Omaha daily bee., 1917-04-22
N~o, Re~.~4
ocd 9Ntu>.,l;au.s
By Victor Rosewater

| NOT long ago l commented III t1lS COiuliiii
| upon what struck me as an exhibition OF the
| contrariness of events reflected in two news
| items that came over the wires the same day,
| one describing a former classmate of mine, now
| Johns Hopkins professor, as playing ring
| leader OF bunch of riotous students bent on
breaking up a peace meeting, and the other
| telling how another friend, self-avowed militant
suffragette, was to have charge OF peace head
quarters opened in Washington. The reference
seems to have secured attention at the university,
for have letter from Thomas R. Hall who
is still the registrar there, as he was when | at
tended written to set me right, and in fairness
what he says should be given here:
~ think it is due Prof. Latane, to inform you
that he was not connected with the riot nor
was Prof. Wood. They both went to the meet
ing in the capacity of auditors; they were
unable to get in and it was while they were
standing at the front of the building that the
disorder occurred. They had no connection
whatever with it. 1t was not an outbreak OF
Hopkins students and professors The news
paper account was greatly exaggerated"
/ need hardly add that l am glad to stand
corrected, and hope that in so doing ! may at the
same time correct any wrong impression created
by my adversion to the report of the incident.
The late T. ]. Mahoney, whose sudden death
was announced this week from Washington, had
an active part in many public and political move
ments about which much could be written but
his part in breaking the ice for big law fees pre-
viously almost unknown to members OF the local
bar. The era of handsome earnings for lawyers
practicing in our courts dates from the famous
Creighton will cases that determined the distri-
button of the wealthy philanthropists estate. As
attorney for the beneficiary institutions Mr. Ma
honey astonished every one by putting in bill
for $4,000, which | am told was finally COM
promised for about $4,000 and the attorney rep
resentng the executors was allowed some $45 900.
"That was the start of decent fees for lawyers
here" remarked well known attorney fully con-
versant with the facts "Why with the exception
of one or two rare instances, lawyers fee of
more than $1,000 was unheard Of in Omaha be-
fore that time. A thousand-dollar fee called for
a jubilation and whenever it became known that
anyone had drawn such an emolument, he was in
duty bound to call in his fellow attorneys for a
feast around the table at the Henshaw hotel,
where he was duly toasted and congratulated
upon his good fortune. Since then lawyers fees
in Omaha have been more on par with those in
other big cities"
Spring housekeeping in one of the offices in the
city hall uncovered some old sample ballots going
back to contests of only few years ago. yet al
ready now almost forgotten One is for the city
election of the year 1900 at the top of which is
the name of Frank E. Moores, for mayor, labeled
republican" running against William S. Popple--
ton, labeled democrat, peoples independent and
SllVcT republican,. III lne same eieCtlOn lOHl
Flynn was trying to head off William H. Elbourn
for city clerk. Ernest Mertens wanted to dis
lodge A. H. Hennings for treasurer. Charlie
Withheld was running against John N. West
berg for comptroller and William Fleming against
Fred ]. Sackett for tax commissioner. At the
bottom of the ballot is proposition to vote
$3000000 in bonds to buy the waterworks (for
which we afterwards paid nearly six and half
millions) proposition to vote $4,000 for inter-
section paving bonds and $4,000 for sewer bonds.
Another ballot gives the layout of the fall
election Of 1902 with John H, Mickey heading
H. Thompson, nominated by the democrats and
peoples independents, the silver republican label
having fallen by the waysde. That was the year
our now Senator Hitchcock unhorsed Congress-
man Mercer, the year R. B. Howell was commits
stoned state senator, the year James P English
and the year Henry S. Mcdonald outran Charles
o. Lobeck for county commissioner.
Still another ballot, going back I think to
1899, is in blanket form and embellished like
child's picture book, with party emblems over
each column There is fine eagle for the re-
pubcans, farm house for the popusts,
strutting rooster for the democrats, cracked
liberty bell for the silver republicans rose for
the prohibitionists and fve-pointed star for the
gold democrats. 1t is all very interesting to those
whose memories go back that far and must GER
tainly seem very curious to the new crop of
voters, who have since come upon the scenes.
The big deals in real estate at Fifteenth and
Douglas streets, with their prospective new build
ings there, recall that Fifteenth and Douglas was
the heart of Omaha's business district before
Sixteenth and Farnam streets laid claim to that
distinction. The popular drug store and soda
water dispensary, in every city always at the
very center, was in the Creighton block corner
and run by Norman A. Kuhn and it was the
"Meet-ne" place of the town. For years the
Kuhn drug store easily ranked first and served as
the training school for ambitious drug clerks who
later branched forth with stores of their own.
some of them running the leading drug stores of
the city today. When Kuhn took the swell trade,
believe he captured it from the SAKE drug store,
located in the street floor corner of the old Boyds
opera house at Fifteenth and Farnam streets.