11
THE COURIER
Tn and JJbout . . .
' tltbraska
Sorrow has inumlateil the souls of
the boys of Fremont who delight In
waking the echoes on the morning of
the Fourth of July. An ordinance has
been passed placing a ban on fire
crackers of any size larger than the
customary small bmnd, which Is gen
erally beneath the contempt of an en
terprising youth. The firing of blank
cartridges is also prohibited, with one
exception. Parading organizations
which have been given permission by
the proper authorities may carry re
volvers and guns and make as much
noise as they see fit. This is the only
chance the young generation will have
to make big noise on the natal day,
unless they choose to travel beyond
the bounds of the city or visit another
town. Fremont has had all the acci
dents .and runaways caused by the ex
plosion of big crackers that it cares to
chronicle.
A small dog loved its insane master.
In a tit of dementia Frank Bauer, the
dog's master, sought a stout tree far
from his farm cottage near Scrlbner
and with a rope about his neck hanged
himself until dead. He did not count
on his faithful little dog following him
or grieving over his death. Yet the
small beast was not far from his heels.
As the man dangled from the tree his
animal friend lingered beneath and
with nose extended howled mournfully
at the body. "When the searching
party hours afterward came upon the
scene, there at his post beneath the
corpse the dog still stood sentinel. It
was his doleful voice that drew the
posse toward the place.
Deep into the bowels of the earth a
3.000 feet well will soon be dug along
the Pappio. It is a part of the cam
paign for oil that has been made the
business of a company at Omaha, and
it will be the deepest well in the state,
it is said. James Connell, in charge
of the proceedings, is thoroughly ex
perienced in the oil well business in
Pennsylvania and trust is placed in ills
statement that much wealth In oil re
poses beneath the surface of the earth
in Sarpy. A company is trying for
this lucre and with $23,000 in capital it
has bought up eight square miles along
the most promising section of the Pap
pio. Here, oozing from the soft sand
stone of the river banks oil, readily
combustible, Iloats down the stream.
The infection has spread even to Mc
Cook. Several years ago oil was
touched there at a depth of several
hundred feet and now some of the
folks are reviving talk of trying again.
c
Term this loyalty: All the teachers
in the high school of Minden resigned
a short time ago because the board of
education refused to sanction an act
of the principal. She had expelled a
boy because of his misdemeanors and
the board refused to give approval. At
once she posted her resignation. Im
mediately there followed that of every
other teacher in the school. The mem
bers began to think there was really
some merit in the proceedings of the
principal and this was seconded by
some gentle proddings on the part of
the public. Reconsideration was or
dered and the boy went. Hack came
the teachers! Harmony again prevails
and another mark has been added to
the score of unionism.
v
Thundering down the track plunged
the Burlington flyer! Standing be
tween the rails smoking his cigar idled
the station agent unconscious of his
danger. This is somewhat the way the
Axtell Advertiser tells of the miracu
lous escape from deatli of Agent W. E.
Conrad of the place. On comes the
surging, swaying engine, relentless in
the force of its speed. Dust rises
high on either side as the tearing giant
approaches, smoke fluttering straight
back. Nearer and nearer it roars and
still the agent does not move A truck
man shouts! The agent looks up. How
leisurely he steps from the rails! He Is
safe! A little later three minutes
and the train would have been upon
him.
The suave hunter Is the newest bunco
man. Warnings against his blandish
ments are being handed about by the
country papers glibly and with dis
patch. He Is the man who approaches
the farmer In his pig pen and pleads
for leave to hunt on his premises. In
return he offers a fiver. Only he wants
a receipt, for use in case he should be
questioned. Therein lies the mischief.
He has a receipt ready, to which Is
necessary only the farmer's signature.
Given, away goes the hunter and his
quarry is the man who will buy the
paper, which he has meanwhile raised
to $50 and which is In fact nothing
more nor less than a note. Finding
a buyer lie llees and later the farmer of
course finds himself up agaist It good
and hard.
Fresh from Sweden a colony of thirty-two
Swedish gentlemen has bought
3,000 acres of land in Holt county. They
are all related and it is their intention
to operate on a socialistic basis. Cer
tain they are, that the barrier of their
language, untainted with Americanism
will keep all possible intruders at bay,
if the quality of their holdings does
not.
Spat! fell some object on his mitten.
John Guthals of C.ilead In Thayer
county was driving along a country
road to visit a friend. A few minutes
later he saw his man over a hill, car
rying a riiie. Looking at the mitten he
perceived a hole, taking it off he found
a wound in his finger, going to a doc
tor, a 22 calibre bullet was extracted.
Mr. Guthals had heard no report; the
bullet had soared Its way up over the.
hill and dropped like a spent rocket
onto his hand.
Shall it be Amerind or Injun? Wise
folks in the east have given It out that
the American Indian can be. should
be and must be, expressed in one com
pact word. "Amerind" Is supposed to
be a perfect compression of both words
and everybody is advised to learn it
by iieart and say it every time he
thinks of a redskin. The Nebraska
City Tribune protests. It Is of the
opinion that no Indian that ever
hunted bison in Nebraska would
relish the new name. Moreover. It
suggests, If there is any need of dis
tinguishing the copper aboriginal of
America from the people rendered fa
mous by Kipling the thing to do is to
appeal to the terminology of youth and
apply evermore to the savage the
simple, Impressive, terrifying whisper,
"Injun."
See it? A black ghost! It haunts
the town of Alma. No need of a cur
lew there! Little boys keep indoors
at night and their fathers also have a
strangely growing preference for home
in the evening. The ghost has singled
out no special hours for its assaults.
Any time between night and morning
will do and the lone man on the street
need not be surprised to see suddenly
ahead of him the wan figure of a wo
man clad in garments of the darkest
shades, a long veil of mourning llow
ing "down from her pallid features.
Noiselessly and without apparent
movement she steals along the way.
If you run she pursues you. If you
charge upon her she retreats, invisibly
gaining headway. None has yet suc
ceeded in catching her, but she has
terrorized a multitude. It is thought
she is some woman who died in great
agony; nobody has suggested whom.
Incantations that may drive her away
are advertised for.
0k (&. Bmes
Gentleman and Politician
In a little farmhouse a few miles
outside of Lincoln, Neb., a woman who
believes that if the next Illinois legisla
ture falls to elect Mr. Charles G.
Dawes a United States Senator It will
be because the personal qualities of
the man who resigned from the posi
tion of Comptroller of the Currency In
order to enter the Senatorial light are
not sulliciently known. Personally she
thinks he should be made President.
Her reasons for this belief are Involved
In an accident which an old resident
of Lincoln relates as follows:
"Not very long ago Mr. Dawes came
out here, where he has large financial
Interests la the shape f farm securi
ties. One farm mortgage, long over
due, happened to come under his per
sonal attention. He saw that the
mortgagee was a woman, and at once
gave Instructions to have the matter
Investigated before he left the city.
This was done, and the woman came
for an Interview with him and pro
posed a settlement. This brought out
the fact that In order to meet this
obligation she would have to make a
great sacrifice and dispose of almost
all her property. She was- an entire
stranger to Mr. Dawes, but he quickly
canceled the mortgage and declined the
payment she offered."
The Comptrollership of the Cur
rency Is the first political office ever
held by Mr. Dawes, who Is only thirty
seven years of age. He Is the sou of
General Kufus U. Dawes, of the
famous "Iron Brigade," who was a
Representative in Congress from the
Marietta. Ohio, district. The friend
ship which existed between General
Dawes and Major McKlnley atcounts
for the personal interest which the
former's son took in securing a Mc
Klnley delegation from Illinois in 1896.
To Mr. Dawes, indeed. Is given more
credit than to any other individual
for getting a McKlnley delegation from
that state. That was his first lesson
in practical politics, and he demon
strated an aptitude as a campaign
manager which brought him instantly
into prominence and Influence. His
methods are those of a fair fighter,
who scorns an underhand advantage
over an oponent.
Mr. Dawes graduated from Marietta
College in 1884 and from the Cincinnati
Law School In 1886. During vacations
he worked as a civil engineer, and after
graduating from the law school he be
came engineer, for a time, of a small
Ohio railroad, since merged in a larger
corporation. From 1S87 to 1S94 he prac
ticed law in Nebraska, and after that,
for a time, he Interested himself in the
gas business In various cities. His
home is at Evanston. Illinois, and h
was appointed Comptroller of the Cur
rency in 1897.
Mr. Dawes is given to furnishing just
such surprises in politics as this resig
nation from office. In the campaign of
1S96 his originality and boldness im
pressed the members of the Republican
National Committee, notwithstanding
he was the youngest man on the com
mittee. Although modest almost to the
point of diffidence, he occasionally con
ceives and carries out moves that are
almost startling when suggested.
When Senator Cullom was a candi
date for re-election last year his
friends were interested in organizing
the Republican State Convention. Mr.
Dawes was one of the Senator's firm
supporters. At a critical time the Cul
lom men decided that Mr. Dawes must
consent to make the race for tempo
rary chairman. His personal popular
ity among the delegates was the fea
ture of the gathering. It was clear
that If any Cullom man could win
against the recommendation of the
State Committee for temporary chair
man, Mr. Dawes was the man. He
was solicited to make the fight. The
State Committee had recommended
Judge Brown, of Vandalia, a friend of
Governor Tanner and very popular.
"Do you gentlemen realize what it
would mean If I were defeated?" asked
Mr. Dawes. "I am a Federal office
holder. The Impression would go
abroad that the Administration had
been rebuked." But the Cullom men
were insistent.
"Very well." replied Mr. Dawes, "I
am ready to oblige Senator Cullom.
I'll enter the fight, but I call you gen
tlemen to witness that if I fail to be
elected temporary chairman of this
convention I'll Immediately resign as
Comptroller of the Currency."
The majority was a narrow one less
than a hundred but Mr. Dawes was
chosen. Saturday Post, Philadelphia.
Qld Slim . . . v
on tfyt Pension List
Firemen who love anything at all
love their horses for It Is they whose
agile leaps and bounds take their mas
ters to the seat of conflagration. They
love to tear their way to a blaze, and
distance and the burdens they bring
up behind them curb their enthusiasm
not In the least. Then when the horses
advance In age and the years of their
service grow In number It is with sad
ness that the animals arc relegated to
the ranks of the superanuated. Young
horses, animals In the prime of their
vigor and speed, must stand in the old
stalls, ready at any time for any ser
vice. Doubtless some of the horses,
too, feel sorrow at their waning for
tune. In the extra stables at station house
No. 1 stands Old Slim. large, of crinkly
black hair and dimensions In accord
with his name. He munches his hay
In a spirit of complacency and no one
would know to look at him that he
ever possessed a fiery spirit. Not so
far from the alarm bell Is he but that
he pricks up his ears with animated
Interest when he hears the clatter of
the gong, but his days of vigilance and
activity are practically over. Eighteen
years ago he was a tiny colt. "When
six years old, or In 1889. he entered the
department. Now he Is the oldest
horse in the service of the city.
Good health has always favored him
and he Is still stanch In his long limbs
and his teeth are firm. His height Is
seventeen hands and his weight close
to MOO pounds though he once weighed
more than that. Sullivan, a pretty
white horse, was the oldest one In the
service last summer but It was sold
and now plods along for a man whose
business It Is to haul brick. This
horse came Into service In 1S8R. Show
ing his spirit and nimbietiess one day
last summer. Slim leaped a gate bar
about four feet high, escaping from
the barn and dashing wantonly over
the market square.
Slim was not his name when lie came
into the fire service. Once he was the
property of a Lancaster county farmer
but the watchful eyes of the authori
ties In the days of 1S89 saw In him the
making of a fine fire lighter. Conse
quently he got his diploma from the
plow. With his mate he entered the
department and $400 for the two went
from the treasury to the farmer. Long
ago the mate went out of service, but
still in a limited sense, old Slim Is on
duty. Two years ago he was dismissed
to the stables of the extras and since
that time others have dragged to fires
the wagons he was formerly proud to
whirl after him. These days when
some horse Is being treated to a new
pair of shoes or is temporarily indis
posed old Slim marches to the vacant
stall, salutes the boys and waits for
an alarm. When the bell rings he trots
out to the harness as readily as ever,
when the signal to go Is given he
plunges forward with the old time vim
and the driver has to look out for the
former hard straining at the bits, but
the old horse finds himself at the end
of a long run good and plenty In need
of wind, alas for his age.
He has held his own with every horse
in the service since he entered the de
partment and he has served on all the
wagons In all the three fire stations.
In his thirteen years' career he has
gone to scores and scores of fires and
the spirit has not perished in him if
the llesh has not the same old dura
bility. Last summer he was offered for sale
but no buyer came round who was
willing to pay the price at which he
was estimated so he will be kept on the
extra list possibly till he dies. Most
of the firemen are only sorry the old
animals are not provided with com
fortable hospitals In which they might
spend their declining days in peace and
good care.
Japan's foreign trade has in thirty
years Increased from less than $1 to
nearly per capita per annum.
