NOVEMBER BREAKS RECORD SH0WIN3 CUT AND KAR3CR OF HALIFAX CLERKS CALL FOH COUNTY ASSESSOR Tcld in Short Paragraphs SSS5 IIP" it Suc in curia vV thwiar )) ATLANTIC HALIFAX HQBBOR 1 STUNS Last Month Was Driest and Mildest Ever Known in Stats Bad for Wheat. Last month was one of the driest. mildest and most pleasant Novembers Kansas has ever experienced and, and October preceding, makes ths driest autumn in ths last IS ears cf the state's record, according to ths i summary of ths reports of 1U0 eta llon ot weather bureau, which cover In practically every tuULl). Thers was an exceptionally fine stretch of Indian summer tl.a first two weeks and daily temperatures, taking the month through, ranged above normal more than two-thirds of the time. There were no cold waves and not nearly as much freez ing weather as November usually has.
The highest temperature recorded was 83 degrees on the 3d at LaCrosse and Medicine Lodge, and at Clay Center, Greensburg and Healy on the 4th. The lowest was 11 degrees at Lrotl on the 28th. Only one other November on record has passed without a lower temperature than this somewhere In the state. The average precipitation (rain and melted enow) over the eastern third of the state was 0.18 inch; the middle third, 0.54 inch; the western third, 0.43 inch; and tfor the entire state, 0.38 Inch, or 0.91 inch below normal There was hardly a county, except a few In the north central portion, that received more than an inch of mois ture and by far the greater number had less than, a quarter of an inch, which was so small it did no good whatever. Measurable snowfall occurred at only a few places and there melted almost as fast as it fell.
The heaviest amount of precipitation for the-month was 2.61 Inches at Co lumbus, in the extreme southeast corner of tne state. tour places, Abilene, Burlington, Council' Grove and Oslialoosa had no rain or snow at all. The general drought proved very unfavorable for the wheat crop, the condition of which was commonly reported to be below what it has been in any fall of recent years. TO DISCUSS DRAFT APPEALS Board Members of Topeka and Wich ita Districts Start a Campaign for Uniform Action. Topeka.
Members of the Topeka and Wichita district appeal boards are making a whirlwind educational cam paign in Kansas. There are five members of each board and they have di vided the and each member will make from one to three county seat towns a day. It is proposed to cover the entire state during one week. The object of the campaign is to se cure uniformity of action by the local draft boards in the next draft which starts on December 15. The two dis trict boards have gone over the new regulations very carefully and have come to a common understanding con cerning them.
Now the members will give the local county draft boards the benefit of their knowledge. Each county draft board has been notified when the member of the district board will be in its county and all members of the county boards are ordered to be present for the conference. It has taken three railroad men four days to work out railroad schedules for the ten members of the district boards In the first draft there was no uni formity of action by the local boards, As a result some counties were very liberal In granting exemptions while others were very stringent. This caused no end of complaint. The draft officials hope to remedy this con dition for the next draft through the educational conferences to be conduct ed by members of the district appeal boards.
George W. Weed Is Dead. Word of the death of George W. Weed, a pioneer of Topeka, at the Leavenworth Soldiers' Home, was re ceived In Topeka recently. Mr.
Weed was a resident of Topeka for nearly sixty years. He was a veteran of the Civil War and helped organize the G. A. R. in Kansas.
-L War Thrift Week. Kansas will begin its first big effort to sell the state's quota of 37 million dollars in Baby Bonds and thrift stamps the week beginning December 17. W. Goebel, director of war savings service for Kansas, in proclamation just issued, set aside the "war thrift week." Receiver for Crescent Oil. S.
M. Brewster, attorney general. has ordered a receiver for the Cres cent Oil and Gas Company of Wich The company is charged with violating its corporate powers in that It advertised it owned certain oil prop erties when it did not own them. 4-War Hits Kansas Mines. Now that congress has declared war on Austria, a big problem confronts the federal authorities In the south eastern Kansas coal fields.
There are perhaps 2,000 Austrians mining coal In that district. Half their number have only taken out the first natural Ization papers. The rebt. have taken out none at all. While this country Is at war with Austria tbey cannot take out naturalization papers.
As matters now stand most of them are loyal Americans, at heart, and yet Max Fpitter, 46 years old, a totk salesman fur a Wichita oil company, shot and killed his wits in a fit of anger and then gave himself up to the police. lie tn ice tried to commit suicide after beir.g locked up by cutting his threat with tin from a tobacco, can. Alexander Howat has besn re-elected president of the United Mine Workers of District No, 14. Returns from seventy-three cf the 125 locals give Lira 4.556 to 278 for his opponent. Alexander McAllister.
H. G. McMullen of Newton, a Santa Fe brakeman, is dead from injuries received when he fell under a train in the Santa re yards. He was "7 years old aud leaves a widow and three children. The Rock Hand has authorized the construction of twenty more stalls to its roundhouse at Herlngton, increas ing the capacity of engine room to fifty stalls.
Four more I. W. W. were picked up by federal authorities In the Butler county oil fislda and brought to the Sedgwick county Jail. They were James Gcssard, John Cresbach, Mor ris Hunt and John Vagtch.
There now are twenty-nine I. W. W. in the Sedg wick county Jail. Heavy live stock losses, as the suit of poisoning from cornstalks, have Just occurred in Chase county, and fanners and cattlemen have been warned by local veterinary men to keep their cattle and horses out of their stalk fields.
Donald Hughes, a sophom*ore in the University of Kansas and vlce-presl dent of the class, has left for the Great Lakes Training School, where he will train as a navy wireless oper ator. He is 19 years old and the son of C. E. Hughes of Lawrence. J.
T. Sellards, representative from Dickinson county, died recently fol lowing an operation. He served his first term in the legislature last sea sion and was a large landowner at Solomon and vice-president of thu State Bank at that place. He leaves a widow and family. A contract has been closed at Ot tawa 'by the North American Hotel Company of Omaha to take over the uncompleted 5-story Dobson Building and convert it into a $100,000 hotel at once.
The Dobson Building was start ed several years ago. Charles L. Alkire of Atchison has been offered an appointment on the state laundry board by Arthur Capper, governor of Kansas. He probably will accept Walter P. Innes, the newly appointed food commissioner of Kansas, arrived home from Washington recent ly and took his first official step.
A car of potatoes belonging to an out- of-town firm that had been on the tracks for three weeks was ordered commandeered by Mr. Innes and sold A service flag with more than 700 stars will soon be flying at Kansas University. The men's student coun cil arranged for the purchase of the flag, and it is expected to be finished soon. Each star is to represent a U. student who has enlisted In the military service of the United States Mrs.
James H. McPhcrson, wife of County Auditor McFherson, and daughter of C. W. Simmons, a county commissioner of Wichita, is dead at the age of 43. The most valuable load of sweet clover seed ever marketed from Chase county was hauled In the other day bj W.
G. McCandless, a farmer of South Fork. The load contained nine ty bushels of fine seed and it was sold for $11 a bushel to a seed house William Wright, 58 years old, bachelor farmer near Kingman, committed suicide recently by shooting himself with a shotgun while he stood in the road near his home. The Harper Sentinel, a weekly newspaper, has been sold by H. Leonard to J.
R. Hoffman of the Har per Advocate and will be merged. Frank S. Harriman Co. of Wichita have sold to C.
J. Cummings of Port land, broom corn at $500 a ton. This is the highest price paid there for broom corn. Charles McCarthy was killed and Lloyd Peck was severely, if not fatal- ly, injured when a hoisting derrick, on which they were working, was blow over at Alta Vista the other Fifteen survivors of the battle of Tralrie Grove met at the Douglas county court house recently for their fifty-fifth annual reunion. Among the survivors who attended Is Alex Corner of Kansas City, who enlisted in Compan" Thirteenth Kansas lufan try, and was In Lawrence two weeks before Quantrell's raid In 18C3.
The record for enlistments la th army and navy was broken at Salina when C2 young men of draft age enlist ed and left at once for various train State Convention Votes Unani- mously in Favor of Re- I Creating the OJf.ce. i IflVrP Ti unrif TPfl tlrIVV KiARto I lit WUI.N I LiU IitAll i Equalization and Assessment ef Prop-! trty Values Enough to Keep 1 Man Busy All ths Tim. Topeka. Equalization and assess ment of property values in the various counties of Kansas are of sufficient inipertance to warrant the creation of a separate department, completely diverged from all other official duties, relieving tn8 county clerks of the work imposed upon them by a state law, clerks in state convention at Topeka. declared.
i This was the main theme for discussion by the county clerks, who as ex- officio county assessors, met with the state tax commission to tron out the problems of the assessment of prop erty for taxation. It was unanimous ly Voted by the clerks to work for legislation along this line, and when the! state senators and representatives qoine to Topeka in 1918 they will prob ably carry a request from each county clerk in the state for a law which will recreate the office of county assessor In all counties. lender the law as it has stood for thej last four years the clerks are In charge of the assessing of all They must appoint deputy assessor, who are named by the law. Many cle ks declared that they were forced to appoint men as deputies who are absolutely incapable of performing the duties falling upon them. Samuel T.
Howe, chairman of the tax commia-sloji, said that there was no way of getting out of appointing these men, but that they could be ousted Immediately after their appointment was confirmed. The registration of clerks followed the meeting with the tax commission. The clerks' association meetings were held In the hearing room of the public utilities commission. In addi tion to the routine business of the as sociation, there were addresses by W. E.
Craig, Erie; Katie- Harris, St. John; W. E. Rostine, McPherson; B. Norris, Garden City; A.
C. Anderson, Salina, and W. R. Yenawine, Manhattan. for Two Oil Concerns, The state charter board has admitted two foreign corporations Into Kan sas.
The Occident Oil and Refining Company of Oklahoma proposes to use 1 million dollars capital In the state, with offices at Wichita. S. D. Daniel of 'Wichita Js The Okla homa Tine Line Company of Oklas- homa will establish offices at Augus fa," with half million dollars Kansas capital. Allen T.
Towl of Muskogee, is president. Accused As Double Slacker. Thomas Armstrong was arrested beVe recently on a charge of evading the draft. He went to Canada last year but never took out any naturalisation papers. When the call for was made, he failed, It is jeharged, to register as an American and later declined to register for the Canadian draft.
He came here to visit tome friends this week and was arrested. He is being held, awaiting action by federal authorities. E. M. Tracewell, 70 years old, men ber of the Cherokee county bar since 1882, and a Democratic politician, died recently at Columbus.
4r fr 4 Kansas Teachers Divide. The Kansas State Teachers' Assoc! ation was divided into four sections at a meeting of the directors of the prganization in the office of W. D. Ross, state superintendent of public instruction, here the other day. The directors acted under authority grant ed them in amendments adopted by the organization at its annual conven tion here In November.
The sections were designated as Northeast, North vest. Southeast and Southwest In se iecting the .1918 meeting places. To peka won over Kansas City, for the Northeast district; Salina over Hays for the Northwest; Pittsburg the Southeast, without opposition, and Wichita over Hutchinson for the Southwest section. The following of ficers were elected: President, J. Hall, Hutchinson; vice president Northeast section, Miss Amie Crouch Wabaunsee; vice president North est section, C.
A. Shiveley, Hays Vice president Southwest district, H. Clement, Dodge City; vice presi dent Southeast district, J. W. Miley, Crawford county.
Arms for Kansas Guards. Home guards in oil news and In the "Industrial districts of Kansas are to be equipped with Springfield rifles from the government. It vas an nounced recently by Adjutai.c General Charles S. Huffman. 4- 4- East Llkei Jack Rabbits.
Jack rabbits "are becoming a com mon dish in the East. All of the big hotels are serving them. In order to promote them as a diet the hotel want some live rabbits sent them for SHOULD RELY ON ARCHITECT Common Sent Owner Will Make Ne Suggestions Within Province of Expert, It ta Asserted. Architects face everal hard proh-j lenis in the construction of house for a new owner. The Iwtter believe that fclnee the money which pays for the; luuise Is hi he must be given the liberty to --declare what tulhler Is to get the- Job after all Itlds are In.
The: owner forgets that the architect knows more about building thaa he; that he. Is an expert In that line and for that reason the owner hut hired him. The' common sens owner niukes no suggestions within the province of the architect but relies on his Judgment. Should the owner 1m allowed his own way, he would oftentimes get Into hot water, says an, exchange. Naturally the owner la awarding the contract would select the lowest bid-, der because he is the lowest The lowest Wilder may not be of sufficient financial means to meet obligations In cuse jo Is lven the coutruct, and mechanics' liens tie up the con tdructlon of the house, making the' owuer the loser ami not the builder.
The nrchlteet, who probubly knows tlu builtlon jtl-not the proper man to nuini tne mmse, aiivises against mm. In this way the architect protects his I client beeauso he, by reason of bis work, Is uble to discriminate hetweeu the unscrupulous nnd, tho scrupulous builders, and tho llnnncliilly-tltted and the builder with weak finances. AMERICA IS MAKING TILES Decorjrtloni In Spanish, Moorish and Other Designs of Past Centuries Add to Beauty of Homes. In this country the milling of tiles luis been taken up with enthusiasm by flitters. The styles vary greutly lu odor and showing SiiAnlwh, Moorinh, German, old KngllNh ond other designs.
Tho Interesting wny In which they may bo used to decorate a modern facade Is diown in houso on Nineteenth street, New York city. Tho tiles are set oft with cspeclnl re finement nnd brilliancy by the rough cement background. The large panel over the door Is of a pleasing, medium blue color, nnd tho decoration Is of a peaco*ck, the whole panel being In four parts. Those, were taken from the Basilica of St. Apollln-itrls at Ravenna.
Around It is a border of tiling dad cement and the small tiles which ornament the ground, show two swnstlka forms. One of tfieso' Is copied from a tfle ot the othtr copied from one ex cavated at IVrscpolls, This doorway Is further enhanced by large garden pots, one on either slilc. These nre made of the same muterlals, a gray, negative concrete, with tiles of his toric design in dull greens and blues nnd browns Imbedded In the mnterlal of the vase. The tulip dcNlgn on one of these vases is eighteenth century German. i Mistakes In Drainage.
It has been learned hy experience Ml well as hy experimental, Investigation that the Influence of a tllo drain In removing water from soil of uniform character In Increased hy lowering the drain. A drain laid nt a con-" shleralile depth along one side of a road Is hetler'Hinn: two drains' nt. less depth, one on ench side of the road, provided the soil is of a 'uniform character. Unfortunately, this qualifying provision In the general statement Is often forcotten, and a single line of tllo Is laid along ono Hide of road where the conditions nre such that It cannot poHsibly perform tho do-; sired work. In a nubsoll which chnnges from Band to a compact, fairly Impervious clay at six feet, It would be unwise to Install drains deeper than six feet, for othe'rwle thy would be In material yleldlnf 'veryltlle wnter, and might even prove' less effective thun drains laid at the level of the clay, surface.
Errors In Finish. Prospective builder should plan to make their dwelling pot a mere house, but a hom*o. Indifferent' looking trim should be avoided. Color lit wood- work, whether (tunneled or pointed, Is the keynote of taste Is homelike rooms. I)uIiiIiickm, warmth of tone and arttstle effect are 'lotully dependent upon the kind of wood on which the doslred color scheme Is carried out Greenwich Village, For the benefit of out-nMown tourists, I may explain that Greenwich village Is situated at the crossroads of Fourth and Tentlt jstreets.
It is' Inhabited by Bohemians who nre trying to live as though they were In a Russian novel. Their diet consists of truffles and their chief industry is running playhouses mitnll to hold any audience. M. 13. Slnssoa in the New York Independent' Order In the Garden.
AH strung or striking features In garden should ho at some distance from the residence and from ench oth-, cr, so that ench nhall be a center of Interest for that purtlculnr part of tho garden. Never hnve a clutter of such things, either about the bouse or elho-where. are the Public Gardens, the most cul tlvsted spot nl Canada, and said to he Its most hjinutlful garden. An area of 20 acres Is thus given up for pur pose of pleasure right in the heart of the city. When the land was origin oily tnken up fr park purpones it lay on the outskirts of the town, and was a hunting Held.
It Is luld out lu formal ii in-tin, liuml Ktuud and prectco walks. Other Noted Buildings. The Provincial Building, the Govern ment House, the City Hall, the Domin ion Building und ths new Customs House were among the edifices of which the natives of Halifax boosted. Other buildings of prominence are the Dnlhousie College, Provincial Museum, Academy qf Muflc, Y. M.
C. A. Build ing, Odd-Fellows' Temple and the- three principal hotels, Halifax, I'rlnce George and Queen's. Among the famous edifices of the city is the St Paul's Episcopal Church, sold to be 1ho oldest Protestant church built In North America. It as constructed in Boston In 17.10, a year after the town was founded, and carried in schooners to Halifax, where the parts were put together.
The story la told thot when Cornwollls wrote the Earl of Halifax ho wanted to build a church Ihe eurl replied by sending to Canada the architect who built Bt Peter's In London. St. Matthew's Presbyterian -Church, which was built during the lute years of the eighteenth ceutury, was de stroyed by fire In 1857, only to be re built One of the most beautiful buildings In the city Is the St. Mary's Catholic Cathedral. With a toll white spire extending upward, It is visible for miles.
itellglon of all denominations seems to thrive In Nova Scotia, for In a re-cwit census of religions only M3 persons were listed as belonging to no sect. At present there are 120,000 Roman Catholics, 100,000 Presbyterians, 8.1.000 Baptists. 00,000 Anglicans, 57,000 Methodists and a few thousand spread through the Adyentlsts, Disciples and Jews. Of (he latter there were 437. Eighty years ago, when the province was small and practically uninhabited, the Presbyterians were the lurgcRt body, although there was a flourishing colony of Roman Catholics at Cnpe Breton.
The Baptists then were an in considerable body of poor peasants with badly educated teachers and preschers. Today the Baptists stand third In the list of denominations. One of World's Best Harbors. "Halifax has one of the finest harbors In the world and Is the chief Canadian gateway for extorts. It Is the capital of Nova Scotia, with population of 00,000.
The city Is three miles long ami a mile wide; Is built on the eastern slope of a small peninsula. "It Is a garrison city and has eleven forts and batteries, Including the Clta del, once one of the strongest fortinca tlons In America. "The horbor Is open all year. Its Inner haven Is Bedford Basin, 20 miles In circumference, In which the colli sion and explosion occurred. I have seen as many as 140 ocean vessels in the basin at once.
"Vast new wharves and railway terminals are being constructed by the government at a cost of but these are near the tip of the penin sula at the south, und evidently were not harmed. "Hnllfsx Is 610 miles nearer Liver pool than Is New York for trans-Atlan tic liners. It Is COO miles from New York. Founded By Cornwallis In 1749, "Colonel Kdward Cornwallis left Britain In 1740 und founded the city, The French nrmadu gathered there In 17.17 bent on demolishing Loulsburg, only to meet dlsoster through storm nnd plague. Howe went to Halifax with his tn-n after they were defeated at Boston.
Great nnmbers of royalists from New York found refuge there In the revolution. Halifax jms the chief base of supplies. "One hundred nnd six warships made harbor tlmre in 1812. The expedition that burnt Washington started from Halifax. Aud It was there the Shannon sailed with.
her prize, the Chesa peske." I Disaster Probably Most Fearful That Ever Occurred on the American Continent. TOTAL LOSS OF LIFE UNKNOWN Will Surely Be Numbered by Thous ands Stricken City One of Great Britain's Important Military Posts Its History. The disaster at Halifax, which cost the lives of at lenst 2,000 people, though the exact number will never be known, plunged the Dominion Into mourning. It probably ranks as the most fearful that ever occurred on the American continent. Residents of Halifax and thousands of volunteer relief workers who enmo Into the city were dazed at the extent of the horror.
The Belgian relief ship Imo collided with the French munition vessel, Mont Blnnc, loaded with 3,000 tons of T. N. T. and a lurge quantity of benzine. The impact set fire to a dock loud of benzine on the French ship and the flames quickly communicated with the munitions, resulting In a practical bombardment of the city.
The Kone of destruction in Hnllfnx Itself extended from the North street railway station ns fnr north as Afrlo-vllle to Bedford bosln and covered an area of about two equnro miles in the section known ns Richmond. The buildings which were not demolished by the force of the terrific explosion were destroyed by the fire which fol lowed. District Densely Populated. The devostnted district was the older part of Halifax and thickly populated. It contained, In addition to Citadel hill, many churches and schools, the railway station, government dockyard, Wellington bnrrncks, Admiralty House (the official residence of the ndmlrul In command of the North American British squadron), the military hospital, post ofllce, provisional parliament building, city hall, the ordnance department, most of the department stores, nil of the telegraph and cable offices and a few hotels.
The better residence district was almost unharmed. It lies southward (rom the Queens, and Includes most of le churches. Including St Mary's Ito-man Catholic cathedral. In the firo-swept section were the parliament buildings, post ofllce, three newspaper offices, Itoyol Bank of Canada, Canadian Bank of Commerce, Bank of Nova Scotia, Bank of British North America and the Bank of Montreal. Other structures destroyed are Pal-honslo college, two Homitn Catholic convents, the Presbyterian Theological college, the government technical college, 42 churches find 80 factories, including iron foundries, breweries, distilleries and two sugar refineries, FAMOUS FOR BEAUTY.
One of the oldest of Canadian cities, Halifax also is one of the most picturesque. It has two principal beauty spots. Point Pleasant park and the Public Gardens. The first lies between the North Arm, fiord three miles long, and the harbor proper. The North Arm Is the cruising basin for canoes and pleasure craft of small size.
Two hundred acres of land mnke np Point Pleasant pork, and the woods have been left In a wild stnto. The road are splendid. They were built for military purposes. The park has pnlr of magnificent Iron cntes given to the city by Sir William Young, a former chief Justice of the province. They are set at the bend of Young avenue, one of the principal roads of the park.
A mile from Young avenue gates advertising purposes. ing camps. alien enemies In law..
