are the women. Camou
flage is no longer complaisantly ad
miredsham has unconditionally
surrendered and there are now but
two strata of society in our coun
try servant and slackers.
. New Badge of Aristrocracy.
Every patriot is a servant every
kaisetite a slacker. The badge of
aristocracy in this country today is
not blue blood inherited from revo
lutionary forbears nor is it wealth
or high estate, nor linen nor fine
raiment. ;
The badge of aristocracy is serv
ice, the service that finds its expres
sion pi the battlefield, in the hospi
tals, in essential labor, in Red Cross
work, in the contributions to war
activities, in loaning funds to the
government, in hearty and cheerful
compliance with all requests for co
ordination and co-operation with
federal officers and agents to the ef
forts being made to the winning of
tne war.
The idle rich can wear this badge
as proudly as the sons of toil, and
one blessing of this war is the fact
that it has not found America de
cadent and that the strength of our
.democracy has been so great that
it has placed the virile sons of the
rich shoulder to shoulder with the
virile sons of the poor and in every
gigantic test neither have been
found wanting.
Sncial values are changing as
rapidly here as th'ey have in France.
y-' French Bride's Dowry.
In one of the small villages in
Picardy a French poilu was leading
his bride from the village church,
after the wedding ceremony.
Two comrades viewed the proces
sion and one asked the other:
" "Has the bride much of a dowry?"
"A rare one," was the reply. "Two
tons of coal, a barrel of gasoline
and some genuine powdered sugar."
Even in America, with its compar
ative affluence, these commodities
are to be preferred at the present
tjme to great riches.
There has even been uncondition
al surrender to our political rela
tionships. Jeffersonianideals have
been swallowed up in Hamiltonlan
practicalities.
Democracy has surrendered its
old fetich of states' rights and under
war exigencies is strengtheningthe
federal arm day by day. Munici
palities are adopting ordinances
originating in Washington. We do
thus and so because Washington
asks it. Moving picture houses,
theaters, churches, lodge meetings
close for weeks at a time without
a grumble on the part of the people
or from business men. -4ailv starinc
I financial losses in the face without
a whimper because Washington
asks it.
All of the unconditional surren
ders we are making in our daily
lives are for one grim and noble
purpose, that of making the world
safe for democracy. The saving of
a pound of coal, a cube of sugar,
the wearing of an pld Sflit of clothes,
the salvaging of rags, old iron, brass,
copper, tinfoil, false teeth, all con
tribute to the winning of the war
and not only the winning of the
war, but the paying for the war.
Our unconditional surrender to
Old Man Thrift, and our fight
against the high cost of living and
against waste and extravagance will
continue after the war, as will the
.thrift that makes us invest in Lib
erty bonds and war savings stamps.
It will cause us to pay for this war
during our generation and not leave
it as a cursed heritage to our prog
eny. Thrift Will Continue After War.
The millions we will have accumu
lated here in Omaha will be great
reserve fund in the shape of gov
ernment bonds, and obligations the
best collateral on earth against the
day when the waste of the war will
have to be repaired and the world
restored to the normal. It wfl be
a fountain of wealth from which
Omaha can draw deeply in building
itself to the stature of its richest
ambitions.
Out of all the ruck of world woe,
which has caused us to uncondi
tionally surrender our ease, our
luxuries, our artificiality, our insular
selfishness, is growing a new soli
darity and a new nationalism, or
rathef internationalism, which may
ultimately approximate, the brother
hood of man ' '
At U BY A. STiwoiilL U fj , Q
jiiilp $onvn&j)s io Wpa3q Towns
SWBUoj ... TEKAMAH
Aw. C'mon. Give U- TW
To the Bumble Bee Buzzer:
BEing a subscriber to the BEE
I feel that I may BE excused, even
if I may seem to BE asking a favor
of the BEE, if I ask that you print
this poem entitled The BEE. BE
ing, as I BE, a subscriber to the
BEE-r-and expect to BE for a long
time yet I will be much pleased to
see this in The BEE. 1
B. B. BEEBEr
He ay: "BE you the BEE min?"
I aaya: "r BE." '
He saya: "If you're the BEE man.
Give me a BEE."
I aaya: "I may BE the BEE man.
But I'm man enough to BE .
The kind ot a BEE man -
Who won't give away the BEE."
Real Estate.
The nortlj side of the court house
square is getting pretty well built
up. Liberty loan bank, Tower of
Liberty, food sign and Women's
War Work building already up.
Only a few vacant lots left in this
desirable location.
UNES FROM AN OLD VEST
POCKET DICTIONARY.
If this book la atole by you
I .will 4ent your can with an old hone
shoe.
Madison, Neb. ARCHIE DONOVAN,"
Who would have thought, when
Arch wrote tb?ae lines that some day
he would become a member of The
Bee staff? Tet auch he Is today.
TRUTH.
The advancing scale of reliability
in war news:
Article printed in Les Noucelles.
Rumor current in Stockholm or
Berne.. - f -
Unofficial report.
Semi-official report.
Official report.
Poetry Fair to Choice.
"I's er a-wine to lick de kalier," said a
soldier big and black.
And he took another 'schooner of beer
with a mighty grin and smack.
Ts er gwtne ter .fight for Uncle Sam
and de Allies over there;
ril not b stopping long In France.' nor
lntermedgtt pints,
Til give the boche auch a scare he'll shake
In all his jinta.
And when ds Allies line 'em up, we'll go
right over the top
And give de kaiser a wallop that'll spin
him like a top!"
Herlngton, Kan.- - H. I S.
Keeping Up With the Headlines.
"It was Hindenburg, - not Prince
Max, who dictated the reply . to
President Wilson'r questionings,"
said a headlin. last Tuesday. But
how could that be, when Hinden
burg, according to a dispatch from
the well known Amsterdam, week
before last, "resigned after stormy
interview vith theMcaLerl" .
Little Nuggets of Wisom.
You may think you know quite a
lot, but do you know that the "t"
in "epistle" is silent? -And don't
pronounce "garden" theway it is
spelled. Gardin" is ir"j A -
,::,'-.; ; ,'' ! ;
HOW IT SOUNDED.
We were shocked when we heard
the conductor yell a wicked swear
word at a whole car full of pas
sengers on "North Twenty-fourth
street the other day. And then we
realized that he was only announc
ing "Emmett" street.
HUMOR ENCHAINED.
"The woman was struck and
badly bruised when the driver of
the automobile lost his head, com
ing down Farnam street," the cub
reporter wrote in an account of an
accident last week. The city editor
underscored the word- "lost his
head" and wrote r:i the margin,
"Verify and rewrite. Ascertain
whether head has been found."
Drewie in the Dewey.
Drewie Fricke, 3 years old, who
lives in the Dewey apartments,
heard a dog across the street give
a "croupy" bark the other morning.
Drewie is just learning the art of
speech and he immediately shouted
"Uxtruh." The point of this story,
as told us by his admiring auntie,
is that the newsboys' rendition of
"extra" sounds very much like the
barkof a "croupy" dog.
THE YOUNG IDEA.
GLADYS: Your nun would
not be so bad if the 'new com
manding officer at Fort Omaha
were Colonel Wurst. But his
name is Wuest.' We suggest
that you try again. Why not
get up something on Kipling's
famous lines, "For east is east,
and Wuest is west." We shall
await your reply with ill-concealed
anxiety.
By Edward Black.
A local store vis displaying
women's silk hose at $15 a pair.
Lucy says they're "too high" for
her.
EVERYBODY.
Among the odd things we saw
right here in Omaha last week was
a French officer driving up Eight
eenth street in a flivver.
PHYSIOLOGY .
"Arm blood circulation is pro
duced by the rubbing of the arms
against the body in walking," ex
plains a patent medicine display in a
local drug store window.
Two of the bumble bees that Pow
ell put on the heading of this col
umn look like fireflies. j .
The Yanks must have their, lit
tle recreations. Just at present they
have quite a - hobby of collecting
Huns. There is considerable, ri
valry to see whicH regiment can col
lect the most of these .interesting
creatures, ,',. -. . ,
Overocean?
This expression "overseas" is
overworked and. as a matter of fact,
incorrect and a misnomer besides,
as we pointed out to one who told
us that a certain man is "goine over
seas." "Over what seas?" we asked,
quick and sharp and incisive-like.
"Why just over one sea," was the
reply, injured-like.
"What one sea?" we demanded,
pursuing our advantage pitilessly.
"Why, the Atlantic ocean, of
course," came the answer, sorta
peeved-like.
"Hal ha! The Atlantic ocean ain't
no sea at all." we cried in etymologi
cal triumph.
In English, etymology and sich we
have few equals and no superiors,
b'gosh.
JUDGMENT.
How do you say "boches?" We
heard a man, the other day, pro
nounce it "bow cheese." And we
heard another man, a "highbrow,"
pronounce khaki like "kai-kai."
The Schoolboy Errant.
George Washington isn't so well
known among school children as
you might think. One wrote of him
as follows: "George Washington
was born in 1492,. he murdered sev
eral hundred men and never; told a
lye, and bilt Washington's mona
ment and wrote the derocation of
indeypendens and dide in Spane !
brokerr narteav
Cares.
Even more haughty and aloof
than the old-tune theater ticket sell
er, we believe, is the girl who starts
the elevators.
. MIKE.
Every time we look at Mike Clark
he certainly does remind us of a
sheriff in the stories or the movies.
Mike "looks like a- sheriff," and he
is one too, b'gosh.'
Achoot
The Germans may have Spanish j
influenza, but they have learned by
this time that the Americans are not
to be sneezed at.
SOFT-BOILED,
A woman down near Hanscom
park has a new way of timing the
soft-boiled eggs. She puts them in
the water and then turns on the Vic
trola and plays, "When It's Apple
Blossom Timti in Zululand." When
the record is played she takes the
eggs out "And they're always'
done just right," sfec says. J
"Booglar Army Surrenders,", isi
the way a newsboy at Sixteenth and
Farnam yelled. the recent pleasing
event - .' ' . .
If you should chance to visit Te
kamah, county seat of Burt county,
and wish to let the folks know that
you are in town, walk up the main
street, and exclaim, "Potash I who
will buy my potash?"
Potash is a word to conjure with
in this busy little town which is
in the center of one of the garden
spots of the great west. A year or
so ago Victor Jeep was a clerk in
a dry goods store, and his friend,
Harry Show, was employed by a
packing company in South Omaha.
Show formerly had been in the liv
ery business in Tekamah and he
had a knowledge of chemistry
which he turned to good account.
While in the northwestern part
of Nebraska on a business trip.
show became impressed with the
potash-producing possibilities of the
alkali lakes. He confided to Jeep,
whom he advised to get in early
to avoid the rush. With seven
or eight other men they organized
a company in Omaha. Jeep gath
ered up all of the money he could
obtain and invested $5,000 in the
enterprise. His friends in Teka
mah tried to save him from what
they believed was financial indis
cretion. Example of 'Early Worm.
As the potash industry grew, Te
kamah people became interested,
and many of. them invested. Jeep
and Show are reported today in Te
kamah as. being millionaires.
Whether they are as wealthy as
credited is not generally known,
but a man of large financial inter
ests stated that they were offered
$700,000 each a few weeks ago for
their potash stock. Jeep lives in a
$40,000 home in Omaha and Show
owns a fine home in Pasadena, Cal.
They were pioneers of an industry
which now receives 80 to 90 per
cent of its product from this state.
The potash industry is only twd
and one-half years old in Nebraska.
Potash is extracted from numerous
alkali lakes in northwestern Ne
braska. These bitter-water lakes
were the bane of cattlemen in days
gone by, but after the establish
ment of the potash" industry, the
ranchman who had a lake on his
land did not have to worry whether
the cows came home.
So much for two Tekamah bovs
who flew in the face of advice from
older heads, and won out.
Another Valley of the Nile.
It is not necessary, however, for
Tekamahites to leave home to ac
cummulate their share of wealth, for
Burt county lies within an area
which has been said to be among the
most productive regions of the state.
An irrigation and drainage expert
has estimated that the 6U-miIe val-
north of Burt county, to Omaha on
the south, if properly farmed in an
intensive manner, could be made to
produce enough food to supply the
state of Nebraska. He expects'that
an electrified railroad line will be
operated along this valley country
after the war, carrying milk, garden
truck and other commodities.
The action of erosion has carried
much valuable soil from the hills to
the lowlands, and an extensive drain
age project of recent completion' has
brought 70,000 acres of farm land to
a high point of productivity. The
drainage project" Extends through
Burt and Washington counties, cost
$500,000, and is the largest project
of its kind having a flood-water di
version system in connection with
drainage ditches. The flood-waters
are carried through the established
channels, such as Silver and Plum
creeks. This system has added mil
lions of dollars to land valuation.
First of ItSvKirid in U. S.
A concrete instance of the effect
of this drainage system was ob;
served near Herman, whefe a 160
acre tract, formerly wet bottom land,
yielded 42 bushels of wheat to the
acre this year, and the wheat was
sold for more than $2 abushel. This
wheat was second to none raised in
the district. The system has 20 set
tling basins, from three to 360 acres
each, where the waters are impound
ed for depositing silt and making it
possible for the ditches to carry only
clear water without being clogged.
It is said that this is the first place
! in the United States where the prob-
Javtti Tfome of CUy StovJc 'neat TkfewMfa
hat
lem of handling silt has been treated
on a large scale. 1
This drainage system is 32 miles
long, from Blair to Decatur, and nas
an average width of .four miles.
There are more than 100 miles of
ditches. The main ditch is 100 feet
wide at top, 65 feet across the bot
tom and is 20 feet deep.
The district is in charge of a
board of seven directors: John
Cameron, Spencer Breckenridge,
Ed. Latta, C. H. Busse, Henry
Ruwe, Albert Brunker, and Henry
Jensen. Walter M. Hopewell is at
torney for the board and the Towl
Engineering company did the work.
Founding of Tekamah.
Col. Ben. R. Folsom founded Te
kamah. He was an uncle of Fran
ces Folsom who married President
Grover Cleveland. J. R. Sutherland,
pioneer editor, told the following
story of the founding of this town:
"Tekamah was founded on Octo
ber 7, 1854, by Col. Ben. R. Folsom
and eight companions, who came
from Utica, N. Y. They drove their
claim stakes on that date and platr
ted the townsite a few weeks later!
The" county was one of the first
organized in this state, and it was
named for the first territorial gov
ernor. At the election in the' fall
of 1854, Colonel Folsom, was sent
to the first territorial senate. On
March 14, 1855, Tekamah was de
clared to be the, county seat and
has held that -honor contiguously.
Permanent settlement and erection
of log houses began in April, 185S4
and during the next few years the
town prospered as a boom frontier
community, with a bank, stores and
a newspaper.
"Tekamah was located on an old
Indian camping ground or village
the surrounding high hills having
been the burying grounds perhaps
for hundreds of years. The high
point of he bluff, where the. city
reservoir rs located, was used by
the Indians as a fire signal station
It was 175 feet high and could be
ley stretch, between Decatur, at the kseen for 30 miles up and down the
WTCPgucuzv
1AVo Of TtKMAft
valley. The proximity of a large
timber belt five miles east, near the
river; the creek with its springs of
pure water, and the bench land cov
ered by blue grass, offered forage,
fuel and water for the natives who
camped here.
Historic Indian Raid." (
"When the Indians went on a'raid
at Fontenelle in 1855 and killed
some whites, Ben Folsom went to
Omaha and appealed to the gov
ernor for assistance. General J. M.
Thayer, in charge of military affairs
fof Nebraska territory, was as
signed to go to Tekamah. He mus
tered into the United States army
all male residents old enough to car
ry a gun. Folsom was named as
captain, and the company of 24 men
hauled logs with which they built a
two-story block house 40x40 feet, as
protection against the reds. After
the Indian scare had subsided the
block house was used as a hotel.
"Niles R. Folsom was orderly
sergeant in -the company of pioneer
soldiers. He was the father of
Frances Folsom, who was after
wards known as Mrs. Grover "Cleve
land. When the block house had
outlived its military uses it was
opened as a hotel by Niles Folsom,
and later it was operated by C. K.
Conger, Cousin of United States
Minister Conger, who was in China
at the time of the Boxer rebellion.
C. K. Conger is 91 years old and now
lives in Valentine, Neb. Niles Fol
som lives in Santa Monica, Cal. Mrs.
E. W. Bryant of Tekamah is second
cosin of the former Mrs. Grover
Cleveland." y
An imposing county court house
now occupies the site of the old
block house. ' This administrative
and judicial headquarters of Burt
county was opened a year ago and
cost $75,000.
Origin of Name Tekamah.
There does . not seem to be an
unanimity of opinion as to the ori
gin of the name 'Tekamah,' other
than it is an Indian word. Some
aver that it means "big cottonwood,"
while others assert that it means
"The Field of Battle." An Indian
who formerly worked in Tekamah,
and who now resides in Decatur,
stated that the Sioux and Omahas
held their athletic carnivals on the.
present site of Tekamah and also
toward the north, along Silver
Creek. The casualty list usually
was large after one of those sangui
nary affairs. There also is a story
that many years ago, during the
days of Corohado and the Spanish
explorations, a company of Dons
traveled up from the south and met
a band of Indians who. were having
their fall festivities under the big
cottonwoods on Silver Creek. The
Indians had not invited any outsid-
. a. ...
ers and tne result was mat tne
delegation from Spain, suffered
something worse than the Spanish
"flu."
There seems to be some founda
tion in fact for believing that the
name Tekamah has reference to
a battle field.
Poucher, a Live-Wire Mayor,
Tekamah has a live-wire mayor
whose name is W. T. Poucher, a
brother of Rev. J. F. Poucher, for
merly of Omaha Trinfty Methodist
church, and now in California.
Mayor Poucher also serves as the
county superintendent of schools.
He presides over 72 schools with
a staff of 135 teachers. The public
school enrollment in the county is
3,355 and in Tekamah it is 558. The
school property is valued at $350,
000. Eight rural high schools are
maintained by the county.
The metropolis of Burt county is
interested in music as well as potash.
Every man, woman and child in
TekamalT can sing, and they sing
good, old American songs, too. Last
summer they held a series of re
ligious and patriotic services in the
city park, where community sing
ing, led by Ralph Conklin and W.
H. Van Cleave, was the dominant
feature. The attendance was from
500 to 1,000 and the music rever
berated through the hills which
overlook the valley on the west
Among those who raised their
voices in song at these popular
gatherings were: Mayor Poucher,
Edward Latta, A. M. Anderson, H.
M. Hopewell, Herbert Rhoades, B.
C. Enyart, Miss Marguerite Nesbit,
D. C. Sutherland, GeorgevCrandell,
M. Harrington, James E. Cornish,
Frank Reinert, A. R. Kokes, Charles
McDonald, M. S. McGrew, R. K.
Hancock, Daniel W. Greenleaf,
Wralter Hopewell and Mrs. James A.
Clark. Mrs. Clark is known as the
nightingale of Burt county.
Nebraska Poet-Laureate.
H. M. Hopewell, poet-laureate of
Tekamah, gathers the music from
the wildwood, the trees the .flow
ers, "the birds, the meadows and the
hills, and fashions it into verses.
"Our Flag," and "Nebraska," two of
his poems, have been set to music
and. have been adopted- by the state
superintendent of schools for use in
the schools of Nebraska. Mr. Hope
well has published a volume- of his
verses.
At the time of his retirement last
fall from the official staff of the
Burt County State bank, Mr. Hope
well held third place in the seniority
list of Nebraska bank officials,
Joseph H.. Millard and Milton T.
Barlow of Omaha being first and
second. He is a brother of the late
Judge 'M. R. Hopewell, who es
tablished the first bank in Burt
county.
Fplsom 'park, established in -1854,
near the old block house, marks the
spot where Colonel Folsom and
party pitched their tents and placed
their first stakes when they founded
the town of Tekamah. J. R. Suth
erland, historian for the county so
ciety, placed a large red granite
boulder in the park seven years ago
as a commemorative marker.
Mr. Sutherland has served as
state senator, railway commissioner,
member of the state house of rep
resentatives, and also clerk of the
house. He has been a consistent ad
vocate of clean politics through the
newspaper of which he has been edi
tor and owner for many years.
Among the many public person--)
DUAL MONARCHY RULER
REPORTED BREAKING
WITH KAISER
quiet 110 miles between the western
front. . -
In a large room in the basement
of the castle, protected by the many
stone stories which reared above,
the kaiser raised his weary eyes and
glanced at the crown prince, -Hindenburg
and Ludendortf."
"How many Belgian babies has
Von Butcher added to his score this
week?" he asked. x
"Two hundred and twelve, sre,'
was the answer.
"Give him the Grand Order of the
Spreading Vulture with two extra
wings," commanded his majesty,
There was a stir of approval. A
chirk wearing the Jron 'Cross en
tered the award of the decoration.
"How many Red Cross hospitals
have been snccessfuly ' bombed?"
queried the mighty one.
"Seven, sire."
"And the casualties inflicted?"
"Sixteen nurses and thirty wound
ed, your majesty. ;
The great one rubbed his hands
in gloating satisfaction. "To each
aviator who participated in a suc
j cessful hospital raid I award the
! Red Ribbon of the wooping
Hawk, he announced.
The others bowed in silent ela
tion.
"Any ships sunk?"
"Two, sire." ' ;
"Women and children on them?
"On one, sire; on the other, no."
There was regret in the speaker's
tone as he referrtJ to "the other."
"Were the women and children
lost?"
"Oh, yes, sire, yes, indeed!
"And were the lifeboats of the'
other ship shelled and sunk?"
"Yes, your majesty," wis th
proud reply.
A smile lit the great one's face,
momentarily driving away the hard
lines. "Give that noble submarine
commander the Grand Cross of the
Sneaking Shark with an annual pen
sion of ten thousand marks hi ad
dition to pay," he commanded.
The trio bowed in obsequious ap
preciation. "That is all then; no women shot
as spies?"
"Not this week,, sire," was the
apology.
Ludendorff cleared his throat and
bowed low. 1 "There is one other
thing, sire."
"Yes? What is it?"
"A case of extraordinary brav
ery; most unusual daring, sire. Dur
ing the retreat from Cambrai a
colonel was wounded and left be
hind by mistak, sire. When th
fact was discovered a man volun
teered' to go back and get him. He
went mto the storm of bullets and
effected the rescue, although he was),
shot eighteen times and died im
mediately after." "
"And what was the name of this .
officer who made the brave rescue?" ;
"He was not an officer, sire, hi
was merely a German private. I
promised the colonel I would men
tion it to you.?
His majesty scowled. "Bah! Send
the man's mother a picture of mef
one of the-smaller ones!"
ages of Tekamah is Rev. Ben A
Fye, pastor of the Presbyterian
church. As an orator he is better'
known outside of Tekamah. He is
scoutmaster of th Boy Scouts of
Tekamah, member of the library,
board and president of the state so
ciety of the Young People's Society;
of Christian . Endeavor. .'
Warren D. Hancock is president :
of the Burt County State bank. Ed
ward Latta is president of the First
National bank, and is one of the big
men of the county, being interested
in one of the finest farms in the
county, is an officer of the drainaga -district
corporation, serves as treas
urer of Tekamah, and is in other
enterprises which advance the inter,
ests of his town and county. Dr.
A. D. Nesbit is president of the)
Farmers' State bank. A fSurth bank
is being established hx Tekamah.
One of these banks recently publish
ed a statement which showed a bal
ance of more than $1,000,000. )
Stories of Wild Cat Bank.
Financially the- county stands as
a rock of Gibralter, which recalls to
mind stories of the old Bank of Te
kamah, a wild cat concern, which
was established in 1857 in a 10x12
shanty. That bank had visible as
sets of $2,500 and a printing press
which, history states, turned out
$90,000 of wild cat bills. H. M.
Hopewell has placed specimens of
this wild cat tender in a frame on
a wall of the office of the Burt
County State bank, that "all who
run may read." S. L. Campbell
signed 'the notes as president and
the name of F. M. Akin appears as
cashier. .
History relates that Rev. William
Brown Young was the young .
Lochinvar who came out of the east
to lend respectability to the bank.N
He prayed for the success of the
institution and after the crash came
in May, 1858, many who held the
wild cat scraps of paper prayed for
the return ot theirwealth. This
bank was operated without a char- '
ter. Gov. Mark W. Izard, under
date of February 11, 1857, at Omaha,
addressed to the house of repre- '
senatives his veto of a bill to grant
a charter to the "Bank of Tekamah."
Tekamah has a group' of four- -minute
speakers led by B. C Enyart; '
with Walter Hopewell, Herbert '
Rhoades and others always willing
and ready to boost Liberty bonds,..
Thrift stamps, Red Cross, or what
ever the patriotic or worthy occasion
may be. A. M. Anderson, another
live-wire resident, is chairman of
County Council of Defense and cap
tain of the home guards. He came
to Tekamah from Oakland, Neb., or
iginally to serve as county clerk.
A clay deposit which was dis
covered two miles west of the town,
has been declared by experts to be
suitable for the manufacture, of china
and porcelain. When this country
shall have returned to the'normal
pursuits of industry, it is more than
probable that Tekamah will be the
center of an extensive chinaware
manufacturing plant. A tile factory
is now in operation at another "clay
deposit. , ,
But they have not yet discovert
potash in paying quantities it flat
around Tekamah
!M1
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