Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, December 27, 1918, Page 6, Image 6

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THE BEE: OMAHA, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 2C, 1918.
The Omaha Bee
DAILY (MORNING) EVENING SUNDAY
FOUNDED BY EDWARD ROSE WATER
VICTOR ROSEWATER, EDITOR -
THE BEE PUBLISHING COMPANY. PROPRIETOR
MEMBERS OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
T.. Inwuud Fmi, of which The Bee H member. I; MC
SdTE SI n fot publlctloo of .11 newt dl.patchei credited
and alto the local
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T.' rub.""AT. V:bW of pubMoo. of our .peel..
dnpt.'iiei are alto reierwd.
OFFICES. .
" f ,5mm.rrA council BluiTS-14 N. Main St.
Waehlniton-Ull 0
Lincoln Little Buildlni.
NOVEMBER CIRCULATION
Daily 69,418 Sunday 63,095
iterate clrcultlon for the montn uofcnoea
1 R. Bum. Clrculttlon Manager.
and sworn to bj
iubacrilxra leaving the city should hava Tht Be mailed
them. Address changed as olten a. requested.
THE BEE'S SERVICE FLAG
SS55SSS5S
John Bull to Uncle Sam: '"Shake, pall"
Santa Claus seems to have aroused Hymen
also in this neck of the woods.
THE WHIRLIGIG OF POLITICS.
If coming events cast their shadows before,
we may be sure the big issue in party poltics
will soon be the question of private or govern
ment ownership and operation of the railroads.
When government acquisition of trunk lines
and state ownership of branch and subsidiary
lines was proposed by William Jennings Bryan
in his famous Madison Square speech on re
turning from his around-the-world trip, the out
cry was so strong against it as tantamount to
political suicide for the democratic party should
he force it to sponsor the plan that Mr. Bryan
himself was compelled immediately to hedge
and to sidetrack his scheme as a measure of self
preservation. Yet now we have a very fair
prospect of the democratic party championing
the demand for government railroads as a per
manent policy, for what else can the McAdoo
proposal for a five-year extension of the war
period control mean? The McAdoo plan does
not even throw the sop to states' rights that the
Bryan scheme offered, but would concentrate in
the federargovernment an exclusive control of
transportation facilities and wipe out state lines
altogether, this in diametrical contrast with the
proverbial opposition of the democratic party
to increasingly centralized government.
Where could the whirligig of politics find a
more striking example? If government owner
ship and operation of railways becomes a dem
ocratic tenet, what a lot of back-pedaling demo
cratic organs will have to do.
Mr. Wilson told the boys on Christmas about
what any of us would wish to say to them.
Well, other governors have been inaugurated
"without a ball, but not on account of "flu."
Where will the money for increased pay to
police and firemen be found? Taxpayers, please
stand up. j
Perhaps the most definite sign of peace is the
revival of gossip about spring training trips for
base ball teams.
Kansas winter wheat belt under a deep
blanket of snow means great demand for bind
ing twiqe next summer.
Congress stilt has charg of the railroad
question, for which the president said he had
no'solution. What will the answer be? i
The blessed bolshevik, who is monkeying
with dne of Uncle Sam's consuls, should keep in
mind that that sport is not always safe.
The German democratic party has outlined
its program. Here is a hope that it has better
luck than the same party in this country.
"Stabilization" of prices may be noted in
corn going down and hogs going up, although
this is just a reversal of the swing a few days
ago.
' T)l democrats are busily wasting time on
trying to outline a policy for Governor McKel
vie when he takes his seat. He knows his own
mind. j
AfTCtKer billion and a quarter of loot has
''been disgorged by the Hun in a lump. This
process "is really bringing home to the kaiserites
the' fact thaf they lost the war. X (
...
.' ' - ,
Uncle Sam is, going to sjell 45,000 head of
horses and mules at auction. It' will be inter
, esting to .note how the prices compare with
what he paid for the animals. - (
Soldiers who happened to be in or passing
through Omaha on Christmas day got a very
- vivid and appropriate idea of how our citizens
feel towards the men who wear the uniform.
, Omaha showed up with some unseemly
demonstrations on Christmas, the spirit of rev
elry having taken reverse english several times.
This is lamentable, of course, but seems una
voidable iiVa large city.
Gotham gave the returninf Victory fleet a"s
joyous a welcome as a heavy snow stofm would
admit. The booming 6f ,the big guns made up
for loss of light of a spectacle which could not
be" seen on account of the storm.
"You are now my enemy, and 1 am yours,"
wrote Ben Franklin to a member of the English
"House ofCommons in 1776. What would either
of them say to the spectacle of the president of
thr United States as an honored guest at Buck
ingham Palace? t
v
.Legislation to make effective the govern
ment guaranty of price for the 1919 wheat crop
is proposed. If faith is kept with the farmers
it will be necessary to extend and strengthen
some features of the food administration law.
The people will wonder, though, whether the
move is for or against relief from high prices.
Promises made to producers ought to be kept,
but the consumer is entitled to consideration
also.
'Freedom of the Air
Bolshevism or Camouflage?
Were it not for the fact that people outside
of Germany have come to look with something
of suspicion on everything emanating from that
country, the news coming out of Berlin might
be disquieting. That the German mind should
be overwhelmed by the simple doctrine of bol
shevism does not seem possible. It is, there
fore, necessary to look elsewhere for the reason
back of the sporadic outbreaks of violence re
ported from the capital of the empire. The
Ebert government there has shown some ca
pacity, for control, just as has the Eisner regime
in Bavaria; also, returns from the recent voting
show the Liebknecht or Spartacus groiro to be
a contemptible minority.
This does not account for the rioting that has
disturbed the progress of government. One
view easy enough to take is that the provisional
government is conniving at the proceedings in
hope of influencing the outside world. Propa
ganda quite as ingenuous has been tried with
some effect, and in their present desperate situ
ation the politicians who have survived the
crash o the kaiser's schemes may see in bol
she vism. a possible avenue of escape froija the
sentence to be passed against the German peo
ple. Nursing this vain hope, they are as badly
off as they were when buoyed up by misleading
reports from the leaders in battle.
The sooner the Germans realize they cannot
fool the world any longer, and the quicker they
get down to steady, useful business, the sooner
they will get out of debt and be received again
into the circle of nations.
asnr-vr n m
Right in the Spotlight.
' Emile Vandervelde, who has been
named as one of the representatives
of the Belgian government in the
coming peace conference, is the min
ister of justice in the present Bel
gian cabinet. It is as the leader of
the Belgian Socialist party, how
ever, that M. Vandervelde is best
known. His public career dates
back to 1899, when at the age of' 33
he was elected to the Belgian par
liament. In his early parliamentary
career M. Vandervelde obtained
much notoriety by his fierce criti
cism of royalty. But while still ad
hering to the doctrines of socialism,
he was a loyal supporter of King
Albert and the Belgian government
throughout the recent war. He is an
eloquent speaker and has the repu
tation qf being both energetic ar.u
clever.
One Year Ago Today in the War.
British troops repulsed a Turkish
attempt to recapture Jerusalem.
Germany, through Brest-Lilovsk
conference, offered peace terms to
entente allies on basis of no annexa
tions and no indemnities.
In Omaha 30 Years Ago Today.
Payton C. Stone, father of E. L.
Stone of Dewey & Stone, died at
the age of 80.
Twenty-eight young women, who
want to be teachers, are taking ex-
"While the diplomatists are trying to define
' freedom'of the seas, a controversy as to the
freedom of the air has arisen. The Civil Aerial
t rnmmitt nf F.niylanrl. it is an-
nounced, has "rejected the, ancient claim that tention prevail
the owner of the soil has a rigm o me air auuvc
that soil." But its contention will be warmly
disputed by owners of the soil, with some show
of reason, aside from precedent. The old theory
was that the owner of the soil had rights as
high as heaven and as deep as hell. In com
paratively recent years many deeds have sepa
rated surface from mineral rights, including oil.
A11 patents to homestead lands, considered
valuable for minerals, now make this reserva
tion. Congress has also put certain restrictions
on the soil owners' domination of the air in the
migratory bird laW. But there has not been any
legislation or legal decisions, so far as we are
informed, as to abuse of the soil owners air
rights by airplanes. There have, however, been
some serious complaints of actual damages
Farmers have complained of the terrorizing of
,ti. hv bfvies of aviators' flying over-
head. There nave oeen cases ui
by aviators and by spectators inflicting dam
ages for which there was legal redrs. t
The control of the airplane will require new
laws Switzerland and Holland have interned
belligerent aviators landing on their territory,
on the general ground of their presence, regard
less ohow they got there. Some change in
international law, recognizing the peculiar prob-
. lems of amtlon, may be expected Aviation
jnay be restrictd'to carefully prescribed routes,
; with or without compensation for right of way,
- but with compensation for actual damages.
' Every business is supposed to pay for such dam
ages as it may inflict, with punitive damages for
reckless or intentional , injuries. St. Louis
. Globe-Demosrat, . .
State or National Army.
The status of the National GuatrMias been
brought sharply to the fore by the ruling of the
judge advocate general of the army that men
discharged from the military service of the
United States resume their civilian status. This
seems reasonable under the law, but it does
away with the National Guard, champions of
that organization being disappointed in their
expectations that the former members would
return automatically to the service,
A broader and more important question is
opened by the decision. Why should the Na
tional Guard be restored? In days gone by it
had a purpose, which it fell short of accomplish
ing. Some states maintained highly efficient
bodies of troops, but most of the forty-eight
state armies were lacking in all the essentials
of real military worth. To revive these how
would undoubtedly mean a return to the condi
tions that prevailed in 1916. This is not said in
disparagement of those men who sincerely gave
themselves to the work of training men under
the old militia system. They worked earnestly
and faithfully, and if they did not accomplish
all they sought it was through no fault of theirs.
Secretary Baker, as might have been ex
pected, appears to lean towards the policy of
discarding the present army organization, with
a purpose of resuming the antiquated and un
satisfactory system. However, the sentiment
in congress-is not wholly in sympathy with his
views, and it may Je that when the time comes
laws to provide for some form of universal mil
itary training will be adopted. At any rate,
until the intention of congress is revealed haste
to reorganize the Natiqnal Guard may be ill
advised.
Neutrals at the Peace Conference.
Neutral nations are to be denied4 seats at the
peace conference, if reports from Paris are to
be relied upon. This, does not square exactly
with preconceived notions of the organization
of that important gathering. While more than
a score of nations, great and small, will be rep
resented because of their status of belligerency,
and for this reason they are expected to deter
mine the terms of which peace will be made
with Germany, several really important coun
tries will' be omitted should the announced in-
When the United States was endeavoring to
maintain an attitude of neutrality it was argued
with force and reason that we should have a
place at the peace table, where all nations would
be gathered. The paramount rights of neutrals
was then insisted upon, and these' are not di
minished by the change, in our attftude. That
neutral rights cut a considerable figure in the
war is plain, from the fact that England en
tered the conflict primarily because of the vio
lation of Belgium by Germany, and the United
States went in later when the kaiser declared
his warfare at sea on all neutrals.
To restrict noncombatant nations to ao-
proach o the peace table only through one or
the other of the belligerents seems to arrogate
to the fighting powers an authority hardly con
sonant with the avowed purpose of the great
convocation. All should ttiave a voige in mak
ing the terms under which all must live.
A commission to review' the'eases of the
"conscientious objectors" may salve the con
science of the secretary of . war, but the great
public will prefer to allow the sentences to
stand long enough for, the culprits to imbibe
something of their responsibility to the govern
nient under which they are permitted to live.
t
Scrapping of Small Crowns
; Nework Evening Post.
Amid the crash of the imperial Hohenzollern
and Hapsburg thrones, little noise was made by
the collapse into rubbish of the petty kingly,
ducal, or princely seats of the lesser German
states. Besides the kaiser, three kings went to
the scrap-pile, seven or fight princes, and too
many dukes and grand dukes to be counted
easily. History will devote its paragraph each
to the exits, varying in degrees of ungraceful -ness,
of the rulers of Bavaria, Saxony, Wurttem
berg, Baden, and Brunswick. Scarce a line
will go to the Ernsts and Adolfs. Fnednchs
and Augusts, who held sway over the Anhalts
and Waldecks, Lippes and Reusses; and to all
n n 1 1 1 u q l r- 1 1 r lr havltin- 1, .-
(l,- 1. ... f i,:i, ,:.ij . " - - im-ium
ins n y ui uutii-iiucu iiuuimv si.an.c a 4-jaKen lor tne movies i nn
wora. et tnus passes into oblivion one ot
Europe's most interesting vestiges of mediae-
valism, a system of microscopic sovereignties
humorous or historically picturesque or ana
chronistically repellent, according to one's point
of view. Most of these petty rulers were hum
orous enough before 1870. Since then they had
been more than ever matter for an Offenbach
comedy.
About these principalities of opera-bouffe
and costume romance hangs an aroma of dis
tance in time and space that makes revolution
ary socialism seem impossible. Tiie reigning
iWs)
f Editor
inch pa
mocratic iitRitcity,
it known
That's All."
Omaha, Dec. 2. To t!
of The Bee: I have nut
tlence usually with i!
statesmanship and nuslno. -and
sine the historical e
as "the adjournment ot p.- itk-s" the
democratic methdd has appeared
more and more in its enM uesu and
ridiculousness. It is e;ient the
public is not possessed of ,ny sense
of humor in democratic c. s.
I note recently that Mr. McAdoo
duplicated Mark Hanna s famous
animations before the board, con
sisting of W. W. Keysor, Miss S. R.
Davis and Prof. H. P. Lewis.
For the first time in Nebraska the
ritual of the Kassidean Knights
was heard at the institution of the
newly orginazed priory of St. James.
No. 5.
Lack of snow and cold weather
threatens dissolution of the Tobog
gan club, formed two years ago, to
pull off an annual coasting carnival.
Rev. Dr. J. T. Duryea was ten
dered a reception by members of
the First Congregational church.
The organist, Mr. Taber, gave a
musical program and refreshments
were served.
Assistant General Manager Mel
len and E. L. Lomax of the U. P.
passenger department leff for St.
Paul.
The Day We Celebrate.
Walter T. Page, manager of the
Omaha plant for. the American
Smelting & Refining company, born
in 1861.
Gen. Peyton C. March, chief f
the general staff of the United
States army, born at Easton, Pa.,
34 years ago.
Pres. John M. Thomas of Mid-
dlebury college, who served as an
army chaplain in theflate war, born
at Covington, N. Y., 49 years ago.
Brig. Gen. William H. Bixby, u.
S. A., retired, former chief of army
engineers, born at cnariestown.
Mass., 69 years ago.
Dr. John A. Marquis, president of
Coe college and noted Presbyterian
leader, born in Washington County,
Pa., 57 years ago.
This Day in History.
1834 Charles Lamb, one ot the
most charming of English essayists,
died in London. Born there, tebru
arv 18, 1775.
1870 Three-quarters of the city of
Rome was inundated as a result of
an overflow of the River Tiber.
1882 Vienna celebrated the 600th
anniversary of the establishment of
the House of Hapsburg.
1893 A supposed attempt of a
dynamiter to throw a bomb caused
a panic in the opera house in Mad
rid. 1914 Washington protested
against British stoppage of Ameri
can trade.
1915 Lloyd George threatened to
resign unless England established
compulsory military service.
1916 Russians'1 fell back on the
Moldavian frontier.
Timely Jottings and Reminders.
Today isthe Feast .of St. John,
universally observed by the Masonic
fraternity.
The annual gathering of the
American Association for the Ad
vancement of Science and its num
erous affiliated societies, which is to
assemble today at Johns Hopkins
university, will direct its main at
tention to the service of science in
helping to win the war.
Storyette of the Day.
Toward the end of his speech at
the Chambers of Commerce conven
tion at Atlantic City, Charles
Schwab spoke about the work of the
Emergency Fleet corporation and
the splendid loyalty and co-operation
shown by most of the men.
"But," he continued, "there were
some slackers, of course. I remem
ber beinK one dav.in a Pacific coast
yard, and the foreman pointed to a1
man, saying that he did not know
what to do with hint. I asked what
was the matter.
"'Why,' was the answer, 'he's lazy
and no good. Yesterday I told him
so told him to get out of the yard
and never come batik. But he was
right back on the job this morning.
I asked him if I hadn't fired him the
day before, and he replied: 'You did
that and don't you do it again. When
I got home and told my wife she
gave me hell.'" , '
ROUND ABOUT THE WORLD
The total fishing area of the North
sea is about 300,000 square miles.
The ferries of San "Francisco bay
carry nearly 50,000.000 passengers a
year. , ,
Versailles first became a royal
residence about the year 1632 when
Louis XIII .built a hunting lodge
there: v
Ilfracombe, an English city of 10,
000, has Jhe unique distinction of
having no pawnbrokers within its
boundaries.
The University of Petrograd is the
largest lnstlutlon of Its kind In the
world, one building of which -has a
frontage of nearjy a quarter of a
mile. .'
The Kiel canal was designed and
constructed by Germany principally
for her own ships. It cost $40,000,
000 to construct and its maintenance
costs $250,000 a year.
With the exception of one or two
of the Balkan states, Russia the
most illiterate country in Europe,
nvr 60 ner' cent of Its inhabitants
I being unable to read or write.
family of Reuss (area 122 square mills) decided
about 1700 that, all the sovereigns being named
Heinrich, the list should be numbered up to 100
and start with 1 again. Must it stop with Hein
rich XXIV? Surely, his Grand Transparency
the Duke of Schlippen-Schloppen starts off each
evening still in his ducal paintpeeled, clattering
coach, with his spindle-shanked gentlemen in
waiting and officers of state, from his weather
beaten Schloss on its Schlossberg. Surely, he
still arrives in customary state at his Hof
Theater, and watches with somnolent approval
his withered Hof-Ballet. Surely, he still talks
grandiloquently with his Hof-Arzt or Chamber
lain about his moribund Painting Academy.
Thackeray is the authority most people rely up
on for their knowledge of the pleasant ways of
Rouge-et-Noirbourg, Pumpernickel, and Pot
zenthal. Like other observers, he was a little
caustic. Apropos of the Kinckleburys on the
Rhine, he observed that it was discreditable for
a Noirbourg sovereign to have so little money.
"A fugitive prince, a prince struggling with the
storms of fate, a prince in exile, may be fjoor;
but a prince looking out of his palace windows
with a dressing gown out at elbows, and dunned
by his subject washerwomen this is a painful
object." His Major Dobbin marked with con
tempt the statue of Victor Aurelius XIV, sur
rounded by nymphs and emblems of victory,
and gazing over the atrocious Aurelius Platz to
where the Aurelius Palast had been started
none had ever had money to finish it.
History with steady spitefulness has refused
to look on these sovereigns, posing grandiosely,
as impressive, heroic or romantic. The prince
lings and dukelets first defined their character
after the Thirty Years' War, when most sur
viving noblemen became local despots. Their
ability at drinking was proverbial when Portia
described her suitor the German ftoble. Their
morals were notorious: every little tyrant had
his intriguing court and his mistresses a la Au
gustus of Saxony and George of Hanover. Lieb
nitz declared that "they thought it beneath their
dignity to improve their minds." Partly in con
sequence, their dulness was not much modified
by their vices. Lady Mary Wortley Montagu's
letters present some appalling hints of the
yawning life of little German courts, as at
Blankenburg, where "the duke taillys at basset
every night and the duchess tells me she is so
well pleased with njy company that it makes her
play less than she used to do." Pollnitz- and
Casanova supplement them in their Memoirs.
But the littler courts became funniest when they
went in heavily for the new fashion of culture.
Some of the better situated rulers did so well
and played a noble part in history of German
thought and art; as the Weimar dukes, who
made for Gothe such a pleasant familiar so
ciety, and the great houses which founded uni
versities, patronized ttie theaters and orchestras,
and rewarded musicians and poets. But when
not merely Lippe-Detrriold, Stuttgart, and Des
sau, but smaller seatg, began to make culture
hum, the effect was likely to be unexpected.
Heine satirized even the great Bavarian who
built the Valhalla and omitted Luther as some
museums omit the whale. He drew his picture
of the typical princelet in "King Long-Ear,"
who recited his cultural achievements, stopped
to belch, and concluded with a warning against
insurrection.
It has been in times of revolution that these
monarchs of vest-pocket realms have appeared
Lat their worst. When Napoleon or Bismarck
clanked his sword, their eagerness to get
into frightened line was pitiful. When demo
cracy toppled over the King of Prussia, they
fell like a line of wooden dominoes. They will
grace the Almanach de Gotha as the French
nobility have graced it; and for some their
magnificence will not be much emptier, their
luxury more faded, than when they had their
toy armies, legislatures, and courts.
Taxing Child Labor Profits
Possibly. the principle of raising revenue by a
tax on profits from the products of child labor
may be open to objection; but the purpose of
the amendment levying a special tax of 10 per
cent on such profits is at least morally defensi
ble. The importance of protecting children from
economic exploitation injurious to their physical
and moral welfarj is beyond dispute; many
states have laws to this end. It was to make
such laws uniform that the. federal child-labor
pill was passed a measure which was unfortu
nately found to be unconstitutional y the
United States Supreme Court. Whether a new
bill'meeting the objections could be drawn or
not it might be difficult to say. But the attitude
of some of the southern states on the subject is
such that there seems to be little present hope
of achieving the same end by state legislation.
The amendment to the revenue bill, which was
bitterly opposed by 12 southern senators, is of
7 .. . ... 1.
I course an attempt to whip the devil around
1 the stump. The main argument aeainst it is
similar to the argument against legislative rid
ers. It is making a revenue bill the vehicle for
social legislation. Yet it is tjuite possible that
there is no constitutional obstacle to the" use of
the taxing power to discriminate against profits
to which the public sentiment as a whole is
antagonistic. As the Lord Chancellor in "Io
lanthe" would ay, "It's a nice point." Phila
delphia Ledger.
Greatness in Working Clothes
"All Paris is talking," it seems, because
Marshal Foch in making an official call on Presi
dent Wilson was not resplendent in gold lace
but appeared in an old forage cap and well
worn blue uniform without decorations. Stick-
rlers for the niceties of etiquette must admit the
gravity of the offense. No doubt there has, not
been so flagrant a disregard of similar pro
prieties by a great general since Grant met Lee
at Appomattox wearing a private soldier's
blouse with only the straps of a general to
designate his rank. And Grant's respect for
the confederate leader was unqualified.
At least the French marshal's courtesy was
in full dress when he said that the visit of the
American president "paid France the greatest
honor possible." All the war medals and 'usig-i
nia in the world could not improve on that
"sentiment.
But the incident may be taken as illustrating
by the absurdity of the publicity given it how
completely the war has dispelled the old illu
sions of gold lace and military glitter.' It has
been a bad time for the pride, pomp and circum
stance of war, for the plumed troop and spirit
stirring drum and royal banner, -The art of war
has been stripped of its non-essentials, including
its haberdashery. At the same time, a contempt
of military clothes is no doubt more permissible
in a marsh! of France than in a lieutenant.
New York World. 1
ide the
engineer of a passenger train. More
recently I note that in turning over
the, treasury portfolio to Mr. mass it
was necessary to declare :i holiday
so that the former might s;iy "good
by" to the thousands of employes' of
the Treasury department. The oc
casion was extraordinary in its un
usualness, since I do not re. .ill when
such another djsplay was lniule over
a change in a cabinet position.
And Mr.' McAdoo's father-in-law
seems to be overlooking 110 bets in
inviting spectacular advertising as
the presidential term nears its end.
Are we really going to have a
House of Wilson? NORTH SIDE.
Control of the "Flu."
Grand Island, Neb., Dec. 19. --To
the Editor of The Bee: It is need
less to produce evidence in order to
prove the existence pf the terrible
scourge that is holding high carni
val in Nebraska. The general preva
lence of disease, the high death rate,
the cry for doctors and nurses, th
cancellation of state gatherings and
the call of the State Board of
Health for doctors from all parts of
the state for consultation, demon
strates the gravity of the situation.
That the most effective measures
should be adopted without delay, to
minimize and stamp out this dread
ful calamity is conceded on every
hand. The people look to the au
thorities and doctors as the only
parties able to cope with the situa
tion. A short time ago the State Board
of Health took the matter of a state
ban in hand, conditions improved
and they then abandoned the work
and left it to the powers that be in
the different localities to work out
their own salvation, or perish. The
result has been that there has been
no systematic method of dealing
with the situation. 1(, for a few
days the scourge assumes a violent
form and there is appreciable In
crease in deathi the authorities, as
though terrified and stampeded like
a herd of cattle, put a ban and quar
antine on nearly everything in the
shape of a public gathering. If the
disease relaxes a little, evidently un
der the influence and pressure of the
commercial interests, they lift the
ban till the disease again increases,
producing another paroxysm of hys
teria and another ban.
From what I have read in The Bee
it seems to me that there has been
no serious, honest, persistent effort
to control the situation. In Omaha,
from appearances, the commercial
interests have been the dominating
consideration. One of the leading
merchants is reported to have said
that if certain measures were
adopted it would mean a loss to his
business of $5,000 a day. Here in
Grand Island, according to. the editor
of our tovfn paper, one man asked
him not to publish the influenza con
ditions, and the claim has been
made that the ban on Grand Island
caused large numbers to go to Hast
ings to do their trading, to the com
mercial loss of our tradesmen, with
the result that the pendulum actions
and horseplay of our health board
has made them a laughing stock and
byword among the people.
When, an epidemic is simply a lo
cal affair so long as the local au
thorities are able to deal with it suc
cessfully and not they themselves
or the people become the victims of
commercialism, it is well to leave it
with them to deal with, but when a
scourge becomes state and nation
wide it is, or ought to be, made the
business of the state to deal with it.
The advice and counsel of the ablest
men of the state and nation should
be called in, and. the most effective
and skillful methods adopted. The
commercial interests should have
due consideration and nothing
should be done to their Injury, any
further than is imperatively neces
sary to safeguard the health and
lives of the people, but under no con
sideration should the lives of the
people be sacrificed on the altar of
commercialism. Only yesterday 1
received a letter from Michigan, in
which the writer said: "The I'flu'
has broke out again and there is
talk of closing the state." Neces
sity is laid upon us, to lure our
selves into a state of false security
is suicidal. Why trifle and sport
upon the brink of death?
G. P. JACKrfON.
LAUGHING GASl
"The world la full of poetry," alghed the
poet, aa he handed an effusion to the
editor.
"I don't know anything about the
world, growled the editor, "but I know
that the wastebasket Is." Knoxvllle
Journal and Tribune.
Willie Paw, what Is meant by revest
ing to type?
Maw That's what man does when
his wife Is out of town, my aon.
Paw Willie, you get to bed and keep
your trap shut. Cincinnati Enquirer.
"And was the widow so Inconsolable?"
"01), yes. Why, they had to hide her
powderpuff to keep her from weeping."
Chicago Post.
Flubdub How are the life-preservers
on this boat?
Guzzler Fine. I've Just had thre as
good as I ever drank. Topeka Journal,
In the Wake of War
Up to January .1. 1918, Brjtain had
lost in the war bne member of the
royal family, 21 peers, 31 baronetri,
11 knights, 149 sons of peers, 135
sons at baronets and 20S sns of
knigjis. As a result, scores of suc
cessions to English titles have
changed within the past four years.
One of the most dramatic war end
ings was the conclusion of the Pen
insular war. Wellington hud Just
won his last triumph at Toulouse,
the 'casualties on both sides number
ing some 15,000, and the armies w
rejoicing or sorrowing, when a tired
courier rode up to announce that the
war had been ended five days before
with the abdication of Napoleon.
Buckingham palace, the London
residence of the British sovereign,
and where 'President and Mrs. Wil
son are to be entertained by their
British majesties, has been described
as the ugliest royal residence in
Europe. The first building erected
on the land was the home built for
the duke of Schetlield In 1702. It
was so hideous that he never com
pleted. It. When the crown ac
quired'it in 1825,, the building was
pulled down and the present palace
erected. But William IV so hated it
that he refused to live there. Queen
Victoria gave it a fiew front at a
cost of $7!0,000 soon after her coro
nation, but avoided It except on rare
official occasions. Extensive altera
tions were made in 1851 ancV 1903,
and some five years ago King GcWge
had the entire exterior of the struc
ture rebuilt. Directly in front stands
the Victoria monument, spotless
white marble in the center of a huge
fountain basin, the figure of Queen
Victoria facing the broad Pall Mall.
St. James park flanks the palace
and Just beyond is Marlbourough
house, the London home of Dowager
Queen Alexandra.
EDITORIAL SNAPSHOTS.
Philadelphia Ledger: Mr. Mc
Adoo thinks that it will take five
years for the people to find out
how they want the railroads to he
run. Some of them have very defi
nite opinions upon the subject al
ready. Baltimore American: After all,
we do owe something to Germany.
The magnificent ships which are now
bringing our conquering heroes
home she built for us, even though
she didn't know it at the time.
Baltimore American: If even
John Dillon has been beaten In East
Mayo by the Sinn Feiners, the Irish
party founded by Parnell may be
in sight pf its end. That is rather
a sad reflection for many thousands
of sane and sympathetic Irish
Am ericais.
Kansas City Star: The German radi
cal who called Premier Ebert "a
shameful smirch on the German gov
ernment" must have some pro
nounced ideas concerning that gen
tleman. Any smirch that can dis
figure the German government is no
slouch of a smirch.
Philadelphia Ledger: An inventory
of the ex-kaiser's personal belong
ings showed that he possessed 598
military and naval uniforms. Ger
many's change from a monarchy
to a republic will effect a consider
able conservation of cloth.
New York World: The spectacle
of woman suffragists burning In
Washington the books and speeches
of the president of the United States,
who did more tha any other presi
dent to secure them the right of suf
frage, is a strange one. It indicates,
among other things, the long gap
there is between the reasoning
processes of some women and others.
Here and There
Canada has a woman professional ,
undertaker and embalmer. y ,
Seaweed offers a prolific source of
fuel oil when present aupplleg are
exhausted, according toan English
professor, who has obtained seven
gallons from a ton of vegetable mat
ter. ,
Excavating for the new boiler
room of the J. T. Slack corporation
at Springfield, Vt the contractors
unearthed a bef hide which must
have lain there 68 years and Is still
in a perfect state of preservation.
Chamber of Commerce records at
Butte, Mont, show that the majority
of the 90,000 inhabitants of the city
are unmarried, although of mar
riageable age. There are about 8,000
families containing 25.000 persons In
Butte.
When a man at Reading, Pa,, paid
Justice of the Peace Henry S. Mach
ner half a dollar for legal work, the
squire laid the money on a hitching
post, by which they were standing,
and forgot all about It, and it stayed
there for three days.
Living, together at Bowdoinham,
Me., are Mrs. Eleanor Sparks, Ut
years of age; her sister, Mrs. Mary
A. Green, 98 years of age, and thlr
brother. William K. Denham. 85
years of age. Mrs. Denham was 85
on November 4.
For some time the United States
has been the largest seller to Japan,
and its sales are Increasing faster
than those of any other country: the
increase in American exports to this
district alone having been about
$46,000,000 in 1917, compared with
1916.'
X
Test for Air Mail Service."
New York World: Air mall serv
ice has passed .the point where It
can be called an experiment But 1
Justify jlhe extension of the service
it must' be shown by the actual re
turns to be profitable. There are
many other ways in which the Post
office department can spend surplus
funds to excellent advantage.
A NEBRASKA IDYL.
To a Peaco .Celebration at war with re
straint 1
Came a roan universally known sa a taint.
He was tall and looae-Jolnted, Ml visage
was stern;
And his patriotism so hard to discern
That his slinking away waa but lightly
remark'd
Mil ha sprar-r f ronV an alley where autoi
were ark'd
With a shout that set many emotion! In
play:
"It's a WON-derful dayl It'a a WON-
derful day!"
Then he caper'd and prane'd, and hi
clapped his broad hands
While he twlrl'd hit slim legs to the muslo
of bands;
He was here he was there till ha aimed
a mad kick '
At a hat on the walk, tnd recoil'd from
the lick:
As he lifted his gaze to a circle of smiles
He remark'd. "I will wager I kicked it
four miles."
Then he sprang to hit feet with hit arms
all a-sway:
"It'a a WON-derful day! It't a WON-
derful day!" (
At eleven p. m. as he passed through th
park
He was bowing to spott whert the shall
ows lay dark
(We'll suppose they were animate object!
to him)
With his collar unbutton'd, a hat with nc
brim
And the story la current that ever tlnci
then
As they pass through the park super-sen'
sative men
Hear the breezes repeat In a musical was
"It'a a WON-derfuJ day! It s a WON
derful day!"
Fremont. Neb. ISAAC A. KtLQORH.
"I say. Fido, you don't setm to be very
Well satisfied with your dinner today."
"How could I be when this family has
gone bone dry?" Baltimore American.
.
"I love the ground you walk on." he
said. - And a little later inquired: "Does
your father own this property?" Kansas
City Journal.
"I believe boys are like , wheat In one
respect."
"What Is that?"
"To make them useful they ought to he
well thrashed." Passing Show.
"You aay you need 1100?"
"Badly."
"Why don't you borrow It from God
son? He's a friend of yours and alwaya
has plenty of'nuney."
"I'd ha.ve to listen to one of Grldson s
little lectures on thrift. I don't need
f 100 badly enough for that." Life.
"I'm going to drive Into the city with
ou today, John," said Mrs. Maxwell. "I
nt to do a little shopping."
"I understand your stateglc plans.".
answered her husband. "The drive is to
he followed by a counter-attack. Chris
tian Endeavor Register.
EPI
Increases strength of delicate, nervous,
run-down people in two weeks' time in!
many instances. It hat been used and
endorsed by such men as Hon. Leslie
M. Shaw, former Secretary of the
Treasury and En-Governor of Iowa and
Vice- Presidential Nominee Chas. A.
Towne: V. S. Commissioner of Immi
gration Hon. Anthony Camlnetti also
United States Judge G. W. Atkinson of
the Court f Claims of Washington and
others. Ask your doctor or druggist
about it ' ,
SATURDAY
araeaaaaaaaasBBaaBaaeaeaaaaMBaaaaaaaaaaaaaassa
Left Over Day at
HOSPE'S
$
THE DOLLAR'
WINDOW
Everything in the East show window
displayed all day Friday goes at only
ONE DOLLAR EACH
Framed pictures, sheet pictures, flowers,
flower baskets, mahogany and solid brass
candle sticks, shades, decorated candles,
silver articles, brass goods, nut bowls, stat
uary, tapestries, bric-a-brac, photo frames
to hang and to stand.
A vast yariety of high class decora
tions for the walls and tables of the homes.
Some articles cost up to $10.00 each. We
will-clean them up Saturday.
1513 Douglas St.
The After-Christmas Art and Music Store
'Yl
HOME OWNERS
Are you paying more than 6 for the loan on
. your home? The Conservative has the lowest As
sociation rate in the city only 6. If you have
ample security, come in to see us. We wilgive you
the benefit of this low rate. No commission charged.
.Act now ! - . k ,
The Conservative Loan Association
;
. Resources $14,350,000.00
1614 Harney Street