Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, March 15, 1903, Page 13

PART II. e @ T ‘THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE. -~ ESTABLISHED JU JNE 19, 1871. OMAHA, SU NDAY MORNING, MARCH 15, 190¢ SlS(iLH COPY FIVE CENTS. Tt S 8 N PAGES 13 TO 20, e e T T TR WORK OF REALTY EXCHANGE! Begins with Fight ca "Ourbetone” Brokers and Leads to Tax Reform. ACTIVITY IN BEHALF OF . EXPOSITION How the Contest for Equality in the Tazation of Real and Personal Do you kmow that the Omaha Real Es tate exchange, which has come so promi- | nently to the forefront during the last two years, has a history which can be traced back into the middle '80s? Yet that is none the less & fact, for it was organized Sep- tember 1, 1886, with the late Alvin Saun- ders as ita first president. The principle of tax reform was probably tar from the minds of the founders, for the original object was to bring the real estate dealers of the city into closer and more harmonious relation and incidentally to crowd out what, st that time, constituted one of the greatest obstacles in the path of progress—the “‘curhstone broker.” So it was to make war npon the ‘curbstone broker,” who maintained no office and sim- ply foraged upon the drippings, taking whatever commission he could pick up, that the men who maintained offices and had recognized standing in the community, got together an association of their own. Al- though to keep out the nondescripts the ad- mission fee was fixed at $100, the early growth of the exchange was rapid and the extinction of the “curbstone” species later led the way to a reduction of the entrance fee to the present figure—$10. Up to and through the boom days the old exchange was an active factor, but with the collapse of the inflation period, it sank into quies- cence. The Omaha Real Estate exchange in its present form dates from 1896, when it was reorganized on the eve of Omaha's awaken- ing from a period of depression, when all commercial interests had resolved to mako a strong effort to revive trade and industry through the Transmis ppl exposition. Called together to take an active part in the preparations, the real estate men made E. A. Benson president of the new ex- change and adopted the present constitu- tion. The first work was to assist in securing state and national appropriations for the exposition, to promote which a board of sixty-seven persons was launched on a tour through the southwest, with Texas as the objective point, in the inter- est of the exposition. Upon that trip Ne- bra acquired half a mile water front on Galveston harbor, deeded by the citizens of Texas to Alvin Saunders in trust for the state of Nebraska. Auction Sales Unsuccessful. After the exposition the Real Estate ex- change again turned its attention to mat- ters of speclal Interest to the members, aud attempts were again made to establish & system of auction sales, which, however, proved no more successftl than the former, only & few lots being sold at' prices so low &s to make the sales farclcal. It was in 1900 that the exchange made a pew departure in establishing a rellable system of appralsements upon business and residence property. Values of Omaha real estate at this perlod were an unknown quantity. Much of the . land had not changed hands since the days of the “boom’ and prices then fixed were the nominal value of property during days of depression. ‘When inquiries for land picked up after the exposition dealers had no adequate basfs of value to depend upon. They could not ask the price paid at the last sale, for ‘that would have been absurdly high, and they 1d not dare to fix a value upon a capitalize - tion of the net earnings for a given period, in many cases this would have been a minus quantity. For two years or more the weekly “appraisement” was a regular feature of the exchange meetings, and to a great extent has fixed the relative values of property upon its present basis, a basis, by the way, at this time below what would be a capitalization of the net earuings on tha average property of the class for the last four or five years. Upon the election of W. H. Green to the presidency in 1901 the exchange became more widely advertised. Mr. Green asked the question, “What is {he matter with Omaha?" and for a year or more business men, professional men and property own- ers, In response to invitations, endeavored to answer this question. These answers were as diverse as the speakers, but all stimulated Interest In the exchange. For the time the weekly meetings, then held each Wednesday in the Commercial club rooms, were chiefly occasions for prepared addresses, followed by more or less in- formal discussions. Out of these Informal discussions grew ‘what Is regarded as the greatest achieve- ment of the organization. In the fall of 1901 one of the speakers called attention to the wide difference between the actual value Of certaln personal property and the valuation placed upon it by assessors. With some doubt as to the fitness of the sction the president appointed a commit- This invesigation began In' & small way betore the county commissioners and was productive of no immediate results, as the owners of this property, located mainly in South Omaha, made a showing accepted by the officlals. A short time after this the city tax commissioner, addressing the | exchange, called attention to th) great discrepancy between the value of the per- sonal property of the city and that of the | real estate. Another Investigation com- mittee was appointed, of which F. D. Wead was chairman and W. G. Schriver socretary. The committee first ascertained that the public service corporations were being taxed fn an amount greatly out of proportion ta the real estate of the city, and sought to have the corporcte assess- ments ralsed to & point equal to the as- sessment upom te—at that time 40 per cent of value. The tax commissioner te a certain ex- tent with the commfttee and presented o the Board of Review assessments upon the property of these corporations greatly in excess of any previously made. Th board, bowever, reduced the assessment o prac- tically the former figures, whereupon W. G. Shriver and George T. Morton, on be- balf of the Real Estate exchenge and in their personal capacity, filed complaints before the city council as a board o1 equal- ization. The council refused to give tho relief demanded and recourse was bad to the courts. Before Judge Dickinson the case was tried and resulted in @ victory for the exchange. Then came a test of the earnest- ness of the members of the exchange. Officers of the corporations proposed com- promises upon different bases, and for two ‘weeks or more the tax committee was in consultation with the representatives of these corporatiops. On appeal to the su- preme court evidence was taken before a referee, whose report upon the statement C. F. Harrison—I have scant patience with those persons who condemn Omaha because of high taxes and bad government | who would mot so much as lift a finger | to get the taxes reduced or make the city government better. Omaha is not higher | taxed, nor worse governed, than other cities of its size and class. Our taxes are no | higher than the average of other cities of our class—in fact, are not so high, Our | real cstate organization has not objected | 50 much to high taxes as to the unequal distribution of taxes. If properly dis tributed, the tax burden on all property 1o Omaha would be light. Omaha is at the turning of the ways. The water has been squeezed out of its values, a new basis adopted and the city is now ripe for an ad- vance such as has not occurred for fifteen years. In this forward movement the Real Estate exchange stands for two things. First, a fair distribution of the burdens of taxation In accordance with the constitu- tion; second, the building up of a greater Omaba under a good city government. George P. Bemis—I was one of the first members of the Real Estate exchange when it was incorporated. The exchange is and has been doing splendid work since it com- menced on the tax business. The organiza- tion has mude a most wonderful record and the young blood of the exchange, the mem- bers of the tax committee and Attorney J H. MclIntosh should be given the highest pralse. Taking all taings into considera- tion, I belleve the future for real estate in Omaha s on the upward slant—no boom, “but a steady rehabilitation of values. Sharp land speculation outside the cities foreshadows brisker markets within corporate limits. I am confident that real estate and general prosperity of city are assured. G. 8. Benawa—Omaha property Is a good investment now for the reason that ths rate of interest on farm land is not as high that which can be derived from city property at present prices. Rentals are better from Omaha real estate than they have been for some years previously and this will increase building, which will fur- ther add to the value of city property. John N. Frenzer—Since the boom of 1887 there have been many improvements in the city in the way of additional railroads, large wholesale houses and manufacturing plants. Large warehouses have been built by Omaha wholesalers for their own use; the schools and colleges have been much improved; the parks and boulevards have been improved; the new public library building opened. Thomas Brennan—Reduction in taxes Is having a good effect upon sales of Omaha real es 1 have sold considerable prop- erty, much of which was taken by eastern mortgagees after the boom. From now on Omaha real estate promises to be a profit- able investment at present prices. F. D. Wead—Rents have Increased con- siderably on Omaha property recently and people are inquiring for property. Many of these are people who have removed to the city recently. The fact that there has not been a very large amount of bullding of rental property not only increases the value of the lots® now Iimproved, but it gives promise of increased value to land when such buildings are erected, they must be in time. The Interest rate on Omaha property has also decreased re- cently, showing that in the minds of lend- ers of money the risk ls considered better. W. H. -Thomas—There are many oppor- tunities for profitable investment in Omaha real estate. While improvement is noted in the vajue of trackage property for whole- sale purposes, centrally located property In the retail district and in the West Far- nam residence district, city real estate as a whole is low and entirely out of line with the high prices paid for farm lands. Condi- tions are favorable for a gradual advance in values. When city real estate is re lleved of that part of the burden of taxa- tion that other Interests should pay, it will be in a more healthy conditioh to advance. I. N. Hammond—The Real Estate ex- change has worked a great reform in the matter of taxation. The outlook for real estate business in Omaha is the best in ten years. More inquiries are being re- ‘ceived from persons who want to build and buy homes than during any corresponding seascn in that length of time. It looks to me that real estate Is as low as it ever will be in Omaha and that there is a gen- eral tendency to belleve that prices are going to go up from new on. Reed of the Byron Reed Company Farm lands and city properties are im- proving in value. Farm properties that were selling at $30 to $45 per acre in Doug- las county fcur or five years ago are now A L bringing $50 to $80, an increase of from 20 to 50 per cent. The speculation In Omaha property is not wild. but conserva- tive. Omaha property ls about as much too low now as it was too high in 1887 E. Sweet—I am optimistic on Omaha real estate prospects. It i& unnecessary to make any comment on the results achieved by the Real Estate exchange on tax litiga- tion last year relative to municipal cor- porations. We had a hard fight and won. The result shows in the 1903 levy and as- sessment. Evorybody is pleased with the outlook and that in itself is record cnough. Shimer & Chase—The Real Estate ex- change is doing good work and if it is kept up good results will ensue. The outlook for the future is for an improvement in Omaha realty conditions. There can be no better investment than in Omaha real es- tate. It Is safe and sure. W. L. Selby—The low price of rents and of property in Omaha, as compared with small Nebraska and Iowa towns, is bound to bring good results. Omaha property now has a stability of value that it has not had for several years. Investors are now dis- posed to put money in Omaha property as the best kind of an investment. This has not been the case heretofore because of there being no stability in property values. J. H. Sherwood—The real estate condl- tions in.Omaha look better this spring than for the last eight or nine years that I have been in the Omaha real estate business. Prospective investors are looking around. Taxes are lower and this has a tendency to increase prices. Money will seek invest- ment where expenses are lower. Christ Boyer—The reduction of taxes will certainly have a marked influence on real estate. I expect an Increased activity this year. Omaha real estate Is as low now as it will ever be, and the tendency Is to ad- vance in price. The rental properties are paying a fair interest on investments and money invested in Omaha real estate s in my opinion safe and profitable. W. R. Homan—Real estate matters have been very good since the first of the year. Houses are well rented and there is iittle or nothing vacant. Store bulldings are renting better than for ten years. The low tax levy this year has been a benefit to city real estate. N. P. Dodge, jr—There is a great deal doing in houses. This is caused by the in- crease in the wages of carpenters and bulld- ers, which is leading many to buy and build instead of renting. Houses are also being built for investment, and the number of home owners is rapidly Increasing. John W. Robbins—I have had more in- quiries for property and have sold more property than I have at this season for years and I judge the outlook to be much better than for a long time past. I find that perhaps one-half the inquiries are from people coming to Omaba from the interior of this state or lowa or elsewhere. Never before has this been 5o noticeable. The re- duction we have experienced in municipal and county taxes has been due very largely to the efforts of Real Estate exchange in behalf ot tax reform George & Co.-~The real estate market is in a good, healthy condition; prices are low and we don't expect (0 see any very great change in values this year Garvin Bros.—An encouraging feature of the local real estate market is the In- creased inquiry from nonresidents wanting to buy Omaha property for purpose of in- vestment. The conditions simply show that reul estate |s returning to the normal, al though prices continue low. T. J. Fitzgerald of R. C. Peters & Co.—Real estate prospects are good Weo have very few vacant houses, which 18 a good sign, ana we are having more calls now than we have had for some time. Desirable inside property has ad- vanced considerably Omaha property now of good advances. Those properties for- merly offered at sacrifice prices have all been taken up; purchases now are at much better fizures. Parties Investing in will reap the benefit Potter, Forgan & Haskell—In our opinion farm lands will find a ready sale this year, with & probable advancement of $5 to $10 per acre. We find farmers all have money and that money derived from farm loans Is being used to buy more farm land, prac- tically no loans being made for any other purpoge. The exchange is of great benefit to both buyers and sellers. D. V. Sholes Co.—The Real Estate ex- change is doing good work and should have the support of every taxpayer. The outlook is very, very good for a fine business this year. Our opinidn is based upon the num- ber of inquiries we are having in answer to our advertisements. Never before has there been such a flood of answers to ad- vertisements. Payne, Bostwick & Co.—The outlook for real estate business for the coming year is very encouraging. This is especially true of city and town property. Farm have always been a good investment in Ne- braska, but the prices for this sort of land are now well up to the top notch, and the city lots offer a much more tempting propo- sition to buyers. Improved property will also receive much attention from investors. Payne Investment Company—While we have attended all of the meetings of the Real Estate exchange we are not thor- oughly conversant with all of the details. We are heartily pleased with what it hi done. The outlook for the real estate busi- ness is good. It has looked so years gone by and has fallen down, but we just feel that 1t will not do s this year. Seymour M. Badler—The outlook for the sale of real estate is not very encouraging. There are not many buyers and they are looking for snaps When money is in- vested nowadays it goes into other things than real estate. The Real Bgstate ex- change has done admirable work in its efforts to make taxation equable. The fight that it has put up has hurt our business, but will resilt in much good eventually. A. P. Tukey & Son—A marked feature ot the real estate business is coming to be the demand for small tracts along the routes of the projected suburban street car lines and this is going to figure largely in our future business. W. Farnam Smith—There is an active in. quiry for city home properties of from $2,000 to $6,000 in value, and it is ot in- frequent that some are disposed to Invest from $10,000 to $20,000 in such properties. Personally, I have not been a receat at- lands Omana’s Real Estate Outlook Never Better for Investors tendant at the Omaha Real Estate ex- change, but know of the good work it has accomplished. The lowering of the city taxes will have the effect of causing more extensive real estate investments. C. R. Clover, President Dcuglas County Realty Company—I have been a member of the Real Estate exchange four years. In my opinion it has done excellent work to- ward the prosperity of the city. The spirit of the leaders it unflagging and worthy ot entire commendation. As to the outlook for real estate in Omaha, I consider it bright. There is a great demand for new homes. Wright & Lasbury—Omaha reel estate Is now at (he bottom and is bound to go up. The agitation by the Real Estate exchange on the tax-lowering question has had a very good effect. The outlook for Omaha is very good, and though we are mot doing much in real esthte just now, because of other interests cngaging our attention, we predict a very prosperous year for Omaha along all lines. M. G. Montgomery—I have now a num. ber of sales (o bring through. The pros pecte are very fine for a good real estate business in Omaha just now, and these prospects are growing. There is a con stant demand for nice homes. There is also a strong inquiry for Douglas county farm properties, near Omaha. The lower- ing of the city taxes hae the tendeney to induce people to buy clty property for investment. There fs also & persistent inquiry for business investments. Hastings & Heyden—From the standpoint of a party just starting in business we are extremely hopeful for the Omaha realty outlook. The Real Estate exchange has done an infinite amount of good, better, in fact, than any organization we have in the city. There s a very active and con- stant call for acre suburban properties. J. Fletcher—I am chiefly engaged in emi- gration work toward the wesiern part of the state, andi have just established head- quarters here in Omaha. My observation here is that the outlook for Omaha realty matters is unqualifiedly good. There is a demand for business properties from out- mide imvestors, which is a very favorable indication. Home Building—The demand for homes in Omaha and South Omaha is accurately measured by“the activity of the Omaha Loan and Bullding assoclation. Secretary George M. Nattinger reports that the de- mand for loans with which to purchase or build homes is equal to the supply of money. The assoclation’s receipts aver. ages $30,000 a month. All of it has been engaged in advance throughout the winter and the demand upon the astoclation grows brisker as the building season approaches. H. Green—Real estate cannot be lost unle: the owner borrows money on it and cannot pay. It {s the only non-perish- able investment. If real estate {8 prudently purchased and pald for it Is the nearest thing ‘to absolute permanency and safety possible. The only thing that can stop the growth of Omaha would be some cataclysm of nature or an awful pestilence, and even then the city would eventually recover. I consider any wise investment. in Omaha real estate and Nebraska farms as the sefest investment that can possibly be made. J. A. Lovgren—There s no question as to the value of Omaha property as an invest- ment. Prices are lower than they ever will be again and those who invest are as- sured of an income if the property is im- proved. E. A. Benson—There has been more in- quiry for Omaha real estate lately than for a 16ng time, the prospective purchasers St sttt All the Live Real Estate Men Size Up the Situation as Pointing to Continued Prosp:rity —Read the Interviews ottt sttt BRIEF FOR THE BACHELORS Bunch of Lovely Bouquets Thrown at the Lonesomes by a Woman. with us being people who want homes rang- | SINGLE BLESSEDNESS THE IDEAL LIFE Ing in value from $1,200 to $1,500. Onme | reason for this {s that rent is so much higher than it was a few years ago that | Married Mem Likened to Galley people begin to sce where they can save | Slaves amd Children a Source of money by letting their monthly apply on purchases. has a small amount of cash on hand fectly able to own his home. payments Anyone who is able to pay $12 to $15 per month for rent, and who | is per- | Trouble—Some Remarkable Statements. n has been going e decrease in the A great deal of disc iy relative to t on y—1 loo some move- o G e e thte nring With a | Dumber of marriages In thls country. A o g bill to tax bachelors has even been intro- few deals in good real estate now under 1 . eople are inclined to advance their | 4uced in one state legisiature. ek g Armer foeling. Inquiries | \omen writers for some time have o Bl ”“:m"m:g‘l e l\!x: ‘fass | been deploring the fact that the really o ve ¢ e it desirable men ro single, and the homes and while not much has changed | desirabl e L ek hands the prospects are good for some ex- | tensive sales during the year. Charles E. Willlamson—I have had occa- sion to do considerable traveling during the t year, east, southeast, south and south writers make it very evident that Peggotty is “willin' " if Barkis is not. They can- not see the raison d'etre for man's exist- ence it he is not the financial promoter of woman's happiness. And it is a deplorable | fact that as soon as a man is married in | o ceases to be an object west, and have visited all of the large cities | ARy instances he ceascs to ek s of interest, except to the bill collector. of the country. I belleve I can say | % EHAL {6 neneiot thata 51 At OMIEATE DISH Social requirements arc so much more exacting than they were fifty years ago, erty-selling prices as low the rental income. This is one of the rea sons investments in Omaha real estate sures a good speculative profit in the near future and a handsome income while wait- ing David C. Patterson—I feel that the best in proportion to and a good ome, why 1 would advise It as- | and twentleth century notions have run | riot through our domestic ideals” in such a manner that the intelligent young man stops to think before undertaki a task |to which the futile efforts of Sysyphus | rolling his stone would be a pleasant | pastime. A man may have a good paying business that wil! allow him to support his family L b M B b found I% | comfortably by strict attention and hard all the country is in Omaha real estate.| you Ag years pass on, he may double Think of it—how absurdly low are ”"‘mr:mv m-3 r:u..l:u;’\;:. his Income. Yet it prices! Acreage close fn to the city limits | yq g 3 kind husband and father, which as cheap as lowa farm land. Resldence | poqng «hat he must gratify the wishes of property for the cost of the bulldings. Lots | tie family as far as he is able, he will at prices prevailing in Towa and Nebraska find that his expense have increased at towns of 10,000, and that, too, In face of | ne game ratio as his income, and when the fact that in all the west no city has had such a commercial growth as Omaha dur ing the last three years. George N. Hicks—I consider Omaha never to have been in better shape for invest- ments (han it is today. begin to offer such remunerative returns s those to be cbtained by building houses to rent in this city. The Real Estate ex- change has it within its power to do more good for Omaha than any other crgani: tion, as its efforts are directed to upbuilding the real v operty of the city. George M. Nattinger—The real estate outlook is good. We have closed more deals the past month than for the three months previous. There is a brisk demand for all the meney we can get hold of. Encumbran- ces are being rapidly lifted from proper- tles. Most of the inquiries for loans are from persons who wish to buy property and build hom R. H. Landeryou—There are a number of Inquiries for homes of moderate values. These come from people of moderate means. |y, There is a scarcity of five and six-room hodses, 1 find but little inquiry for large properties. Capitalists could find no better investment for their idle money than build- ing a numbe~ of five and six-room cottages that would rent at from $15 to $20 per month. J. H. Johnson—The real estate outlook for | Omaba this spring is emcouraging. demand for houses for rentals and homes is for in excess of the supply. call is for five and six-room houses. conditions are better than at any time in my experience. The inquiry is not for speculative properties, but for homes. There is also a demand for business investments from outside parties. Wyman & Shriver—Prospects for a good | real estate Lusiness were mnever better. There is a demand for good improved prop- erty that Is unflagging. still further increasing that demand. = = of facts and the conclusion of law found | against every verbal contention of the Real Estate exchange. The real struggle, therelore, came upon the exceptions to the referee's report flled by the relators, and after extended argument the court re- jected the referce's findings and afrmed Practically all the exchangg had demanded. Councilmen Pay e Co The Board of Equalization was required to reassemble and hear the complaints of Shriver and Morton, the costs uf the liti- gation being assessed against the members of the city council who had refused pre viously to grant the hearing. Then was seen the effect of the extra legal action of the real parties to the suit. Before the council had reached its decision the Real Estate exchange and the interested cor- porations had in nearly every case reached a conclusion as to what would be a satis- factory assessment for the year and these assessments were accepted by the Board of Equalization. During this contest it became apparent that the city tax commissioner, since the office had been created, had utterly disre- garded the plain letter of the statute gov- erning the assessment of property in re- | turning it at 40 per ceat of its value in- | stead of its full cash value. Representa- tions made to Tax Commissioner Fleming | resulted in a decision by him to adopt the 100 per cent basis of assessmegt for city taxation, and the tax committee closed its | first year's work, having completed its original program. The change of the basis of city assess- | ments from 30 per cent to full valuation | eentuated forcibly the practical exemption { trom taxation enjoyed by the railroads on their immensely valuable facilities fin Omaba by reason of its assessment by the State Board of Equalization and distribu tion on a mileage ratio. This monstrous case of tazailon inequality naturally de- manded the attention of the exchange, whose comumittees, reconstructed for 1904, after the election of President C. F. Har- | rison, made “The equal taxation of rall- roads” their watchword. F. D. Wead was again chairman of the tax committee, with W. G. Ure as secretary. Co-Operati This time the city authorities, including |the tax commissioner, Board of Review, mayor and council, were all ready to co- operate, with the result that the railroad property was assessed locally at figures computed from estimates furnished by the railroad experts themselves, and the rail- roads today are resorting to an appeal ‘o the federal courts to perpetuate their tax | evasion on the representation that the local sessment is iovalid. In the meanwhile the tax committee is pursuing its campaign aleo before the legislature with a view to securing the repeal of the laws behind which the rallrcad tax-shirking has found cover, and undaunted by the obstacles set in their way by powerful paid railroad lob- bies declare their intention to fight it out 10 a successful {ssue, no matter how long it takes. In the more specialized work of the or- ganization the exchange has been very suc- ceesful. It has adopte1 rules to govern the renting of houses designed to reduce to a great extent the loss to property owners through the fallure of tenants to pay renmt; a schadule of charges to be made for the sale of real cstate and a rate for making loans and for acting as managers of prop- riy. There are now about sixty-five active members on the rolls of the exchange. Al- though at present without a regular meet- ing place, plans ‘are under consideration for the comstruction o a building which shall be a permanent home for the assocla- tlon. The present officers are C. F. Harrison, president; A. C. Charlton, secretary; S. P. Bostwick, treasurer, with an cxecutive committee of three, which at this time ha: been increased to seven for the purpose of making arrangements for a permanent meet- ing place. Since the contest over taxation began, the exchange has collected from members and citizens generally about $3,- 000, in addition to regular dues, which has been expended for legal advice and court costs. ' Talks of Ultimate Objeet. Speaking of the ultimate object of the Real Estate exchange, one of the oldest members says: s Our principal object is to advance the interests of the real estate dealers, and, incidentally, that of the real estade owners. At the present time we are engaged in a tax fight into which we'were drawn because | we saw our business fnjured by the un- equal assessment of real and personal prop- erty and realized that people would mot invest in real estate freely as long as the real estate owner was expected to bear more than his share of the expenses of government. We have improved those con- dittons materially, but fn our investigations we found that both the real es'ate owner and the owner of personal property were still the victims of rallroad tax exemp- tion. We invited the Commercial club to Soin us in the fight for justice in this mat- ter, as all business men were equal suf- ferers with ourselves. For reasons best known to its members, the Commercial club declined, and we found ourselves fight- ing the battle alone. We are still fighting and will continue to fight until justice is secured.” A M . “Welcome,” cried the voice, as Charon's boat grounded on the transstygian beach. ““Who are you?!' inquired the mewly ar- rived Shade “I can't see you at all.” “No wonder.” replied the voice. “I never had even a ghost of a chance to exist. I'm the man under the bed that the old maids are still loghlng for."—New York Press. WORKSHOPS AROUND NIAGARA Striking Results from Cheap Power Hitched t2 E eotrical Generators. INDUSTRIES SPRINGING UP NEAR BUFFALO Significant Industrial Facts Bearing Upon the Dog-in-the-Manger Policy Pursued in Omaka. One of the most wonderful workshops of the world is now under way around Niagara falls, reports the Louisville Courier-Jour- nal. The most beautiful and romantic cade ever known is proving to have an utilitarian value that in time may eclipse its fame for the picturesque. Science has seized upon this wonderful prodigy of mi ture, drawing upon its enormous stock ready-made power for use In all sorts manufacturing industries. The work far has been done without detriment | the beauty of the cataract. It is to of of so0 to be hoped this magnificent sp:ctacle will never be spolled, but capital and science have seized upon its marvelous riches, and the question has not been considered as to how far they will go. The same motive has prevalled that converted the falls of the Missiasippi at Minneapolis into a hand- maid of the milling industry. Such may ultimately be the fate of Niagara, When | Lord Kelvin, th> eminent British electrical authority, in the United States last year he paid a visit to the power works of Niagara, for which he was one of the consulting engineers. He was much pleased with what he saw and made the prediction that the ultimate exbaustion of the coal and ofl supplies would result in taking the power of the future from lakes and streams. The beginning was made with Niagar another great plant has been bullt, or is being bullt, on the St. Lawrence and a third has been successfully blished In California, while in flelds of India and elsewhere other va enterprises are under way Results of Cheap Power. was The cheapening of power that has already been accomplished gives the best economic reasons for the work. Attention has been called to it by the starting up of the pi iron furnaces of the Lackawanna Steel and Iron company at Buffalo. . This plant is to be lully provided with electrical power fur nished by the falls, it being the one con- cern of the kind in the world for the present that will have the advantage of the mew force. It is asserted that this power Is valued at $15 tc $20 per horse power per year; cheaper than it could be made with | coal. even it the coal could be obtained the Mysore gold ' for nothing. The amount plans are under way to increase the output to 350,000 as soon as possible, while a conservative estimate is that 1,000,000 will be obtained within the next ten years. The advantage it will give this great corpora- tion In the production of steel products, it is eaid, will amount to $2 or'$3 a ton over Pittsburg production. The plant is claimed to be as complete as that of the United States Steel compa | {vm amount of ore lands and every other | provision for the raw material which is 1o | be worked up Into steel products. The | plant will employ many thousand men, and among its directors and owners are many of the best known manufacturers and cap- italists in the United States. Industrics Multiply. The abundance and cheapness of the Ni- agara power does mot stop with the new steel plant. Most of the power s turaed to profitable use in electro-chemical pro- cesses. For instance, there is one company there which s now producing dally thirty- six tons of caustic soda and.ninety tons of bleaching powder. Another has an out- put of twelve tons of soda and twenty-three tons of bleaching powder. A third turns out ten tons of spongy lead, a fourth 19,000 tons of metallic aluminum; and still others mavufacture artificial graphite, emery and phosphorus. Sclence ard capital are learning more and more to control the energies of nature that formerly found expression solely in the beautiful and the picturesque. An early American poet who wrote “The Soug of Steam,” predicted much of what men would do with this then newly discoverad power, but what is steam to electricity when Dame Nature herself attends to the manufacture? SCENT FROM LOVELY FLOWERS Ingenious Electrical Contrivance for Extracting Essences from Blooms. Prof. Elmer Gates, founder of the Elmer Gates laboratory at Washington, D. C., has just completed a wonderful invention, by means of which sweet scented blooms are made to yield their perfume. Delicious e senccs, in which milady revels, are now se- cured straight from the blooming plant | without which the perfume is extracted. With a remarkably ingenious. electrical apparatus, Prof. Gates secures the little particles aw they are breathed upon the alr by the flowers, and, dra: several charged wires to gla the various scents ich distinguish Tose, the lily and the violet. This electrical method of extracting per- jars, bottles the lf\unt from blooming plants besides utiliz- | obtained from the falls is now 60,000 horse power, and | , it having a | injuring the lovely flowers from | ing them down | can possibly be done by the method now in use of crushing the flowers, also assures a much supérior quality of perfume. The delicate violet extract, which is so expensive and so difficult to obtain, will be secured by Prof, Gates' apparatus and put ou the market at a nominal cost. Roses, lilies, lilacs, heliotrope, mignonette, carna- tions and all the other lovely blooms that exhale sweet odors will be made to grow in | Sam's conservatories for the value | Uncle of their perfume. Prof. Gates explains his Invention and the theory from which he evolved the ap- | paratus, as follows: “As long as a flower is supplled with sufficient moisture and eunshive to kcep it growing, it continues to give off perfume, at least until it begins to die. During this period certain organic substances in the flower are ripened into a perfume which is exhaled into the air; but shortly after the flower is cut this ripen- ing process ceases and the odor rapldly be- comes less and less agreeable. tion for capturing the odors directly they are wafted from the flowers is merely an Conditions of rents | ~re such that no farm land investment can | The | It The great | The | The lowering of city taxes no doubt will have the effect of ng the blooms to better advantage than My inven- | old age comes on, instead of an acquired | competence that will allow a well-carned | rest, he must struggle and die in the har- | ness, and all he has for a lifetime of drudg- ery Is his board, clothes and tobacco. It is unjust to censure a man of intelll- gence because he does not wish to ex- change a life of ease and freedom, ob- tained from a salary sufficient for his ins dividual necds, to one of anxiety and bondage, where he will have to live on love and short rations, with the prospect of having only the short rations in time, and where every additional mouth to Al means a division of the food that is a ready scant enough. Critles € teined. The newspaper cuts of the prince of Siam and his trall of sine evidently awoke President Eliot to the deficiency of the Harvard graduate's cutput in population, and he suggests that the curriculum of our colleges be shortened, so that our youug men can finish earlier, marry younger and raise larger families, Public Opinfon of February 19 accredits President Roosevelt with saying “that the man who deliberately avolds marriage and a beart 5o cold as to know no passion and a brain so shallow and seifish as to dislike having children is in effect a crim- | inal againct the race, and should be an object of contemptuous abhorrence by all Lealthy people.’” Both of these gentlemen scem to think that the old command to increase and multiply ghe carth that was given to a drowned world is still in compelling force. is_not the shallow brained and selfish men who avold matrimony and the drudgery of supporting a family, but thoughtful men, who know what the struggle for existence means, and are too conscientious to launch into the maelstrom of iife human beings who would have to contend with the pro- ducts of Five Points for the means of satis- fying hunger. Their advent would only make the struggle for existencc all the fiercer, the weakest would go to the wall, and in nine cases out of ten it would be | the children of cultured parents, who from thelr very environment are unable to cope with # class hounded by savage necessity. Hemstreet, in the February Arena, says: “Although in cities the majority are com- fortably employed and enjoy life, yet it is with a strain that is almost a fight, for there are always more hands than work, more mouths than food. Only the average city person knows the crushed feeling of being sacked. Then, one is face to face | with eternity, and where one commits sul- |cide a thousand think it, and thousands each year kill themselves from discourage- ment ands wan! Why Men Hesitate. In the face of these social conditions is it any wonder men hesitate to take on { responsibilities? For what is sadder than !a man who feels himsef a failure in the | sharp competition for place and has & family depending upon him for every neces- | sity of existence, and knows that it s only a question of time until he and his loved | ones will become a part of the flotsam and jetsam of soclety. The chief cause of the struggle for ex- istence today is over-population. Nature has no regard whatever for the needs of soclety, and so long as the natural man is | true to the primordial law of his bet | like the rabbits of Australia, and increase it electrical apparatus with positive and | *0d multiply without restraint, so long negative poles. The extracting machine | ®ill ihe struggle for existence in time of can be placed at a distance of five feet from | Peace be arp snd merciless, as 1a time the blooming plant. As the sweet scents °f War: are wafted from the flowers, in the form of | The world is already threatened with little particles, they are drawn toward the positive knob of the machine “In order to collect this attracted vapor of perfume, a device is used for sucking | it through a hole fn the end of the knob which counccts with a bottle containing | alcohol or other liquid for absorbing or dissolving the odor. This device consists of an air pump which exhausts the air from the bottle through a rubber tube, and thus ' causes the preclous vapor to rush into the are sufficiently saturated with the scent, the jar is withdrawn and replaced by a fresh one. So powerful is the machine that a single rose held in front of the receiver | will in six seconds comvert a pint of plain water Into rose water.” The vast extent of our country, with fts varied cMmates, sulted to different plants might make the raising of flowers for per- fumes a great industry in America, ana the invention just described could help largely in its development. Prof. Gates' invention we may export our perfumes in the near future, instead of im- porting them. Helping Him Along. “Then there is such a fallure, i there, doctor? some young widow. “‘Certainly, madam,” responded the bash ful young physician. “The records of the profession are full of—"' “It's & perfectly unnecessary disease, fen't it, doctor?" thing as heart said the hand- On this hint be spake.—Chicago Tribune. | ant space through the hole in the knob, | When the contents of the receiving far | By the use of over-production, for with our improved sanatation and scientific pathology the birth rate exceeds the death rate by 3,000, 000 a year. And bachelors who are not sup- posed to have any raison d'etre for exjs:- ence, because they are not swelling the census returns, deserve to be commended for not marrying and increasing an already overstocked human market. Exereising Intellect, Man must use his reason and intellect and the adjustment of the reproduction of his species to existing conditions of so- clety is an excellent way to display bis superiority to the brute creation. And if a man remains single and prefers to be guided by his brains instead of his passions it does not nmecessarily imply that he 1s a | eriminal agalnst the race, President Roose- velt to the contrary. Cycles of time may change the face ‘of | physical nature, mountain may become the 'bed of the ocean and oceans roll where | stately forests stand, hills become valleys and rushing waters flood the desert's sand, but human nature never changes. Lo hope, joy and sorrow sway. the heart today as in the ecarliest sges. Man's love of home, and all the tender relatiors that the name implies, is as idealistic as ever, but the risk of ill-assorted mating, the in- creased expenses, the social requirements that are the result of a higher standard of living, often places a man with a family in | the position of a galley slave, with a life | sentence, and furnish abundant reasons for | thoughttul, intelligent and desirable men remalning bachelors. ELLA DARLING M'KILLIP. Seward, Neb. | | |