Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, March 28, 1909, Page 19

Kingdom of Platte THE OMAHA SUNDAY BEE: MARCH 28 ONE OF PLATTE COUNTY'S FLOURING MILLS. HE freedom and hospitality of the old west, the enterprise and progress of the new—that is Co- lumbus, the county seat of Platte county, the smiling city of the Platte valley, & city still YOUAE In its hopes and its ambitions. In no other city in the west is found such a happy combnation of the old spirit and the new. For Columbus has not forgotten, In the rush for wealth and commercial growth the things that made the old west stand for uil that was manly, hospitable, refined. Colur bus' Inducements to those who look for a new home or a new seat of business are many. The city Invites comparison with any in the west as “a city to live In, or as the seat of a great manufacturing or mercantile business. Among its offerin are an exceptional climate, the best of edu- cational facllities, low freight rates, cheap fue, advantageous markets for manufac- turing or mercantile business. Columbus 1s a rallroad center. The Burlington from the south, the Union Pacific from the east and west, the Omaha & Republican Valley trom the north and two Union Paciflo branches from the northwest—a total of forty-two trains daily. Union Pacific repair shops are located here and 200 railrosd mea tind employment. Columbus has & modern creamery with & tally capacity of 10,00 pounds of butter, twe steam flouring™mills with a combined ca~ pacity of 300 barrels of flour a day; a brick and tile works, capacity 3,000 brick daly; candy factory, annual output 40,00 pounds; & planing mill emagloying seven men; foun- dry with rapldly increasing business, two clgar factories, employing fiftesn men; the largest wooden shoe factory in the United States, a pop factory and bottling works, which enjoys a very large trade throughout central Nebraska Columbus has three beautitul parks and in addition therets Frankfort Square, located in the business portion of the city, a beau- Hful grassy sward, adorned with noble shade trces, lovely flowers, sparkling foun- wins and supplied with Inviting walks, settees and swings. Surrounding Columbus are numerous lakes and streams, atfording excellent hunting and fishing. Four sub- stantial banking institutions, with deposits of nearly $1,500,000, and two home building and loan associations. A magnificent water works system, costing $45,000, owned and operated by the city; & perfect system of sewerage, a large electric lighting plant, two telephone exchang two telegraph lines and @ free publio library and reading room. A high school where manual train- ng and domestlc sclence are taught, and five modern public school kuildings that cost $84,000; a well-equipped up-to-date com- mercial college, St. Francls academy, the largest academy in Nebraska, and a Ger- man Lutheran parochial school. The city also has ten active church organizations— Presbyterian, Congregational, Bpiscopal, Methodist, Catholic, Baptist, German Lu- theran, German Reformed, United Brethren and Latter Day Saints. The traveling man Is a favorite in Colum- bus and the railroad facilitjes make Colum- Fully knights of the grip” now re- in- creased as rapldly as suitable residences can be secured. Columbus has & wholesale cold storage plant, wholesale poultry house and bus a favorite with a traveling man 100 of thes side here, and the number is being grocery, wholesale butter and egg a wholesale hide, wool and fur house. The progressive citizens of Platte county school dlstriots, teachers During the school year of 1907-08 nearly $100,000 was expended in the public school system of this county for educational purposes. About half of this sum was for teachers' salaries, male teach- ers recelving an average of 354 and females $46 per month. The rural school bulldings be- ing well painted both Inside and out. Many ofled floors and walls decorated with appropriate plotures. Epe- given to modern methods of architecture, heating, lght and ventilation. An ample supply of good text books, maps, globes and charts are found the best of for the comfort and profit of teacher and pupll, reflecting credit not only to their respective as ries of fifty or more volumes of the best liter- public Monroe, and Humphrey are the pride of thelr respective localities, being well organized, doing from two to four years of high school work under the guidance of well qualified prin- cipals and competent grade teachers in the have provided well children, having seventy-nine eighty-two school bulldings, 118 and 262 school officers. for their 6811 as a whole are substantlal structures, have steel cellings, clal attention has been in all school Aquipment rooms. In fact, is found everywhere, districts, well but to the county and state All schools are provided with 1ib ature for school and schools of the smaller Lindsay, Creston, home. . The towns of Platte Center grades. The 118 teachers of this county are proud of thelr profession and loyal to the great cause of education. All teachers belong to Platte an organization known as the County Teachers’ assoclation, which con- venes three times during each year. Much interest is shown in the papers on educa- tional subjects that are read and discussed at these meetings. Recently several teach- ers drove some thirty-elght miles in order to be present. During the second week of VIEW IN CITY PARK AT COLUMBUS. June of each year a county Institute con- venes in which methods In school govern- ment and instruction are presented to the teachers by Instructors of educational merit. Platte county also has several large denominational schools, which in some In- stances have provided school homes for the boys and girls costing over $0,000. In all Platte county has a most complete educa- tional system. Much progress is being made by the harmonious working of superintend- ent, teachers, school boards and parents. Platte is one of the rich counties of Ne- braska, not merely in dollars and cenls, but from every standpoint. It has u val uation of $567,000,000, a population of 0.- 000 people and 100 miles of rallroad. The ten rallroad stations within its limits are all prosperous and thrifty towns and shipping points for the products of a rich surrounding “country. Columbus, the county seat, s the largest, with a popu- lation of 5,800. The others are Oconee, Platte Center, Humphrey, Creston, Corn- lea, Lindsay, Monroe, Tarnov and Dun- can. The county has two large elevators, located at Columbus, with a capacity of 360,000 bushels. Platie is one of the best watered coun- ties of the state, as it has twenty-five streams, some of which have excellont water powers. The proposed water power canal when completed will furnish about 26,000-horse power. But it is the farms, farmers and farm products to whish Platte county is looking for its future prosperity. The county has 2,648 farms, consisting of 860,000 acres, of which 246,000 acres are under cultivation. On these farms the farmers produced last season 120,000 acres of corn, 39,000 acres of wheat and 76,000 acres of oats. These farmers sold and shipped out of the county last year 1,766,000 bushels of corn, 320,000 bushels of wheat and 1,000,000 bushels of outs. They also £old and shipped out 15,000 4,000 head of fat hoge and The several flour mills of the county sold and shipped out last year over 5,000,000 pounds of flour and 76,000 pounds of mill feed. The best outlook for the future growth and prosperity of Platte county is the deep interest that is being taken by the farmers in the dalry industry and the growing of aifalfa. These farmers in the 190 last year have sold and shipped out 1,184, 000 pounds of butter and over 700,000 gallons of cream, while the farmers' wives have marketed more than 21,000 dozens of eggs and 540,000 pounds of dressed poultry. The farmers have been using during the last season 750 hand separators and have kept over 13,000 milch cows. In the growing of alfalfa this county is sec- ond to but few in the state, it has over 000 acres seeded to alfalfa, 6,700 acres to timothy and 5,000 acres seeded to clover. This county {8 paying more attention each year to the growing of fruit. At the pres- ent time, the farmars have 8,000 apple trees in tull bearing, 8,000 pear, 9,00 peach, 9,000 plum and 14,000 cherry has fitty as trees. This county frelght and passenger trains each day. During the last year the Union Pacific alone did for the county & freight business of $91,000 and the Burling- ton $0,000. But 15 per cent of the population is for- elgn born. More than 70 per cent of the farms of the county are free from debt. The farmers over the entire county, for the last few years, have been unusually prosperous, and as each year adds some new comfort and convenlence to their sur- rounding, it Is not strange that they are a contented, happy people. The advance agents of the Columbus Town company were Fred Gottschalk, Jacob Lewis and George Ransch, who in April, 1856, started out from Omaha to found a city. On May 29, 186, the outlines of the town were determined, and the whole was soon blocked out. A rough log build- ing was put up and roofed with grass. It answered all thelr purposes for dwelling, storage, and fortification, and was long known as “The Old Company house.” For mutual benefit, the Columbus Town com- pany and the Pawnee City company con- solidated July 14, 185. On August 30, the company entered into an agreement with John Rickley of Omaha, by which he was to erect a saw mill and shingle mill. The mill was to be of not less than thirty-two horse power and to be in successful opera~ tion by the succeeding August. The agree- ment was fulfilled August.l, 187, and the town company passed eighteen shares of stock to the mill company per agreement. A second Instaliment of colonists started over LEVAT AL“L'EN MILLS yiig COMPANY. Where the Spirit of the Old West Meets the New . Rt e ANOTHER OF THE PLATTE COUNTY MILLS. out from Omaha, November 5, 186, one of whom, Mr. Rickley, fortunately kept a diary and thus dates were fixed beyond dispute. On the Sth entry was made: “Went hunting. Got one deer.” Again pn the 12th, “Had lots of Indians and prairie fires around us. 13th, made contract for 90 to 1,000 logs, at §.50 per 1,000 feet.” In March, 1887, Dr. Charles B. Stiliwell and George W. Hewitt walked from Omaha, through deep drifts, which then covered the county and settied in Columbus. In April, two men who had walked from Pennsyl- vania, came and located, announcing thelr determination “to stay. Being in need of reading matter, and cash not belng at hand it was resolved In January, 1857, to give two town lots each to & number of newspaper companies in exchange for their perlodicals. Columbus was incorporated as a town by special act of the territorial legislature, B i S iaiuiadil. e Tt COLUMBUS Y. M. C. A. BUILDING. approved February 11, 186. A meeting was held In the American hotel, March 6, 1860, at which the first school board was chosen, In December, sanfe year, the town board made a present of the “Old Company House” for a district school building. G. W. Btevens recelved & school order for $6746 at the rate of §1 per day and he Is honored as the first school teacher in Columbus. The first paper published in Columbus was the “Golden Age," its first number being lssued June 21, 1865, C. C. Btrawn, editor. The first number of the “Columbus was published March 1, 181, by Willlam Burgess, editor and proprietor. The “Columbus Democrat” was established as the “Era”, February, 1574, W. W. Hensley, editor and proprietor, 8t. John's Cathollo church was organized in 1860, and was the first church soclety in the county. The first church bullding was a little log cabin. Platte county was organized In 18%. The first meeting of the county commlissioners was held December 25, 1867. The ploneer rallroad was the Unlon Pa- cific, which reached this locality in June, 18%6. The first bridge across the Platte river was completed in November, 1870. It was 1,716 feet long and cost $25,000, The mail was first carried from Columbus to Omaha by ox team, and arrived July 4, 1867, Thelr Narrow Escape, Midas, wearled beyord endurance at see; ing that everything he touched turned to gold, looked about for some light oc pation, with @ view to resting his mind, and,was abont to go into the lumber busi- ne “But that won't do, either” he said. £ 1 should touch wood I'd knock the wood fulp business into a cocked hat erd bankrupt the timber kings!" Realizing that crowned heads should stand by one another, and uncertain, be- sides, what the Payne tariff was going to do with lumber, he forebore and amused himself by goiug out and buying & gold brick from a con man—-which, in his casc, was a perfectly safe transaction.—Chlcago Tribune, ous Heating Device: MONG the latest heating devices which have been perfected tor the home are the instanta- neous water heater; the electrie curling iron heater; the electric balr dryer; the new electric sven; the electric corn popper; shaving mug; luminous radiators und electric tea kett These added to the number of frylng pans, brollers, cookers, cookers, toasters, already in use make the electric kitehen practically complete. There Is longer any nded of a fire in the bhouse or a chimney on the house. The bullding can easily be heated by electrieity The cooking, washing, ironing and scrub- bing can all be done by electricity. Water 18 Nheated to a bolling point as fast as it can be drawn. A turn of the switch and the irons are hot. A press of a button and the dinner is cooking. At the welght of & finger the house ls warmed, ventilated or Mghted. With the same ease and speed the small motors will do the washing, wring- ing, grinding, chopping, ventilating, trigerating, freese the lce cream, the floors, clean the house, carry or sift the ashes The instantansous water heater can be attached to any wash stand or water pipe The flowing water passes over the heated surfaces and Is quite hot by the time it reaches the outlet. There could be nothing quicker or more simple than this electric convienience. Another new device is the electric hair dryer. After Miadi has washed her hair & press of a button starts the hair dryer and a fine breese of hot alr quickly drys the damp tresses. This device contalns & small fan and two electric heaters. The cold|alr passes over these heaters before it s projected trom the machine by this fan. Then the curling iron heater is ready to keep the little iron at just ghe right temperature for dressing We bair. The shaving mug Is specially designed for the traviiing man who wants & quick ahave in the morning. The water 18 heated {n short order and the cup ls bullt in sections so the soap dish can be removed, making the same vessel answer for a pint ‘water heater. The elgetric corn popper makes It possible to pop corn on the parlor table and never mar the varnish. This bhandy device is cereal ete., re- sweep the coal equipped with small rubber wheels and a short wood handle so It can be easlly osclllated. A wire screen keeps the popping kernels from flying about the room. The electric oven, which has lately been tmproved, Is now very quick and econom- feal. There is no waste of heat and the foodstuffs are always baked evenly. The new tea kettles aro handy and easily keep a suppy of hot water always on hand, after the water s heated, it takes but a little current to keep It hot. The electric sterilizer and bandage heat- ers are the latest acquisitions to the sick room and are of fully as much service as the electric heating pad and milk warmer. D, y Battery. Intemst is being taken In a primary battery which has been in- Mr. W. A. T. Bleek. & young a resident of Brisbaie, Queens- The battery is sald to be very sim- ple, compact, and most easily charged, and, when charged, ¥oes to work at once. Of the battery itself, Mr. J. 8. Badger, man- oger of the Brisbane tramways, says: I do not know of any comumercial battery which gives so high an electro-motive force, neither do 1 know of any battery which, bined with such & high e. m. f., show such & constancy for so long & period Prof. Thomas R. Lyle of the Melbourne university speaks very highly of the fin- ventlon: “It has & much larger useful current than that of any cell I know." Demonstrations were given at the Tech- nicel college, in the presence of a large number of Brisbane doctors and scientific wen, all of whom were desply interested in the work of the battery. The running of a sowing machine, electric fan, cauterizing inctrument, and Rontgen-ray spparatus were all successfully shown by the inven- tor. New Pri “onsiderable new vented by electrician, land Lt A Wireless trom Paris. Dr. Henry Vandyke, author and professor of English at Princeton, who 1s it present lecturing in Paris, was the first to send a message across the Atlantic to the wireless station which has been bullt and financed by three Princeton students. The message was relayed by the steamships Krons- prinsessin Ceclle and Baltie to Nova Scotla and then to Nantucket, and was recelved in the rooms of the Wireless club, in the school of sclence. The Wireless club was formed at Prince- ton two months ago by W. A. Butler and C. C. Btryker, both of New York City, and P. B. Findlay of Pittsburg. The three students constructed all the apparatus. Students of Columbia and Pennsylvania have been working along the same lines for some time. The Princeton station is able to transmit within a redius of seven- ty-five miles, and as soon as the other two colleges perfect thelr apparatus the three college papers will conduct thelr business by wireless. ATV Traffic on Electric Rallways. The electric raliways of the United States carried last year 668,000,000 fare passengers. This wonderful increase Is due to the growth of the street rallway and interurban rallway service, better transportation facilities and the Increase of suburban residents. The number of persons to be transported Increased at the rate of 1,600,000 annually The number of passenger cars operated has increased at the rate of # per cent for the last fivve years. With the popula- tion of the United States estimated at 8,000,000, the figures given above would seem to show that every man, woman and child in this country has rid- den seventy-elght times on the electric railways within the last year about W 0 A Swiss Power Station. A description Is given in & recent lssue of the Frankfort Gasette of & proposed hy- draulic power station on & vast scale, the concession for which has been applied for by & company formed in Berne. For the purpose of this scheme five separate gen- erating stations will be constructed to utilize the fulls of the Upper Aar, The largest of these undertakings will involve the erection of & lofty dam at Bpitallamm on the Grimsel, some ninety meters in height, by means of which & high-level res- ervolr will be obtained with an effective capacity of 46000000 cuble meters, From this high-level reservolr the water will be conducted by channels twelve kilometers in length to the hesd reservolr at Gutla- nen, whence it will reach the power station through three pressure mains with & head of 70 meters. On the way to Guttanen the water from Lake Gelmer will uaite with that from the higher reservoir and the winter minimum water supply will furnish 30,900 horsepower. The water will then en- ter & second reservolr, where it will join with the River Aar, and a second dam, to be constructed above Nessenthal, will hold up the waters of the Trift, the Gadmen and the effluent water of the Lake Engst len works. The whole of this water will be brought in channels to the head reservoir at Innerkirchen by pressure mains with an effective fall of 40 meters to the power- house of the Lower Aar works. These will have an output of 21,70 horsepower. There will be three smaller stations, with a joint capacity of 5,30 horsepower, bringing up the gross total to 68,000 horsepower. This power will be avallable all the year around, but during the elght months of summer high water the maximum output will be 120,000 horaepower. It will take some ten to fifteen years to complete the entire un- dertaking. Genius Turns Dreams to Wealth (Continued from Page One.) genlus is not lacking hereabouts. Some of the men mentioned have fitted up at their homes or places of business and workshops that repre sums of money. Besides actually reaching the many of them have pletion and still oratories nt substantial the inventlons patentable stage, models nearing com- others have sane brain storms on tap that are in the ‘‘working down" process. As one inventor put it, “I bullt and rebuilt my machine so many times that when it reacwec the final con- dition where it might be considered work- able, It in no way resembled the first model." In the circles that patronize and read the patent journals and the publications of the patent office at Washington. Omaha is one of the western cittes that is known as the home of men with brains that produce ideas and is the ablding place of fechanics that can put the Ideas into marketable form. Three attorneys who devote thelr time to this particulas line of business find plenty of clients in Omaha, and a great many more come from various parts of Nebraska. And this is true: That the field of in- vention, as elsewhere, it W tne littie things that count; the things that Tom, Dick and Harry and the women and children ali want, and can afford to buy. Checks for royalities are not all in the dreams of the local Inventors, for some have been able to show the coln. that Omaha High School Students in German Play ERMAN as a live and useful language Is the Idea emphasized in the High school by the oc- caslonal presentation of a play in German by the members of the German soclety, which 18 composed of students of that department of study. A high degree of attainment was reached In the production of of the plays at the school last Wednesday after- noon. Miss Landis, head of the German depart- meat, had charge of the play and ten girls from her recitation classes made up the cast. They Stella Sallenback, Frances Scott, Ruth Jahney, Ruth Lind- Anna Ruppert, Ada Morris, Anna n, Hazel Clark, Minerva Quinby Slovack. Hortense and Mamie Splesberger played a plano duet and u stringed quartet, consisting of Elizabeth one were Becker, Jennle and Wil Morris The play itself, Undeland, Arfred Morris turnished other music. in English “The Aunt's Helr,” was written by a German minister and afforded tne iligh school students ample opportunity for study and the exploitation of thelr skill. Several hundred students, parents and friends witnessed the production, which took the Pplace of the regular meeting of the German soclety last Wednesday. As German plays sultable for the us of High school students, are quite plentitul, one s presented at the High school almost every month. However, last endeavor was on quite a pretentious scale, as only three or four characters generally appear in the plays, while Wednesday's had ten Work on special subjects and ldeas out- side the regular course in German, has called been going on at the High school since the year 191 and the been organized with 1902, It meets every Wednesday and spends the alternate meetings on regular program the other days being used for singing German folk songs, of which fifty are learned overy year. Miss Bowen and Miss Towne are in charge of thc singing and have also trained a girls' chorus, Miss Landis, Miss Rockfellow, Miss Steb- bins, Madam Chatelaine, Miss Summers and Miss Bowen are the soclety teachers. They say that active interest in ‘the study of German is aroused by the work of the soclety, both In giving plays, singing and other features, and that without the soclety less could be accomplshed im thelr de- partment, present soclety has constitution since MEMBERS OF MISS LANDIS' GERMAN CLASS AT OMAHA HIGH S8CHOOL WHO TOOK PART IN THE GERMAN PLAY.