Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, December 28, 1894, Page 4

THE OMAHA DAlLY Bew B. ROSEWATER, FEditor. Dally Bee (With: Dafly Tee and Bix Months Three Month: Bunday e Eaturday 1 Weekly Bee, at Sunday), unday, On n Yenr on One Year OFFICE Bee Building Corner 3 Dmaha, Th Bouth Ommha Counell I Chieago Ofc New York, R Washington, 1 CORR All communications rel torfal matter should be ad DBUSINESS LF All business letters addresscd to The I Drafts, check payabls to the order LISHI nd Twenty-fourth Sts, reet nber of 11 and 15 , N. W, DEN( ing to news and edi- re To the Editor, ommerce, Tribune Blag. a be \ing company, Mee orders to f the company. COMPAN * CIRCULATION. ctary of The Beo Pub- being_duly sworn, s that of and comp coples g and Sund 1ishing company the actual num! of the Dally M printed during th as follow Total v Less deduictions I8 no reason nor excuse for a state census the coming year. Let the place-hunters ring off ross the Mis- W', but the motor king w e good souri after New Y ns 10 cent They are beginning to unders what a Dblizzard is like down in York and Pennsylvania. and New The prospect for a bountiful ice crop ought to make our dealers in congealed water and black diamonds smile. It is just as dangerous to put a man without good horse sense in charge of a newspaper as it i r-old Doy play with a loaded revolver. Riverside park will tened for the next y doubt vi much whether it ever will be. The name is appropriate and should never be dropped. not be rechris- ror two and- we The opinion was expressed in the Mu- nicipal league meeting that one-half the city councilmen could be legislated out of office with great benefit to this long- suffering community. Why was not the Board of Education also put under the ban? One-half of either body would never be missed. The Cincinngti Labor exchange has hit upon~a plan: for the exchange of goods-and chattels for labor performed by those of the army of employed. The fexchange is thus made a clearing house where useful articles of value may be exchanged for labor. The appraised value of the one is put up against the market value of the other, . Should the charitable organizations of Omaha and other Nebraska cities adopt some such plan there might be established a chan- el for the exchange of surplus stores for labor that wounld prove mutually ad- vantageous. According to Washington advices Sen- ator Sherman has determined to push his Dill to regulate and reduce sleeping car rates. Senator Sherman proposes to limit the lower berths at half a cent per mile and upper berths at one-third of a cent. At that rate people traveling be- tween Omaha and Chicago will gain nothing unless they take to upper Dberths. There is little probability, how- ever, that the bill will pass during the present congress, The Pullman company I8 already getting out its annuals for 1895, and the first batch will reach Washington by the 6th day of January. + Egrly in the fall The Bee' ents In.couunty. seats interviewed the county commissioners upon the subject of prospective want among the settlers of the western portion of Nebraska. Statements were secured touching upon the estimated yield of crops and the ability of the county authorities to pro- vide subsistence to deserving needy people. This information was published and the fact was clearly pointed out that nearly every county would be able to° furnish enongh food and cloth- ing for all demands and that the greatest need was of seed gralu for next season's planting, True aid must be sent to the settlers in certain localities from the eastern portion of the state where the people are well-to-do. The stories of general and Imminent starvation are highly colored and do not emanate from officials of the drouth-stricken districts. They come from sensational space writers. Omaba now has a new fire chief, but he will find no record in the city hall of the comparative condition and minute description of buildings in the business district such as The Bee suggested last summer should be made by the building inspector. It Is the business of a fire chief to learn the lay of the ground in and around every large building and the location of contiguous hydrants, but there Is a vast amount of detailed in- formation which should long ago have been spread upon the records of the building inspector and copies thereof placed in the office of the fire chief. Pro- files or diagrams of water mains should also be provided the fire chief so that he may know the instant a fire breaks out in a giveu locality just what hydrants should be tapped to insure the greatest pressure and the most effective servie Presumably it will not take the new chief long to lmpress this fact upon the eity council and fire commission, Bat- tles against the five fiend cannot be fought on paper, but the successful com- mander must know the topography of the battietield. ® | These reports v NEBRASKA'S DROUTH SUFFBERERS. Within the past ten days terrible stories of suffering and distress have | hoen written and telegraphed from this | state to leading newspapers of the conn- | try which represent that thousands of in this state are suffering the horrors of starvation and exposure to the elements, and that many settlers have actually perighed for want of food. v naturally are caleu- Iated to arouse public sympathy every- where, and measures for velief are being | discussed in the eastern and southern press. An idea of the impression cre- | ated abroad by the stories to which pub- licity has been given may be gathered from the following lette WHITESBORO, N. Y., Dec. 25.—To the Editor of The Bee: I inclose you a clipping from the Globe of Utica, N. Y., on the des- titution and poverty in Nebraska, and, judg- Ing from my knowledge of Nebraska and her resources, I fear that there will be great | suffering, and knowing the influence wielded by The Bee I appeal to you to bring up some concerted and organized plan for the reliet | of the poor of Nebraska. I lived in Ne- braska nine years and I know the courage and patience of her people well, and when | they have the means of relief within them- | selves the poor can be safely left to their care; but a wide and universal calamity like the one Nebraska has undergone should be met by prompt action, something like bond- Ing the state for aid. The sofl of Nebraska Is rich, and with one good season a half mil- lion plow shares can force gold enough from the fertile soil to keep her poor comfortable until a harvest can be gathered and the bur- den will be so subdivided that it will never be felt. Let no man decelve himself with the idea that eastern people will not find out Nebraska's want, and, it her people are al- lowed to suffer, her shame, for they will. My home is in Nebraska and I love her and hope to spend my life in her borders. I have a little son who sleeps in a lonely cemetery in Nebraska, and I want to do my share to help the people of my state it I can find out what is needed. The Omaha Bee has grown with Nebraska and is as much an integral part of her as her sunshine, and you who have your finger on the pulse of the state can find out, if you will, if there is want there and how it may be remedicd. F. W. ROSE, M. D. The Bee can truthfully assure the philanthropists who desire to improvise relief for destitute settlers in the drouth- stricken district that the condition of these people’ has received thoughtful consideration at the hands of our au- thorities. Months ago, when the crop failuré, by son of the hot winds, had become a deplorable certainty, the prob- lem of forestalling impending dis- tress for' want of food and cloth- ing by an extra of the legislature was dis and finally abandoned becau such a step was deemed unadvisable after a careful inquiry into the actual extent of dis- tress. The conclusion w reached that the threatened famine would be tem- porarily averted by local relief impro- vised in each of the various counties where the drouth had been most se- vere, The legislature will Tuesda, | convene next and Governor Crounse will 88 point out to the legislatu what steps should be taken at once to relieve such of the drouth sufferers as need immediate help, and what meas- ures will be necessary to afford relief until the next haryest. It is certain also that the first act of the legislatuve will be to carry out these recommenda- tions so far as they commend them- selves as practieal. The Bee has no disposition to suppress the truth relating to the condition of settlers in western and southwestern Nebraska, but it is not disposed to ex- aggerate for the sake of creating a sen- sation. While the offers of substantial aid from abroad are appreciated we be- lieve that Nebraska will be able to care for all who are in want and distress within her borders. —_— OMAHA AND DULUTH. From Columbus Barracks, Ohio, comes the following suggestion to the business men and capitalists of Omaha who de- sire to promote the growth of this cit; If a rallroad were to run up Mosquito creek, and extended on In that direction, it would reach Minneapolis, Minn., and it it was further extended from Minneapolis to Duluth, the entire line from Omaha to Du- luth would not be far from nu ‘“air line. It would be about 100 miles shorter than the shortest rallroad line between Omaha and Chicago. It would run through a rich, thickly settled agricultural country, with three good citles on it, consequently the local traffic would be profitable. Coal has been carrled from Lake Erle ports to Duluth, a distance of 1,000 miles, at as low a rate as 10 cents per ton. It must, therefore, be manifest to the dullest reasoner that this would be the cheapest freight route between Omaha and the se; boards. At the present prices of labor and material it could be cheaply constructed. T, 8. An air line railroad from Omaha to Duluth would go very far toward a so- lution of the cheap fuel and grain mar- ket problems for Omaha. At present the distance by rail from Omaha to Du- luth is 500 miles, or about the same as it is from Omaha to Chicago. If the line were shortened by 150 miles the distance would be exactly the same as it is from Omaha to Minneapolis. The advantages of shortening the distance to Lake Superior ports by 150 miles are incalculable. Last year bhard coal screenings could be bought at Duluth at 60 cents a ton, and hard coal for ranges and stoves was selling for $2.50 per ton, The freight charge to Omaha on screening coal was $2.60 per ton, which made the cost of hard coal screen- ings laid down at Omaha $3.20, With the distance reduced by one-third screened hard coal could be delivered and sold in Omala for the same price which screened soft coal now commands and the best anthracite for range or factory use could be laid down for $4.50 per ton, This would make a revolution in the fuel trade, and make it possible for Omaha to enter the lists in compe- tition with manufacturers of eities east of the Mississippi. The greatest advantage of the Duluth | rallway would be, however, the eman- from the domination of Chicago, which tion of the country. There could be no pooling on freight rates between the Chicago lines and the road to Duluth, which would remain an active competi- tor with all the advantage of 150 miles shorter haul and lower cost of con- struction, as compared with the old Iowa and Ilinois lines, With Duluth cipation of graln and cattle shippers | exacts exorbitant tribute from this sec- | THE OMAHA DAILY BEE: FRIDAY, as the outlet, Omaha could become the central grain market and milling point for Nebraska and portions of South Da- kota, just as she now is the cattle mar- ket for the greater part of the same | region. But it takes money to build railroads and it will depend entirely upon the disposition of enterprising and public spirited capitalists whether this pro- Jected line shall materialize at an early da It certainly presents as many clements of material growth as any other project that has recently been discussed in this community. AS TO POR Among the guments of the advo- cates of the present tariff law one was that its effect would be to inc e our trade with foreign countries, and when the law was enacted Mr. McMillin and others in congress assured the country that not only would there be o rapid re- covery from the industrial and business depression at home, but in a brief time there would be experienced an im- proved demand from abroad for our goods. Mr. Wilson, chairman of the ways and means committee, told the manufacturers of England that they must prepare for sharper competition in the world’s markets from the manufac- turers of America, and on his return to this country he told his constituents that one of the objects of teaving down the tariff walls was to let ourselves out into all the markets of the world. Well, when is all this fair promise to be realized? The democratic tariff has been in operation four months and there is not yet any very marked change for the better in our domestic indus- tries, while as to our foreign trade offic statistics show decline in- stead of improvement. The exports for every month since the new tariff went into effect were less in amount than for the corresponding months of last year, the difference in favor of November, 1893, over last November being more than $11,000,000. Perhaps it will be said that the tariff has not heen long enough in operation to produce the promised results, but whe can discern any reason for expecting an improv. ment in the near futu On the con- trary the outlook is more gloomy than ever because we are threatened with commercial conflicts that cannot fail to be damaging to our interests. The ex- clusion of our cattle from the markets of Germany and Denmark is injuriously affecting the cattle-growing interest and there is great probability that if con- fails to remove the cause of this serimination more of our products will be excluded from those and other Bu- opean countries. Spain has subjected imports from the United States into her West India islands to discriminating duties, due to our abandonment of reci- procity, and the president is looking up authority to institute a policy of retalia- tion. We have lost a considerable meat trade with Germany because of ‘the im- position of a differential duty on her sugar, in violation of treaty obligation, as admitted by the president and secre- tary of state, and an extensive trade with Cuba and Porto Rico has been largely taken Dby Canada because of the abandonment of the reci- procity agreement with Spain. Our exports to: Brazil are likely to be less hereafter, at least for some years, than they were under reciprocity, and so with all the countries with which we had such arrangements. The official statistics do not show that our foreign trade is increasing in any direction, and there appears no reason to expect that it will do so. Europe wants little of our grain and still less of our manufactured products, and the other markets to which we must look are buying on a smaller scale, so far as this country is concerned, than for years. We are not now troubling any of our commercial rivals with our compe- tition. The promise of foreign markets as a result of the new tariff is not being realized and will not be. LEARNING NOTHING FROM ADVERSITY. The manifesto issued by the executive committee of the Minnesota Democratic association shows that the party in that state, so far as it is represented by this association, rejects the plain lessons of the November elections and refuses to learn anything from adversity. Two of the causes it cites for the overwhelming defeat of the democracy throughout the country are the panic and the failure of the party to redeem promises solemnly made. As to the former the absurd clalm is repeated that the democracy was not responsible for it, thus wholly ignoring the fact that at the time of the election of a democratic president and congress the country was having a measure of prosperity almost if not quite unprecedented in its history. The year 1802 will long be memorable for the extraordinary growth of domestie industries and the increase in home and foreign commerce. Prior to the general election of that year there was no feel- ing of financial or business distrust and contented capital and labor both looked hopefully to the future. As soon as it was known that the democratic party, pledged to overturn the long-established economic policy of the country, had been elected to full control of the gov- ernment the feeling of hopefulness changed to one of apprehension and everybody knows what followed. Is it not ridiculous to assert that the democ. racy was without responsibility for this? As to the other cause of defeat, the failure of the party in power to redeem promises made, it is true it exhibited cowardice, but its fate would have been the same had it gone the full length of the platform regarding protection. In- deed, it is very questionable whether it would have been given power in 1892 but for the assurance of its leader and candidate for the presidency that the anti-protection plank of the platform would be ignored. The great majority of the people did not want free trade then any more than they do now, and hundreds of thousmnls of votes were given Mr. Cleveland in the belief that be would hold the party in check in dealing with this question. But after the election the free trade element of the party boasted that the platform pledge would be redeemed and thereby precipitated financial distrust and busi- ness depression. This Is the plain and only true reading of history, and it lsl Lafter the holidays, fdle and foolfsh for democrats to at- tempt to (h\# it ' The democrats of Minnesota urge that sthere is but.ome thing fo do, and that is to declare openly and boldly for free trade. They*a8are that the democratic party must take up again the work of teaching the-people that free trade is right. Wellyghey are not alone in this view. A large majority of the southern democrats are with them, as are those of Ohio, Maséachusetts, and some other states of thé’worth and west. Indeed, pretty mucli” AN that remains of the demoeratic part§ ig for free trade, and the small minority that it is not without influence In the party. Democrats like Gorman have lost their power and are relegated to the rear. It would be well if the demoe ally were as frank and straightforward as those of Minnesota, for then there would be less danger of the people being misled by them. What's one man's meat is another man's poison. What is considered an evidence of enterprise on the part of one paper will prove to be the w black eye Nebraska has received for years, We refer to the highly colored stories of terrible destitution set afloat recently by a local contemporary and magnified out of all proportion by reporters for east- ern pape Mayor Hopkinsg of Chicago has inti- mated to his friends that he does not propose to accept a renomination for a second term. Mayor Hopkins is a prod- igy. He deserves to be rotir Chicago Inter Ocean. The ablest alds of the wildcat money tink- ers In congress are the gold grabbers of Wall street. They are furnishing the clubs to break the heads of legitimate banking, [EATIs S omy Encouraging Swindling. Des Molnes Leader. Those who complain of the number of fraudulent financial institutions incorporated under the state laws of Iowa should remem- ber that Iowa's incorporation laws are the loosest in the United States, and that the state officers are given no authority to scru- tinize the papers offered for record. Ing Pictare Paul Pioneer Press mes J. Hill sizes up the capacity of the present democratic congress to deal in- telligently with the finances of the country to a dot when he savs that ‘“not one of these men now at the head of affairs could mmand a_sa of $10,000 a year from any large commercial house, and these are the men who are trying to adjust our finan- 1 affairs,” LI Away with Protectionists. Chicago Herald, Tim Campbell, o Tammany congressman, who was defeatéd for re-election last month, announces that he will leave the demo party and unite with the republicans. says’ in explanation of his proposed action that he is “a pratectionist of the Sam Ran- dall school.”” ""He evidently believes that there is no room for protectionists In the democratic camp, and he is right. The party would be Detter off if it were well rid of all democrafs ‘of the Tim Campbell stamp. Mr. Campbell's action in going over to the republicans| should be duplicated by Calvin 8. Brice, Arthur P. Gorman, James Smith, jr., and’a number of other so-called democrats, Trr—— The,Influence of Cult, New, York Sun. Evanston, TlL, s the seat of a university, Civic Tife therd 'hhs the urbanity and the decorative quality to be expected from the enlightening and’ éhastening influence of a university. “At 4. recent meeting of the city council the mayor came very near swatting a recalcitrant ‘alderman in the eye. ‘“We may as well fight this out now,” says the mayon blood in.is eye, distraetion in 's recr. s, left, memu'lnglr extended. “I'll hdve no fight,” sdys the alderman, ‘ever pru- dent, and not itting the mayor to come too ‘mear, - ‘“You're: an impudent puppy!” shrieks the mayor, his hea t fluttering at the brink of his mouth, And 80 the high con- troversy went. In meaner places there would have been a “‘scrap.” ———— Segregatton of the Unlon Pacific. Denver News. The petition filed In the United States cir- cuit court at Portland, Ore., for a separate receivership for the ' Oregon short Line Utah Northern Is another blow at the Integrity of the Union Pacific system. If granted by the cuort it means the- 10pping off of another most important branch for- merly controlled and operated by the Union Pacifle. This work of dismemberment was begun when the Fort Worth line was placed in the hands of Recelver Trumbull, it was continued when legal proceedings were be- £un on the bonds of the old Kansas Pacifle, and if this suit of the American Loan and Trust company. is successful it may confl- dently be asserted that the Union Pacific system, as it existed prior to the time that road passed into the hands of a recelver, will never again be united. e WANDERING WI1TTICISMS. Galveston News: Unless one telis the world that he is a hero nobody will be apt to hear it these days. Atlanta Constitution: “‘Going to swear off oid boy?" “No, don't swear—such a bad example for the children.” Judge: “For a funny man, Mr. Wagg, you don't say many bright things.” “No, Mr. Porker, and I Dotice that for a dealer in hams you strew singularly few of them around in soclety.” Philadelphia Times: It was a_mean man who told his young wife that if her bread were sold by weight they'd soon be mil- lionalres. — Grocer—What sort of tea would you like, madam? Customer—Give me a pound of *5 o'clock tea”—that's the fashionable kind, I believe, Fliegende Blaetter: Life: ‘“‘Was your father unkind when you told him vou' wanted to marry me, his coachman?”" ““No, He said at once that he would re- taln you, and he offered me the mald’s place.” Chicago Tribune: you look as if you had been losing sleep. Billings (whose room is just above a music teacher's)~1 have, I suifer untold misery at night from a chronic guitar. UP-TO-DATE REFORM. Exchange Methinks that for mankind it would be a splendid thing, Indeed, Now that divorces cheap do rule the day, If the solemn marriage service should quicle be changed to read: “To love, to honor, and to sta ————— KEEP & MERRY HEART. Chicago Record. Np use to whine and worry Cause the sun don't shine today, | No use to fume an’ flurry ‘Cause shadows cloud the way. The skies will surely brighten, The shadows alj depart. Jes' go on stralght an' léarn to wait, An’ Keep a merry heart, Guppins—Billings, There is no use ol growlin' It costs no,more to smi Tho' winter's ‘ktarms are howlin' Spring’ll be here after while, There Is no use o kickin', Jes' go on with your pa Be stanch an’ true in all you do An’ keep a merry heart, There {5 no use o' wearin' A melancholy alr. The world is not a-carin’ Your grief an' woe to share, Altho' some grievous sorrow Bhould cause a tear to start, Jes' let good cheer drive back the tear An’ Keep a merry heart, atic He | nncmmi 28, 1894, PEOPLE AND THINGS. Tt is hard to conceive of a more lonesome situation than that of an honest man on the New York police foroce Hypnotism exhibits the characteristios of an amateur euchre game. In both there is a general passing of hands. The Hon. Bourke Cockran carcfully avoids critielsing his political foster father. Dick Croker has killed his man In view of the success of the change, the Denver News should make its temporary Christmas staff a permanent ane. Robert Louis Stevenson smoked 100 cigar- ettes a day. An extraordinary will power enabled him to live forty-five years. Turkey declines to permit an American in- vestigation. Stlll Americans will continue Investigating turkey as a holiday_diversion Mrs. Catherine Stearns, who voted at the recent municipal election in Boston, has the | distinction of being the oldest woman voter in the world. She will be 96 June 28 next The fashionable fad in New York and Bos- ton is to go without one’s breakfast. It the faddists will go without the usual three meals the public will cheerfully pay the funeral frelght Dr. Parkhurst has agreed to expound muni- cipal reform in_ Chicago. Incidentally, he might inquire of the aldermen who have acquired a competence on a salary of $3 a session how they got t. After the 1st, every functionary in New York must pay his way or walk. The con- stitution prohibits passes. A like reform in other states would rejuvenate the receipts of railroads now waterlogged with dead heads. Congressman Thomas Dunn English, who 1s popularly known in Washington now, since Du Maurier revived the vogue of his song, as “Ben Bolt,” is said to be almost blind. He walks about the halls of congress with the vague facial expression of a man groping in the dark. St. Louls discovered after election that she had a judge possessed of a lofty idea of Judicial dlgnity. Seven policemen were ad- Judged guilty ‘of contempt and sent to jail for carrying their artillery in his presence, Despite many warm and enthusiastic sugges- tions, the judicial mind repels the resigning mood. Editor McDowell of the Mississippl Popus list at Jackson, has disappeared, and the paper is suspended. He left the following note to his employes: “I leave two lamps, a bucket and dipper, a coal scuttle, a shovel a broom, a wash pan, a coal oil can, and about 700 pounds of coal. Divide the sams between you." Secretry Herbert's acceptance of some blowhole ‘armor plates for the Oregon was a happy Christmas offering for Carnegie, Frick & Co. Whereat they rejoiced excoedingly and issued an order reducing the wages of employes from 10 to 15 per cent. Mr. Car- negio remarked recently that the man who dies rich, dies dishonored. Hence, his anxiety for the spiritual welfare of his workmen. Young Vornier, the mathematical prodigy, continues to excite interest in France, and people are awaiting the publication of his book which is to bring about a scientific revolution like Newton's. The boy first at- tracted notice by corresponding with several sclentists, who thought from his letters that le was an elderly savant like themselves, and were amazed to discover that he was a schoolboy. A party of Russian civil engineers and practical railroad men are now in this coun- try seeking information as to our methods of construction and operation. They need not ®0 far to find it. 1In the matter of construc. tion, the history of the Credit Mobilier fur- nishes all the essential points. The main dificulty with the problem of operation is to choose the juciest chapters from the abundance of material at hand. The Santa Fe rebate deal, the Northern Pacific irri- gated stock, bogus assets of the Erie, and the annual Reading deals present a composite picture of practical raflroading without an equal in tho old world e e CURRENCY REFORMS. Cincinnati Commercial: Even the densest of the democratic financiers are beginning to discover that the gold reserve cannot be maintained under the operations of a tarift act that doesn’t produce enough revenue each month to pay the working expenses of the government. :Denver Republican: Butchers and bakers and candlestick makers have just as much natural right to issue circulating notes as bankers, and none of them should ever be given a legal right to usurp that function of soverelgnty, which belongs to the govern- ment alone. Philadelphia Ledger: We cannot percelve that the changes made from the .old bill to the new are of such character as to warrant the serious consideration by congress of the substituted measure. The original scheme was fatally defective, and the latter one is almost, if not quite, equally so. It is worse in its discrimination In favor of a state bank. ing system, the possible evils of which can be gauged in advance by no man. One of them would almost certainly be the destruc- tlon of the national banking system, and the consequently inevitable and sudden throwing upon the market of the $200,000,000 of goy. ernment bonds held by them, Springfleld (Mass.), Republican: trouble now is that foreign creditors are de. manding payment and the government is belng asked to furnish the gold, when it can. not well afford ‘to. The natural course of things would be for the debtors to furnish this gold themselves and get it from the banks if they do not have their own money in that form. But the banks refuse to cash these checks in gold. They have practically set up a premium on the metal and forced the debtors to go to the treasury for the gold. The banks have thus set an examplo of distrust which Is becoming contagious. They hold the key to the situation, They can, it they wish, bring the government to 5 silver basis in spite of anything the latter can do. And by persisting In their present courso they will effect this result it gold exports continue through the spring as com- monly. This is a point which it will be well to hold ia mind, Sy NEBRASKA AND NEBRASKANS. The Methodists of Gering expect to build a parsonage for their minister. A Methodist revival 18 in progress at Fiast- Ings, and the business men of the city have been especially invited to attend. . The town of Emerson will be among the applicants for a normal school when the matter comes before the legislature, Thieves at Beatrico made a raid on' the Burlington stock yards and carried off a hog after they hrd killed it, leaving no clew by which they could be identified. Burglars at Arlington carried offt $100 worth of knives and razors from the hard- ware store of C. H. Linn & Co. They gained an entrance to the store through a window, Charlie Johnson, a Saline county farmer, Is minus his left hand as a result of too inti- mate an acquaintance with a fodder cutting machine. All the surgeon had to do was to dress the stump of the arm, Adam McPherran, an old resident of Da- kota county and a Grand Army veteran, dropped dead from heart discase as he was stepping from the porch of his house. He was a native of Pennsylvania. The contest cases which were announced to come before the legislature have gone gUmmering. Mell C. Jay has concluded that he does not want to try to wrest a seat in the lower house from Nick Fritz, his demo- cratic opponent. Two residents of Beatrice made a rald on @ lot of chickens for a Christmas dinner, but just as they were cooking a half dozen of the birds the officers swooped down on them and spolled the meal. The heads of the house- holds spent their holiday in jail. The coming of Christmas was too much for a young girl who had been leading a vicious "life in a Covington dive. She an- nounced her desire to reform, and was fur- nished the necessary funds to enable her to reach her old home and spend the holidays under the parental roof. The Highest of all in Leavening Power.— Latest U. S. Gov't Report Ro Baking Powder ABSOLUTELY PURE RIS CONDITION KEPT QUIET Friends of John H. Gear Not Told of His Real Situation, ULTIMATE REC"VERY 13 ANNOUNCE Mra. Gear Refuss to Allow Any Ono to See Her Husband or to Talk of Him More Than to Say He Will Get Well. WASHINGTON BUREAU OF THE BE 14! W YASHINGTON, Do Senator-elect Gear has been gradually but constantly improving in condition during tho past twenty-four hours. Physiclans and trained nurees are constantly in attendance, and everything that can be dene by medical sclence and skill is being done to assist nature in overcoming the disease. It is not conceded that the rush of blood to the head, which prolonged unconsciousness, was stroke of apoplexy, but the impression is general that such was the condition. It is announced by the manager of the hotel that Mr. Gear Is now considered out of danger, and that his recovery is simply a question of time. No person has been permitted to en- ter the sick chamber, and accurate informa- tion on the real condition of Mr. Gear has not been given, even to members of the Towa congressional delegation in the city, all of whom are life-long, warm, personal triends of the stricken man. The secrecy which has beon maintained concerning the case has in- tensified the grave apprehensions which have been felt ever since the stroke occurred on Monday afternoon. The wife of the distin- guished Iowan is a woman of great deter- mination, .and she positively declines to per- mit any information to be given beyond the statement that her husband is out of danger and will, in her judgment, be restored to his full healih and vigor. REORGANIZING THE There has been considerable speculation indulged in by statesmen and writers con- cerning the probability of a reorganization of the senate by the republicans in the Fifty- fourth congress. The prevailing sentiment has been that no change will occur; and the statement has been made by Senator Aldrich that, inasmuch as the republicans have not a clear majority of the semate, it will be impossible for them to rorganize that body. Morcover, it has been usually regarded as good politics for the republicans to permit the democrats to maintain their organization, 50 that the republicans cannot be hlamed for any legislation which may be enacted before the next presidential campaign, All of these stories have been plausible, and it is generally believed that for the above reasons, and for other reasons not suc- cinctly stated, the republicans will do noth- ing in the matter of a reorganization of the senate. But there are strong reasons fcr the reorganization of the senate; in fact, reasons practically unanswerable, In the first place, there will be forty-five republican senators and thirty-nine democratic senators, with six populists " on the side, not counting for either dominant or leading party. The democrats will be in a minority. The people cannot. be fooled into the belief that the democrats con- trol the senate, even if the republicans should permit them to maintain their organization and hold all of the offices. It would not be good politics to try to play such a sham upon the people before a presidential election. In the mext place, the incoming republican senators from North Carolina, West Virginia, New Jersey, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming, Washington and other states, will want their share of patronage without need- less waiting. They will want to be chalr- men of committees, with handsome commit- tee rooms, messengers, clerks, stenographers and all other conveniences. They will not want to take back seats, nor play wall flow- ers for two years, when their party Is in power and able to control legislation. It is well known that Senator Jones of Nevada and Scnator Peffer of Kansas are getting ready to make a jump back into the repub- | lican party; and they are ready to act with the repubiicans in the reorganization of the | senate, and also in shaping legislation. Con- sequently, not because they desire to do so, but because they must do so, the republican leaders, Allison and Aldrich, will be obliged to consent to a reorganization of the senate. Who will be the candidates for the offices nobody knows as yet. Ex-Sergeant-at-Afms Valentine of Nebraska has been here looking the fleld over, trying to get back into the position. But he is not in it even a_little bit. When the senate shall meet next No- vember Valentine's friends, Paddock and Manderson, who pushed him into the posi- tion before, will both be ex-senators. With- out his state delegation the aspirant will have no chance of success. General Anson G. McCook, formerly secretary of the senate, might possibly secure a re-lection to that position; but he is not, and will not be, a candidate. He is doing well in private bus- iness. No other names have been suggested for these offices, but there will be plenty of candidates when the fact becomes generally known that the senate will be reorganized next December by the republicans. CLAIMANTS WERE DISLOYAL, The court of claims of the United States a SENATE. cases of claims for stores and supplies, ale leged to have been taken by or furnished to . the military or the naval forces of the United States for thelr use during the late war, in which the court, on a preliminary inquiry, | have not found (hat the elaimants were loyal during the war. Theso cases have, theres fore, all been dismissed for that cause, under the law commonly known as the “Bowman Act.” A large number of the claims have | been pending before congress for a number of oars, peaking of this question of the parity between metals,” sald Senator Dubols of Idaho, this morning, “did you ever notiee what has happened to the goddess on the dome above us?" All his listoners confessed observation, ‘Why," continued the Idaho humorist, ‘ever since the big golden dome was placed on the Library building opposite, the old cop= per goddess has boen growing greener with envy every day.'" Sines James H. Mulligan of Kentucky went to Samon as consul-general he has written home several glowing letters about his daily life and duties. He at once made a friend of Robert Louis Stovenson, the novelist, and they were much together. Soms of Mullls gan's letters are 0 fervid in enthusiastic description of thoe natives that one of his con- stituents in old Kentucky made the remark: “About seventeen years from now a new chief will arise in Samoa. He will call him= self Mulligatawny, and, putting the island on a truck will carry it off, Mulligan s a kodak fiend, and sends soma startling specimens of his work. He says the Samoan ladies are not so hard to please as most women who sit for pictures, and are not bothered about costumes. Mrs. Leiter of Chicago is now a figure in Washington, and is constantly dazzling so- clety with extravagant Innovations. The evening she had a few friends with her, and the Russian choir came over from New York for them. The choir appeared tn its rich, brilliant costumes, and sang exclusively Rus- sian music. This cholr created quite a furore at the Columbian Exposition, and re- ceived many flattering offers from both east- ern and western managers to remain in this country and tour which, it seems, it has done in the east at least. Its unusually large repertoire contains many folk songs, queer and weird, grand old chants, full of rich, majestic harmonles, and many modern songs written in a lighter vein. IN A GENERAL WAY. Patents have beon issued as follows: barska—Seth K. Humphrey, Omaha, mill. Towa—Alfred C. Carter, assignor one-half to G. L. Monies, well-boring apparatu Grinnell, Campbell, machine for & John Waddell, Eagle Grove, table. South Dakota—John W, Beewar, Millbank, and D. Shaw, Ortonville, Minn., washing machine, The following postmasters have been aps pointed: Nebraska—Catalina, Holt county, J. F. Emerson, vico O. M. Andrus, resigned; Knox county, Belle Harrison, vice John Dolphin, resigned. lowa—Beaver, Boone county, A, J. Eckart, vice W. W Barker, resigned; Incline, Boonie county, John Robinson, vice F. J. Lockhart, resigned, The following Nebraska postofiices have been discontinued: Appleton, Sheridan county, mail will go to Albany; Ranch, Boyd county, mail will go to Basin. Postmasters have been commissioned as follows: Nebraska—Lewls C. Shaugler, Ed- holm; Charles Johuson, Holbrook; Walter A. Rogers, Lowell; Charles Link, Perch. Towa: Ida M. Killen, Crippen; John' H. Bens zing, Grove Hill. B T BOND PURCHBASERS LIQUIDATING. their want of Ne- wind- Greenfield, Brower, Des Amos L. wing 10gs; New Currenoy Plan Sald to Ie tho Moving. Cause. NEW YORK, Dec. 27.—The United States government bond syndlcate has dissolved after disposing of 55 per cent of the issue. The remaining 66 per cent has been divided among the members. The new currency plan, it is alleged, has influenced liquidation by holders of government bonds, which has been the cause of timid holders disposing of their bonds and which caused the decline below the syndicate price. The new lssue is now quoted” at from 117% to 118, WASHINGTON, Dec. 27.—Secretary Car- lisle nothing 'to say today in regard to the published statement to the effect that the new currency plan, it was thought, was responsible for the decline of the price of the new issue of bonds to a_point below the syndicate price. Assistant Secretary Curtis was of the opinion that the pending cur- rency bill had little if anything to do with the matter. The fact that some of the small holders had liquidated their bonds he re- garded as not significant. In many cases these liquidations, he thought, were for the purpose of raising money with which to meet obligations falling due January 1, In Mr. Curtis’ opinion there was no significance in the reported fact that the snydicate had sold only 35 per cent of its holdings. It was his understanding that many of the large holders, particularly trust and insurance companies, had purchased the bonds with & view to holding them permanently as a se- curity or reserve. The bonds, with accrued interest, should now be worth approximately. 117.515 on the basis of the purchase price. —_— Sued u Prencher for Damages, SAGINAW, Mich.,, Dec. 27.—A caplas was issued today on complaint of Mayor Marshcn for the arrest of Rev. Willlam Knight, pas- tor of the First Congregational church, who has been the most vigorous in bringing ace cusations of dishonesty and Incompetency against the city officials, Damages of $,000 are asked for, —_— Wants O'Malley to Pay for His Fu, CHICAGO, Dec. 27. harles H. Shepard has begun suit against State Senator John F. O'Malley for $50,000 damages, Shepard 18 the cabman who was shot by O'Malley on election day and was made a cripple for has transmitted to congress a long list of life. Your Money's Worth or Your Money Back, Men’s Ulsters--- The best time to buy ulsters is when youneed’em. You need 'em now,when it's about a dozen degrees be= low zero. We are offering an elegant heavy storm ulster for $10, better ones for $12.50 and a splendid one for $15. Boy’s Ulsters-- We are closing out cert $4 and $6.50, Underwear--- ain lines of boys' ulsters at The cold can’t get into 'em. Ulsters and underwear are the things to keep cold out. We have both. BROWNING, Reliable Clothi KING & CO., rs, 8. W, Cornzr Fift:enth and Douglas Sts.