THE COURIER.
M
four years ago, but tlierclias been a a book. Here is an opulence of two
change in executive otllcers. Under mysteries in one book. rankStock
Uie present regime tramps are few. ton's story of The Lady and the
The hold-ups that were so frequent a Tiger made him lamous, not because
few years ago have altogether ceased, it has more literary excellence, is
Why? Lincoln is known through the more piquant, and more thrilling
length and bread th or western hobo- than any other story he has written,
duoi as a closely shut uptown, where but because it isa puzzle whose simple
grafters can not make bargains with conditions may be solved one way in
either the mayor, chief of police or the morning and quite another way
police judge. Consequently they skip In the afternoon.- And there-is no
Lincoln, get off at Omaha or stay in
Jtenver, Bad-luck to 'em. The differ
ence between an orderly and a disor
derly town where citizens are sand:
bagged and wnere the policemen pro-
"answer in the book" upon which the
mind may rest and-turn to.soniethingl
else. No woman in literature was
ever so much JnUovc as theMncognlta
of the Love Letters. Desdemona,
fess to know nothing at all about Griselda, Juliet, Tess of the D'Urber
gambling rooms whose operation may villes, not one ancient or modern
be "heard from the street is in the heroine was so forgivingly, irrecover
inerc matter of a mayor. Laws mak- ably in love with one person. She
ing gambling a penitentiary offense idealiz.es her !over to an extent which,
were insufficient to stop gambling in I think, makes him dread the day1
the days of -ia mayor who was willing light test of marriage and continual
to make terms with gamblers and association. Men, from Jove to the
6hut his eyes to the continued pres
ence in the city of two or three hun
dred hold-up men, burglars etc. It is
within the experience of every house
keeper how few tramps have asked
for a meal within the last two years
and of how the demand was of daily
occurrence before that. There is a
reason for the disappearance and the
tramps know what it is. The city
government is not conducted for the
enrichment of office holders and the
officials are content with their sal
aries, or at least, do not attempt to
increase their own incomes' by farm
ing the city. The importance t the
modern prince, monopolize the wooing.
Women woo them at the peril of los
ing them. Tiie incognita's lover is a
beefy unimaginative young English
man who has no conception of the
connection between literature and
love, and of the extraordinary liter
ary value of the letters he receives.
It appears that she is affectioned to
wards him with an intensity and per
sistency incomprehensible. Only short
extracts from his letters are printed,
but they are not literary. Even Mun
tey's would not consider them a find.
The young man's mother does not
like his fiancte and induces him to
city of an honest mayor is out of pro- postpone his wedding day several
portion to hi? salary. But when a times and finally to write his bride
man to useful to the city and so single breaking off their engagement. The
minded as Mayor Winnctt, is willing young woman had no male relative
to serve the city a second time he who would interfere to insist upon at
should not be allowed to doubt the least an explanation and she died, not
unanimltyofth'e' citizens' willingness knowing why her fumcf had ceased
to accept his services. to love her. She died from the effects
J of desertion and the mystery. She
A Gty Detective, tells him there is no insanity in the
A ferret is not the noblest "kind of stock and her family is of equal social
an animal. He is a terror to vermin consequence. But appeals which
because he can turn and twist and get would affect a rock bring no response
into and out of just as small, dark, from the object of her adoration,
subterranean places as they can. The Even when she is dying her brother
ferret has but one vocation. It is not can only obtain from the young man
a versatile, noble, social animal, gen- a message of "profoundly grateful re-
crous and unsuspicious. He never membrances." No fairy story of ogres
sees a hole without diving into it in or of giants who prejer a'.human:diet,
search of a ratw!hich" you may'know conveys an impression of such hard-
tliat lie catches by the squealing, heartedness. No lovely girl of twen-
Human ferrets are not gregarious, and ty-one possessing beauty, imagina-
they are commonly not esteemed by
other members of their species, but
they are a terror to vermin. Detective
Malone of this city makes more ar
rests than any other officer, and by
the squealing that follows his dives
into this or that hole, his hunting
efficiency may, fairly be judged. He
is not much of a criminologist. When
lie finds fairly good proof that a man
has committed a crime he .yaaks4iim
tion and literary ability to convey her
love in superb expression is in love
with the giant who onlF eats tender
little children who trespass in his
woods. The contrast of her love for
her lover and her faith in him with
his indifference for her suffering and
his denial of love for her, makes him
a monster of hideous mien.
The connection between love, dew
drops, breezes, flowers, stinsets and
to the station. He considers crim- poetry and the effect of these plants
ina!s as the enemies of society and and natural phenomena upon a woman
the longer the term and heavier the in love has not. in modern times at
line imposed on his prisoners, the bet- least, been better expressed than by
ter for society. He is trained to look this Englishwoman. Few who read
only on one side. It is nothing to the book can understand what she
him that a chicken thief is the son of saw in the unresponsive cub; "the gal--a
chicken-thief and was brought up lous young hound" to love and to die
by a woman whose only objection to
stealing was the danger of discovery.
Long years of man-hunting dulls the
hunter's susceptibilities, and detect-
for. Whether the letters are genuine
or only written anonymously by a
writer for a publisher.it is certain
that the author :s a woman. No man
ive Malone bas.suffered.the annealing author lets such a coward escape him
of hisprofession. "By the squealing, by without some sort of punishment,
the absence of vermin, by isolated He could not keep his hands off him.
burglaries, by the comparative safety Perhaps the woman who wrote the
of lonesome, midnight1 streets,' the letters is convinced of the perfidy and
effectiveness of the work which he essential cruelty of men aud has ira-
does for the city is demonstrated.
An English Roman's Love Letters.
Nobody but the publisher knows
ngined a man to tit her ideal. It is
inconceivable that a man once in
love with so fascinating, so true
hearted and so loving a woman could
. .. . .. ... .. rlntorf. lipr nnt. lnvinir anv ntlinr wn.
wuo wrote mese letters ana me writer ' j -
does not know why her lover deserted maD and Bive er no reason at all for
her. One mysterv is enough to make his change of heart. But inconceiv
able things are happening all the
time and it is not for me to say that
a man as mean as the one to whom
the English woman addressed her
letters, a man presentable enough and
interesting enough for her to fall in
love with, in the first place, is an im
possibility, but all previous experi
ence and observation indicates that,
the English woman's villain is a
chimera. --
Whenthe ache of the .asU pages.tis.
alleviateditUevtenderness, scholarship,
graceandimagipfttjon of the letter'-
wnter can oe appreciated, dui me
heart-breaking bravery of the last
letters affect one for a long time.
j J
The Senatorial Situation.
The Thompson men having accept
ed tiie anti-Thompson call "for a cau
cus, on the first meeting voted for
Thompson. The anti-Thompson men,
therefore left the meeting protesting
that it. was a republican caucus and
that only men of "unquestioned loy
alty to the principles of the republi
can party" were eligible even for nom
ination. Senators Steele aqd Olson.
Representatives McCarthy, Whitmore,
Broderick, Swanson, Evans, and Men
denball declined to be members of a
caucus in which Thompson's eligibil
ity as a republican was conceded.
The speeches in which the nine
men announced their devotion to the
party, and the subsequentrwithdraw
al of seven men from the room was
one of the most dramatic events in
Nebraska legislative history. The
sturdiness and loyalty to principle of
the seven, and the ratification of their
conduct by Messrs. Mendenhat and
Sandall deserves an honorable place
in ourannais. It is thus that heroic
traditions of a fewcitizens who saved a
beleagured city or brought water and
ammunition to an almost conquered
army, are kept alive and re-enacted
for th emulation of youth and of
future law-makers. It is not the
many who are inspired to heroism
but one man or two, seven or nine,
are inspired to a noble and constant
intrepidity. There is no board or sec
retary of war to recognize and reward
their unselfish services to their
country, but in this case all Nebraska
not only points with pride to these
men, but blushes with pleasure at her
discrimination in selecting such men
to represent her.
The Saloon Keepers Secret.
It has been demonstrated in Kan
sas that a woman with a hatchet de
termined to smash saloons can not be
punished, because the saloons exist
contrary to the law through the con
nivance of officials who are willing to
break their oath to enforce the laws,
influenced thereto by hope of political
support or by the dollars of the saloon
keepers. Twenty five hundred people
in Topeka held a meeting after Mrs.
Nation had shown them the innocu
ous consequences of smashing plate
glass windows, mirrors, which for
some mysterious reason, no saloon can
be run without, decanters and demi
johns in Kansas saloons. This meet
ing decided that if it were so easy to
prevent liquor selling in Kansas, that
it was the duty of every real prohi
bitionist to imitate Mrs. Nation.
There is no doubt that the saloon
keepers are very much embarrassed
by the demonstration that any passer
by can smash their windows, mirrors
and bottles with legal impunity.
Men who attempt to smash a saloon
are likely to be hit with fists, clubs or
bullets, but the injured can always
get the damages assessed against
those who make unprovoked assaults
on inoffensive people. The saloon
keeper can not allege that the plain
tiff broke several hundred doll,.
worth of saloon mirrors because .a
law the saloon does not exist. T .p
Carrienation cure for saloons is lik y
to be tried in every prohibition std e
in the country, to the great finaoc.jl
loss of saloon-keepers. Mrs. Nations
lecturing and self advertisement act
satisfaction in notoriety are distal
ful to many who are anxious that t t
laws should-be enforced, Jbut it is
Jikelycthat-sinceshe has showed Kan.
sas how, prohibition will be less nom -najapd
more "real in Kansas. -Mr
Nation, who is now in Kansas, lis
found a new ally in the person nr Dr.
Jessie Green Oonohue. the magnet
woman, who has experience in the
show business and is the owner of the
prize big-horn steer Champion. She
came to Des Moines to form a combi
nation with Mrs. Nation and to help
her in her business affairs. She think.
Mrs. Nation is being imposed upon,
and is not getting the proceeds of her
fame. Dr. Donohue will go to Kansas
and manage the business end of the
Carrie Nation show. Mrs. Nation i
delighted with the prospect of the
joint attraction.
Sports and Chivalry.
"The Advocate" published bv the
Lincoln High-School Publishing Asso
ciatiOn. has an interesting editorial
this week concerning some remarks in
last week's Courier in regard to the
discourtesy shown the Omaha High
School faculty by Lincoln high-school
boys in the audience, assembled to
witness a match game of basket-bah
between the Lincoln and Omaha girN'
basket-ball team. The Advocate in
timates that the hissing was done "by
eighth graders and freshies."
"In the last two weeks about one
hundred and fifty students have en
tered the high school. Technically
they are its members. In actual fact
they have been there long enough to
acquire enthusiasm, but not to learn
what the principal and faculty are
striving to teach, the manliness, cour
tesy and loyalty, which go to make up
what we proudly call 'High-School
spirit.' "
Anyway the universal condemna
tion of the hissers and the hissing by
the high-school scholars shows that
The Courier was mistaken and that
they are worth educating and are in a
fair way to become useful, honorable
and influential citizens of the cit)
which is educating them.
Mr. Johnson, the editor of The Ad
vocate, says of his school that it "is not
a failure asameansof cultlvatingchil
dren into manly and womanly citi
zens. It is the only place, after the
years of early home training, where
such culture is possible. It is not
taught, or not effectually taught, in
the grades, for the children there are
too young; they can not appreciate
the meaning of individual resposibil
ity; the are under a teacher's direct
supervision and have no opportunitj
to discriminate between right and
wrong courses of action. The univer
sity comes too late to teach this. In
the high-school and particularly in
this high-school under this Principal
who has the respect and backing ot
every decent boy and girl in it, such
culture is going on. Courtesy is prized
and unkindness and cowardice art
despised. The scholars are fair-minded
and generous. Though they make
mistakes of ignorance or of thought
lessness and Impulse, they are never
unkind nor afraid to repair evil when
it is pointed out."
The selfrespact and loyalty of the
school is aroused by criticism and
such a sentiment has been creatcc
against rowdyism that even occasion
al traces of It will gradually be elinil-