Omaha daily bee., 1919-01-29
HOUSE FOR
$5,OOO,OOO
CAPT. OIL
BUILDING
Other Cities Try to Amend
Bill to Obtain Referendum
on Location, But Fail
in Effort.
By a Staff Correspondent.

- AAatA wa ASNAAANAANs
Lincoln, Jan. 28,-Members of the
house from the thriving cities in the
central and western part of the state
established the fact that they are
imbued with great local pride and
enthusiastic faith in the present and
future greatness of their respective
communities, in the debate on the
bill providing for a new capitol
building today in the house
The measure passed committee of
the whole, providing that al levy of
lH mills be made for five years for
a new structure to cost not more
than $5,000,000 and that no contracts
be entered into for the building un-
til year after the edihce is legally
authorized.
House Roll No. 3 was made spe-
cial order of business for the morn
ing session md the most prolonged
debate on the capitol bill was pre-
eipitated when Mcclellan of Hall
county made motion to amend the
bill so as to provide that a referen-
dun vote on the future site be left
to a special election.
Center of Population.
He said that the present site of
the capitol was Not large enough
for a $5,000,000 building and that
consideration should be given the
fact that the center of population of
Nebraska is continually moving
westward, and there were other cit
les which had good claims for cap
ital location.
his speech he did not once
mention Grand Island, his home
town, as an aspirant for location of
the state capitol
Tracewell of Cherry county con-
tended that McLellan's molten was
in the nature of a practical joke
and the people would so hold it;
that if the question would be put to
a referendum there Would be four
contestants outside OF Lincoln, and
they would be Norfolk, Kearney,
Hastings and Grand Island, Should
one of the four latter towns be de-
termined on to contest the site
with Lincoln jealousy would cause
the other three towns to line up
with Lincoln, as would Omaha and
the greater part of the northwest
ern part of the state.
Biggest Little City.
Mcclellan, in rejoinder, said: 81
never said a word about Grand
Island, did 1? But since you have
raised the question / will state that
Grand Island does more business
pc capita than any city in the Uni
ted States, is the second largest
horse market IN the United States,
has large jobbing and industrial
concerns, is the largest little cit in
the United States and is eminently
fit to be the capital of the great
state OF Nebraska.
Purcell of Custer, remarked: "The
failure of Mcclellan to refer to
Grand Island as a suitable place for
the new capitol building was be-
cause he had Broken Bow in mind
all the time"
Hostetler of Buffalo, extolled
Kearney, saying it was a city of
hospitals, military academies.
normal school and industries. As
the course of empire had taken its
westward way it had developed
wonderful community there, when a
few short years ago the site of the
town was the home of the antelope
and the jack rabbit. He favored
referendum vote.
Boosts Fillmore County.
Matthewson told of the glories of
Fillmore county and of the future
of the sandhills and indicated in a
long speech that one of the latter,
environed with a crop of sweet
clover, the humus producing YER
dure which would make the sand
hills a land flowing with milk and
honey, would be an ideal site for the
new capital.
Berka contended chat the greatest
good to the greatest number OF per-
sons in the state made Lincoln the
ideal site and was joined in this by
Mears of Wayne, who said that
while Omaha was the one great
metropolitan city of Nebraska il
had not the advantage of capital
city possessed by Lincoln.
Snow, from the extreme western
part of the state, said traditions had
grown up around Lincoln, as the
capital. that could not be disregard
ed, and while the logical site favored
Scottsbluff. he was in favor of Lin
coin and that the 100 representa-
tives in the house were there TO ex-
press the will of the people and it
was unfair to the voters to pass
the buck" to them.
Rodman of Kimball closed the
debate on the amendment. by cali
ing attention to the law, which pro-
vides that the university buildings
must be erected within a radius Of
four miles of the state capital.
The referendum amendment was