Omaha daily bee., 1903-04-11

APRIL II, 1908.
decision in that respect shall have been
reached the race will be ehristened the
Commercial club stake.
Pay street Railway Taxes.
President NJ. L. scudder Of the Lincoln
Traction company appeared In the district
court this afternoon and paid TO the clerk
the sum Of 154,s6s.72 in full payment Of the
first lien adjudged as against the old Lin
coin street railway company, its predeces-
sor. The sum in question represents the
costs.
This is the street railway tax case that
has been pending In the supreme and dis
trict courts 80 long. The city at one time
got a judgment for S10s.OOO, but the com
rany appealed to the higher court. While
this appeal was pending Mr.. scudder Of
fered to settle for $4,000. The council was
willing, but Or. G. o. w. Farnham en-
Joined its going through, and the courts
held that It could not compromise taxes.
The supreme court reversed the case. On
the second trial the amount due was found
to be $1,000, and this has since been af-
hrmed by the supreme tribunal. which yes
terday settled the entire matter by re-
fusing a rehearing.
The city holds third lien for something
like $4,000, but as the second lien is held
by the present owners, there is no prospect
Of q realization.
Attempt at HOldup Fails.
A. l. shsder was knocked down near his
residence at Seventeenth and M streets
last night by two footpads who attempted
to rob him. While the three men were
lighting on the sidewalk DR.. Orr came TO
the assistance Of shader and the robbers
ran. Shader was going homo, when one Of
the men stepped out Of a shadow and struck
him in the back Of the head. Shader fell
to the sidewalk and the two men Jumped
on him and tiled to tear a diamond pin out
Of his shirt front The police were notified
but found no trace of the .robberS
Return Three Suspects.
Lewis standish, John cramer and James
Leo, alias John Doe, who since the 1st Of
December have been in the city Jail here,
suspected Of train robbery, were released
this morning. The men were held on va
rious charges and an effort made to have
them connected with the Burlington train
robbery. but without success. 1t was also
believed by the local authorities that these
men had been the perpetrators of many
burglaries here.
Two Charges to race.
Requisition papers were issued this
morning by Governor Mickey for the return
to Nebraska of w. H. Duquette. the cowboy
detective who is now under arrest in Mis-
soula, Mont He is charged with perjury
and probably a charge Of bigamy will be
filed against him. It is said that during
their search for him the officers discovered
that Duquette had a wife In Omaha and also
wife living near Holdrege. whom he re-
Gently married. The Omaha wife, 1t is said,
has been apprised of the facts, but the Hol-
drege wife is still ignorant that she is
No. 2.
No Balm for the widow.
BY a decision OF the supreme court Just
handed down Peder Johansen, a lonely and
might-be loving farmer of Kearney county,
is relieved of the necessity Of having to pay
$500 damages for breach Of promise to
| marry Augusta Modahl.
The story is an odd one. Johansen owns
a big farm ten miles from Minden. He is
65 years old and a w1dower with no chill
dren upon the place. In 1900 he inserted
! an advertisement in a Norwegian paper,
the Scandinavian, asking for a Christian
housekeeper. a widow about SO years of age.
There was no addenda, "object, matri-
mony." but 1t stuck out all over the little
| ad 1t was seen way back In Merinette
county, Wis, by Mrs. Modahl, Norwegian
woman but five years in the country, who
was keeping house for a woodsman, whose
! wooing was not to her liking. One day In
| November, 1900, when Peder went TO Min
den after his mail, he was handed a -nissive
in Norwegian, which read:
ITO the farmer so years of age who ad-
vertised in the Scandinavian for a Chris
| tian housekeeper: can answer that in
fer that the party is a Christian I like to
live on a farm. l am SO years old. II you
will answer and let me know where you live
and how large a farm you have and how
far you are from town or church, will
send photograph"
Peder replied at once and after much
\ correspondence she agreed to come. Peder
had her go to a friends house when she
reached Minden. He called that evening.
| She said there was talk Of license then,
but Peder said It was too late. They got
into his wagon and drove out to the farm.
She stayed there three weeks, and men
toned marriage several times. She says
Peder said the horses were too busy and
\ he couldn't spare them to go to town.
Finally he backed out altogether and she
went over to a neighbor's to live.
Later he was made defendant in suit
for $5,O 900 damages On trial Johansen said
| he never agreed before he saw her TO marry
her; that the agreement was that they
would marry provided on seeing each other
everything was suitable ana sgreeable all
round. He said that three days after she
came to keep house for him she wanted
him to give her a paper transferring his
property to her. He claimed she had an
incurable disease that she kept from his
| knowledge until the offensive odor from
her room and clothing apprised him toe
unmistakably Of 1t. This she denied. She
said his home was like a pigpen when she
went there, and the Jury evidently took heI
view Of 1t, as she got a verdict
The supreme court, however, says thai
the evidence is insufficient to warrant the
finding that a contract to marry was en-
| tered into. II II were an ordinary engage
| ment the court might be inclined to 81
hold, but this one is based on correspond
ence. which shows that the engagement wal
merely tentative and to which neither wal
irrevocably committed.
sorensOn Case Goes Back.
Because Of an error of the trial court fl