The Lamar register. [volume], May 26, 1915, Image 1

About The Lamar register. [volume] (Lamar, Colo.) 1889-1952

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The Lamar Register
VOLUMB XXIX.
LAMAR CELEBRATES
Twenty-ninth Birthday and Installa
tion of Lamar Lodge No. 1319
B. P. O. E.
Monday was the big day in Umar
and the town wore more gala attire
than at any time since the Rama! day
celebration of the establishment of
the Helvetia Condensery here. The
occasion this time was the 29th anni
versary of the birth of the town, but
the principal cause for the decorations
and the jubilee was the installation of
an Elks lodge here. Lamar has at
last become familiar with anniversary
celebrations although still a fairly
new city, but every place cannot have
an Elks lodge and our citizens were
considerably enthused over that event.
Nearly all the business houses of the
town were well decorated with the
Elks colors, purple and white, and
there was a large number of elk and
deer heads and a few goats used in
some of the most attractive windows.
The proceedings began witfi the
arrival of the I*a Junta delegation on
Train No. 8 at 12:30, and a big pro
cession of visiting and home Elks led
by the Lamar band marched to the
anuory where a big dinner had been
prepared for the visitors. It was a
feast where no expense had been
spared to see that all were hospitably
treated, and that the visitors might
know the baby lodge was worthy of
an order devoted to hospitality and
charity.
After dinner they repaired to the
lodge room in the Fraternal Temple,
where the crack La Junta team spent
the afternoon in branding and dec
orating with horns a class of twenty
candidates. There were encugh
“friends" among the already branded
Elks in Umar to see that each of
the new member* got everything that
was coming to him and then some.
This part of the program occupied the
entire afternoon, and at its close an
other big spread was served at the
Armory.
The evening was spent in institut
ing the new lodge and installing the
officers, and after these ceremonies
the time until the arrival of the 2:30
train was spent in a social good time,
and the visitors were accompanied to
the train by the entire membership of
the new baby lodge.
While the Grand Lodge limited the
charter membership to fifty so that
only a limited number of candidates
could get in, there is a long list of
petitioners on file which will keep
the new officers busily at work for
some months before the rush is over.
It is probable w’hen the work already
cut out is completed it will be the
largest lodge of the town and one of
the strongest ones of the state. The
question of a home for the new lodge
will be one of the first to be solved
as the Fraternal Temple is already
too crowded to make satisfactory ar
rangements for the new order.
The day marked the successful con
clusion of the efforts of several of
the most enthusiastic local Elks, who
have been hard at work for several
years to secure this lodge, and they
are feeling correspondingly elated.
It is a great order with a noble pur
pose, and Lamar is to be congratulat
ed that there will be a home of the
great organization located here. The
visiting members were given the free
dom of the city and both they and I,a
mar seemed pleased with all the pro
gram.
The officers and membership of La
mar Lodge No. 1319 are as follows:
Officers
Exalted Ruler, C. R. Strain.
Esteemed Leading Knight, C. C.
Huddleston.
Esteemed Loyal Knight, J. A.
Rourke.
Esteemed Lecturing Knight, A. C.
Mitchell.
Esquire, H. J. Johnson.
Chaplain, A. C. Gordon.
Tyler, H. W. Traxler.
Treasurer, R. E. Adams.
Secretary, Walter DeWitt.
Inner Guard, Fred Lee.
Trustees, F. H. Kelsey, M. L. Con
well, Leon Butler, W. F. McCue.
House Committee, F. W. Sayler, W.
THE PIONEER NEWSPAPER OF PROWERS COUNTY
LAMAR, PROWERS COUNTY, COLORADO. WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 1915.
B. Gordon, Paul Denning.
Charter Members
Old Members —R. E. Adams, Leon
Butler, N. E. Butler, R. F. Creaghe,
J. P. Campbell, Paul Denning, J. A.
Downing, A. E. Fox, A. Friedman, W.
C. Gould, A. C. Gordon, C. C. Hud
dleston, Granby Hillyer, T. F. Hover,
1.. E. Likes, Fred Lee, F. Levin, W.
A. Leonard, Chas. Maxwell, A. C.
Mitchell, W. F. McCue, C. J. McCall,
C. V. Newman, Chas. Owens, Jack
O’Neill, I. D. Pixley, T. J. Sayler,
,F. W. Sayler, Ray Strain, C. R.
Strain, H. W. Traxler.
Newly Branded —C. H. Wooden, E.
A. Lumlgren, Wm. Corson, Ed Apple
gate, Walter DeWitt, St. George
Creaghe, H. C. Byrnes, J. A. Rourke,
H. J. Johnson, G. C. Pyle, D. L. Sil
ver, W. B. Gordon, J. P. Campbell, E.
I. Ball, W. O. Sheller, W. L. Burger,
F. H. Kelsey, M. L. Conwell, W. A.
Zimmer, E. H. Knowles.
Civility
Don’t try to bully the world. It does
not pay. Whoever enters the ring
for a rough and tumble fight with pub
lic opinion is pretty sure, eventually,
to be "knocked out.” Society is a
Briaerus, and who would think of en
countering with a single pair of fists
a hundred armed fellow ? Better shake
the multitudinous hand of the giant,
good naturedly, than unnecessarily
provoke his wrath. Despise the world
if it so please you, but as you have
to live in the world and to lean on
the aorld it is just as well to treat
it civilly. Shrewd men, who under
stand their race, never seek a quar
rel with society. They understand
that it is possible for an individual to
lead and quietly control a community,
but not to fight it down and not to
force it to their way of thinking by
means of narrow laws. If you desire
to reform supposed or real evils or
disabuse your fellow men of their
prejudices, the surest way not to suc
ceed is to resort to denunciation and
abuse. Kindness, conciliation and the
influence of a good example—these are
the true and effective means of re
form.
Seven Day Program
The Chautauqua program of this
circuit for 1915 is to reach the highest
point, we think, in popular approval ,
of any other of our nine years exper
ience. looking back over the years
it is not too much to say that some
of the greatest lecturers and enter-,
tainers of America have been offered
on this circuit according to Secretary
Homer.
Thousands of letters written and
statements made from fathers, and
mothers and young people would in
dicate that these programs have had a
tremendous influence in shaping the
lives of young folks and in enlarging
the vision of all people.
This is to be the big popular year.
I make no apology in offering mon
entertainment, more fun, more that is
light, than in previous years. But the
lectures and the solid material have
by no means been neglected. This is'
the year when we want to make peo
ple forget their troubles by remember
ing their blessings. The big Euro
pean catastrophe has cast a pall of
uncertainty and moral depression over
the country. The public has sustain
ed more ugitation and has responded
more generously to reform movements
in the last decade than ever before
perhaps in the history of civilization.
The people have shown a big heart
edness and good citizenship, and their
unselfishness in making an honest
attempt to bring about political and
economic reform.
In my opinion too much violent
agitation should cease for the pres
ent: Why not give the people a
chance to enjoy the blessings that
they have earned ? We want to have
the best time that we have ever had,
but the big keynote of the 1915 Chau
tauqua program is Patriotism. Not
the Patriotism of War, but the Pat
riotism of Peace and Happiness.
The next big thing that will stand
lout is Inspiration. That is why, for
| this year, we will dispense with tech-
Inical discussions, with political har-
I ungues. Politics are tabooed. The
.intellectual growth of the people of the
middle west has been marvelous, and
they are well prepared to receive the
splendid entertainment and musical
offerings that this program will af
ford.
WILL DENVER BE WET OR DRY?
How One of Colorado's New Fads Sur
prises Its Friends
(By Alva Swain)
The situation that has jtrisen in con
nection with the fight to make Colo
rado dry is unique. It never could
have resulted had it not been for the
adoption of the recull of judicial de
cisions by the people two years ago.
Because that amendment was written
into our state constitution at a time
when the so-called reform wave way
sweeping the country, Colorado now
faces the proposition of having to re
peal that part of our constitution or
of having all towns acting under th<
Home Rule amendment go wet if they
so desire, irrespective of the consti
tutional amendment adopted last fall.
To be sure the attorneys for the drys
I will make a desperate legal fight to
overcome the situation but even they
-admit that in our haste to adopt an
up-to-date reformed constitution we
have come very close to making the
city and town government greater
than the state government, if the peo
ple of the cities and towns so desire
A review of the history of the pres
ent situation is not amiss.
In the winter of 1901 the legislature
submitted what is known as the Rush
bill to the people. It was a proposed
constitutional amendment consolidat
ing the city and county government
of the city of Denver and the then
county of Arapahoe, and sought to
give to the people of Denver what is
jcommonly termed “Home Rule.” It
gave them the right to gevem them
| selves on matters purely local and
i pertaining to city government. A num
ber of suits following testing the val
idity of the amendment and finall}
the courts passed upon enough legal
points to give Denver an idea as to
where she stood from a governmental
point of view. Following this a num
ber of cities in the state decided that
the Rush Home Rule act could be ap
plied to them the same as to Den
ver; that a constitutional amendment
: giving Denver certain rights necessar
ily gave the other cities of the state
the same rights if they cared to avail
themselves of those rights. Quite a
. number of the cities, including Colo
rado Springs, Pueblo, Grand Junction
and others, by direct vote of their
electorate adopted home rule under
the name of commission government.
Following this came a number of le
gal cases in which the charters of
these towns appeared to be in techni
cal legal jeopardy.
Two years ago there was submitteu
to the people under the initiative and
referendum what is known as the
Home Rule amendment. This amend
, ment sought to amend the state con
stitution so that any town or city
that so desired could operate under the
commission form of government and
it specifically named the towns of
Denver, Pueblo, Colorado Sproings and
Grand Junction and declared their
charters and governments to be valid
There were two provisions in that
Home Rule amendment that were ex
tremely strong in language. They
were:
“The people of each city or town
in this state having a population of
12,000 inhabitants as determined by the
last preceding census are hereby vest
ed with and they shall always have
power to make, amend, add to or re
place the charter of said city or town
which shall be its organic law and
extend to all local and municipal mat
ters.
“Such charter and the ordinances
made pursuant thereto in such mat
tors shall supercede within the terri
torial limits and other jurisdiction of
said city or town any law* of the state
in conflict therewith.”
The last section is admitted by the
drys to be their stumbling block.
| At the same election there was sub-
Imitted an amendment to the constitu
tion known as the Recall of Judiciul
Decisions. This amendment provides
that where the supreme court decides
a question relative to a city or town
the people of thut city or town can.
through petition signed by 5 per cent
of their electors, force the legislativi
department of said city or town to
submit the question to the people of
that city or town and if the people
votc against the court then the ruling
of the court is of no avail in that city
of town.
The provision of the recall of judi
cial decisions relative to questions per
taining to cities or towns is as fol
lows:
“If such decision concerns a charter
or an amendment thereto of a city or
city and county acting under Article
XX of this constitution, it shall not
( be binding until sixty days after it
has been filed in the office of the clerk
of the said court. Within sixty days
u referendum petition, signed by not
less than 5 per cent of the qualified
electors of such city or city and coun
ty, may request that such charter or
amendment thereto be submitted to the
people of such city or city and county
for their adoption or rejection. It shall
be the duty of such legislative body to
publish the text of such charter or
amendment thereto as initiative ordin
ances and published as near as may be
and submit such charter or amendment
thereto to the people of such city or
city and county, at an election to be
culled by said legislative body not less
thun sixty days after the filing of
said petition, unless there should be
under the charter of said city or city
and county a regular election, to be
held for the election of officers of said
city or city and county within said
sixty days in which event such charter
or amendment thereto may be submit
ted to the vote of the people at such
regular election. All such charters or
amendments thereto so submitted as
herein provided when approved by %
majority of the votes cast thereon in
said city or city and county shall be
and become the law of this state and
of said city or city and county not
withstanding the decision of the su
preme court.”
Following this election a case known
as the People vs. Prevost was carried
to the supreme court from Pueblo
county to test the validity of the
Home Rule amendment as adopted in
1912 which made valid the commission
form of government of Grand Junc
tion, Pueblo, Denver and Colorado
Springs, and which gave all of th*
other towns and cities of 2,000 inhab
itants the right to establish similui
governments, and the court upheld
the new constitutional provision. At
that time an effort was made to have
that portion of the constitution re
calling judicial decisions declared in
valid, but the court held that the
question was not before the court.
I>ast fall the people adopted the pro
hibition constitutional amendment,
which read as follows:
“From and after the first day of
January, 1916, no person, association
or corporation, shall, within this state,
manufacture for sale or gift any in
toxicating liquors, and no person, as
sociation or corporation shall import
into this state any intoxicating liquors
for sale of gift, and no person, asso
ciation or corporation shall, within
this state, sell or keep for sale any
intoxicating liquors or offer for sale
any intoxicating liquors for barter or
trade. Provided, however, that the
handling of intoxicating liquors 'or
medicinal or sacramental purposes
may be provided by statute.
“Section 2. All provisions of the
constitution in conflict herewith are
hereby repealed.”
When the Denver election was to be
held this spring the wets proposed an
amendment to the city charter, pro
viding that Denver shall be wet. It
was so worded as to give the commis
sioners of the city the right to grant 1
licenses to sell whiskey. The charter
amendment was adopted. The wets ex
pect that it will be carried to the su
preme court and they expect the court
to hold that Denver cannot sell whis
key. Immediately they will act under
NUMBER 52.
the provision of the recall which g'/es
the towns and cities the right to recall
a decision of the court and under the
provisions of the Home Rule amend
ment, which has been sustained by the
supreme court, and secure a petition
signed by five per cent of the citizens
of Denver and submit the question of
recalling the court’s decision. If the
decision is recalled by vote then the
drys will take the matter to the su
preme court on the ground that the
recall of judicial decisions is in this
case unconstitutional. The drys will
claim that the prohibition amendment
adopted last fall supersedes all other
provisions of the constitution. The
wets will claim that the Home Rule
amendment and the recall of judicial
decision amendment takes Denver and
'all other towns acting under charters
i created under the Home Rule amend
ment out from under the provisions of
( the dry amendment,
j The drys will claim that the whiskey
Question is a question for state-wide
police supervision.
j Both sides admit that the legul
question involved are such that each
I side has a good chance to win. Both
aides admit that if the recall of ju
dicial opinions insofar as they apply
to towns and cities had never been
adopted Denver would not now be
facing the peculiur situation that con
fronts her on the wet and dry propo
sition.
MORE BLUNDERING
Democratic Congress Blundered In
All Its Legislative Work
Washington, D. C., May 24, 1916. —
A typical example of inexecusable
blundering by congress in the enact
ment of a statute has been argued re
cently before the Court of Customs
Appeals. The court is asked to in
terpret the meaning of paragraph 408
of the Underwood tariff act, the first
important law of the present admin
istration.
The paragraph provides free entry
for “waste” of any of the articles
therein described “suitable” for the
manufacture of puper. Careless use
of the word “suitable” in drafting the
law plunged it into uncertainty, for
it admits a wide latitude of construc
tion. Will free entry be given to
anything that might be used in paper
making; or must waste be used only
in paper making in order to enter free
of duty
Already two opposing constructions
have been placed upon the statute,
one by customs officials who imposed
u tax, another by the Board of U. S.
General Appraisers who allowed free
entry. Now the higher court is ap
pealed to for a third opinion as to
the intent of the law makers.
The blunder is more notable be
cause the language of former tariff
acts wus an ample guide. The act of
1897 provided free entry for waste
“fit only” to be converted into paper.
The corresponding paragraph in the
1909 act extended free entry to waste
“used chiefly” for paper making.
With these provisions in the old
law, it seems as though intelligent re
vision would have been simplicity it
self. But with their fatal gift of
blundering the democrats seized upon
.and inserted “suitable” in the law—
the one word that neither customs of
ficials, lawyers nor business men af
fected could understand, and which
rendered imperative the litigation now
in the courts before the statute can
be finally enforced.
For the first two years of Mr. Wil
son's administration there were thir
ty-five thousand commercial failures.
This number is some ten thousand in
excess of similar failures during the
first two years of the Taft adminis
tration. The total liabilities involved
in the commercial failures during the
first two years of the Wilson adminis
tration amounted to seven hundred
and sixty millions of dollars. The to
tal liabilities of the commercial fail
ures in the United States during the
four years of the Taft administration
amounted to six hundred and forty
millions, one hundred and twenty mil
-1 lions less than for the two years of
Wilson rule.