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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1919)
12 A THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: FEBRUARY 9. 1919. DECLARE WAR ON GOPHERS AS AID TO STATE CROPS County Agent Estimates Dam age Each Year by Prairie Pests Runs Into Millions; Planning Campaign. "Prairie pocket gophers caused a damage of considerably more than $2,000,000 to the crops of the state of Nebraska alone during the last year," according to Douglas County Agricultural Agent Maxwell. "Throughout the state the county agents are organizing the various districts for a crusade against tne gophers, and now is the time to do it. In Douglas county I have or ganized union precinct for an in tensive campaign against the goph ers, and with the aid of the farm ers 1 am sure our efforts will be crowned with success. Poisoning is Advocated, "As a general rule the most satis factory method of destroying pock et gophers is to poison them. At any rate, if a field of considerable size is infested by these pests, the exterminative measures should al ways , begin by poisoning opera tions. While this poisoning may be carried on with more or less suc cess throughout the year, the best times to do it are the early spring or late fall. Spring poisoning should begin just after the frost is out of the ground, for the gophers take the poisoned baits at that time readily, and there are fewer of them to kill than there will be later in the season. "Because of its quick and certain action, strychnine is the best poia- on to use against the pocket goph ers. The department of agriculture of the University of Nebraska has mixed a solution of various poison which it sells to the agents of the various counties of the state at cost. These county agents, of course, resell the poison solutions at cost to the various farmers. This solution is to be inserted in dried fruit or vegetable baits, such as parsnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, potatoes, sugar beets or apples, cut in squares. Should Harrow Fields. "Owing to the fact that, as a rule, poisoning will not kill every gopher in the field, it is a wise plan to smooth down all of the mounds in the field, especially if they are nu merous, by the use of a harrow or plank drag a few days after the bait has been distributed. Wherever any mounds are rebuilt after the distribution of poison it may safely be assumed that living pocket gophers are yet in the adjacent bur rows and reapplications are in or der. "In distributing poisoned baits it is necessary to place them in the main burrow of the gopher, which can easily be located by the use of a probe of some sort. By probing about on a line between two adja cent mounds from which the soil is being thrown out the main bur row is sure to be exposed. The poisoned bait should then be intro duced into the main burrow by the hole made by the probe. "While Douglas county pays a bounty of 10 cents for each gopher killed, the farmers will not collect very much on the poisoned gophers as they die in the ground. Being unable to get any green, the goph ers are very keen for the bait at this time of the year. "Never before was the outlook for winter' wheat any better than this year. I expect at least 98 per cent of the total, crop to develop. In the fall we will have another 'get-the-gopher' campaign, and this campaign i hope to extend to a ter ritory covering about one-half of the county." : Jim Gillan Almost Forced to Believe That Ghosts Walk. Around "I never was much for believing in ghosts, but Oh, Boyl" It was J. M. Gillan, industrial commission er f the Chamber of Commerce speaking, his actions still register ing a statcof bewilderment and excitement.- v - Mfj Gillan kept the secret several days, then he just had to tcil some body. Here it is. Out at his home the door bell got into the habit of putting in false alarms, and announcing the arrival of callers at unholy hours of the night when there wasn't a caller within ten blocks of the house. Many times in the middle oi i.ie night the blamed bell burst forth with all its might, and Mr. Gillan would get up. put on a smile, ex pecting to meet at the door some' bloated bulhonaire coming to Oma ha to start a factory, or. a poker game or something, but the only greeting the commissioner received was from the midnight air and a few twinkling stars.- Eventually Mr. Doorbell got bold enough to ring out in the middle of the day, which eventually resulted in the downfall of the tricky instru ment. Mr. Gillan made an investigation, but Great Guns! he found fie bat teries dead and in that condition the bell had no business ringing at all. Right then several new gray hairs developed arcjund Mr. Gillan's ears. The commissioner didn't want to move in the middle of the winter so he called an electrician, and Oh joyl No more sleepless nights. The electrical man found that Mr. Gillan has a furnace, the furnace has a thermostadt, and the thermostadt is operated by batteries, and when the room reached a certain tempera ture the thermostadt raised up and connected its electrical juice with the door bell wiring. "No, I don't believe in ghosts." It was the commissioner talking. British Soldiers Are Not to Be Finally Discharged Yet London, Feb. 8. (via Montreal.) The soldiers now being released from the British army under the de mobilization plan are not being fin. ally discharged, the process of dis charge not being completed until after tha peaca ia signed. Four Irishmen Have Worn Omaha Police Uniforms for Over Thirty Years I ; 1 : If i's . if j I J ' (' ) Turnkey Dempsey, Fahey, Haney and Byrnes Still in the Harness After Many Years on Force. In the phraseology of Sir. Dooley, "the Irish are a tenashus lot, Hyi nissey, and wance on the polis force, there they -a-arel" And Omaha has four of them four who have worn the "blue and brass" for more than 3Q consecu tive years, and still are in active service. They have seen the police force in Omaha gradually expand from a village constabulary to its present metropolitan dimensions. All of them are, of course, long past the voluntary retirement age and are eligible to cease active duty and receive a half-pay pension the balance of their years. Dempsey Reduced. One of their number, Michael Dempsey, considered the idol of the force, attained the rank of chief, buT a political upheaval caused his re duction to the office of assistant chief. "Cap" Dempsey, as nearly every policeman on the department calls him, was appointed a patrolman 33 years ago, the date of his appoint ment being October 21, 188S. He Paris Experiences Catch in Her Throat ; At Memory of France's Dead When Seeking to Resume Pre-War Gayety By NABOTH HEDIN Universal Service Staff Correspond ent. Paris, Feb. 8. (By Mail.) Though peace is yet far from signed, Paris is trying hard to drop her widows' weeds and be gay, but after four years of mourning it is not easy. Every little outbreak of light heartedness seems a little forced. There was considerable champagne drunk when the armistice was signed, mostly because of previous vows but the effervescence soon bubbled off, and two days later Paris was back at work. This daily grind has been kept up incessantly for the entire war and has contributed not a little toward keeping the enemy at bay. Paris is a big industrial center, as well as an amusement resort. It is Weehaw ken, Bayonne and Williamsburg, as well as Broadway and Coney Island. And for four years it has had the war in its front yard (at times in its vestibule), which is too close to be forgotten in a few weeks- In time Paris will again be light, crowded and enticing, but I do not think it will ever be the same. It has had too close a call, and it will always think of its dead. When I speak of Paris this way I mean the real city the people liv ing here permanently and not the city that changes each day. The people that come here for short stays live in hotels. They try to get what new sensations they can for their money and then move else where. The real Paris is an indus trial, hard-working city. To make its acquaintance one has to travel in the subway or the suburban trains between 5 and 7 in the morning. I Paris is Brain Center. In addition to being a city of manifold industries, it is the brain center of the nation. I know a professor at the Sorbonne who has not set foot on the grande boule vards for twenty years, and a fenc ing master, also living on the left bank, who has never been in the Paris subway. Yet among the for mer pupils of each are the am bassadors and ministers that now rule the nation. Entertaining peo ple is also a laborious profession, and the things of Paris that seem so light and gay and trivial mean hard work for somebody. Never before, except perhaps dur ing world's expositions, were, the Paris hotels so crowded as they are today, and when the peace confer ence begins it is certain that they will be still more so. To make mat ters worse, the peace delegates have requisitioned several hotels and an nounce they will take more. The tenants - have simply been dis possessed, which is not a trivial mat ter in these cold, rainy days, even for people with money. Without making reservations in advance it is practically impossible to get a room in any Paris hotel. Soldiers and officers often find the greatest dif ficulty in getting a decent place in which to sleep. It's The Americana When you make inquiries ai to the cause of this congestion you are usually told it is the Americans, and certainly it seems as though tbs city was sever to full Am- has been successively sergeant, as sistant chief of detectives, detective chief, assistant to the chief and the highest rank in the department, that of chief. He has won a reputation for sagacity, and many of the cap tures of noted criminals in Omaha can at least be partly attributed to his knowledge of their ways and methods. Andrew Fahey, whose service record is eclipsed only by that of "Cap" Dempsey, has put in 32 years, part of .the time as pa trolman, patrol conductor, and turn key. The latter post he has filled at the Central police station for the last decade. "Andy" was born in Ireland. "Too long by a quarther of a cinchury," he exclaimed when asked about his erican uniforms. Besides the army there is the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., the Y.W. C. A., the Salva tion Army, the Knights of Colum bus, and a long list of lesser char ities, each one of which has its special insignia and cut. The only people here do good who are not in uniform are the Christian Scientists and the Quakers. They find glory enough for non-combatants in an arm oand. . In addition to this large person nel, passing through Paris to vari ous fields, there are the permanent American administrations, for which several hotels have been requisi tioned. The army has taken the Hotel Elysee Palace, one of the largest in Paris, as an office building, and the Red Cross has hired the en tire Hotel Regina, Which for years has accommodated a large number of American travelers. The army also has used for over a year the Hotel de la Mediterranee as an of fice building as well as the Hotel Sainte Anne. The army, moreover, used the Hotel Alexandre III as a dormitory, and the American peace delegation has laid hands on the Hotel Crillon. The British delegates are. taking the Hotel Majestic and also the Astoria, while the Belgians occupy the Lutetia. the largest hotel on the left bank of the Seine. When one considers in addition that many hotels have been used as hospitals since the war started, and that the various Young Men's Christian as sociations, British and American, occupy fourteen hotels, it is no won der there is a shortage. Even the American embassy has had to take over almost an entire apartment house, instead of one floor, on ac count of enlarged services. No Building for Years The trouble is that Paris has grown in population, without doing any building for the past few years, and also that there are available no office buildings, orooerlv soeakin?. When you look for an office space in Paris, no matter for what pur pose, you have a choice among a ground floor store, a hotel room or suite, or a private apartment Paris has never learned to construct any thing else. - When a business con cern installs itself in a Paris apart ment the visitors are received in the hallway, the directors meet in the dining room, the president sits in the parlor, and the clerks do the work either in the bedrooms, the butler's pantry, the kitchen or in the bathroom. Many a stenographer have I seen with the tvoewriter on a board bridging the bathtub. It is not only the Americans that have to install themselves like that. The French ministry of armament occupies a large hotel on the Avenue des Champs Elysees, the aviation ministry is installed in an apartment house on . Boulevard St. Germain. and the Franco-American High Commissioner has taken over a fam ily hotel, making one less available for visitors. The Maison de la Presse occupies a modern apart ment house, and its directors receive visitors in what was built to be bedrooms. Cost Prices Soar. The Influx of outsiders eoritrib utes to filling hotels, boarding hous- . Serf UkivicJt - 2avczj length of service, "but I'll be here till I dhrop in me thracks I guess. Came From the Army. The stationing of a regiment of intantry at fort Umaha is the prob able cause of Sergeant "Patsy" Havey s appointment to the Omaha police department. He was ap pointed shortly after his discharge from the army in 1887. His com pany was sent here from New York or he might never have come (o Omaha. Sergeant Havey is known as the "humorist" of the force, and as desk-sergeant at the city jail, which position he had for a number of years, exhibited a wit and penchant for practical jokes which are still remembered among the veterans. Ins t. now he is assigned to Chief Eberstein's office for special duty. It was as mounted policeman that John Byrnes, day turnkey at the city jail, first saw service on the force. His appointment dates back 31 years. He is past 69 years of age and looks not more than 50. Age doesn't seem to count for much with these four veteran "cop pers", for they are on the job, rain or shine, and performing their du ties as well as the youngest officer on the force performs his. None of them ever speaks of re tiring and though the work of 30 years may sometimes pall, they are, like some of the prisoners they have known, "in for life." es and furnished apartments, and adding to the shortage ot accomo dations. It is the high cost, not only of food but of household goods which causes people who ordinarily keep house to live in furnished places, getting their meals at restau rants or hotels. Here are a few illustrations: Tea cups which the first year of the war were sold in Paris department stores for (19 cents now cost 90. Electric globes which before the war were 10 cents now are SO cents. The cheapest Iron 'bedstead, without mattress or spring, costs 300 francs, or nearly $60. A "golden oak" typ writer desk, not even made of oak, which would have cost about $9.50 in an American department store, I saw yesterday marked 2S0 francs, or about $45, and a package of type writer paper of 500 hundred sheets which before the war was sold for Frs. 3.90 I yesterday bought at Frs. 19.55. Everything else is in propor tion. Transportation Shortage. There is also a shortage and eon fusion in transportation. People who raised their own potatoes in Brittany during the summer are not allowed to have them sent to Paris, because the military laws forbid transports of potatoes until the quartermaster's department has formally decided it does not want them. There is a shortage of freight cars, and yet a morning paper re ports that a whole train of them has stood unused at Saint Cloud for four years. Another paper reports that at Dunkirk the French army left 19 cars of potatoes, standing un covered to freeze the other night, while the civilian population of Lille lacks potatoes. While Spain and the South of France, to say nothing of Northern Africa, are gorged with fruit, the smallest tangerine oranges, such as grow in anv garden on the Rivera. cost 10 cents apiece, and lemons from 15 to 20 cents. The other evening I bought a banana at Gare I de l'Est. It was about the size of my thumb and none too fresh. Price: 50 centimes, or 10 cents., Cannot Serve Butter Legal restrictions pinch the hotel guest and 6ave money for the pro prietor. It is forbidden to serve butter in any hotel, and as its price is 7 francs (nearly $1.50) a pound, the hotel proprietors find it very easy to observe this law. It is forbidden to serve rolls for break fast, and each client has to buy his own sugar according to card allow ances, or half a pound a month. "Continental breakfasts" have al ways been a derision and a joke to the American traveler. It is now reduced to a pot of coffee and a hunk of bread no butter, no eggs, no sugar, no jam, and, after 9 in the morning, no milk. (There never was any cream.) The cost of meals in restaurants has gone up even faster than hotel rates. It is now impossible to get a meal, let alone a square one, even in the most modest "bistro," or hackman'a hangout, for less than fiv franca. 0L1AEIA ADI1 THOUGHT DEAD TO RETURN SOON Lost Track of in Hospitals, He Come Back to Claim the Girl He Left Behind. Another case of a dead man re turning to life was revealed by Miss Honora Cusick, 1810 Grace street, who has just received a letter from ner fiance in Germany with the First Army of Occupation. He was previ ously reported dead. J. W. Osborne, the man reported dead, is a resident of Kansas City, Kan. He was trained in the balloon school at Fort Omaha and went overseas with Company B of the Second balloon squadron in Decem ber, 1917. In the Chateau Thierry engagement he was badly wounded and his comrades, believing him dead, took a photograph of some letters of Miss Cusick which he carried with him and returned them to her with a letter stating that he had been killed in action. He was not reported as dead or missing by the casualty lists. Many eltorts to ascertain his death were made by . Miss Cusick, but, all of them ended in failure. ' .. .. Ha Pulls Through. '- ' A letter has arrived from the sud- posedly dead man stating that he had been badly wounded by a high explosive sflell, but had fully recov ered and was as much alive as ever. He had spent nearly three months in the hospitals of France on the verge ot death, out haa finally pulled through. A hand-embroid ered scarf valued at over $100 ac companied the letter. Mr. Osborne is now stationed at Trier, Germany, and writes that he was the first man in the Second Balloon company to be wounded. Many relics ot the great war nave been sent by Mr. Osborne to 3 Cusick. A uerman helmet, a hol ster and a revolver, a mouth harp found in the German trenches, poems written by American dough boys in the trenches and post cards taken from dead Germans compose part of the collection. It is expected that the return ol Mr. Osborne to this country will terminate in marriage, a romance of three! years' duration. Mr. Os borne aifd Miss Cusick are at pres ent engaged and their marriage is expected to take place as soon after the return of Mr. Osborne as possi ble. Honduran Minister Killed in Rioting at Tegucigalpa San Salvador. Feb. 8. Serious rioting has occurred in Tegucigalpa, the capital of Honduras, and the minister of the interior, Francisco J. Mejia, has been killed, according to dispatch trom Tegucigalpa. t it- 4 I V n a n : : li h V U : I ft ite Y mf Yto4' fl MAW : maw - .. TtatV' " : ;.l . War Cripples Will Find Jobs With Film Companies Carl Laemmle, President of the Universal Film Manu facturing Co., Says That Legless Men Can Well Be Employed in the Motion Picture Industry. New York, Feb. 8. (Special . to The Bee.) In answer to the plea for "jobs for soldiers" Carl Laemmle, president of the Universal Film Manufacturing Co., has made the first step in the film industry to go further than providing positions for returning heroes he has pointed out that the film industry can offer thousands of positions to wounded men, men even who have lost one or both of their legs in the war. Mr. Laemmle says that althougn there will be plenty of work for returning soldiers, physically fit for any kind of labor, jobs for wounded men will be scarce indeed and through the Universal employment bureau he has written the surgeon general and the adjutant general. also the Red Cross and reconstruc tion hospitals of the country that his company stands ready to give crippled soldiers positions m its him inspection where the use ot feet or legs ia not essential. Rather Be a Wart in U. S. . -v. Than Whole Eiffel Tower Paris. Feb. !"8. (By Associated Press.) He was spluttering with the helpless indignation of the man who wants to tell folks what he thinks of them and can't pro nounce the words, when he came into the Y. M. C. A. headquarters. Two gendarmes with ferocious mus taches and friendly eyes shepherded him into the room. "L'AmericaineJ" they announced, simolv. and 'turned awav with the air of those who have done their duty. They had learned that the Y. M. C. A. would always look after the American soldier in France. 'What's the matter?" asked the secretary. Matter? There am t anything the matter with me," said the American soldier angrily. "You better ask them policemen -what's the matter with them! Say, they couldn't hold down a job 10 minutes in New York) They can't even talk just make noises." "What did you want to talk to Alleged to Have Broken Contract, Suit Follows H.M. Scott or the Scott Automo bile company, has brought an' action in district court to recover $11,101.24 from Charles Wagner on account of an alleged attempt to cancel a con tract entered into between the liti gants. Scott states that he held a contract for the sajf of automobile accessories in a certain territory and at an agreed commission. The popularity of ROSEMONT has more tharj justified our belief that discriminating smokers " vff vwiu&w if to is&ncf nil in jg ugHit EVERY leaf of tobacco is selected with the satis faction of the individual smoker in mind. t Skillful blending by a master cigar maker gives ROSEMONT a distinctive fragrance. This fragrance can be pro duced only by using the fine tobaccos found in every ROSEMONT. Shade grown wrapper, and fine Havana filler, Fragrance is a common' sense way of judging a cigar. Nature makes it your guide. Smoke a ROSEMONT today. FOUR GOOD-VALUE SIZES : 10c-15c 2 for 25c-20c McCORD-BRADY CO., OMAHA Distributor "I am in hopes that other film companies will follow our lead in providing these crippled heroes with jobs," Mr. Laemmle said. "The boys who return from France with arm or slight body wounds can get around to look for positions after a time, but for the fellows who have lost one or both legs or feet this will not be so easy. "In Universal exchanges and lab oratories we have several hundred jobs that these crippled boys can fill. Inspecting film does not tax ones physical or mental strength and we can afford, to pay salaries to these boys that undoubtedly would be in excess of those in many other lines of work, and if other produc ers and exchange men will ascer tain how many jobs they can ofTer crippled soldiers and let the gov ernment know of them they will not only be doing a great service to their 'country, but also to them selves." i them about?" inquired the Y. M. C. A. man. "Oh, I just want to ask the way back to the station, that's all. I left my rifle and my pack in the corner and came up to see Paris. Now I got to go back to catch my train." "Where do you live back home?" asked the Y. M. C. A. man. "Brooklyn," said the American soldier. ' "I'll just telephone and find out where you left your rifle and your pack," said the Y. M. C A. man. A few minutes later he was ready with the desired information, and with directions for getting "back to the station. "Thanks 1" said the American boy. "I sure am much obliged. But, say. Paris is a funny place, ain't it? A little cleaner than New York, maybe but, say, I'd rather be a wart on the nose of the Goddess of Liberty than the whole Eiffel Tower 1" He turned abruptly and went out. U. S. Treasury Establishes New Credits for Allies Washington, Feb. 8. New credits of $75,000,000 for Italy and $40,000, 000 for Belgium were established to iay by the treasury. This raised the total credits for all the allies to $8:674,824,000, including $1,385,000,000 for Italy and $296,145,000 for Belgium. J.. fit .AS - .j LATENSEil AND T017LE COIflG FROMSIIIP YARD Latter Represented the Erner gency Fleet Corporation at Wilmington, N. C; Lat- enser With Him. John W. Towle, representative ot the Emergency Fleet corporation of Wilmington, N. C, has resigned and will return to. Omaha February 15. He will be followed shortly by John Latenser, jr., who assisted him both in the Carolina" yards and at Hog Is land. In accepting Mr. Towle's resigna tion, Charles Piez, director general of the fleet corporations paid him a very high compliment in saying that the Carolina yards had never given him a moment's worry and that its was the only plant erected by the government that cost less than the estimated outlay. Messrs. Towle and Latenser after investigating conditions at Hog Is- ' land where expenditures were 100 " per cent more than estimated, made their report to the corporation and the senate investigating committee, which was accepted and the vard freed from incompetence. Mr. Towle was a resident engineer at Hog Is land at the time. The two Omaha men were later transferred and. placed in charge of the Carolina., yards. Fremont Clergyman One of Presbyterian New Era 60-Day Men ; Nathaniel McGiffin of Fremont, Neb., formerly of Omaha, has en listed with the Presbyterian new era sixty-day men, as a result of a con ference with other leading Presby terians at 156 Fifth avenue, New York City, where he joined a strong group of ministers and laymen to . push the new era victorv fund of the church for $13,000,000. These" men have taken up head quarters in various parts of the ' United States to direct unremitting field service toward putting every individual Presbyterian church "over the top." Their campaign will ex- -tend through February and March . and will be devoted to convincing -all Presbyterians of the great need that the world has for the church's , spending this amount of money on reconstruction work. The fund will take care of return- .: ing soldiers and sailors, stricken Protestant churches in the war rone, the increasing of underpaid pastors' ' salaries, and various other forms of benevolent and educational work. The campaign will be directed by -the Presbyterian new erax move-. , ment. If 1 n v ' . I ' Ail It- 4 't i I? 1! it - V r '"A1 i rt M-'-j U MM- t