Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-18
Views omd Reviews
Just a Word Personal to Naal
A Couple of Lies.

Bee has naturally caused hutter OF comment.
AS / said in that announcement, the prospect OF
relnquishing the direction Of the paper carries
deep regret in the thought of severng the con-
slant communication with my readers, and
more keen regret over the eventual dissertation
from the loyal and faithful workers who have
helped get out the paper from day to day, who
would go any lengths for me and for whom l
have lasting affection, far beyond the business
relationship.
Our amiable contemporaries have so often
kindly sold The Bee for me that they seem to
have been themselves shockingly surprised at
the actual sale. 1t was to be expected that they
would indulge in all sorts of fantastic specula-
tion Professional courtesy, unfortunately, has
been sadly lacking in the attitude of these
papers toward me, but am happy to note that
only one Of them INDUCED in the extreme OF
lying on this occasion. My personal affairs are
nobody's business but my own, and / doubt
whether other people care anything about them,
but, inasmuch as the matters are of public
record, and the Misrepresentation are so
fragrant, think it better to correct them right
here, so my friends may have the truth.
The assertion that my father "left his sons
several hundred thousand dollars of life nsur-
ance" is acknowledgements fiction. When
totaGng 1921 500, face, some of which went to
designated benefciaries (none to me). Deduct
ing these and the policy loans left $l58,609,
which was paid to his estate. His will provided
that this money should be applied against the
debts he .had contracted. chiefly borrowing for
excess of debts should be assumed equally by
his two sons, leaving the other heirs free of
them. Carrying out his intention fully, as ex-
ecutor, I took my inheritance subject to an in
debtedness of $4,000 as my half, which, l am
happy to say has been long since paid off, prin-
cipal and interest, dollar for dollar. So much
for the insurance money myth.
The suggestion of the same liar that our
agricultural paper was sacrificed by me likewise
calls for contradiction. The old Weekly Bee
was converted into the Twentieth Century
Farmer in the year 1900 and for IS years, with
not a paying proposition. In addition to the
carrying charge, we invested lot of money in
machinery for its production and held the ma
gazine property on our books for $55000, at
which figure my brother tried to dispose of it.
finally brought it up on a profit basis for two
conclusion that the field would be excellent for
one agricultural weekly, but precarous for two,
sold it on time for $92s00, or nearly $4,000
more than we would gladly have taken two
years before, to be merged with the Nebraska
Farmer, for which l had made counter offer
of 100000. The terms of the sale are recorded
in the court house.
Ordinarily I would not devote space to this
subject, but I do not want my friends to be
laboring under delusions from my neglect to en-
Tighten them.
Another Nebraskan whose name is written in
the histories has passed on with the death OF
side over the bureau of insuar affairs after the
United States acquired colonial possessions, and
who later became successively civil governor
of the Canal Zone, minister to Panama, and
provisional governor OF Cuba. Physically Mr..
Magoon was a magnificent specimen of man
ing, just the kind of man to make the right
impression of authority upon the inhabitants of
southern republic like Panama or Cuba ac-
customed to look up to an over-lord and to
measure him by his superiority to themselves
Magoon, though born in Minnesota, came to
Nebraska as a boy. studied at the University of
Nebraska and in the law Office at Lincoln of
the late Charles O. Whedon. He had to make
his own way. He dabbled in politics little bit,
took few handouts around the legislature and
essayed newspaper work. have a letter of
his of these way-back days offering to serve as
inside state house news and information for
the lucrative sum of $40 a month. 1t was
through the personal favor of Senator Thurs
ton and Lieutenant Governor Meiklejohn, who
had been made assistant secretary Of war, and
perhaps also of Charles 6. Dawes, who stood
IHSH Ill the MChlTlcy duIIllIllSLTdLOu, LHdl Md
goon was called to Washington at the con-
clusion of our war with Spain, and installed as
law officer of the bureau of insular affairs,
created then and still part Of the War depart
ment. He filled this place most aeeeptably, al
though the target for quite few Shafts evoked
by one of his reports. Responding to a sum-
mons to investigate and explain the authority
Of the department in our newly-acquired ter
ritory in the Philippines, and to what extent the
limitations of the federal constitution applied,
he presented document indicating that the
islands had come under the constitution sub
stantially as was the area in our western ter
rtorics This report was later withdrawn by
Magoon and another substituted and accepted
by the government for ITS action, holding that
the constitution did not follow the flag and that,
in the absence of congressional action, the ex-
iecutive had full and unrestricted sovereign
powers over treaty-acquired provinces. What
the opposition papers did to Magoon for prepar-
ing two opposite reports may very we'll be
imagined My best and reliable information is
that Magoon wrote the first report to sustain
ruling of superior officer, protesting his per-
sonal dissent, and that the second report was
his real conclusion from the start. Be that as
it may, it was a tempest in teapot for the
time and gave him the full glare Of the spot
light The supreme court later sustained the
position taken in this last report.
I talked with Mr. Magoon about eight
months ago in the Metropolitan club in Wash
ington where he made his home since his re-
tires1cnt from public life although he con-
stantly declared that he still maintained Lincoln
as his residence. He spoke about coming out
for visit at the first opportunity that his busi-
ness interests would permit. He had become
associated with number of wealthy men in
some mining properties and other enterprises
and, ! take it, leaves quite comfortable estate
1t may interest my readers to know that the
restoration to the faculty of the Peabody Con.
servatory of Music of Max Landow, who went
from Omaha to Baltimore, was announced in one