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About The courier. (Lincoln, Neb.) 1894-1903 | View Entire Issue (March 20, 1897)
m THE COURIER. fancy that we are all ol us a little hypocritical on the subject of prize fighting. We deplore Its brutality, of course; but I venture to assert that 99 pr cent of the grown men in this country cherish the desire, secretly or openly, to know whether Corbett or Fltzsimmons is the better man. It was the reccgniticn cf this desire, together with a view, possibly, to the indirect enrichment of a commonwealth none too flush, that led a sensible legisla ture and a plucky executive to permit prize-fighting in Nevada. The doubt and uncertainty attending previous contests or the kind In this country has afforded excuse for more hysterical caterwauling than a person of sense could forget in a thousand years. Every empty-headed freak and irresponsible Pharisee in the land helped swell the din. Clerical idiots and harum-scarum politicians, who didn't care a brass but ton whether there was a fight or not, denounced everybody concerned In it, simply because they saw a chance to open their mouths and had not the self control to keep them shut There may be a few outbreaks of this sort before March 17, but I fancy they will be trifling. The fight is apparently inevi table; and, while I have nothing to say on the Immorality of the Nevada gov ernment in permitting It to take place, I insist that the entire male population of the United States is glad it is coming off. Let us all be honest and admit it. The bulletins from Carson City, on March 17, will receive more attention than the doings of consress. The World, which has secured the services of Mr. Bryan jis a special writer on the rights and wrongs of la bar and capital, has been cut off from the list of most of the public libraries of the state of New York because of the notorious indecency of the pictures which it publishes. A list of the Sun day horrors shows that a preponder ance of the pictures are of freaks, mon strous births, of tortures inflicted by savages en each other, cf crimes unnat ural, of guests at a banquet broken up by the police, of anything which a healthful appetite rejects, and a morbid, sickly curiosity relishes. Such an appetite grows by what it feeds on, and the yellow and pink pa pers are Increasing their subscription list, and at the same time lowering the moral tone of the community at the same rate. For one who loves the peo ple, who is first of all devoted to their interes'. who gots to church with real zest, who does not go to dinners or parties which do not have on the pro gram some intellectual number such as after-dinner speaking, or games In which the mind is exercised, who has set an example of devotion and appre ciation that all the husbands of the country might imitate with profit, for a man of such purity and ideals to go to work on such a newspaper is enough to shock a pop-demo or otherwise. President Cleveland having declined to sign the agricultural bill, which con tained the free seed proviso, the seed men of the country have begun an ac tive campaign against the free seed dis tribution, which of course seriously in jures the seed business. This year there were given away by the government twenty million packets of seed. Each congressman and sena tor had as his quota 42,500 packets of garden, field and flower seeds, which were mailed free to any addresses which the congressmen supplied. This free gift is very injurious both to the large seedmen as well as every country store who handles seeds, for if their customers can get their, seeds free and make their own selection, which was contemplated in the last bill, it will ultimately destroy all dealers In seeds If the appropriation Increases as stead ily as it has done for the past few years. Seedmen have been, compelled to curtail their advertising expendi tures in newspapers by this unjust and unequal competition The free distribution of seeds Is against the spirit of our government, which should be that the people sup port the government, and not the gov ernment the people. It likewise fosters paternalism and beggarism. The seedmen of this country have, in vested large amounts of money in ad vancing horticulture and agriculture and have been so enterprising that they have really become leaders in de veloping and disseminating new and Im proved varieties of seeds and plants, and have been willing to pay far more for improved varieties than the govern ment; hence when Secretary Morton came into office and tried to carry out the spirit of the law, and advertised for seeds, plants or cuttings of rare, new or valuable varieties, be got com paratively few offers, and none of which he considered worthy of acceptance. It Is an extravagant appropriation, and burdens the mails with hundreds of tons of seeds, adding a very large amount to the annual deficit of the post office department. The article in last week's Courier concerning fraternities was written from an unprejudiced point of view. Some of the members of the two fra ternities commended for membership and department happen to be kuown to the writer. There are many others quite as excellent with whom a Hin iteed knowledge of Greek prevents even a speaking acquaintance. In the con sideration of the reasons urged by leg islators for the suppression of the sys tem the young ladies' fraternities were not considered because they had nothing to do with the case. Turbu lence, interference, with property like carrying off signs and the kind of hazing that is called initiating not be ing habitual with the gentle coeds of the StatP University. In speaking of the reputations which fraternities es tablish, the writer of the article re ferred to has had no personal knowl edge of a fratcrntiy which has had a bad effect upon its members. Experience with the Greek letters has invariably shown the older members kind and thoughtful for the welfare of the younger ones. Such an attitude is In valuable to both, to him who gives and to him who receives. One of the first impulses that youth loses is that of brotherliness and loving kindness, and these the fraternity teach and practice. Perfection Cooking Mixture 84..70 per ton, sold exclusively by Gregory, 11th andO. Members of the legislature say the Annex is the best place to feed. Try it and be convinced that the lawmakers kpow a good thing when they taste it. Canon Pea Coal, 8".O0 p?r ton, fo cook stove. For sale by Gregory 11th and O. If you eat why not try the Ann ex res tauraut, 133 So. 12 h St. Sutton & llollowbush have invented a cough drop. They call it the S. & H., Sutton & llollowbush, and it is a good one. Stop and get one on your way to the theatre. It will save you a spasm of coughing. Hanna Coal for sale by Gregory, 11th andO. Phone 343. GOSSIP OF THE CAPITOL William Paxton of Omaha appears to be very much in evidence about the legislature this winter, and the sight of him recalls the year when he was a member of the house himself. He never made a speech or remarks of any kind in the house. John McShane did that for him. In fact, he did talking enough for both. That was the s2ssion of 1881, and Omaha had several men who have been heard from since. Among the members of the house that winter were E. M. Bartlett, W. J. Broatch. present mayor of Omaha; John McShane, later elected to con gress. W. A. Paxton and Henry Bolln the defaulting treasurer of Omaha. In the senate were Judge Dcane and John D. Howe. One of the remarkable things of that session was the fact that there was not a practicing lawyer on the republican side of the senate. The only two lawyers in actual practice be ing the two from Omaha both demo crats. So the senate judiciary commit tee was made up with C. H. Gere as chairman, several members of various callings comprising the body of it, and the two Omaha lawyers making up the tail end. Such a scarcity of lawyers in the senate was never known at any other session before or since. At that time Mr. Paxton had not as yet reached the point of bPlng consid ered a millionaire. He owned an inter est in a wholesale grocery in Omaha, and a ranch stocked with cattlp out on the plains. He became intensely alarmed during the month of February for fear his cattle would all perish for lack of food. It was the year of great and continuous storms, and the whole state was covered with snow some two feet deep. The snow on the plains was frozen into ahard crust, and it seemed that the cattle would starve, while many cattlemen did lose a large por tion of their herds. Mr. Paxton event ually escaped with only a moderate loss. The bo-Mn in ranch cattle which followed a year later enabled him to sell out to a stock company for a very large sum. As he had worked it up from a small beginning, it was a profit able enterprise for him. During the summer of 1881 occurred the big strike in Omaha. It grew out of the fact that Jim Stevenson, who had the contract for grading down the hills for track purposes, wished to hire day laborers for $1.25 .per day. The strike was a very large and turbulent one, and the militia were called out on request of the mayor to keep the peace. They were kept on guard duty for some time, and it was to pay their expenses that the governor called an extra session of the legislature in the spring of 1882. There was quite a con test in the legislature as to whether the calling out of the militia schould be endorsed and the bills paid. Then it was lhat E. M. Bartlett, one of the Omaha members of the house, came to the front. He surprised every one by the strength he displayed in his sup port of the mayor and the city and state authorities. The occasion gave him the opportunity which had not oc curred before, and which perhaps very many men develop under. Earnrst, eloquent, logical and convincing in his speeches, he showed a readiness of re source undpr all kinds of fire that was unexpected. The extra session in 1882 had a dif ferent ending from that of any other session. It was perhaps the only time when a "call of the house" was a dead failure. During the session charges and counter-charges had floated around as to an offer of bargain and sale be tween a member and a state official. A committee was appointed to investigate the charges, and the fight between the two men was a hot one, with many friends on each side. The question was, which one had madp a proposi tion and should therefore be censured. On the night fixed for adjournment the committee reported, and to the general surprise the majority report fa vored censuring both men. A prelim inary vote showed that the report would carry by a narrow margin. Then the two men and their friends came together with a rush. They were no longer enemies, but now united in defeating the motion to censure. Sud denly, when the final vote was ordered, about thirty-five men jumped up and left the room. At that time the limit of the num ber of members in the house was eighty-four, requiring forty-three to make a quorum. After the thirty-five had gone out a count of those left when the question was raised showed forty pres ent At 10 o'clock at nig'ht a call of the house was ordered, and the ser-geant-at-arms sent for the missing men. He found them locked in an other rcom in the capital and he couldn't get them cut. In fact, they finally laid violent hands on him, dragged him in side and kept him there. Then the house sent the assistant sergeant-at-arms down into the city to hunt up and bring back those members who had gone to bed, and so one after another as the night passed away, the absent members were aroused and escorted to the capitol. As fast as they ap peared those wicked secessionists who were on the watch rushed out, seized the newcomer, hustled him into their den, and held him prisoner. All night the house tried to get a quorum and failed. It never got over the forty-one it started with, and one of that number who straggled out into the hall was taken prisoner and never came back. At G o'clock in the morning a propo sition from the seceders for immediate adjournment without any action was accepted. They came back In triumph, and in ten minutes the house had ad journed. THE OLD MEMBER, Call and see the new incandescent gas l:ght at Korsmeyer Plumbing and HatirgCo. (Firet Publication Feb. 13) To A. W. MentzT. Hist real name un known. James Port r, Lebanon Sav ings Bank, a corporation, Samuel Maxwell. Charles E. Maxwell and Edward Maxwell, partners do!mj business as S- A. Maxwell & Company. John M. Sharon, Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance company, a corpora iton, Mary S. Jacohp, Nancy L. Sar gent, and J. M. Waton, first real name unknown, and Jane D. Dow dall, non resident defendants: You and each of you are hereby noti fied that on March 3rd, 1897, Ruth S. Yates, as plaintiff, began an action against jou and other defendants in tho district court of Lancaster county, Ne braska, the object of which ib to fore close a certain mortgage on tb.9 fo' low ing land in said county, to wit: Lot 1 in block 23 in Kinney's O street addition to the city of Lincolr, made by CarIo3 C. Burr and Mary K. Burr, dat d Sep tember. 27th, 1889, to secure the pay ment of a pioniissory note o! siid Carlos C. Burr to said Ruth S. Yates for 81,000 on wbii-h there is now due SU41.4G with int'rett from January 1st. 1833, at ten per cent per annum pursuant to cou pons; hlsD a mortgage on lot 2 in block 23 in Kinney's O street addition to tho ti'y of Lincoln, made by Carlos C. Burr nod Mary E. Burr, datid September 27ih,18S9, to secure the inyment of ptomifsory note or said Carlos C. Burr to 6aid Ruth S. Yatr s. for 81.000, on which ihere is now due 811o7.52 with in'ereftfiom January, 1st, 1893, at ten percent er annum, pursuant to cou pons. FUint'ff prajs for decree of fore c'ocure and sale of said land to satisfy said liens ai aforesaid, for deficiency judgment and general relief. tou are required to answer pIaint:fT retitioa on or before the 19th day of April, 1897. Rcth S. Yates. plaiDtiff, By S. L. Geisthardt, Attjmey.
