Custer County Republican. (Broken Bow, Neb.) 1882-1921, 1906-05-03
Items From the
National Capitol
Newsy Notes by a Special
Correspondent of the
Republican.
Washington, April 80.

Washington, April 30.
Senator Willard has publicly
advised his colleagues that he is
to be a candidate for reelection,
and he will return to Nebraska
at the expiration of the present
session carrying the good wishes
of members of the upper house.
Senator Willard is serving his
first term, which expires in 1907.
He is seventy years old.
] / !
Senator Burkett acted as escort
this week Tor acting President
Fairfield and Professors Cook and
Shadd of Howard University,
when they visited the White
House to invite President Roose-
welt to deliver an Grafton at the
commencement exercise of the
institution June 1. The Pre- 81.
dent declined the invitation, to
make an address, but promised
to be present at the exercises for
a short time.
/ / /
Apropos Of San Francisco, the
Postoffice Department all this
week has been receiving a collec-
ton of mail matter from the
stricken town that is curious in
the extreme. Because of the
widespread devastation, postage
stamps could not be obtained and
stationery practically was an un-
known quantity, San Franciscans
! therefore, have been writing to
anxious relatives and friends on
anything they could make marks
upon, and mailing these curious
missives without postage. The
Postoffice Department has been
delivering all such messages, and
reassuring notes written on col
| lars, cuffs, shoe box covers and
shingles have been delivered. In
one instance, a survivor scrubbed
note on his handkerchief and
dropped it into the mails. 1t
was delivered to his mother in
Virginia.
t / /
If you can contribute to the
Department of Agriculture a rat,
mouse, dog or rabbit fatally i'll
of contagious disease you may
confer on the country a benefit
worth millions of dollars. The
Department is seeking for some
means of Kidding certain parts
of the country Of "varmints"
that are doing enormous damage
but that defy ordinary means of
determination. In one county,
in the state of Washington, field
mice practically have ruined all
crops, while in Wyoming, wolves
are raiding the cattlemen's herds
with ever increasing boldness
and traps are of no avail against
them. Throughout the entire
country field mice, field rats,
GROUND squirrels, gophers and
! such small pests are costing the
country millions of dollars an
nually. Some form of epidemic
seems the only way to get rid of
them.
/ t /
1t has been some years since
the locust wrought ruin to the
harvests of Nebraska and de-
spair to the hearts of the Nebras-
ka farmer, but there is danger
ahead, according to the Depart
ment of Agriculture. Experts
believe that the spring of 1906
will see great army of the pests
sweeping the fields of the coun-
try, and although these experts
believe the swarms will not ex-
tend beyond Illinois no man yet
has been able positively to for
cast the limits of their flight.
| The brood has been breeding in
spots from Cape Cod to Northern
} Georgia and as far west as III.
and although the Department
experts have traced the origin OF
the brood back as far as 1888 and
have reduced their periodic
flights almost to an exact know.
ledge, they cannot tell in which
direction it will take its flight
! The brood in question is the
scventeen-year variety, and they
may be looked for the last week
in May or the beginning of June
1t might be as we'll for the far