Omaha Daily Bee Newspaper, September 22, 1916, Page 4

— o T!ift OMAHA DAILY BEE FOUNDED Y EDWARD ROSEWATER VICTOR NOSEWATER EDITOR “THF BEE PUPLISHING COMPANY PROPRIETOR E# ered a1 Umihn postoffice as wecond-class matter. TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION Daily 094 Sundsy. .. Daily without Su~day. Evening arM Bunday Evening without Sunda; %:ndu Bee only % ily and !unal‘ Bee. three nce, $10.00 Send notice of change of address or irregularity in de- livery to Omaha Bee, Cireulation Department. e v e REMITTANCE. Remit by draft, express or postal order Only2-eent stamos taken 1h puyment of amall aceounts Personal checks. except on Omsha and eastern exchange, not aecepted OFFICES Omahe~The Bee Building South Omshe 2318 N atreet. Couneil Rluffe—14 North Main street. Lineoln /28 Little Building. Chicago R1% People's Gas Building. New York- Room R08. 286 Fifth avenue. 8t. Louls ~80% New Bank of Commeree. Washington- 126 Fourteenth street, N W CORRESPONDENCE A A o B Her” Etorit ‘Devariment. AUGUST CIRCULATION 56,755 Doily—Sunday 51,048 H bt Willlaras S:nlt:h:fl m-nunu:: ‘2:. l‘!:: . bl eompn. uly sworn, -P:m.r ccutanion o the month of August. 1916, was 65,78/ il LR WILLTAMS, Cireatation Man Subseribed in my presence and sworn to bef thir 34 dey of Bep T HUNTER, Notary Publie Subscribers loaving the city temporarily should have The Bee mailed to them. Ad- dress will be changed as often as required. No polities whatever in the land bank location —but still we won't know where it lands until after election, —— British Tommies call' the armored tractors “tanks.” The title establishes Peoria’s inventive skill all right, Announcement is made of a secrét compact agaipst war between Norway and Sweden, The added postscript delicately warns the Danes their not in it. S——— Diplomats of the allies think the retalia- toty legislation of congress is useless. That depends on whether the administration has enough sand to put the punch over. S—— Tsn't it 2 trifie brash to have the question of republican campaign conttibutions raised by the mouthpiece of any democratic candidate who is himsef financed by wet-goods sources? Picture the reunion of the formerly divided republican elements any way you please, it does not alter the fact of reunion which stares our fearsome democratic friends in the face. / e— “America over all” The motto of Mr, Hughes, flashed st Milwaukee, tersely embraces the is- sue o Americanism. In brevity, clearness and foree it outweighs réams of democratic plati- tudes. § eibsiapinastdey William M, Calder casily captured the sena- torship prize in the New York primaries. Others in the race showed great sprinting powers, but to Caldet fell the honor of bringing home the Bacon. ] —— Nearly $30,000,000 were contributed by Ameris cans to the vatious funds for the relief of the victlias of war. The record is flattering to na- tiondi pride—a pride chastened with gratitude for the means to give and readiness to give it. Spme— The British government is said to be negotiat- ing @ loan of $200,000,000 in Japan. Remember- ing how the Londan bankers accommodated Japan duting the war with Russia, the “Yankees of the east” will reciprocate if possible and recoup them- selves for the London squeeze with interest to date. Trust the Japs to get all the traffic will bear. lenrym— Disastrons floods in China and in Bohemia involve ‘thousands of lives and property loss of imménse value. In normal times these disasters would eall forth worldwide sympathy and suc- cor. But the world, surfeited with human slaughter and' property destruction wrought by men, makes little more than passing note of na- ture's ravages. Man's destructive rage over- shadows nature. Right at the threshold of the demand coal dealers down east received over night a wireless huneh of a shortage in output, and prices were lifted several notches, Uncertain labor condi- tions and “unsatisfactory transportation facilities" supplement the shortage hunch. These and minor " reasons are put forth in justification of the rising market, but they might have been expressed with " greater candor in just four words: “We need the money.” Value of Autumn Leaves eveland Plain-Dealer. Soon the leaves will be falling rapidly. Lawns will be littered and flower beds covered. The wind will carry the leaves in eddies into pro- tected corners. The householder with his rake and barrow prepares to go forth to protect the sanctity of his premises. But these leaves are more than rubbish. They are part of nature's balance. Nature is returning to the earth some of the substance she has been extracting all the spring and summer. The man with the rake disturbs the equilibrium, and must buy fertilizer to enrich the soil lest it become impoverished and fail to produce; he cannot be expected to let the leaves cover his lawn and remain there all winter. He makes a mistake, however, if he destroys the leaves that he rakes vp and wheels away. These leaves should be saved. A professor at the New York State College of Forestry at Syra- cuse has been making some calculations in this direction. He finds that more than a million pounds of excellent fertilizer is destroyed an- aually in that state alone by the burning of leaves from forest and shade trees. It is an aspect of natural conservation that is too often ignored., Nature has established in every bit of forest, from the wood lot up to the great forests of the Adirondacks, says the Syra- cuse professor, a well-organized factory for the production of fertilizer. It turns out millions of pounds. Destruction of this great store of material is short-sighted and highy wasteful. The situation is one which concerns prac- tically everyone., Every household has at least some contact with the leaf problem, He should tealize that the bonfire of fallen leaves, so fa- miliar an aspect of the urban landscape on autumn evenings, spells waste, - Poets love to _ colored foliage of October. It remains for some * practical person to urge the value of these same many-colored leaves after they have fallen ‘are ready to do their share toward replenshing ‘the s0il of mother earth, e sing the praises of the highlys THE BEE: OMAHA, FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 1918, Hearing on the Land Bank. Omaha will be host today to Secretary of the Treasury McAdoo and members of the Land Bank board, seeking first-hand information as to the possible locations for the twelve banks that are to be set up under the new law. The interesting feature of the proceedings, viewed from ahead, is that the visitors will be brought into contact with a number of representative farmers, men who are to be most directly affected by the existence of the institution. Local business men and bankers, loan agents and others will have their say, and will present reasons for lo- cating one of the twelve banks at Omaha. Aside from the admitted business advantages of the city, its intimate relations with the farmer and stock raiser are more extensive than are gen- erally realized, Testimony along this line should not fail to give to the secretary of treasury and his associates a better understanding of the real importance of Omaha as a market town, and con- sequently as headquarters for any government in- stitution that is to deal directly with fafmers, This will be the outstanding point in today's pro- ceedings. Two Laws That Are Misbranded. Legislation enacted in haste and under duress by the democrats just before the adjournment of congress has engendered a great deal of discus- sion. As political medicine, the Adamson rail- toad bill and the law intended to retaliate against the British interference with American trade are splendid examples, but as laws doing what they putport to do they amount to nothing. The Ad- amson law will not establish the eight-hour day for railroad men, either in fact or in principle. This is now generally admitted by the labor lead- ers, who realize what should have been apparent at the first, that the measure is so framed that it feaved the working hours just as they now are, The Cleveland Citizen, a labor paper of high standing, says, referring to this law: “It fooks as though the railwaymen have been whipsawed again by legal sharps and politicians who try to carry water on both shoulders.” The law intended 'to provide for retaliation is equally short of the mark. The European pow- ers affected by it agree that it means nothing to them and the State department at Washington is in doubt as to whether its provisions could be enforced. The secretary of state says the presi- dent “may invoke just as, much or as little of the authority vested in him as he deems best.” Experience with Mr. Wilson's foreign policy leads to the conclusion that he will be very wary as to how he proceeds in the matter of pro- tecting rights of American citizens. It is not likely that, even for political purposes, he will make any move that will sincerely tend to the improvement of the status of our foreign trade, which is steadily coming more and more under the control of Great Britain, The people of the United States are begine ning to realize that laws passed, as were these, without debate or consideration of any sort, can not serve the purpose for which they were pla- carded. The real motive was to make poliical capital, but even this is turning into a boomerang in ite effect. e Cut In Ocean Freight Rates. A reduction of almost half in the ocean freight on wheat may be simply directed to the end of stimulating ah export movement of wheat, This conclusion hardly seems warranted, though, be- cause no appreciable diminution of shipments has been noted. It may be accounted for on an- other basis. For some time a slacking off has been reported in the Atlantic carrying trade, the demand for tonnage being much less now than it was a year ago. Several ships, transferred during the great rush, have been returned to the Pacific trade, where business is much livelier than it was a year ago. Ocean freight rates have reached an all but prohibitive mark, the charges on ship- ments to South America being quite on a level with those to Europe, a general advance up to 300 to 400 per cent above peace times. If the lowering of the wheat rate presages a general reduction it will be reflected in the price in due time, for it is a world-market proposition and the produce has to take the supply and demand quota- tion with the carrying charge deducted. U What the El Paso Parade Should Mean. Twenty-six thousand United States soldiers, the largest number save one that ever paraded, passed in review at El Paso, and the enthusias- tic reporter tells us that “not a gun sling nor a hat cord was missing” This commentary is indeed proof that the time spent in camp dur- ing the summer has not been wasted. It indi- cates that the inspector has been on duty, and hae impressed the importance of dress parade on the minds of officers and men alike. If we may be given assurance also that other bits of military science and knowledge have been as carefully instilled and as completely assimi- lated, it will comfort us to know that at least we have half of a single army corps ready for actual military service, The E! Paso parade has a deeper sig- nificance. It should serve to further emphasize the unreadiness of the United States for the ser- ious business of national defense. In connec- tion with other experiences along the Mexican border during the summer, it should drive home the ueed for better provision for the proper train- ing of the men of the United States for the highest possible duty of citizenship, that of the | defense of our free institutions against any possi- ble danger. We may no longer delude ourselves with the impossibility of war; nor will we be wise to accept the sanguine statement of Secre- tary of War Baker that the present war in Europe is the last that will ever be fought. Uni- | versal peace between the races of men is de- voutly to be wished, but no sign that it is im- minent has yet been noted by those who are guided by experience. In preparing for defense we are but getting ready for peace. Just now our unreadiness is subjecting us to such treatment as no other great | nation in all the world's history has borne with- out resentment. Mr. Baker's speech at St. Louis is in harmony with the wobbly attitude of the administration on this vital question; the parade at El Paso typifies both the condition and the possibilities of our defense. The only question to be determined is how much longer will Ameri- cans indifferently rest in fancied security under the real danger that follows their situation. Much of the comment on the blackmail revela- | tions hold the Mann act responsible for the hold- | ups. Blackmail thrived before the law was | drafted, and is likely to continue regardless of = law so long as unwary victims can he lured into compromising situations. ‘ - i for five years. Bull Markets Wall Street Journal The criterion as to the ability of the banks to carry a rising stock market is whether or not credit is extended in business lines the country | In this connection the relation between bank loans and deposits is frequently considered. | over. 1f loans are running ahead of deposits it is com- mon to regard the situation as extended. But this comparison, taken alone, is not always a sat- isfactory basis of reasoning. The large capital accounts of the banks today may enable them safely to employ more than the amount of de- posits in loans. The ratio of bank reserves to de- posits is a better indication of potential expan- sion. Those who lay stress upon the position of bank loans and deposits as re'ated to bull mar- kets may derive some interest from the sub- joined figures, setting forth the individual de- posits, loans and surplus reserves reported by the national banks at about this season in certain of the last twenty years which bear particular reference to bull movements (ocoo omitted): Surplus Deposits. I oans. Reserve. 1916 .*$8,143000 $7.679000 $801,000 1915 . 6762100 6756 600 868.700 1914 6.139,.000 6400 700 +30.300 1907 4,319,000 4678500 70 000 1906 4,199,900 4,298 Y00 26.700 1905 3820600 3998 500 55 200 1901 2937.700 30'8.600 252 500 1900 2508200 2.686.700 299 200 1897 1,853 300 2066700 243,400 1896 1597,800 1,893,200 179,000 *June 30. tDeficit. 1t will be seen that on former occasions loans have throughout been ahead of deposits, even at the inception of a bull movement. Not until we come to the present time do we notice the striking ascendency of deposits over loans, Ac- cording to the last national bank report, depos- its stand nearly $500,000,000 ahead of loans. But much more can we gather in this respect from the reserve position of the banks. The bull market that started on the McKinley victory in 1896, although marked by excess loans, was "1r- ried through into the expansion that character- ized the opening of the century with relatively strong reserves. When we come to the extended situation, beginning with 1905 and culminating in 1907, we see how close the banks were working then to their reserves. A glance suffices to show the different situa- tion today. In spite of a two billion increase in deposits over two years, against an increase of a littlé over a million dollars in loans, the banks have a sarplus reserve, over and above their re- quirements, of $800,000,000. If we discount the pyramiding of reserves tha: is always involved in the national bank figures, there are still the bil- lions of potential expansion provided by the federal reserve act, a new and cheaper money which was non-existent in former years. We have used up some billions of credit in the last two years, for the absorption of foreign- liquidated securities and in foreign loans. But there are hillions more of credit available which cannot be used up in many years to come. That the stock market is now calling into use some of this credit is because of the exceptional situation growing out of the war, the almost fabulous earn- ings of certain industrial enterprises and the wondrous stream of gold to these shores. There is danger, of course, of a bull movement being carried too far, like the swing of a pendulum. But a check will undoubtedly be administered upon the advent of peace. And of that there is no sign at present. l Wastefulness in Charity I Pittsburgh Dispatch.. An interesting question as to the value to the community in general of organized charity has been raised by Judge Henry Neil of Chicago, known as the “Father of the Mother’s Pension System.” At the close of an investigation which has taken him across the country eight times and during which he has made an exhaustive study of the workings of charity in many places, the judge declares that organized charity, as he has observed it, does not relieve poverty to any appreciable extent; that it has a tendency to perpetuate charity and poverty; that it has be- come the sixth largest private business in the country, with a closely-knit machinery not unlike a political organization; and that it has been the steadfast enemy of the mothers’ pension law and has promoted legislation that keeps destitute mothers and children in distress. This is a rather serious arraignment of a form of philanthropy which the country has been told during recent years was the only sane and suc- cessful method of relieving the poor. It has been argued on behalf of organized charity that it prevented duplication of benefactions and conse- quently did away with a lot of waste. Efficiency in discovering the real facts in cases of distress and so handling the relief that it did the greatest good to the greatest number has been pointed to as one of the principal reasons why the support of the philanthropically inclined should be forth- coming, Yet here comes Judge Neil, who pre- sumably is acquainted with his subject, and de- clares without qualification that the system is wasteful and inefficient; that it has no construc- tive social plan and that its result is really to cripple the seli-respect of those it is supposed to serve, ' i Nebraska Editors | : The Wood River Interests, O. M. Quacken- bush, editor, appeared in a brand new dress last week. The Semi-Weekly Sheridan County Re- publican of Gordon will henceforth appear as a weekly. The stork left a fine baby boy at the home of Editor C. E. Jones of the Summerfield Sun on September 7. Editor George A. Miles of the Holt County Independent last week issued a handsomely illus- trated twenty-four page iindustrial edition. County Judge T. J. Ashby of Minden has | purchased the Orleans Isser from Frank P.| Shields. The name of the paper will be changed | to the Orleans Chronicle. Judge Ashby has em- ployed Arthur V. Shaffer, former editor of the Alma Record, to edit and manage the Chronicle until he retires from office, Alfred C. Hosmer, for more than thirty years editor of papers at Red Cloud, died at his | late home last week. Mr, Hosmer retired from | active work a few months ago and sought to recuperate his failing health in California. The change of climate failed to benefit him and he | returned to Nebraska about a month ago. I People and Events ' A St. Louis millionaire left his son $300,000 on condition that he remain on the water wagon Performing the task in St. Louis comes perilously near “cruel and unusual pun- ishment.” Edward P. Ripley, who has declared an inten- tion to test the constitutionality of the new fed- eral eight-hour law in the supreme court of the United States, has been president of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe railway for the last twenty years. He began his career as a clerk in a Boston railroad office in 1869. A veteran litigant of Brooklyn, Josiah J. White, is dead at the age of 76. White was happiest when in court, not because he loved the court or the judges, but because he relished legal technicalities as a means of freezing out or | beating his opponents. His manner of ¢xpress- ing contempt for judges rendering adverse rul- | ings cousisted in biting his thumb, and so fre- | him a less | 1 would like to get away for the aft- | G »ntly was the operation performed that digit resembled a chronic sore thumb. . { Thought Nugget for the Day. Censure is the tax a man pays to the public for being em.nent. ——Jonathan Swift. One Year Ago Today in the War. New Austro-German army cannon- aded entire northern Serb frontier. French aeropianes dropped 100 bombs on royal palace and station at Stuttgart. Germans captured Ostrow, but bulk of Russian army in Vina salient es- caped. ¥ Germans claimed capture of nearly two miles of the Russian front south- east of Dvinsk. Bulgaria signed “armed neutrality” agreement with Turkey, and concen- trated army on fruntier. In Omaha Thirty Years Ago. A new social club was formed by a number of young men, who met at the Millard hotel. The officers e.e ted were Charles Beindorff, president; John Meisner, vice president; George Sternsdorff, secretary, and Wiiliam Newhall, treasurer. The well known market located at 314 South Fiftcenth 18 now in the hands of Albert Wessell, who for years past has been head salesman at the Dodge street market of Harris & Fisher. Ciff Redfield, the 18-year-old son of Joseph Redfield, fell off his father's at the corner of Tenth and Bancroft, and brcke his arm. A schoolhouse is ncw in course of erection near Hanscom park and the school board has selected a site for house, another, of large proportions, in Boeg's & Hill's Omaha View. Cadet Taylor, business manager of the Republican under the new regime, has arrived in the city. Miss Nina Martin, formerly of the force of lady clerks in the couniy clerk’s office, has accepted a positicn in the cdurt accountant’s office, Union Pacific rallroad headquarters. The Metropolitan club has elected officers for the ensuing year as fol- lows: President, 8. Cberfelder; vice president, Adolph Meyer; treasurer, Dave Kaufman, and secretary, J. Eichman. Mr. and Mrs. Abraham Lucas cel- ebrated their fortieth wedd.ng anni- versary. A large number of friends were present and the Rev. C. W. Sav- idge made a fitting specch. This Day in History. 1776—Nathan Hale was executed as a spy at New York by order of General Howe. 1798—Marshall P. Wilder, who pre- sided at the first naticnal agricultural convention held in_this country, born at Ringge, N. H. Died in Boston, De- cember 16, 18886, 1816—Philetus SBawyer, pioneer Wisconsin lumberman and United States senator, born at Turland, Vt. :)Dscil at Oshkosh, Wis, March 29, 1862—General McCleliand, in com- mand of the Army of the Potomac, occupied Harper's Ferry. 1891—The ceded Indian lands in Oklahoma were opened to settlement by proclamation of President Harri- sON. 1898—The emperor of China made a forced abdication in favor of the dowager empress. 1906—Atlanta was placed under martial law as a result of anti-negro riots. 1912—A typhoon swept Japan, causing many deaths and $20,000,000 property lcss. The Day We Celebrate. Emerson Benedict, contractor, is 63 years old today. He was born in Princeton, 111, and was a member of the legislature from this county for one term. Dr. John C. Davis, physician and surgeon, was born September 22, 1855, at Bridgeton, N. J. He came to Omaha in 1878 and has practiced medicine here continuously since then. Major General Hugh L. Scott, chief of staff of the United States army, born at Danville, Ky, 68 years ago today. Abdul Hamid, 2d, who reigned for more than fifty years as sultan of Tur- key, until deposed in 1909, born sev- enty-four years ago today. Prince Miguel of Braganza, who married Miss Anita Stewart of New York, born at Richenau, lower Aus- tria, thirty-eight years ago today. Guy Bates Post, one of the well known, actors of the American stage, born at Seattle, Wash, forty-cne years ago today. James P. Walsh, outfielder of the Beston American league base ball team, born in Ireland vears ago today. twenty-eight Timely Jottings and Reminders. Rev. J. Ross Stevenson, president, will deliver the annual address today at the beginning of the one hundred and fifth session of Princeton Theo- logical seminary. An official party, headed lfy Gover- nor Burnquist, is to attend the dedica- tion of a Minnesota soldiers’ monu- ment today at Little Rock, Ark. Leaving Richmend at 7:30 o'clock this merning, Charles E. Hughes will swing back through northern Indiana, cencluding his day's itinerary at South Bend. The federal government is to con- duct examinaticns in all the larger cities tcday for lumber experts, who are wanted for the important work of finding out what the United States' opportunities are of selling lumber in Europe when peace is restored. Kennett Square, Chester county, Pa., the home of Bayard Taylor, is to hold an elaborate pageant today .n celebraticn of the fiftieth anniversary of the publicaticn of the famous au- thor's historical novel, .“The Story of Kennett,” the main characters of which were drawn from people who lived in or near the town, and many of whose descenuants are still living there. Storyette of the Day. A lawyer tells this story of himself and his efforts to correct the manners | of his office boy. One morning the | young autocrat came into the office, and, tossing his cap at a hook, ex- claimed: “Say, Mr. Jones, there's a ball game down at the park today, and\l'm go- ing." "‘l‘he lawyer ‘thought he would teach “Harry,” he sald, “that isn't the way to ask a favor. Now, you come cver here and sit down, and I'll show | you how to do it.” The buy took the office chair, and | his emp.cyer picked up the cap and | stepped cutside. He then opened the door scftly, and, holding the cap in his hand, said quietly to the boy in the chair: “Please, the park tcday. r, there is a ball game at If you can spare me, ernoon.” | Whereupon the boy replied: “Why, certainly, Harry. and here is \ ThePees | LeHer Tue Presfuent’s Responsibility. Omaha, Sept. 21.—To the Editor of | The Bee: In an editorial ¢n the | “Shame of Watchful Waiting” in to-| |'day s Bee you say, “Of course the | president had cognizance of what was guing on in Mexico, for he had access to the reports made to the State de- partment.” In this statement have you not shie.ded the president from the great- | er part of his respcnsibility by stating | on'y 1 per cent of the truth? in additicn to the State department infcrmaticn, available in full to the| president every hour of the day, did| not the president send his own ‘‘per- scnal representative” to Mexico, time and time again, for investigation and report? It would be highly educational at, this time for The Bee to remind us in detail ¢f the incursicns of “personal representatives” of the president into Mexico with a view of determ.n.ng whether the president could have pos- sibly been igncr: of the murder and rapine of American citizens in Mexico, kncwn, as it was, frcm day to day for | | a period ¢f mcre than three years by | every reading citizen of the United| States. Yours fcr the whole truth, GROVER C. WARD. ‘ Wants His Prescnt i‘fon Known. | Stremsburg, Neb. ept. 20.—To the | Editor of The Bee: Ycu did me a| “gross injustice recently in running a| news item which charged me with| favoring an increase of farm tele- phone rates. The quotation frem my | brief in the Polk county telephcne case was considerably garbled. It left out the proposition set out in| large type immediately preceding the quoted matter, which was as follows: | “The commissicn erred in dismissng | the complaint in that the new rate approved by the commission discrimi- | nates unjustly against the respondent and the users of business telephones.” The brief did not contain a word fa- voring the increase of any rate and was directed altcgether against doing 50, As to my position in the matter T think that the farmers are paying high enough rates for the party line service they receive, as a rule, and too high in some cases that 1 know of. VICTOR E. WILSON. | Origin of Playground Movement. Omaha, Sept. 21.—To the Fditor of The Bee: A writer in your Letter Box speaks of the origin of the Play- ground Movement in Omaha. The origin of any movement is generally | interesting, although the most impor- tant thing is what is being done at present. The Playground Movement, as I understand it, really began in Omaha | in the fall of 1902, W. W. Slabaugh then president of the Omaha Im- provement club, as a delegate from the Woman’s club of Omaha that fall attended the Naticnal Improvement association at St. Paul, and on his re- turn reported (n the progress of the playground movement in various cities cf the United States and especially the advance work in Louisville, Ky., as| told by a delegate from that city. He urged that the work be taken up in Omaha. The next year a committee on playgrounds was appointed as one of the ccmmittees of the club. It was found difficult to find any person who would take charge of the work. Finally in about the year 1904 Mrs. Harriett Heller was asked to take the chairmanship of that committee, but feeling that she could not take up the burden, asked her husband, Frank Heller, to report that fact to the club at its next meeting, then held in the park board rooms of the ecity hall. After Mr. Heller had reported that fact, he was acked to take the chair- manship. In a day or so thereafter he accepted the place and to him more than to anycne else is due the splendid work and success of the play- ground movement that followed for two or three years thereafter. The writer recalls the fact that Mr. Heller on his way down to report that jhis wife could not assume the respc*ab bility had a serious bicycle accident, but escaped sufficiently to attend the meeting, and was told that a man that could pass through such an accident would make a good playground super- intendent. Mr. Helier, I believe, had charge of the work until his death. He spared no time in the work, and many will recall the playground at the northeast corner of Twentieth and Harney streets in 1904, 1905 and 1906, | A juvenile city was also formed with various officers all the way from mayor to police judge and policeman. Equipment of many kinds was pro- vided on the playground. Many things were given by the merchants of Omaha and work donated by loyal citizens. In a crude way nearly every- thing was provided that was found in the playgrounds of the larger cities. A superintendent was later hired from Chicago, and if the mcney was not on hand for his payment W. W. | open your heart. Slabaugh and E. A. Benson borrowed the same from a bank for the com- mittee. The daily papers of those years gave splendid aid to the work. ‘Amcng these who worked hardest to »* make the playground a success was Miss E. F. McCarty, secretary of tne Omaha Improvement club. George Sugarman, then a lad and now an af- torney, was cne of the most enthusias- tic boosters in the juvenile city and its first mayor. The Woman's club, by its generous donations, was a great help. There were other loyal men and women who worked hard and gave liberally to promote the move- ment in its early years, but it was found that the work without muni- cipal aid was too burdensome, and it was turned over to other capable and | loyal persons, but they found the same | to be true. 1f playgrounds are good things, a municipality should operate them, and with such authority and the money to pay for service, they will best succeed as Is demcnstrated by the splendid ccnditicn of the work im Omaha to- day. Although we are far behind scme cities, yet that fact is because the people of our city do not yet see the value of the playground, and therefore do not give sufficient support to those having it in charge. IMPROVETL. Center Shot Cartoons. Omaha, Sept. 21.—To the Editor of The Bee: 1 see a “subscriber” asks you to open your heart and renew the “Jiggs comic.” 1 also ask that you The series is no bet- ter than Powell's cartoons. Opinions differ as to humor, but it seems impos- gible for two differing opinions in re- gard to these two artists, yet I know there are such opinions, or some car- toons wouldn't be puhlished. B ILLIAMS, 906 North Forty-ninth Street. Note This Dissent. Auburn, Neb., Sept. 20.—To ,ths Fditor of The Bee: Will you be so kind as to allow me space to Suggest that the learned Dr. T. Wupper of the Martin Luther seminary of Lincoln has certainly gotten the horse befors the cart when he declares: “Itis easy for men to err unijess they allow their reascn to be guided by the word of God.,” Can it possibly be otherwisa than true that it is impossible for men to avoid erring unless they make req- son their guide while reading or at- tempting to impart instruction from Bible pages or passages? Can men without employing God's reason reach rational conclusions while trying to depend on the words, lines, para- graphs or chapters written by God only knows for what purpose or by whom written? J. H. DUNDAS. LINES TO A LAUGH. “I'm surprised to hear of Maud being en- gaged to Mr. Gayman. He's go awfully tast, you know." ‘Oh, I'don’t know; apparently he wasn't fast enough to get away from Maud.''— Boston Transcript. “A-u-t-0-c-r-a-c-y," spelled Tommy, read- ing aloud. After a pause, he pronounced, It triumphantly, “Autocrazy.” And he wondered why his father laughed. ~Chicago Herald. “What did you do with your stock of con- vention medals? I thought you wera stuck ?" “So did I. But I sold the entire lot to a fouth American general who is getting ready to start a revolution somewhere,'— Louisville Courler-Journal. DEAR MR. KABIBBLE, ; HOW CAN X FIND our \:HEN MY HUSBAD COMES HOME FROM THE CLUB# YM A VERY ] e S “MRS.CONNOLLY ¢ HOW CAN YOU SLEEP WitH ALL YHAT WORRY ON YOUR MIND 2. Willis—I wonder if there will ever b universal peace? Gillis—Sure. All they've got to do is to get the natlons to agree that In case of ;qvlr the winner pays the pensions.—Dallas ews, “A tarmer when he puts up wire, fences around his truck stuff to keep the cattla f om destroying it, pursues methods en- tirely difierent from other business ones.” “How 502" “He keejs his trade by closing out his entire stock."—Baltimore American, A Scotch farmer, on hearing that the minister was making munitions on wesk days, remarked: “Munitions made by min- isters are of no use; they have been mak- ing them all the week during the past 2 000y* years and firlng them at the de'll o' Sun- Qays, and he's aya to the fore yet.'—Bos- ton Transcript. He had complained jealously that she had too many other young men around. “The idea!” she laughed. “Why, I can count them all on the fingers of my left hand. The Index finger Is Mr. Smart, the second flager is Mr. Balder, and the third finger of my left hand—the third finger is ou. 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