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RENO


THE HOLY BIBLE
I quote the following:

"When a man hath taken a wife, and married her, and it came to pass
that she find no favor in his eyes, because he hath found some
uncleanness in her: then let him write her a bill of divorcement, and
give it in her hand, and send her out of his house.

"And when she is departed out of his house, she may go and be another
man's wife."

From the fifth book of Moses, Deuteronomy, Chapter XXIV.


[Illustration: Lilyan Stratton]



A BOOK OF SHORT STORIES AND INFORMATION

BY

LILYAN STRATTON

Author of
"The Wife's Lesson"
"Feminine Philosophy"
Etc. Etc.

SCENIC VIEWS
by
VAN-NOY INTERSTATE COMPANY OF SAN FRANCISCO


1921
Lilyan Stratton Corbin



I dedicate this book to all good husbands and to my own in
particular.....
L.S.



CHAPTER

Part 1. Social and Industrial Life

Part 2. Reno Tragedies

Part 3. Reno Romance

Part 4. Reno Comedies

Part 5. Reno and its People

Part 6. Nevada Divorce Laws

Part 7. Sons of the Sagebrush


I do not guarantee the statements and information contained in this
book, but they are taken from sources which I believe to be accurate.

LILYAN STRATTON.



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Washoe County Court House, Reno, Nevada
One of the Court Rooms in Famous Reno Court House
Palisades Canyon Showing Humbolt River
Lovers' Leap Blue Canyon
Truckee River Canyon
Off to Donner Lake
Amid the Snow at Truckee, California
Donner Lake
Truckee River Dam
Honeywood of the Wingfield Stables
Views of Reno's Public Play Grounds
University of Nevada
General View of Reno, Looking N. W.
Wingfield Home
The Truckee from Riverside Drive
Looking North of Virginia Street
Glenbrook
Cave Rock
Lake Tahoe
Lobby of the Golden Hotel
Mt. Rose School
Reno National Bank Building
Interior of Reno National Bank
Elk's Home
Y. M. C. A.
View of Nevada University Campus
Facsimile of Round Trip Ticket from New York to San Francisco
Renoites as Seen by a Reno Cartoonist
Riverside Hotel, Reno, Nevada
Captain J. P. Donnelly, Former State Police Superintendent
Senator H. Walter Huskey
Governor Emmett D. Boyle of Nevada
Governor's Mansion at Carson City
Frank Golden, Jr.



INTRODUCTORY


The magic little word "Reno" makes a smile creep over the face of
anyone who hears it mentioned, as a rule in recognition of the one
thing for which it is known. I have smiled myself with the rest of the
world in the past; in the future my smile will have a different
meaning.

I have lived in Reno. I have felt the pulse of its secret soul, and
have learned to understand its deeper meaning, and it is therefore
that I am able to uphold my intimate conviction in an attempt to
change the world's opinion of Reno and its laws from ridicule to
admiration. And if my book has any reason for being, it lies in this
attempt.

Those whom fate forces to visit "the big little city on the Truckee
River" will find in this book a great deal of carefully gathered
information for which before my pilgrimage I would have been so
thankful, and with the aid of which so much worry and heartache would
have been saved.

This book is not written with any intention whatsoever to propagate
divorce; I want this clearly and conclusively understood, so that
there can never be any misunderstanding.

To me there are three things sacred above all others: the first is
motherhood; the second marriage; the third is the home.

He or she who promiscuously profanes these sacred things is unworthy
of them and must pay the severest penalty.

My book is meant to be an appeal for happiness and health; an appeal
for peaceful homes, happy and contented husbands, happy wives and
mothers of happy, healthy and well bred children.

After all, unhappy and discontented human beings are unfit physically
and morally to produce the best work and the finest healthiest
children. The children are the forthcoming bearers of the world's
burdens and responsibilities. To them belongs the future, and already
too many social problems of the present age are due to the unhygienic
and illogical mating of the human male and female.

The divorce courts should only be appealed to as a last resort, to
free some tortured soul from a life of misery, caused by humiliation,
shame and hatred, the very essence of all evil. When the sacred state
of matrimony becomes so profaned and degraded that it soils everything
it comes in contact with; when even the minds of our children are
poisoned and distorted by the atmosphere, and the last ray of hope has
vanished, only then the hour has struck to ask the law for justice; to
appeal to the judge for redemption for humanity's sake.

Why have I written my book in parts, and why has each part its
individual interest and charm? Because readers may choose any part or
parts that especially interest them. If they are not interested in the
book for the information it gives, they will always find the short
stories and tales of Reno interesting and amusing.

Part 1. Social and Industrial Life: Is written to acquaint the
intended colonist or visitor with every phase of social and industrial
life. This is very important to know for many reasons. First the law
requires that one go to Reno for some other reason than divorce. So
you may go there for instance to become a student; it is a healthful
and therefore a fine place for study. The well equipped university
gives ample opportunity; and if one is taking one's children, which
often happens, it is well to know about the schools. It is well to
have some other purpose in view when joining the Reno Divorce Colony,
and to carry that purpose into effect. Also if one is not blessed with
over much of the goods of this world, one can earn one's way while
waiting. This part contains much information that is practical,
useful, essential and interesting.

The industries are very important. There are plenty of pleasant
positions to be had; plenty of opportunity for business, as you will
learn by reading this part; also many sorts of amusement, so that no
one need be bored. It is best to keep busy; busy people seldom get
lonely; lonely people often are too much in quest of companionship....
Moral, don't play with fire; and if you do get into trouble don't
blame it on the "altitude." Reno's altitude has been somewhat abused
by colonists in the past; loneliness is much more to blame for the
unhappy state of mind so often experienced out there, and loneliness
is mostly the result of idleness.

Part 2. Reno Tragedies: Consists of a few short tales of people who
have been members of the divorce colony. Whilst the comedy part
describes characters who find life is all froth, who skim its surface,
so to speak, those portrayed in this chapter are people who take
existence seriously; who want to drain the cup of life to its last
dregs! If one listens as one reads one can almost hear the steady
heart throbs.....

These are not exactly blue law stories, but as many great authors have
taken the liberty of depicting things just as they found them in real
life, my humble self has availed itself of the same prerogative. These
tragic little tales of the divorce colony should be dear to you as
they are to me; they are most appealing sketches in life.....

Part 3. Reno Romance: Relates the story of a fair Virginian whose
youthful mistake is righted through the Reno divorce courts. The fair
heroine is reunited with her girlhood sweetheart, and they live
happily ever after; a short story depicting another type of Reno
divorce case.

"Let us begin dear love where we left off, Tie up the broken threads
of that old dream."....

Part 4. Reno Comedies: Has been written to give the reader, whether a
would-be colonist or not, a glimpse of the humorous side of the
occurrences in this much-talked-of little city. Happiness after all is
not a question of the place, because "the city of happiness is in the
state of mind." However, any person, place or thing that has not its
funny side becomes rather dull, to say the least, and likewise the
mind that cannot appreciate the humorous side. This part consists of a
few plain tales from the humorous side of the lives of departed
celebrities of the divorce colony, and should be amusing and
entertaining to any reader. Naturally fictitious names have been used.

Part 5. Reno and Its People: Is meant to give prospective residents or
visitors an insight as to just what kind of place they may expect to
find, and to dispel any fears that the accommodations would not be
comfortable. It will acquaint newcomers with the kind of men and women
one finds oneself associated with in daily life, which to strangers in
a strange land, is most important, I think. Newly arrived colonists,
perhaps lonely and heartsick, will not find it quite so hard to go to
a strange country, if they know in advance that the people are
generous, big hearted and sympathetic; progressive and interested in
all things that stand for the betterment of humanity.

Part 6. Nevada Divorce Laws: Gives the reader any and all information
required to secure a divorce in Nevada; and besides it contains the
opinion of many great thinkers on the question of divorce, coupled
with a plea for universal divorce law. One should find this an
interesting chapter, whether a prospective colonist or not; its
contents, however, are absolutely indispensable for anyone
anticipating divorce in Nevada, and consequently ought to be read most
carefully; more especially so, as for the actual legal advice in this
part, I am greatly indebted to one of Reno's ablest lawyers, Senator
H. Walter Huskey.

Part 7. Sons of the Sagebrush: A few short biographical sketches of
men I met, read about and heard about during my stay in Reno. It is
well to know the kind of men we may come in contact with, both in
business and in a social way; most certainly it is well to know the
type of men we may have to come in contact with in a business way. For
that reason I have written a few little sketches of these men. Among
them are lawyers, judges, mining men, hotel men, politicians and
pioneers. Aside from giving some useful information this part is
interesting for its character studies and its amusing little
incidents.

LILYAN STRATTON. November, 1921.

[Illustration: WASHOE COUNTY COURT HOUSE. RENO NEVADA]




PART 1

SOCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL LIFE


Dull in Reno? Why no; how can one be bored in this delightful "big
little city," when here you will find a concentration of all the most
picturesque phases of life--a conglomeration of gaiety and tragedy,
humor and drama, frivolity and learning! What a fertile field for the
psychologist and sociologist.

It is wonderfully interesting not always to turn to books only, with
their rigid, lifeless rules and laws; books can only convey to us the
things someone else has learned! Those who desire a real understanding
of human nature's handiwork must work and play on human mountains, in
human fields and human swamps.

Being an ardent student of life and character, I have found Reno
highly interesting and amusing, and dear reader, if you will do me the
honor to accompany me through the following pages of this chapter, I
am sure you too will be interested.

First we will visit the restaurants, cafes and hotels which are
teeming with the vigor of life, vibrant and pulsating; and if you know
and understand human relationship, or wish to, then you may overflow
with sympathy, laugh in conviviality, or perhaps weep in the privacy
of your own room for what is and for what might have been....

The fashionable restaurant is not a large pretentious place,
elaborately decorated, but there is something in the atmosphere which
is not tangible but which we yet can sense. Who are all these people?
and if each told his own story, how tremendously interesting it might
be! Unconsciously, you know that the atmosphere is distinctive; that
things are different; so many interesting personalities grouped into
such a small place is something most unusual.

Over in the corner is a New York banker; his strong, handsome face
marked with character lines and crowned with white hair: the stamp of
long years of struggle in the financial world. See, he is smiling
across the table at his companion, and his face is almost boyish as he
chats and laughs. Such a companion! I wonder what fate has sent her to
cheer the desert city; a modern Cleopatra, even more beautiful than
she of Egypt: a radiant beauty, this dark-eyed queen of the Orient;
ruby lips and teeth of matched pearls; hair black as midnight, and
fires smoldering in dreamy eyes as if in pools of mystery... Bored in
Reno? How could one be?

This is only a cafe such as you might visit in any other city. One
might see the same banker and the same Oriental beauty in a New York
cafe. But there they would not be nearly so interesting; for such
people to be in Reno means either a domestic comedy, tragedy or
romance. Each one is a puzzle, and one finds oneself intent upon
divining the mystery embodied in these personalities, as they come and
go like shadows on a screen.

Now the waiter comes: there is something unusual about him also; one
can't help noticing his big, powerful form as he bends over the table
to take the order; he is a New York chauffeur working his way free
from a nagging wife, so that he may marry a popular society belle. You
can forgive her, can't you, for admiring his handsome physique; a
Greek god he is in spite of his Irish brogue and bad ear for
grammar.... But then she probably does not hear much of that, and
won't if he is wise.

That little woman over there with the carmine lips and black eyes, she
is the wife of a Methodist minister and is here for the "cure" of
course, like the rest. She is going to hitch her matrimonial wagon to
a vaudeville "star" by way of a change! "The very day I get my
decree," she told me.

There comes an interesting couple. I think the woman is Moroccan.
Doesn't she look a barbarous relic with those immense rings in her
ears? You feel that there should be one strung through her nose, too.
There is a story abroad that she is the consort of a well known
millionaire of Chicago; after several unsuccessful attempts on her
part at stabbing him, he is giving half his fortune in alimony to get
rid of her. The other night at Ricks' she threw a plate at a man
because for five minutes he paid more attention to her woman friend
than to her.... A dangerous playmate, methinks!

That charming little lady in a symphony of blue, surrounded by a
company of admiring friends, is Mme. Alice, a Broadway opera star; her
story is very interesting indeed. No, I dare not tell; it is
sufficient that you should know that she is a gentle, sweet little
mother, although she looks a mere girl herself. She has a voice of
unusual quality and dramatic sweetness. I have had the pleasure of
hearing her sing at several concerts which she gave for charity. She
is extremely generous in that direction and always draws a packed
house. She got her divorce while I was out there and passed on like
the other shadows on the screen. The last I saw of her was when she
was singing the "Battle Cry of Freedom" in the Hotel Golden lobby, as
her decree had been granted. Her face was just radiantly happy as she
repeated several times: "I am free, I am free."....

At a table, back in the shadows of the palms by the piano, sits
another interesting little lady from gay New York. She is also a
singer of note and the wife of a well known author. She has taken a
mansion on the banks of the Truckee, and brought along her retinue of
servants. Of course she is beautiful, the golden haired, blue eyed
type, with a complexion like tinted rose leaves....

Who is that lone man at the table just opposite? Ah! that bearded
gentleman with light hair, wearing a black tie; an artist-looking sort
of chap? That is a world-famous portrait painter. I had the pleasure
of meeting him and his beautiful bride at Cannes, Southern France,
some years ago. Yes, he does look rather forlorn; there is a pathetic
droop to his mouth. No, he is not here for a divorce; one of the
exceptions.

He arrived a few days ago from Tangiers; it was while there that he
received by registered post his wife's summons in her divorce suit,
and he took the first ship back to America to fight the suit and to
try to win back his beautiful wife, who, by the way, is also a
talented artist. But alas! Cupid is a stubborn little beggar; though
blind as a bat and not very large, yet he has a will of his own, and
won't be driven or led....

Though the man seated over there is apparently very interesting and is
internationally known as a great artist and an exhibitor in the Royal
Academy in London; though he must have loved his wife very much, to
have traveled half way around the world from the northern coast of
Africa to Reno, in order to try and bring about a reconciliation,
still the beautiful wife has gone on with her divorce, which was
finally granted, though bitterly contested!

And so there he sits as though lingering over the grave of a great
love. Bow down, ye Gods, and weep....

The hotels also are filled with interesting types; the pretty girl at
the news-stand today suddenly disappeared! Yes, she got her divorce!
In her place is the homeliest man you have even seen, and all the
traveling men look disgusted and buy their papers from the newsboys in
the street. The hotel stenographer has also taken her departure, and
now we see a dainty blonde in place of the statuesque brunette. The
brunette has gotten her divorce and has gone to San Francisco to marry
a millionaire sportsman, so I hear.

The beautiful lady with the sparkling black eyes, between that little
boy and girl, is a violinist. They have the rooms over mine, and for
several months I have heard the patter of tiny feet and childish free
laughter; but I fear the mother does not laugh so much. I have been
told that she lives in constant fear lest her husband come and take
the children from her. In this case, I am told, there is a chance of
reconciliation. I hope so with all my heart!

The tall, handsome old gentleman speaking to her is a retired civil
engineer; very wealthy I believe. He lived twenty-one years with his
first wife who died; after some time he married again, but after one
year of married life he is here for the "cure." He is an enthusiastic
sportsman, a good horseman and very popular.

The Court House is the next place of interest to study character, to
find interesting personalities and new types. You may go over any day
and watch some poor victim's case being tried. If one is doing time
one self, it is a very good way to obtain inside information, though
it is a bit like being at your own hanging..... not exactly, of
course, but enough to make the anticipation peculiarly gruesome. Each
searching question of the judge seems to draw the noose around the
plaintiff's neck tighter and tighter; you will hold your breath: a
word, and the six months' exile and more are all in vain..... Not
until the final decision, "Judgment for the plaintiff," is pronounced
do you heave a sigh of relief.

[Illustration: ONE OF THE COURT ROOMS IN FAMOUS RENO COURT HOUSE]

Each day the divorce mill grinds the steady grist, and it is there
that one has a splendid opportunity of studying personality and
character. The wife who is nagged and abused; the one who is obliged
to support herself and her children; the one who has outgrown her
charms; the luxurious beauty who has spent her husband's fortune and
is preparing to spend another in the same way; the wife who has made a
mistake and found the right man at the wrong time; the wife whose
husband another woman has taken; the wife of a drunkard or a gambler.
The husband who is nagged; the husband whose wife is a spendthrift;
the husband whose wife wins prizes at bridge and neglects her home;
the husband whose wife has deserted him when he needed her most....

Naturally the stories you hear from the "aspirants" are always
plausible; and so they go by, the endless passing show.

Next we will go to dinner; we will dine at the Hotel Golden tonight;
they have just opened their new restaurant, and the food is excellent;
so is the cabaret. There are two beautiful girls, new arrivals, who
sing very well indeed; one is tall and fair and more than usually
interesting. This beautiful girl sings with wonderful expression; a
sweet tender passion, expressing at the same time a great love and a
world of sympathy .... It is said that out of suffering comes
sympathy, out of pain tenderness....

This girl might well burst into fame on the heart throbs of her songs;
they are the voice of a soul which has suffered much, loved much and
has become all tenderness and all sweetness.

Another interesting type whose story will be told at the Court House
in a few months.

There is a violinist who is exceptional also; he draws the bow over
his violin, and low, sweet strains of music come floating to our ears;
then the music will suddenly change to the wild ecstasy of joy which
will compel you to notice the player. When you look at him, you will
know that his soul is not there; your heartstrings will quiver until
the music stops; then you will suddenly find that you have forgotten
to eat, and that the food is cold.... But you ponder on: you wonder
who that artist-dreamer is; he must have been leading his love through
poppy fields, kissing away from starving lips love's hunger, while he
played.... Yes, he is here for the "cure."

After dinner we will go to the theatre. There are several theatres,
but the large productions usually go to the Majestic, which is modern
in every respect and has seating capacity of more than one thousand.
All the New York productions that make the Pacific Coast Tour play
Reno. All the eminent musicians such as Kreisler, Misha Elman, the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and others, stop here on their Western
tour, and their concerts are always well attended and tremendously
appreciated.

Tonight we will hear the Boston Symphony....

You are surprised at the large ultra-fashionable audience; there are
as many in evening dress as one would expect to see at a New York
first night; here one can't tell the members of the Divorce Colony
from the residents. They are an aggregation of well dressed,
appreciative people, anxious to enjoy the evening's wonderful music.

Dancing is the next in line of indoor amusements; most of the hotels
and restaurants have splendid floors and excellent dance music. At
Wilsonian Hall there is a beautiful ball room, and those who wish to
learn the latest steps will find an expert teacher in Mrs. Wilson who
takes special trips to New York every season in order to become
acquainted with the very latest dances. Her classes and receptions are
patronized by the best people, both of the Colony and City, and are
very interesting and popular.

Those who take their pleasure in life a little more seriously will
find an excellently equipped public library, thanks to Mr. Carnegie.
There is also a very fine collection of books at the University of
Nevada, which is conveniently located in a very beautiful part of the
city. I should like to pay a passing tribute to the University staff.
They are as fine a set of professors as one could possibly desire to
have. I had an opportunity of attending some of the lectures during
the Summer Course and found them exceedingly interesting and well
delivered.

Of special interest to women would be the Century Club, a well
organized body of the best women in the city. They are interested in
home economics, child welfare and improvement of social conditions
generally. They own their own spacious club house, which has a large
assembly hall, lecture room, banquet hall, service kitchen and large
grounds facing the river, with tennis courts and other conveniences
for entertaining.

There is also a Suffragette Club which is known as the Civic League,
and is also instrumental in promoting public welfare. The Mothers'
Clubs or Associations too, are better developed than those in many a
large city; a fact which rather agreeably surprised me and proves how
decidedly progressive are the women of the West.

And now we will have a look round and visit the out-of-door
attractions, which are many and varied. In summer, there is Belle
Isle, a beautiful little amusement park on the banks of the Truckee,
almost in the center of the city and the scene of many jolly
carnivals. The city park is also a pretty little spot, and here are
given many festivals and concerts for the Red Cross and other
charitable organizations. It is a delightful place to spend a summer
afternoon or evening. The gay music, flying colors and beautifully
tinted light among the branches of the trees are all an inspiration to
free happiness. There too it is delightful to sit when all is quiet,
and watch the moonlight on the snow-capped mountains, while the warm
summer breeze stirs the leaves above and the distant rushing waters of
the Truckee float out to you like fairy laughter on the summer air.

[Illustration: PALISADES CANYON SHOWING HUMBOLT RIVER]

Nature has many delightful surprises in store for the new arrival in
Reno; when you have strayed out to Moana Hot Springs and have taken a
refreshing dip, you will agree with me. I thought the water was heated
until a friend explained that it came gushing out of the ground almost
boiling hot and had to be cooled off for the pools. There had been
Jeffries' quarters during his training for the Jeffries-Johnson fight.

From Moana one can see Steamboat Springs; these springs can be seen
from a distance of several miles, owing to the fact that they send a
steady stream of hot steam into the air, which spreads over an area of
a mile or more; it is a strange sight to see this stream ascending
into the clear atmosphere from the roaring regions below. The various
hot springs to me are the most wonderful part of nature's loveliness.
Here one may watch lonely colonists and native maidens dive and play
in the water whilst listening to their laughter. An early morning dip
in the pool and a swift canter back to town will start your blood
tingling; clear the city-cramped lungs and fill them with Nevada's
fresh invigorating air. It will make one feel like a two year old and
add ten years to one's life.....

Ricks, the famous road house, and training quarters of Jack Johnson,
the black champion prize fighter, is within walking distance of Reno.
Its chicken dinners have helped to make the place famous. There are
private rooms for those who seek seclusion, a splendid dance floor,
and I am told that here the mechanical pianos grind out waltzes, one
steps and fox trots, whilst glasses clink far into the night and
parties of colonists make merry.

Farther on is Laughton Hot Springs, another popular bathing resort.
This place is mostly patronized by motorists and equestrians and is
more fortunate than the others in its location. The little rustic
hotel is built in the cosiest nook, just at the bend of the river; the
fine old trees bend their graceful branches over the rushing waters in
which the majestic mountains reflect their wondrous beauty. Here one
may obtain private dressing rooms and bathing pools, or a party of two
or more may have a number of dressings rooms opening onto the same
pool. The water in the pools changes every fifteen minutes. I am told
there is a continuous inflow and overflow, which empties out into the
river.

What a wonderful spot to build a modern structure with beautiful steam
rooms, modern dressing rooms and marble bathing pools, in place of the
crude board sheds which rather spoil the natural beauty of this place
of many charms, where one may bathe in the hot springs pool, fish in
the river, wine, dine and dance! What more could the soul in exile
wish for?

If you wish for seclusion, seek a tranquil spot on the banks of the
river; dream to your heart's content, watch the silvery moonbeams play
among the branches and sparkle on the river, and listen to the sighing
of the summer wind. I know of no place near New York endowed with so
many of nature's charms.

Fishing in the river is good, but fishing in the mountain brooks and
streams is much better, and one can take a pack-horse, ride up over
the mountains and discover places which look as though they dropped
right out of a picture book.

Rubicon Springs is such a place; a quaint old hunting and fishing
camp, where a few nature lovers hide away from; the world every summer
and really "rough it." I caught there some of the finest mountain
trout I have even seen; I also saw a party of men bring in a very fine
deer one afternoon, a feat which caused quite a little excitement
among the guests.

This isolated spot cannot be reached by automobile, it being about
fifteen miles from the main road over a rugged mountain trail.

There is certainly everything to be wished for in the way of out-of-
door amusements in and near Reno. There besides motoring, riding,
fishing, hunting, swimming and dancing are the tennis courts and the
golf links. The Golf Club gives many interesting tournaments and is
one of the social centers in summer for the elite, as is the race
track where one may meet the world and its wife. The track is good and
the horses as fine as one can see anywhere, all of which helps to
render this sport most fascinating.

[Illustration: LOVER'S LEAP BLUE CANYON]

Talking of horses reminds me of one of my never-to-be-forgotten rides
to Laughton Springs. Those who have never seen a Nevada sunset, while
riding over the Sierras at the close of day, can have no conception of
its wondrous beauty. I will try to tell you about it.

We started one evening at a brisk canter over the swelling foot hills
along the Truckee River, whence we could see Mt. Rose lift its stately
head, clothed in royal robes of crimson and purple which half revealed
and half concealed its snow-capped peaks and pine-clad grandeur.

As we rode over the mountains which tower above the rivers and the
greenest valleys, a storm came up; storm clouds dark and threatening,
the most imposing I have ever seen. In a short while the storm passed
over and the last rays of the setting sun shone on three mountain
peaks across the river and valley. It is impossible to imagine a more
exquisite display of colors. I think it must have been like the light
that shines on a happy mother's face when she holds her love-child in
her arms. And then a rainbow encircled the illuminated mountains, like
a beautiful filmy halo about the head of the Madonna, while beneath
lay the Truckee; its water like silvery veins and sparkling gems,
glistening and trembling in the golden light. And stretching away to
the north and east lay the sagebrush plains, wrapped in the silence of
a dying day and illuminated with the sheen of God's promise of a to-
morrow to come..... A wonderful picture: Nature's own masterpiece!

The motor trips are the next in line of outdoor amusements and these
trips will afford one the splendid opportunity of seeing, apart from
the unexcelled scenery, the numerous places of interest. First, Carson
City, the Capital; the State Penitentiary and the Government Indian
School, also the Indian homes and reservations; you will find them all
interesting. Carson City was founded in 1858 and was named after Kit
Carson, the famous scout. The capital is thirty miles from Reno,
fourteen miles from Lake Tahoe and twenty-two from Virginia City.

[Illustration: TRUCKEE RIVER CANYON]

The elevation of Virginia City is six thousand feet above sea level.
There you may don skin garments and go down three thousand feet in a
mine on the famous Comstock Lode. The heat in some of the mines is so
intense it is impossible to stand it for more than a few minutes at a
time.

There is so much of interest in these famous old mining camps and in
the strange freaks of nature. Here are the numerous hot springs and
Pyramid Lake, an enormous body of water forty miles out in the desert,
which possesses no apparent outlet although the Truckee flows into it.
And apart from that, the development of agriculture and irrigation is
interesting.

I will try and describe some of my motor trips through Nevada and
California.

One fine Sunday we set out on an automobile trip to Virginia City over
the great Gieger Grade, which has become so famous through the
wonderful Comstock Lode from which over seven hundred millions in gold
and silver have been extracted. The ride was most exciting, and the
magnificent scenes unrolling themselves continuously upon each swerve
round a sharp curve or a dangerous bend, just held us all enthralled.

Often I was reminded of Switzerland, and then as I gazed, more and
more enraptured by the delirious orgy of multi-colored hues, and
looked at the precipitous ascent we had made; at the heights we had
yet to climb, and at the undulating peaks that stood like an army of
sentinels guarding us on every side, I forgot I was in the land of
Nevada. I had drifted into an Arabian Night reverie, and not till the
forty horse-power winged horse suddenly lost its equilibrium and gave
a most ungainly lurch, not till then did I redescend to earth. While
the incapacitated horse partook of first aid to the injured, I got out
and gathered some of the prettiest little flowers I have ever seen;
all the more marvelous because nature takes care of them in some
mysterious way which we cannot understand, since rain is practically
unknown in Nevada. There was the beautiful spotless desert lily; the
delicate desert violet, the fascinating yellow blossom of the pungent
native growth--the sagebrush--and many others.

[Illustration: OFF TO DONNER LAKE picture shows a dogsled team]

My next motor trip was from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara; there the
scenery compares with that of Nevada as an exquisite water color
compares to a grand old oil painting. We went spinning along over a
perfect road from Los Angeles to Santa Barbara, and I felt that
America might well be proud of this wonderful state. Surely none other
possesses such a variety of climate, or such a variety of beauty.
Hardly do I dare attempt a description of all this magic scenery. It
seemed a dream to me; just color everywhere. Green valleys and
turquoise skies; snow-capped mountains and rosy sunsets. For many
miles we wound round and round the mountain side, through orange
groves, laden with golden fruit, tucked away in the emerald green
foliage, and fruit orchards abounding with spring blossoms. And then
we came to the Pacific Ocean which stretched far out into the
infinite, reflecting the rose-colored sky just at sunset. The dream of
it all is still with me. I could hardly realize that a week before I
had been flying through the pure white sparkling snow in the same
state; and yet, here I was only a few hours away.... One sojourning in
Reno should not miss a trip through California while in the
neighborhood of that glorious state. San Francisco is only a day's
journey by rail, and the trip is truly worth while.

Reno is not without its out-door winter sports; it has the advantage
of being only thirty-six miles from Truckee, California. While flowers
are blooming and birds singing their spring songs in Southern
California, the Snow Queen reigns at Truckee in the mountains, six
thousand feet above the sea. Here people from San Francisco and other
large cities gather to indulge in winter sports, such as skiing,
tobogganing and sleighing, and many professionals go there to display
their art in skiing and skating; the Switzerland of the West, I would
call it. It was all too fascinating and too beautiful: six feet of
snow everywhere, and everything sparkling white in the sunshine.

[Illustration: AMID THE SNOW AT TRUCKEE, CALIFORNIA illustration shows
a dogsled team]

Once I started out to see Donner Lake, which reposes between Summit,
the highest point on this trip across the Great Divide, and Truckee.
We were in a sleigh drawn by a team of huskies: real Alaskan dogs. I
have ridden pretty much everything from a broomstick to a bronco, but
this was my first experience with huskies. I thought it was going to
be hard work for the dogs, but they frolicked about in the snow with
their pink tongues out, showing all their teeth as though they were
laughing in fiendish glee and enjoying every moment of it.

Truckee is only about thirty-three miles from Reno by automobile, and
the distance by train is thirty-six miles, so there should be no
excuse for not visiting this American Switzerland.

Another point of information which I discovered and think will
interest you quite as much as it did me, was that most all the great
moving picture companies go to Truckee to take their Alaskan scenes.
And now whenever you see a beautiful arctic picture on the screen, you
will realize that you are not looking at the frigid regions of Alaska,
but at the glories of California.

The Snow Queen knows, however, that when she tires of her realm of
snow, a really, truly fairy land awaits her only a few hours distant,
where she may play Fairy Queen and wander through fields of golden
poppies, filling her arms with spring blooms, in beautiful Southern
California.

In Reno itself moonlight skating parties on the river and the
University pond are popular also. Dull in Reno? Absurd!

Nevada is necessarily a mining state. Apart from the $700,000,000 in
gold and silver taken from the Comstock Lode, Nevada's mines have
supplied the world with thousands of tons of other materials, such as
lead, zinc, etc., and thus when one thinks of the industries in
Nevada, it is quite natural to think of mining first. There it is in
the air. Everywhere you are confronted with specimens of ore: in the
offices of mining companies, in your lawyer's office, on the doctor's
desk, on your friend's dressing table, next to the Bible in the
minister's home. A chubby baby will gurgle and coo over a piece of
this polished rock, and hold it in a little pink fist; old, white
haired men will feebly finger a rough specimen streaked with green and
amber. The spell of Nevada.....

Walk out over the desert or ride over the hills, and as far as you can
see, the sides of the mountains are perforated with holes made by
prospectors; thousands and thousands of them, every one representing a
hope. A promoter will take a piece of this beautifully colored rock
and explain to you about the percentage of gold or copper it contains,
the cost of extracting it and the enormous profits to be made; a
friend will show you a marvelous specimen and explain that he or she
owns a half interest in the claim which is sure to turn out at least
half a million..... Then you will perhaps think of Robert Service's
"Spell of the Yukon" and you will understand the enthusiasm and spirit
of optimism.

After all, why should they not be enthusiastic and optimistic? The
whole state is piled high with mountains which look just like the ones
in which so much gold and other valuable minerals have been
discovered; if they are the same on top, why are they not the same
below the surface?

Tell us, you opal colored mountains of Nevada, what stores of precious
treasures are you guarding from the greedy hand of man and how soon
will you throw open another door of your treasure house?

After having lived in the West and visited the mines and talked with
the old-timers, I can easily understand the fascination of prospecting
and mining, and why, in spite of all the hardships it entails, so many
have become enslaved by the spell of it.

The Crystal Saloon, at Virginia City, was built during the days of the
first great boom, and on its register are many names of famous people.
Under the year 1863, I saw written the following: "Clemens, Samuel L.,
Local Editor of Territorial Enterprise..." Mark Twain!

The old-timers will tell you stories about Mark Twain's adventures in
Nevada's mining camps almost as funny as those he himself wrote about
in his book "Roughing It."

In the register of the Washoe Club, organized in 1875, are the name of
Thomas A. Edison, Fred. Grant (son of General Grant), and many other
famous names.

[Illustration: Donner Lake]

I have been informed of a new discovery in connection with the native
plant, the sage-brush. I am told there are splendid prospects for the
development of potash and denatured alcohol from the huge sagebrush
fields of the state.

The principal business of Reno consists of banks, hotels, shops and
restaurants. The shops do the city credit; they are up-to-date and
well kept, and you will find almost every kind of shop. The electrical
stores display every new electrical device on the market. The
stationery shops are equally well equipped; the candy stores most
tempting and excellent in every way, and the music store, hardware,
drug, corsetiere, gents furnishing, shoe, fancy goods and department
stores, the hair dressing parlors and florist shops are all up-to-date
and as fine as you could find in any city twice Reno's size. The
grocery stores and butcher shops and markets are of the finest. These
places employ hundreds of people and the department stores send their
buyers to New York and Paris.

Reno has two daily papers, namely, the "Evening Gazette" and the
"Nevada Journal." The "Nevada Journal" belongs to the Associated Press
and has its private telegraph wires by which it receives the news
direct.

The hotels and apartment houses are always well filled. They are up-
to-date, well kept and flourishing; the cafes are constantly being
enlarged. The real estate business is also progressive; one may rent
splendidly furnished houses, or modest cottages, or apartments at very
fair prices. There I first saw the automatic elevator, the kind that
you ring for and that runs down by itself and opens its own door; then
you get in, press a button at the number you wish to get off at, and
the elevator runs itself up to the floor indicated, stops and opens
its door. The same apartments have beds that fold up automatically
into the wall, leaving nothing in evidence except a beautifully
paneled mirror.

The Reno Commercial Club, which was founded in 1907, is made up of a
body of the representative men of the state, who are organized to
encourage educational and social intercourse, and to aid in social and
material up-building of the city and state.

Its executive board is as follows: Charles S. Knight, H. H. Kennedy,
Tasker L. Oddie, B. Adams, Fred Stadtmuller, R. L. Kimmel, E. H.
Walker.

The Club's efforts are continually directed toward the encouragement
of new enterprises, the securing of capital for new industries and
investments; the dissemination of literature regarding the resources
of Nevada; the building of good roads and cooperation with other
states for a national highway; the immigration of settlers upon the
agricultural lands of the state, more intensive farming, expansion of
dairy interests, fruit growing and other agricultural industries.

The Commercial Club is always obliging in extending the courtesy of
its information bureaus in matters pertaining to the affairs of the
city or state. Write to it!

Nevada has made very broad strides in the direction of agriculture
owing to its irrigation development. The Easterners somehow have an
idea that Nevada has made very little progress since pre-historic
days; that the West is still wild and wooly and consists of cow-boys,
cattle ranches and rattle-snakes; but this impression is very
erroneous. The picturesque cow-boy is practically a thing of the past,
and so is the highwayman; the picturesque stage-coach with its four to
six teams is almost forgotten; and I did not see one rattle-snake
during all my exploits in the mountains and over the deserts. What has
become of all those historic things which we so closely linked with
the wild and woolly West of the past? They have retreated into
oblivion before the great wheel of progress.....

It is a mistaken idea to imagine that because Nevada is such a
mountainous country it is unsuitable for agriculture. There are many
broad green valleys, flourishing and producing splendid farm products.
This of course is the astonishing result of artificial methods of
irrigation. Alfalfa and potatoes are Nevada's greatest crop; wheat,
rye, oats and other cereals are also grown. Some of the ranches have
splendid orchards consisting of pears, apples, plums, cherries, etc.,
and the production will undoubtedly increase as greater irrigation
developments are introduced.

[Illustration: Trucker River Dam]

What irrigation will do for the parched deserts of the West remains as
yet to be seen, but when I stop to consider that all the famous spots
of California owe their beauty almost entirely to irrigation, then I
dare predict great things for the desert states.

In a 1918 issue of the United States Geographical Survey Press
Bulletin is an article which is particularly interesting for the
possibilities it suggests at once to the reader for the utilization of
waters. It reads as follows: "'Underground Water in Nevada Deserts.'

"In Nevada the bedrock forms a corrugated surface consisting of more
or less parallel mountain ranges and broad intervening troughs that
are filled to great depths with rock waste washed from the mountains.
These great deposits of rock waste were in large part laid down by
torrential streams and are relatively coarse and porous. Because these
deposits are porous the rain that falls upon them and the run-off that
reaches them from the mountains sinks into them, and the valleys in
which they lie are exceptionally arid. These deposits, however, form
huge reservoirs in which the water is stored and in which, to the
limit of the capacity of the reservoirs, it is protected from
evaporation. So well is this water hidden that its existence was not
suspected by many of the early travelers, and even today long desert
roads on which there are no watering places, lead over areas where
ground-water could easily be obtained.

"In a desert valley, even where no wells have been sunk, it is
generally possible to ascertain and outline the areas where ground
water lies near the surface and to make an intelligent forecast of the
depths to water in other parts of the valley. If a sufficient number
of observations are made, it is also generally possible to form a
rough estimate of the quantity of water that is annually available in
such a valley and to predict to some extent the capacity of wells, the
quality of the water, and the cost of recovery."

To anyone familiar with Nevada, there are dozens of such desert
reaches which must instantly suggest themselves to the mind, and it is
interesting to speculate, not altogether idly, on how advantage might
be taken of such conditions. The Bulletin particularly speaks of one
of these areas:

"In an investigation recently made by O. E. Meinzer, of the United
States Geological Survey of the Department of the Interior, in Big
Smokey Valley and adjacent area near Tonopah, Nev., the character of
the vegetation and other surface criteria show that the ground-water
stands within ten feet of the surface over an area of 130,000 acres.
The measurements made indicate that tens of thousands of acre feet of
water are annually contributed by mountain streams and by rainfall to
the underground reservoir, and that about the same quantity of ground-
water is annually discharged into the atmosphere through the soil and
the plants in the shallow water areas. It was estimated that in an
area of 240,000 acres the ground-water lies within 50 feet of the
surface and that in an area of 335,000 acres it lies within 100 feet
of the surface. Detailed maps were made showing the location and
extent of these areas."

Nevada, because of its peculiar geographical and climatological
situation, will always need to irrigate its land to produce crops.
Where irrigation waters are available, the soil has proved abundantly
fertile, but Nevada has been handicapped by a lack of water for these
very soils which would be capable of producing the best crops.

If, perhaps, underlying those fertile though now arid areas there is
such a reservoir of untapped waters as the Bulletin describes, there
must instantly occur to the mind the question: "Cannot these waters be
made available?"

Elsewhere in Nevada great arid areas have been reclaimed by tapping
such underground reservoirs and raising the waters to the surface for
irrigation purposes with gasoline motors, where they have not flowed
of their own accord, in artesian wells. Nevada has not ventured far
into this field because it has not felt the necessity. But why wait on
necessity? Why should not Nevada attempt to reach this water? It could
easily do so and so add much valuable fertility to the state's already
important resources.

Of course, if these new irrigation resources of the state were to
become sufficiently utilized, then there would seem no reason why
Nevada should not be one of our best agricultural states.

The Truckee River is a splendid asset to Reno. Fed by the eternal
snows of the Sierra Nevadas, with a fall of 2,442 feet between Lake
Tahoe and Pyramid Lake, it affords a water power equalled by few
rivers in the U. S. A. Its power plants now supply light and power for
all near-by mines; Mason Valley, Youngton, Virginia City and the
Comstock Lode; yet these power stations do not generate one-tenth of
the power that could be obtained. It is said that it would easily be
possible to develop 40,000 horse-power within five miles of Reno.

This means that Reno has great advantages as an industrial center, and
as water power is known to be low in cost and as there is an immense
quantity of iron ore in the state, it might eventually be considered a
fine place to manufacture war supplies, especially for use on the
Pacific Coast.

The Southern Pacific Shops are at Sparkes near Reno and are of great
advantage to Reno merchants. These shops do the general repair work of
the Salt Lake Division of the Southern Pacific; they employ between
five and six hundred men at an approximate payroll of $125,000 per
month.

The Verdi Lumber Company near Reno employs from 350 to 400 men in its
mills, box factories and logging camps, at a monthly payroll of
approximately $25,000.

In addition to these industries there are the Reno and Riverside
mills, and large stock yards and packing houses. Nevada is a noted
stock growing state for great droves of sheep, hogs and cattle;
Nevada's beef is famous throughout the United States.

Reno, as well as all Nevada, is proud of the world-famous Wingfield
racing stables, and not without reason. Mr. George Wingfield is a
great connoisseur of horseflesh and has spared neither pains nor
expense in order to add the best thoroughbreds to his stock. Even as I
write, the news reaches me that an expert has left for England to
purchase for Mr. Wingfield four mares and a stud, Atheling, a great
English favorite.

[Illustration: Honeywood of the Wingfield Stables]

At present Mr. Wingfield has in his stables about 75 horses. I had the
privilege of visiting them some time ago, and made the acquaintance of
some of his prize yearlings. They were wonderful animals, just as fine
as any I have ever seen, and I think I know and understand horses
pretty well. There is one, Honeywood, a beautiful stallion, who was
the winner of the Cambridgeshire stakes at Newmarket, England, in
1911. I don't think I have ever seen a more beautiful animal.

The fact to be deplored is that the Federal and State Legislatures are
not taking sufficient interest in the reforestation of Nevada; they
should enforce the planting of two or three trees for every one that
is felled. I believe some such law is now in force in the state of
Washington and elsewhere. Near the big mining camps in Nevada around
Reno, the mountains have been literally stripped of all their trees in
the development of the mining industries. It has been a case of: "All
Take and No Give."

And now we come to "Divorce" which, if not actually an industry, can
all the same easily pass for one, for there is no doubt but that the
influx of prospective divorcees, of both sexes, contributes a goodly
portion toward the financial welfare of Reno. Not only do hotels,
restaurants, cafes and shops reap an abundant harvest from the luxury-
loving wealthy colony, but even real estate prospers, as many
"aspirants" rent cottages for the "season."

Lawyers are kept busy all the time; the banks are opening new accounts
for every patient who comes to town, and therefore on more mature
consideration, why should we not call it the "Divorce Industry"?

After all, what's in a name?

[Illustration: Views of Reno's Public Play Grounds]



RENO HAS ALL THE ADVANTAGES OF A BIG CITY WITH NONE OF ITS
DISADVANTAGES

The following is a reprint of a circular prepared by the Reno Chamber
of Commerce:

Location--Reno is situated in Western Nevada, twelve miles from the
state line, and on the borderland of the lofty Sierras and Nevada
plateau. The city lies in a fertile valley through which the beautiful
Truckee flows, and is surrounded by high mountains.

Area of Reno--Three square miles.

Population--Power company, telephone company and school census show
over 15,000; government census, 12,016.

Elevation--4,500 feet.

Climate--Winters short, moderately cold and open, with very little
snow. Cool, dry, delightful summers, with cool nights, allowing
refreshing sleep. No thunderstorms, hail, fogs or earthquakes. Average
number of days without a cloud in the sky, 195; partly clouded, 105;
and cloudy, 65. Doctors prescribe Reno's sunshine, dry atmosphere and
altitude for health.

Railroads and Rates--Three railroads enter Reno; the Southern Pacific,
the Western Pacific and the Virginia and Truckee, affording the city
transportation facilities enjoyed by few Western cities. At the
present time Reno enjoys full terminal rates or better for goods
shipped from Eastern points and the distribution rates to the Nevada
and Eastern California territory are also very favorable. All three
roads furnish ample freight handling and side track facilities.

Highways--Reno is the center of the highway system of Nevada, and an
important station on three transcontinental highways; the Lincoln
Highway, the Overland Trail and the Pike's Peak Ocean to Ocean
Highway.

City Government--The government is a municipality with a mayor and six
councilmen elected by popular vote. Appointive officers are city
clerk, chief of police, chief of fire department, city engineer and
city health officer. The city attorney is also elected.

Industries--Reno is not an industrial city, but may be termed the
office of the big industries of the state. Its biggest industries are
a packing plant, machine shop and foundry, soap factory, planing
mills, brick plant, flour mills and railroad yards.

Financial Strength--The six banks in Reno have a total capitalization
of $1,745,000 and total deposits of $14,782,751.92. Total resources
amount to $18,363,651.94. The clearings average $4,500,000 monthly,
indicating that Reno does a business of a city at least twice its
size. Of the six banks, three are national.

Tax Rate and Indebtedness--The tax rate of Reno, including state,
county and city taxes, is $3.55 and the bonded indebtedness $433,000.

Jobbing Center--Due to its central situation Reno is the jobbing
center for the territory of Nevada and Eastern California. Reno has
several warehouses and wholesale grocery, automobile supply, produce,
tobacco, building materials, hardware, bakery and confectionery store.

Cost of Living--The cost of living is about the same if not lower than
in the Middle West and Western communities. The surrounding country
supplies Reno with wholesome and cheap food and Reno's location on the
main lines from the East and California enables the merchants to sell
imported goods at a reasonable figure. One person can live well on $75
a month and the average family of five lives on $150 a month.

Housing Conditions--Like most of the cities of the country there is a
shortage but not an acute one of apartments and small homes in Reno.
However, the amount of building done in Reno this year was almost
three times that of any previous year, and the housing problem is
expected to be solved by the summer of 1921.

Health Conditions--The clear, dry air, altitude and sunshine of Reno's
climate are especially beneficial to health, and persons with lung
trouble find relief in Reno. There are no tenements or unsanitary
conditions and the city health authorities enforce the laws strictly.
Dairies, restaurants and bakeries are inspected regularly, and no
refuse is allowed to accumulate in streets or yards. The water supply
is pure.

Labor Conditions--Labor conditions are good in Reno, which is the
shipping point for the labor of the mines, lumber mills, ranches and
construction camps of the Nevada and Eastern California territory.
There is always work to be found in the trades and unskilled labor
markets. The supply of office and store positions is about equal to
the demand. There are no strikes or other quarrels between employer
and employee in Reno. The trades are on a union basis.

Schools--There are five grammar schools, a kindergarten, business
college, high school and university in Reno. Plans are now being
perfected for the establishment of a junior high school which will
take care of the eighth grades and freshman high school classes. The
scholarship standard is high and the best laboratory and playground
facilities are offered. The teachers are paid salaries above the
average, enabling the schools to maintain an efficient teaching force.

Churches--There are twelve churches as follows: Baptist,
Congregational, Presbyterian, Episcopal, Christian Scientist,
Lutheran, Methodist, Methodist Colored, Roman Catholic, Salvation
Army, Seventh Day Adventist, Spiritual.

[Illustration: University of Nevada]

Hotels and Apartments--Reno has excellent hotel facilities with three
large, first-class hotels and forty smaller hotels and apartment
houses.

Clubs and Civic Organizations--Headed by the Reno Chamber of Commerce
there exists a live and aggressive group of civic and other
organizations in Reno. Enumerated they are the Rotary Club, Lion's
Club, Woman Citizen's Club, Italian Benevolent Society, G. A. R.,
Women's Relief Corps, Nevada Bankers' Society, Nevada Historical
Society, Nevada Livestock Association, Nevada Mine Operators'
Association, Reno Clearing House Association, Nevada Highway
Association, Y. M. C. A., Y. W. C. A., American Legion, Veterans of
Foreign Wars, Red Cross, Salvation Army, Reno Grocers' Association,
Reno Automotive Dealers' Association, Washoe County Medical Society,
W. C. T. U., Spanish War Veterans, Washoe County Farm Bureau, Washoe
County Tax Payers' Association, Truckee Meadows Water Users and Washoe
County Bar Association, Twentieth Century Club, Reno Nurses'
Association.

Fraternal Organizations--Ancient Order Foresters, B. P. O. E.,
Fraternal Brotherhood, F. O. E., I. O. O. F., Daughters of Rebecca,
Knights of Columbus, Knights of Pythias, Ladies of the Maccabees,
Loyal Order of Moose, Masonic Orders, Modern Woodmen of America, Royal
Neighbors, U. A. O. Druids, Woodmen of the World, Women of Woodcraft.
There are four lodge buildings maintained by the Elks, Masons, Odd
Fellows and Woodmen of the World.

Public Buildings--Reno has many imposing public buildings, among them
the county court house, city hall, public library, post office, Y. M.
C. A., high school building, churches and university buildings. A new
post office and Federal building is contemplated, and $100,000 a year
is being spent on new buildings at the University.

Theatres--Reno has four first-class theatres: The Rialto, Majestic,
Grand and Wigwam. The first is a combination vaudeville and picture
house and during the show season the best road shows are brought to
Reno by the management and staged there. The other three are motion
picture houses which secure the highest class films to be had. Their
combined seating capacity is over 5,000.

Publications--Two daily newspapers, five weekly journals, and three
monthly journals are published in Reno. The Reno Evening Gazette and
the Nevada State Journal give full Associated Press reports.

Parks and Playgrounds--The city maintains two parks and one
playground, and there is a playground at each of the public schools.
Wingfield Park is a recent acquisition given the city by George
Wingfield and consists of a beautiful island of over two acres,
situated in the Truckee river within three blocks of the business
district. The city is now improving this park and connecting it with
the playground on the shore. The playground has three tennis courts,
swings, and teeters and is used constantly during the year. In
addition to the municipal parks the children of Reno have all outdoors
to play in.

[Illustration: Wingfield Home]

[Illustration: General View of Reno, Looking N. W.]

Hospitals--There are three hospitals in addition to the county
hospital and the state hospital for mental diseases. The St. Mary's
Hospital is also a training school for nurses. With a staff of thirty-
three physicians, these hospitals are well able to take care of any
emergency and the most expert treatment can be obtained in Reno.

Libraries--Reno has a Carnegie Library, University Library, county law
library and the high school library. The Elks Club, Y. M. C. A. and
Chamber of Commerce maintain reading rooms.

Telephone--The Bell Telephone Company of Nevada furnishes telephone
service in Reno with 3,729 stations in the city. Of this number 1,725
are business phones and 2,004 residence phones. The rates are lower
than most cities on the coast. The company plans to spend $300,000 in
Reno the coming year in a new building to house its exchange. Long
distance communication with most of the points in Nevada is also
provided.

City Water Supply--The city water supply is taken from the Truckee
river by the Reno Power, Light & Water Company, twelve miles west of
Reno, and is of the purest quality. It is snow water and is treated by
a purification plant near the outskirts of Reno. Two large reservoirs
store the water and give it ample pressure for distribution. A monthly
rate of $2.75 for an unlimited supply of water is charged each
residence. This allows for irrigation of small gardens and lawns.

Gas and Electricity--Gas is manufactured by the Reno Power, Light &
Water Company and distributed to nearly every home in the city through
thirty-one miles of mains. The minimum rate is $1.10 a month and
averages $2 per 1,000 cubic feet. Electricity is sold by the same
company for light and power purposes from three hydro-electric plants
on the Truckee river. For domestic uses the electricity is sold at
seven to two cents a kilowatt hour, and for power at a minimum of five
cents a kilowatt and as low as two cents for large users.

Street Cars--The Reno Traction Company has five miles of track in the
city and connecting with Sparks, three miles to the east. Cars are run
on the half hour during the day and on the hour at night until 12:30
a.m.

City Paving--Reno now has six miles of paved streets with five
additional miles on the program for 1921. There are forty miles of
sidewalks covering practically the entire city.

Sewers--Rena has thirty miles of sewers emptying in the river at a
point below the city.

Shipping--The railroads entering Reno do a large business in the local
yards, and Reno's importance as a distributing center is growing
rapidly as shown by the following figures: Imports 1915, 155,000 tons
of freight; imports 1920, 207,000 tons of freight. Exports, 1915,
45,000 tons; export 1920, 89,000. Several trucking lines also operate
out of Reno to surrounding points and handle a large tonnage which it
is impossible to estimate.

Building Activity--The building permits issued for 1920 totalled in
round numbers $300,000, which is twice the figure of last year.

Contemplated Civic Improvements--The city council is working upon a
comprehensive plan of civic improvements which includes paving work
already mentioned, landscaping the river banks west of the Virginia
street bridge, and improvement of Wingfield Park. A new bandstand
costing $5,000 is being completed in the city park and close to
$100,000 is being spent in purchasing an aviation field and building a
hangar. A free tourist camp ground is to be modernly equipped.

Building and Loan Associations--There are two Building and Loan
Associations in Reno. The Union Building & Loan Association and the
Security Savings & Loan Association. Both offer material assistance to
the home builder on long payment plans.

Fire Department--The equipment of the fire department is valued at
over $75,000, and consists of the most modern fire-fighting apparatus.
High speed motor trucks which can reach any point in the city within
three minutes after the alarm is sounded, are used, and twenty-four
men man the trucks on the platoon system. The department has a record
of efficiency and the loss by fire is very low in Reno.

Police Department--Reno also has a very efficient police force of
fifteen men. An identification bureau and emergency hospital is
maintained by the police department. Only sixteen burglaries occurred
in Reno in 1920, and eight of the perpetrators were apprehended.
Eleven robberies were reported and six apprehended.

Reno Chamber of Commerce--The Reno Chamber of Commerce is an
organization of 1,300 members employing a managing director, a
secretary and a traffic manager on full time. These men maintain a
credit bureau, mining information bureau and traffic bureau, and are
carrying out a program of civic improvement and state development. The
rooms occupy the fourth floor of the Reno National Bank Building in
the heart of the city, and are used by some thirty organizations as a
civic center. The business and community life of Reno revolves around
the Chamber of Commerce.

[Illustration with caption: THE TRUCKEE FROM RIVERSIDE DRIVE]

[Illustration with caption: LOOKING NORTH OF VIRGINIA STREET]

Aviation Field--The municipal aviation field consists of some sixty
acres of land one mile south of the city, and is headquarters for the
aerial mail service. The county is building a hangar costing $30,000
and the government stations over thirty men at the field. Two mail
planes arrive each day and are repaired and overhauled at the field.
In the event of the mail service being extended to Los Angeles and the
Northwest, Reno will be the point at which the mail transfers are made
for these points.

University of Nevada--The University of Nevada is located in Reno, on
a beautiful eminence overlooking the city. It is an accredited
university offering for study all the regular courses for
matriculation and bachelors degree in mining, agriculture, arts and
sciences, civil engineering, electrical engineering and mining
engineering. The teaching and scientific staff number 75 and the
registration, 465 students. The state is expending $100,000 a year on
new buildings at the University and it costs $170,205 a year to
maintain from state and federal funds. Laboratory service is afforded
the mining, agricultural and stock raising industries of the state and
the University is looked upon with great pride by the citizens of
Nevada.

Fishing and Hunting--The country surrounding Reno abounds in game and
fish and outdoor life is the fashion. The streams and lakes are all
well stocked with game trout and a good basket of trout can be caught
in the Truckee river within the city limits of Reno. Deer, grouse,
sagehen, rabbits, coyotes and wildcats are plentiful on the ranges and
can be reached within a few hours from Reno.

Valley Farming--The valley in which Reno is located contains some
30,000 acres of fertile land, and is especially suited to the raising
of garden truck, fruits, chickens and grains and grasses. There is a
ready market for all the produce that is raised in the valley. A small
farm of a few acres can be obtained within a mile of the city for a
reasonable figure, and a good living earned in spare hours after work
in the city.




PART 2

RENO TRAGEDIES


Mrs. Smith did her little six months in Reno and the world's sympathy
was with her, and the recording angel, I dare say, winked solemnly to
himself and said: "Another domestic tragedy!"....

It is certainly a tragedy to be told outright by the husband one has
borne children for and has been a good wife to, and has loved and
cherished for the best part of one's life, to "cash in one's old face
and make room in his heart and home for a younger and more fair." This
was the case, apparently, with the Smiths.

And yet during my short stay in Reno, I have heard of more tragic
cases than that of Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith had been left her child and
money. We can't buy happiness with money, it's true, but we can at
least buy comfort, and that is something after all. I knew of a
different case where there was no money to buy comfort: a mother, with
a baby in her arms and the one desire in her heart, to make it
legitimate before it should grow old enough to understand..... I met
this heart broken mother in a hospital in Reno, six years after her
arrival there. I had heard about her and went to see the child.

"The divorce colony, all frivolity and gaiety," you say? Pardon me, I
know better!

This devoted mother had loved the father of her child. She had left an
impossible husband and gone with a man who had shown her sympathy,
kindness and love when her life was all unhappiness. She had fought
bravely for her freedom, but for some reason had been unable to obtain
it. The months had dragged into years, the woman toiling day by day in
a shop to support herself and baby, until years of work and worry had
claimed their prize at last, and she had fallen ill; and it was then I
heard of her and went to see her. I could still see traces of beauty
in the now hardened lines about her mouth and sunken eyes. It has been
said that "absence makes the heart grow fonder," but alas! there are
too many cases where "absence makes the heart grow... yonder." The man
whose wife she had hoped to become forgot her in less than a year and
passed out of her life....

I shall never forget the day I saw this fatherless child, with her
little pale face, rose-bud mouth and big brown eyes, which when she
lifted them to mine were filled with unshed tears. I knew that this
little lonely child of fate understood.... even at the age of six. I
just wanted to take her in my arms and cry....

One beautiful morning a mother arose and called at the door of her
daughter's bedroom. What, no answer? She opened the door and looked
in. Why, the bed had not been slept in! The mother knew that Marjory
had been despondent of late, and she knew why. Can you imagine the icy
hand that gripped that mother's heart when she looked upon the empty
couch. An hour later Marjory's beautiful young body was found floating
in the stream that runs through the University grounds among the green
trees, with sunshine filtering through and the birds singing their
glad notes of life among the leafy branches. As pure and sweet as a
desert lily, and as dainty as an apple blossom was this daughter of
Nevada. He who said "Truth is stranger than fiction" well nigh spoke
truthfully indeed.

Why wish to leave, Marjory, when you possessed youth, beauty and
loving friends; when the month was June and all the world rejoiced?
Indeed, why?

If Marjory's stiffened lips could have answered, she would have said:
"Yes, but my lover proved untrue: yesterday he was married to the
Queen of the Divorce Colony; today they are on their honeymoon, and I
am in the great unknown...."

It is between the hours of twilight and night. The last fading light
of the setting sun is reflected upon the waters of the Truckee River,
in a silvery, rose-tinted hue, indescribable in its delicate beauty.
There is a strange lady seated on the veranda of an imposing Colonial
home overlooking the river. She is writing; sometimes she stops to
gaze upon the glory of the sunset with great dreamy eyes, whose depths
seem unfathomable. How the soft twilight glow enshrines her face! But
now the sun has disappeared, yet the light seems still to cling about
her beautiful form. In a brighter light you might see that her lips
are crimson with the glow of youth, though her face is pale. Her hair,
parted in the middle and dressed straight back, and her white gown
give her the appearance of a Madonna. In her bodice, she wears a white
rose which from time to time she caresses in a dreamy fashion.....

Just here Eileen--her name is romantic isn't it?--is attracted by a
young man who comes up the street whistling as he walks full of the
joy of youth and life. He runs up the steps, two at a time. The lady
on the porch lifts her eyes just one moment, but womanlike she sees
much in a glance. She sees that his eyes are of a wonderful dark blue;
that his hair is thick and wavy; and that he is tall, straight and
strong. How lithe and supple he seems, too, as he runs up the steps
and disappears into the house. Has he seen the lady Madonna? She does
not know. There is indeed something strange about this dark haired
man; something out of the ordinary and fascinating....

The Holbrooks had been immensely wealthy at one time but owing to
gambling and unsuccessful mining deals their fortune had dwindled, and
at the death of Mr. Holbrook his widow had found that her sole
possessions consisted of a beautiful home and three lovely children.
Eileen Reed had come to Mrs. Holbrook with a letter of introduction
from a friend in the East, and had been taken into the home for the
period of her exile.

It was young Holbrook who had tripped up the steps and entered the
house without apparently seeing her. Having a keen woman's
understanding, I wondered if this apparent ignoring of the lady's
presence was not what first caused her keen interest in the young man,
for Eileen was not accustomed to being ignored. She bore her crown of
beauty with added brilliance and grace because of the passing years,
and was fully aware of her power to sway the will of those about her,
and move the hearts of men with her irresistible charm and perfect
splendor, alike persuasive, compelling and all-powerful.

She had never really loved: a poor girl of a respectable family, she
had taken up nursing; had married a wealthy doctor, and had been in
the position of the penniless but beautiful wife of a rich husband.

At dinner Eileen was presented to young Holbrook. I happened to be a
guest at dinner on that particular evening, and noticed a slight
effort on the part of the new arrival to interest the young man.
However, young Holbrook was cordially polite only. After dinner they
sauntered out on the piazza and chatted, for some time. During the
conversation, Eileen got the impression that if he had expressed his
opinion about divorces, it might not have been altogether
complimentary. He had grown up in Reno and for more than fifteen years
had seen the divorcees appear and vanish, and oh!--what a tale he
could have told.

However, he evidently thought this woman different or at least out of
the ordinary, and he was right; she was a most unusual and unusually
interesting woman.

They drifted into a rather serious conversation; they spoke of the
old-fashioned chivalry; the profound respect men had for women in the
old-fashioned bygone days; he spoke of his father with so much
reverence, dignity and pride, and this boy-man with all his premature
experience, gave Eileen glimpses into a soul, into his soul, which was
pure and clean and good.

Eileen was rapidly becoming interested in this young head of the
household; she found herself listening most attentively to every one
of his words. After hearing nothing but silly wordly chatter for
years, it seemed good to listen to this man who seemed to have
absorbed all the romance and mystery of the land of his birth. At one
time he would speak like a boy of twenty; the next moment like a man
of forty; always there seemed to be present two personalities, one the
care-free, happy boy, the other the all-wise, far-seeing man, with a
keen intellectual understanding of every phase of life.

So much were these two people interested in each other that neither
noticed that it had grown quite late and a little chilly. Eileen
shivered slightly and rather unconsciously; young Holbrook noticed it.

"Why, you are cold, and it is late; I am sorry I did not realize it,"
he broke out in astonishment as he glanced at his watch; "really you
must forgive me for keeping you up!"

He extended his hand as he bade her good night. Eileen returned his
good night in her most charming manner, though rather mechanically;
something had come over her; she did not know it, but for the first
time in her life she seemed to have fallen in love....

Much to my surprise and strangely enough after that evening these two
people seldom met and were never alone together; it seemed to me as
though young Holbrook avoided Eileen without seeming to do so. I could
not understand his attitude unless he felt himself slipping and was
trying to avoid temptation. I felt that his apparent indifference only
served to fan the flames in Eileen's heart. She struggled with her
wounded pride though there never was any outward sign of her feelings
until she became ill.

The first day's illness brought a gorgeous bouquet of red roses. "Oh,
why did he do that, and why did he send red roses, the emblem of love
and passion?" and why did Eileen clasp them madly to her heart and
drink in their sensual sweetness? For three long weeks Eileen lay ill
with burning fever, and always there were fresh red roses, but he
himself did not come until Eileen began to convalesce. And one day he
came and stood by her couch, and looked down, at her. He saw that she
was paler, but the lips were still as scarlet as the petals of the
American Beauties on the table by her side. The rose-colored light
cast a glow over the prettiest breast and shoulders God had ever
moulded! They said very little; it would be interesting to know what
their thoughts were.....

Shortly after Eileen came out of the hospital she sent a little token
of appreciation to Mr. Holbrook, in recognition of his unfailing
kindness during her illness. That same evening they met, by chance,
and as he clasped her hand and thanked her for the little gift, the
pressure of his hand sent a strange thrill to her heart; she stammered
something in a tremulous voice and rushed away. Later in the evening
they met, shall we say again "by chance", at dinner. They danced
together, and the pressure of his strong arms nearly maddened
Eileen.... Oh, why do we play with fire and why is forbidden fruit so
sweet!

A strange woman this, with her dual personality: a Madonna and a lover
of all things good and beautiful, but a Cleopatra when the passionate
fires of her soul were stirred; and this night, a passionate love that
lacked all reason, dominated everything else in her being. When they
had parted and she was alone in her room, sleep refused her offices:
twelve: one: two.... and her eyes still were staring into the
darkness.... Not a sound; all was quiet. She rose from her couch, her
hair streaming, her body all aglow. She donned a flimsy, rose-colored
dressing gown, opened her door, crept silently down the hall and went
bodily into young Holbrook's room. In a dressing gown and slippers he
sat, reading a magazine; he must have been restless, too. "Why Mrs.
Reed--Eileen--what is the matter?"

"The matter is, Boy, that I love you with all my heart and soul." And
as he held her in his arms he whispered: "And I love you."

For the first time since he had held her in his arms early that
evening her reason asserted itself for a moment, and she pressed her
hand over his lips to stifle the words. She had thought of poor little
Marjory and her white face in the stream, and of a thousand other
reasons why they should part. There were sacred promises on both sides
to be kept. "But be mine," she pleaded, "just for tonight."

He held her in his arms; she was his very own, and she counted his
heart-throbs as they beat against her breast. He scented the perfume
of her breath against his cheek, and drank deep of the wine of her red
lips, as she whispered again her sweet confession through a mist of
tears.... "The Woman Thou Gavest Me!"

No one could better grace love's throne, nor rule more royally. Voice
so low and tender and heart so warm, all herself she gave, and gladly,
thoughtlessly, recklessly. Is it true that all humanity means to do
right though often wrong: that the heart at times must obey the
mandates of circumstances and environment: that even the purest and
best succumb to temptation? Another day, and reason rules!

He was engaged to a girl who had been his little sweetheart as far
back as he could remember. He had carried her books and pulled her
sled and fought her battles, and now he surely would never break her
heart. There is duty; an invention of the Devil, but it must be met,
though hearts break and burn; though we wander through a desert of
hallowed love and damning desire. This dream was to end. For months
those two beings faced their little world with only a nod as they
passed by; not even as much as a hand-clasp. Who can tell what the man
thought, or if he cared? But the woman wept out her sorrow in my arms.
Confession is good for the soul, so it is said; there is joy in a
heartache sometimes, and sweet content in tears. She told me how she
lay awake and listened for his footsteps. If he came into the room her
heart would almost cease beating. She almost fainted once when she met
him coming in with his fiancee... but in silence she suffered; pride
and duty ruled.

"How exquisitely he tortures me," she said. "He uses roses as his
weapons.... But what think you of this my friend? I shall bear his
image into life! What matter laws and customs, and sins forbidden....
I shall be happy again when I hold my baby in my arms"....

So terribly shocked was I that I could only gasp in amazement, but
when I looked into the face of the woman, behold.... the Madonna!

There seemed to be a spiritual light illuminating her face and she was
far away in the land of dreams, looking into the face of her blue-eyed
baby; born of a great, great Love, sacrificed to Duty. Life.... What a
tragedy! Fate, did you say? Thank God for Time, the healer of all
wounds. As someone has said: "Never a lip was curved in pain that
could not be kissed into smiles again!"

Just half an hour before she was leaving Reno, as we were dropping the
last of the little silver toilet articles into her small traveling
bag, and gathering up the odds and ends here and there, the telephone
rang. At Eileen's request I answered. A manly voice said: "Mr.
Holbrook speaking; I would like to come and pay my respects to Mrs.
Reed if she has a few minutes to spare, and will permit me!" Of course
she would, poor girl; she looked as though heaven had suddenly opened
and beckoned her enter. I left them alone.

Whatever was said must have taken the bitterness out of the parting,
because it was a sweet-souled, courageous girl that joined me ten
minutes later, to take her departure for life's everlasting battle
fields; to begin anew. Perhaps she knew his love would crown the
awaiting beyond with divine fulfillment......

When I saw her off on the Eastbound train, she answered my questioning
look by taking a small photo from her bodice--"No, I have not
forgotten," she said with a smile that was more tragic than all the
tears the world has ever shed. "Here, next my heart, I shall carry my
love always, but there is his duty and mine, and so much do I love
him, that I want to bear all the pain myself...."

Being a trained nurse, Eileen when she got her divorce went to France
with several other Red Cross nurses, "where," she said, "I shall try
to mend my broken heart while I help to patch up some of our mutilated
soldier boys. My only hope is that I may be of some use, and I feel
sure that my own miserable little wail of bereavement will get lost in
the shuffle, when I am face to face with the tragedies of the battle
fields..."

Shall we forgive her? Yes, if we follow the teachings of the
Nazarene..... I sometimes hear from Eileen; she is somewhere in
France, and so is young Holbrook, I am told! I may yet continue their
story some day. Methinks it is a promise; a whisper across the miles
of unrest; a pledge of the fulfillment of a prayer; a surety for
tomorrow's sunshine! Already I can see a smile in the East: may I
hope, and hoping believe?....

"To Helen, my full blown rose, spirit of perfect womanhood, my
inspiration and guide; to her whose love exceeds all others, to her
memory I bow my head in everlasting devotion and admiration...."

Thus spoke a man who had watched the train disappear eastward with the
body of his sweetheart, four years prior to the writing of this book.
When I think of all the tragic stories of the divorce colony, Helen's
was perhaps the most pathetic. She was the daughter of a wealthy
family in New York State. She ran away when only sixteen, and married
a man whom she thought she loved, and for years she struggled to find
happiness, ignored by her people because of her choice of a husband.
She found herself poverty stricken and unloved, paying the price of
her folly. What a pity that we must be young and know too little, and
then grow old and sometimes know too much! Ideals are simply mental
will-o'-the-wisps, of which we are always in pursuit, but which we see
realized but seldom.

For ten long years this woman faced neglect, humiliation and days and
nights of anguish in her efforts to fulfill her duty, until she could
stand it no longer, and crept back to her father's door to ask
forgiveness. The millionaire father sent her to Reno, with ten dollars
a week to live on, and a promise of forgiveness if in future she would
promise to live according to his wishes. Poor little Helen! For years
her heart had been starving for love, and now Reno meant to her the
call of honor and duty, the sworn obligation of her family. But, alas,
Helen was beautiful: a girl who had only just become a woman; whose
sufferings had only served to develop a strong personality with an
intangible charm; whose whole being suggested unnumbered possibilities
of mind and character. Her face was like a lily, so fair, and almost
classic, yet showing unmistakably the warm heart and emotional nature
of the woman. A wealth of golden hair that crowned her regal grace,
and eyes that had stolen the tenderest blue from a turquoise sky
beneath the shade of modest lashes. Appealing lotus-like lips, rosy-
ripe and moist with the dew of promised bliss; sensuous curves and
graceful feminine lines..... such a woman was Helen. And he! Six feet
of Western manhood; a graduate of Yale, and still an athlete at 35. A
man with the highest ideals of fine, clean, strong manhood. He had
gone West shortly after leaving college and had made his fortune, but
he liked the West and its people, and there he made his home. The
rough mining life he had led had worn off a little of the drawing room
polish of his younger years, which made him even more fascinating, and
something had turned his raven-black hair just a little bit gray at
the temples.

This man sat in a lawyer's office one afternoon, his wide brimmed
Stetson pulled low over his eyes, and a cigar between his teeth, when
a rather timid little blonde lady entered. He removed both cigar and
hat and stood up. Jack Worthington was the man, and he was presented
to Helen by his old friend, Dick Sheldon, who was also Helen's lawyer.

Were you ever alone in a strange land, sitting between the four walls
of a barren, stuffy room with the blue devils swarming thick around
you? That had been the case with poor little Helen for two long weeks
before her meeting with Jack Worthington.

Two whole weeks!....it had seemed an eternity to this beautiful woman,
with the wreckage of her youth staring her in the face: a youth which
should have been all sunshine and flowers. She had risked all for the
price of love and lost....

"Gee! Some woman!" said Worthington to Sheldon when the door closed
upon Helen, after a private consultation with the lawyer.

"What's the matter, old boy; captured at last, after all these years?
Well, they say: 'the longer you wait, the harder the blow!' But I'll
have to hand it to you, you're a good picker. That little woman is an
angel if there ever was one in Reno, and you will be a lucky boy if
you can win her!"

Two days later there was a little dinner given at the home of Mr. and
Mrs. Sheldon, and strange to say, Helen and Worthington were among
those present. From that time on it was Jack who chased away the
shadows and kept Helen amused. There was something wonderfully sweet
and soothing about this strong, self-reliant man of the West. Life
cannot exist without sunshine, and this man was slowly becoming the
sunshine of Helen's life, with each walk in the moonlight along the
banks of the Truckee, and with each ride through the wonderful, silent
places, while they enjoyed Nevada's matchless sunsets, and glorious
freedom of open country.

[Illustration with caption: GLENBROOK]

In spite of all Jack could do in the way of chasing away the shadows,
Helen continued to grow more like the lily and less like the rose. It
was terribly hot in Reno as the summer months came on, and there were
reasons why Helen could not have all the comforts. Worthington, with
his thousands, was hopeless. She should be up to the lake where the
cool, fresh breezes could fan the roses back into her cheeks, but how
could he manage it?

"I know, I shall have the Sheldons go up to their camp at Glenbrook,
and invite us up for the week."....

The very next morning a very sweet feminine voice called Helen over
the 'phone. "Good morning, Helen dear, aren't you nearly cooked? Yes,
I know it's a hundred and ten in the shade. I say, dear, Mr. Sheldon
and I have a cozy nook up at Glenbrook, on Lake Tahoe. Won't you come
up and spend the week with us there?.... Oh, yes, we will call for you
at 8 A.M. tomorrow .... Oh, no, don't thank us, you will be so
welcome.... All right, good-bye."

When Helen tripped lightly down to the big touring car the next
morning, she showed no surprise when Jack jumped from the back seat
and assisted her to a place by his side. It was a gay party that
landed at the camp a few hours later. Did these two people know that
they had grown to love each other? There had been no word of love
spoken between them but that night they went for a row on the lake of
many colors, just as the sun dropped over the hills and the moon shone
out in all its glory. Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon stood on the shore and
watched them with a knowing smile. Jack was the salt of the earth, and
he meant so well.... He did not mean to speak to Helen until she was
free, but alas! for the infinite cry of infinite hearts that yearn.
For weeks and weeks, when the days were the darkest, it had been Jack
who happened along just at the right moment with a book or some
flowers, accompanied by a funny story or a joke, some little kindness
that would brighten the path a bit. What a mixture he was, of
tenderness and brusqueness; of common sense and poetry; of fun and
seriousness, this adopted son of the sagebrush. These were Helen's
thoughts as she watched his strong body bend gracefully over the oars,
which sent them flying through the sapphire water of Lake Tahoe.

Already the color was beginning to appear in Helen's cheeks and she
looked happier and more bewitching than ever before. "An angel
pointing the way to Paradise," thought Jack. They discussed the moon-
kissed glades and leafy woods of shadowland. Did they know that in
each leafy bough Cupid awaited with love's weapon poised? Jack drew in
the oars and allowed the little boat to drift; it is sometimes
wonderfully sweet to drift; sometimes we drift into the harbor of
happiness; sometimes we smash against the rocks, and are left
shipwrecked. Little did Helen dream that soon this new found happiness
was to vanish; that her lips burning for kisses yet unborn, might soon
unbend and voice deepest anguish and piteous appeal; that those eyes
which betokened unsolved depths of fondest affection, of laughter,
love and life, might soon lose their lustre and dreamy languor, in an
ocean of tears..... There two people drifted silently along, conscious
only of the fact that they were supremely happy in each other's
company .... But lo! out of the quiet a storm is born: why had they
not noticed that the moon had hidden her silvery face behind a black
cloud? The spray and rain beating upon their happy faces was the first
incident which made them aware that a terrific storm was upon them,
and that they were many miles from home. The wind was whipping the
waves into a perfect fury, thus rendering unmanageable the little
boat. The thunder rolled and roared, and finally the wind drove the
frail craft against the stony wall of Cave Rock. Jack managed to grasp
a part of the jagged surface and drag Helen with him; the boat hit
against the rocks several times and finally broke up.

[Illustration with caption: CAVE ROCK] All through the struggle Helen
had sat motionless and fascinated at the strength and skill this man
displayed in his efforts to pull for the shore, but when at last they
were there, and she felt his strong arms about her, all her courage
and strength failed her, and she fainted. He clasped her closer to his
heart and looked into her colorless face. Her clothes were dripping,
and her golden hair was streaming about her face. Jack stopped for a
moment and pressed his burning lips to hers--they were icy.

"My sweet burden of glorious womanhood," he whispered. "Thank God you
are safe!" And he climbed up the rocky mountainside to the only
available shelter.... Cave Rock. There he took his dripping burden and
laid it on the damp, cold stones. There was no sign of life. He took
off his coat, rang the water out as best he could, and spread it on
the rocks and laid Helen upon it. He rubbed her hands and arms, and
bathed her head, but she remained chilled.

If he only had a dry match to start a fire with, or some brandy, but
alas! they were storm-tossed souls, with no means of warmth, except
that of the man's palpitating body..... He was aglow with warmth from
the exertion of rowing and climbing up the mountainside. He would
bring back life and pulsation to this woman whom he loved with all his
heart and soul, by the warmth of his own glowing body. As he drew off
his waistcoat and threw it aside, something fell to the ground. He
felt about in the dark until he found the object; it was a tiny silver
match case, some silly Christmas present which he never used and had
forgotten all about, but it was surely a welcome friend at this
particular moment. Were there any matches in it?.... He held his
breath for a moment while he opened it .... His sigh of relief told
the story. The rest now was only the work of a minute: some bits of
driftwood and the remains of some previous camp fire quickly started a
blaze.

Carefully he laid Helen upon his coat near the fire, and continued to
rub her body until her eyelids quivered and she opened her big blue
eyes and looked about.

She saw the camp fire, the strange looking cave and the big handsome
figure bending over her.... First she looked startled, then when she
slowly realized their predicament she became hysterical, threw herself
into her rescuer's arms and wept.

And each knew, as the one man and the one woman will always know by
intuition, that fiction has no miracles such as are found in the book
of life. Lips may dissemble, but there is no need of speech when heart
meets its mate. Jack gathered her to his breast and soothed her as
best he could. It was so good to look in her face and to hear her
voice; her heart was so pure and her soul so lily white: her eyes like
violets wet with the morning dew....

When she was quieter, Jack whispered in his fine manly voice quivering
with earnestness: "Helen, my own, will you be my wife, my own sweet
little wife until death do us part?"

"Until death do us part, I will!" she whispered, and surely the angels
must have recorded that sacred promise. Her voice was suffused with a
world of tenderness as she breathed the words. From his coat pocket
Jack produced a plain gold band. "My mother's wedding ring," he said,
"it has never left me since I said good-bye to her and laid her to
rest. I have been looking for a woman who would be as worthy of
wearing it".... and he slipped it on her finger and kissed the hand it
graced. And then and there they pledged their troth.....

"I love you with all my heart and soul, my own sweet woman, and before
God we can do no harm: with love such as ours there can be no such
thing as sin. Society is a tissue of pretense: convention a fleeting
fantom. My sweet bride of tonight."

Splendidly conscious of her sweet sacrifice, she smiled at
tomorrows.... "There is this hour and we live; if sin it is, it is yet
divine; the happiest hour of my life, because I am loved and I love so
much."....

Adieu to duty and creeds, love's altar has vestments of rosebud lips
and starry eyes with whispered words of love divine: "Sin," it's said;
but if with the one all holy love, what care we for the reckoning
hour.....

"Oh! Helen dear, you are missing the most gorgeous sunrise of
creation!"

[Illustration with caption: LAKE TAHOE]

Why, it is Jack's voice.... Helen opens her eyes and looks around.
"What did you say about the sunrise, Jack dear?" She looks out of the
cave in the direction whence the voice came, and sees the silver dusk
turning rose.

"Oh! the sunrise! Yes, dear, I'll be there in just a minute." Helen
quickly brought back her gaze from the rosy-tinted silver light to the
cave and its surroundings. There was a camp fire lighted, and her
clothing was stretched on a line near it, and she herself was wrapped
warmly in a dry woollen cloak. In a very short time, she appeared at
the opening of the cave, fully dressed, as fresh and sweet as a rose
and radiantly happy.

"Good morning, my wonderful bride, my own sweet woman," he whispered
as he kissed her almost reverently. "Together we will enjoy this
glorious sunrise!"

"Isn't it wonderful?" she sighed, "not a sign of last night's terrible
storm: just see how beautiful the lake is; all emerald, sapphire and
gold! How the sun reflects its golden glory on the smooth water! How
wonderful, Jack dear, to watch the birth of a new day, coming forth
from the hands of its Maker. Oh, it is so good to be alive, my lover!"

And Jack again held her in his arms, pressed her to his heart and
almost smothered her with kisses. "And I want to say to you, dear,
that no fame, no glory, no wealth, nothing on earth can bring the
happiness, the real heart's content into one's life, that just one
hour's true, unselfish love can give. I know this after ten long years
of grief, suffering and despair, when all the time my heart cried out
for its own, for what was its birthright and its heritage! I want to
give you my whole heart, dear, a heart full of gladness and
rejoicing."

"My own sweet woman, it shall be my one and only thought to make your
life one beautiful day of gladness and joy! And now, dear, I am afraid
there is nothing to do but to walk back to the next camp which is
about four miles distant, and then telephone the Sheldons to come for
us. I am sure they must be worried; they are probably searching the
lake for us. The road is good, that is one thing in our favor. Do you
feel equal to the walk, or do you prefer to be left here while I go
for help?"

"Indeed I shall not be left here all alone. I could walk twice that
distance!" They started off, hand in hand......

And for three wonderful months hand in hand they wandered. Only two
people lived in this wonderful world for this man and this woman. All
its wealth and beauty: its unutterable joys: its pleasures and stores
of infinite happiness: all their very own! Together they wandered down
life's leafy lanes, treading its quiet paths: together they drank deep
of nature and enjoyed every moment without a thought of tomorrow. The
flowers shed their sweetest perfumes, the birds sang their sweetest
songs, and each leaf and bough nodded as though they knew. Of all men,
he was the one God made, and she,--the woman.... Their souls responded
to spiritual intuitions: their minds entwined as do the ivy and the
oak...

So beautiful was the love and devotion of this man and this woman,
that every one who knew them was in sympathy with them; they were
envied by those who had never known such blissful peace and delirious
delight. These two people were planning a beautiful home on the banks
of the Truckee. There had been a sweet confession from Helen: her case
would soon be up for hearing and all would be well.... But alas!
suddenly Helen was taken seriously ill. Three days later she died in
the hospital. What was the matter? No one knows! With her last breath:
"It has all been worth while, Jack dear," she whispered.

And the man, heart-broken, bought a solid silver casket, with a glass
inner casket, padded with delicate rose satin, and therein he laid the
woman he had loved, honored and respected above all others. A friend
who saw her said:

"Never have I seen anyone look so beautiful, as she lay there in her
soft chiffon gown, with a cluster of rosebuds in her hand; a full
blown rose herself. Is it possible that a creation so fair and
beautiful can, in a few short hours, return to dust again?"

The next day Helen's body, in the silver casket, covered with flowers
--the last tribute of a great love--was homeward bound. Is she to be
envied, or pitied? I wonder....

The man who ever carried in his heart the greatest respect and
reverence for this one woman, whispered gently as he placed a wreath
of roses on her casket:

"And I had hoped that you would be with me always! Oh, love of mine,
what a wealth of beauty, charm and winning grace were yours in full
flower"....

I hope, if it be true, that there yet remains another life in some dim
land of mystery; that they may again walk together, and sing, as in
the long ago; hand in hand; for love such as theirs will live through
eternity, and ever after....




PART 3

RENO ROMANCE


Reno and Romance go hand in hand I should say. If you asked half a
dozen of your friends what the word Romance means, I dare say each one
would give a different answer. I think one of the most beautiful plays
I have ever seen was a play called "Romance"; yet to me the play
seemed rather a tragic story.... I have looked up the word in an
English dictionary and it gives the definition, "An imaginative story,
fiction." How prosaic! To me Romance has always been something
poetical and very real indeed.

At any rate, it is real in Reno; everywhere there is evidence of it;
and it is easy to lay one's finger on the romantic cases. Just peep
into the room of this new arrival; there is a bower of beautiful
flowers, and there is a telegram on the dressing table. The lady's
lawyer had been telegraphed to and has given instructions that a
garden of flowers be arranged as a welcome to the fair exile; the
telegram contains words of encouragement and consolation.

I heard of many romances that were beautiful and interesting; that
pictured to my mind youthful mistakes righted, dreams realized and
ideal future homes, with love reigning supreme and peace and harmony
keeping the charm ever radiant. I can't tell you about all of them,
therefore I shall select the one I thought most beautiful. The heroine
of my selected romance is Mrs. Beuland, of Virginia.

Never have I found it so difficult to describe a woman as I find it to
describe Mrs. Beuland; I wish I could picture to you this most unusual
woman as I knew her in the southland, a mere girl of sixteen; as I
think of her now she brings to my mind a poem of William Wordsworth:

   "I saw her upon nearer view,
      A spirit, yet a woman too:
    Her household motions light and free,
      And steps of virgin liberty;
    A countenance in which did meet
      Sweet records, promises as sweet;
    A creature not too bright or good
      For human nature's daily food--
    For transient sorrows, simple wiles,
      Praise, blame, love, kisses, tears, and smiles."

Yes, she was like a poem, with much of the untamed grace of a panther,
and the gentleness of a dove.....

In Balzac's unique story, "A Passion in the Desert," a question is
asked: "How did their friendship end?" The answer is, "Like all great
passions--in a misunderstanding. One suspects the other. One is too
proud to ask for an explanation and the other too stubborn to offer
it." And so it was with Mrs. Beuland, else I should not be recording
her romance here.

I am glad the story of Balzac did not read: "Like all great loves,"
because I believe that a great love always brings with it harmony and
understanding. The misunderstanding in this case was due to the fact,
that the girl did not know that under this great passion lay
slumbering a wonderful love of everlasting endurance.

Surely the heroine of this romance was deserving of a great love. She
was like a sunbeam when she entered a room, she always brought
gladness; she radiated the joy of living.

She rode like a princess, danced like a fairy, was a child of nature
and at the same time a woman of the world. I have seen her romp in a
daisy field and gather flowers with the children, as much a child as
any of them, and a few hours later I have met her in a drawing room,
an entirely different person, all dignity and self possession.

Mrs. Beuland was a daughter of one of the first families of Virginia;
tall and stately, with a splendid, graceful physique, blue eyes, black
hair and olive skin. Her physical charm and mental attraction were
always struggling for supremacy.

She was a girl of many moods; sometimes the joy of living would just
radiate from her and her care-free laughter and musical voice would be
that of a happy child; another time her eyes would lose the sparkling,
captivating expression and become dreamy and thoughtful, as though
they were peering into the great beyond; her voice would tremble with
earnestness as she would discuss some serious subject. And then again
there would be a note of sadness, though never of bitterness.

I knew Mrs. Beuland as Nell Wilbur in Virginia, before her marriage to
Mr. Beuland. Her family were among the victims of the Civil War who
were left paupers after the wreckage of the South.

Nell Wilbur had always been proud, willful and highly strung. Her
mother had died young. Her father after futile attempts to guide her
steps in the right direction, finally concluded that it was better to
let her have her head; she would run away with the bit anyway. She
might break her neck, but she surely would have to learn life's
lessons in her own way, and she did.

Her family tried to make a match for her but she refused, saying, "I
want to be the captain of my own soul; I will make my own mistakes":
and she kept her word. Just seventeen, she went to visit an aunt in
New York, glowing with youth and health, with a mind full of romance
and ideals; an enthusiast, and a dreamer of dreams. She at once found
herself surrounded by devoted admirers, all rivaling with each other
in their efforts to please her. One young millionaire, finding that
she was fond of equestrian sports, offered her the pick of his
stables, whereupon the young Virginian lifted her eyes in surprise as
she said: "But where would I ride? Your little old park isn't big
enough to ride in, and the people all look as though they dropped out
of a Fifth Avenue shop window. If you would come with me for a cross
country gallop in Virginia, you would understand that I could not
possibly be interested in doing living pictures in Central Park!"

Among the hosts of Miss Wilbur's admirers there were two who
interested the young lady; one a splendid young English lawyer, rich
and handsome: the other, a young New York artist, poor but
interesting, very sincere, very intellectual and with strong
personality.

Both men had many faults, though they had their full share of fine
qualities as well. The faults that were most annoying to Miss Wilbur
in the young lawyer (whose name by the way was Glen Royce) were his
profound conceit and his sensual nature. There was some excuse for him
because the Gods had endowed him with all their charms; he was an
Adonis, Apollo and all the other Greek Gods in one. I don't think I
have ever seen two people so near physical perfection as Nell Wilbur
and Glen Royce. They seemed to be made for each other; every one had
decided that they would surely be married. Young Royce was madly in
love, and though Miss Wilbur lavished her smiles on the young artist,
Will Beuland, no one thought that he had the slightest chance.

Miss Wilbur's aunt invited a party of the young people to Atlantic
City for the Easter holidays, and I was lucky enough to be asked, my
principal pleasure being in watching the ideal young lovers. They were
always perfectly groomed; always stunning; in morning dress, bathing
suits and evening clothes, alike charming. The last evening before our
return I was in the reception room when Nell appeared dressed for
dinner. I watched young Royce when, with all the grace of a prince, he
rose to receive her. She was in rose satin and chiffon, with a cluster
of pink blossoms in her hand, like the herald of spring; so soft and
delicately tinted were her beautifully moulded shoulders that one
could scarcely perceive where the soft clinging chiffon left off. She
was startlingly beautiful, and as I watched the man as he touched her
hand, I could have sworn that all the blood in his veins had turned to
liquid fire.

I made some excuse and left them alone. The balcony was dark and
deserted, and I betook myself to its seclusion. I think the lovers
must have forgotten about the balcony; I am quite sure he had
forgotten everything but the vision before him. He was living in the
world that never was; the sound of flutes was wafted on the breeze
from fairyland. Pulsing bosom and sheen of sun-kissed shoulders....
Ah! maddening modesty and virtue, how inconsistent are thy ways! No
wonder so many forget about the cursed serpent....

Through the windows I saw the man lead the woman to a cluster of palms
in a far corner of the big room, seat her on a divan in the shadow of
the palms and drop on his knees before her. The next moment she was in
his arms. He had meant to propose the same as we read in books, but
his lips were too near the woman's delicately tinted breast... He
kissed her lips, her eyes, her bosom and shoulders; he was like the
rush of a bursting river whose waters cry out in ecstasy of liberation
as they leap in the sunshine.

That evening at dinner the engagement was informally announced. There
was, however, something in Miss Wilbur's manner that I could not quite
fathom; that something which completes the happiness of two people who
love each other was lacking. It was not until ten years later when I
met Mrs. Beuland in Reno, that I understood the shadow.

I knew that the young lawyer had failed to induce Miss Wilbur to
consent to an early wedding, and after much persuasion Mr. Royce
returned to England alone. Later it was rumored that the engagement
had been broken off; then we heard that Mr. Royce had committed
suicide; again that he had married; another time that he was returning
to America to press his suit.

Miss Wilbur was very reticent about the subject and continued to
receive the attentions of the young artist, Will Beuland, and some six
months after Mr. Royce returned to England she was married to the New
York artist. No one seemed surprised, though it caused much gossip.

Fancy my astonishment when ten years later I met the stately Mrs.
Beuland in the lobby of my hotel in Reno. I had not seen her since her
marriage; the only difference the years had made, apparently, was that
now she was a woman instead of a girl, and yes, there was just a wisp
of snowy white hair among the black locks about her forehead, which
made her look even more aristocratic, if that was possible.

When one is lonely and alone in a strange place, it is most agreeable
to find an unexpected friend; and when one has a heavy heart, it is
good to confide in a sympathetic friend; so Mrs. Beuland and I became
close companions. I was fortunately able to lend a helping hand and
cheer the lonely way of this charming and much loved woman. One day as
we were chatting on the banks of the Truckee, she said to me: "Do you
know, it does seem such a pity that one of the most beautiful things
on earth really causes the most trouble!" "What is that?" I replied.
"Youthful ideals," she replied.

"For a youthful ideal I have paid long years of misery, and have spent
that time as an apprentice in the workshop of wisdom. Tardy wisdom,
the mother of all real enduring happiness. Because of a youthful ideal
I did not marry the man I really loved; instead I married the man I
thought I loved. I wanted to be the companion and friend and ideal
mate and intellectual partner through life to the man I married; those
were my ideals.

"The moment I promised myself to the man I loved I found myself
clasped tightly in passion's mad embrace; a mad passion by youth's
fierce fires fed; his kisses hotly pressed on my lips burned into my
very soul and made my heart sick. Was that love? It was certainly not
my ideal, to be the toy of mad passion!

"Ah! where was wisdom's tardy voice that it did not whisper: 'God made
men thus: there are no perfect men!'....

"How true it is that ideals are simply mental will-o'-the-wisps!....

"I married for ideals, not for love. I was in love with the ideal, and
the man I married led me to believe he was that ideal; picture my
heart-aching disappointment when I found that his art was his real
bride, and that I was a sort of understudy; hardly that, after the
first few months. I awoke to the fact that I had exchanged my youth
and freedom for a domestic mill that sank all my ideals into
commonplace. I said I would make my own mistakes and I did. Then came
the long battle with my pride, and I suffered in silence. For seven
long years I faced neglect and humiliation; and then one day after a
visit to my old home, I returned to find my husband and one of his
models occupying my very home.... my very bed. I turned and left the
place without a word.

"For the first time in my life I grew bitter; I wondered if it were
true, that realization kills all the joys we anticipate; if all our
rosy dreams turn gray in the face of cold reality.

"I was sick at heart and alone, too proud to go to anyone with my
troubles; it seemed to me that day by day the color was fading out of
my life. I had for years given all my love gifts only to answer duty's
call and one by one the leaves of my romance began to fall, until
jealousy, like a cancer, had eaten into my aching heart, and left me
stripped of everything, even hope....

"My thoughts were muddled; I could not think clearly: it was a day in
early June: I did not know where to go, and I did not want to meet
anyone I knew. I never knew quite how or why, but a few hours later I
found myself in Atlantic City. I arrived there in the evening and
after refreshing myself, I walked out on the board walk and almost to
the end of it, until there was no one in sight: and then I went down
on the sand and there I seated myself. I thought, with the big silver
moon overhead and the waves breaking on the shore, I should be able to
think out some plan for the future. I don't know how long I sat there,
but I know the only thoughts that came to me were that in my case I
was forever through with romance, sentiments and ideals. There was a
storm raging in my soul, and bitter resentment in my heart; I had
meant so well and it had all come to this. I looked at my watch: it
was nearly eleven; I suddenly realized that I had forgotten to dine,
that my head ached and that I was tired. I got up and started back to
the hotel. Then a miracle happened; it sounds like fiction but I swear
it is the truth.....

"I heard my name called; it sounded as though it were an echo out of
the past. I looked up.... a tall gentleman was standing by me looking
down into my face; 'Good evening, Mrs. Beuland, this is indeed a
pleasant surprise." Glen Royce....You know our story, and as I had not
heard from him in years you can imagine my surprise.

"Mr. Royce had been in America just one week; he had come over on
business and just thought it would be interesting to run down and have
a peep at the sea. I think both our thoughts traveled back over the
years to the Easter time we spent together there....

"'How long are you remaining?' he asked after a little pause. 'About a
week,' I replied. 'May I call tomorrow then?' 'Yes,' I said, 'but I
have just arrived and am rather tired; if you will excuse me I will
leave you now.' He saw me to my hotel and said good night. I never
knew quite what was said or what really happened, however. I slept
soundly from sheer exhaustion, and awakened the next morning
refreshed, but unable to realize that everything was not a dream.

"Then the 'phone rang. 'Good morning, Mrs. Beuland; this is Glen Royce
speaking; hope I haven't called you too early? Will you come for a
walk? It is a beautiful day.' I did and before the day was over, I had
made a confidant of this old sweetheart of mine, and extracted a
promise from him, a very foolish, silly promise.

"'I want so much to be your friend,' he said, 'there must be something
I can do to make your burden lighter.' I told him that I would accept
his friendship under one condition, that he would promise not to make
love to me, and so the courtship was started all over again on a
friendship basis, though I did not realize it at the time. Later he
made me tell him why I broke our engagement, and when I explained he
understood, and blamed it on a misunderstanding.

"I thought him a much finer man than he was ten years ago, but of
course that is only the wisdom that comes with the years. It has been
three years since I met him that evening, when I was blind with utter
despair. That's the story so far! My case will be called tomorrow; if
I am lucky I will be free, and then he is coming out and we will be
married here and spend our honeymoon in California. I want you to be
my only attendant. Things have turned out so that he is to remain in
America; we have a beautiful little home near New York, down by the
sea. When you go back East you must come and see us."

And so the happy day arrived, just as the sun was sinking down behind
Mount Rose; we stood in the silent church; I held the flowers, a huge
bouquet of simple spring blossoms, while the groom slipped the little
gold band on the bride's finger and the organ pealed out the
benediction....

A few months later I arrived in New York and telephoned, "Hello, Nell,
is that you? Here I am, may I come out, or are you two still
honeymooning?" The answer came back: "We are still honeymooning, but
you may come out; in fact, I am just crazy to see you. You will never
find the way alone; meet Glen at his office and come out with him
tonight!" And I did. The bride was at the station to meet us,
radiantly happy. We motored over a beautiful bit of country and in
about ten minutes came to a beautiful villa, with beautiful gardens
and a glimpse of the sea in the distance; it did my soul good to watch
this picture of domestic bliss. They were like a boy and girl again,
up to their eyes in love and gloriously happy.

"A love and happiness with wisdom as its basis and made up of
understanding and friendship, with a dash of romance, and enough
passion to lend warmth and charm, and a good portion of common sense
that doesn't expect perfection": this is Nell's recipe for domestic
happiness.

Three years later. My husband and I have just returned from a week-end
visit to Mr. and Mrs. Royce: the recipe seems to be working fine; I am
trying it myself. We sat on the porch and watched them stroll out to
the beach, in the fading light of the setting sun, and then the
shadows of twilight hid them from sight. They disappeared, hand in
hand; lovers, living in perfect companionship, planning and building
as they go. May their matrimonial ship continue to sail on sunny seas,
where soft winds blow, and rest in the harbor of happiness at last.
Another triumph for Reno.....

On the occasion of our visit she showed me a package of letters tied
with white satin ribbon; "Glen's letters," she said; "he wrote me one
every day I was in Reno and they are the most beautiful letters ever
written." I read some of them and I agreed with her; I wish she would
allow me to publish them: it would make a good world better for having
read them. "Nor has earth, nor Heaven nor Hell any bars through which
love cannot burst its way toward reunion and completeness"....

And yet this queen of matrimonial bliss said to me, "I wish that all
mothers would warn their girls against ideals which are not practical.
I blame my ideals for years of utter misery; my ideal was a perfect
man."

"Someone has said: 'God does not make imperfect things,' and yet can
anyone say that he has ever seen a perfect man or a woman? I held on
to the shreds of my ideal until there was not a shred left to hang on
to; until my heart lay bruised and bleeding on the altar of dead and
gone ideals. And then wisdom came and whispered: 'You have been
looking for perfection, but there is no such thing on this earth: we
must be forbearing and forgiving: 'forgive us our debts as we forgive
our debtors.'

"With wisdom came new ideals that were practical and a new kind of
love, indulgent and forgiving, yet self-respecting; a love as strong
as the Rock of Ages. Love--a little thing--a sentiment perhaps--and
yet without it what would be left of that which we call life....

"There are emotions which make for ambition, for right living, for
honor and position, but how pitifully small and inconsequential
besides the mighty tomes which, circling the globe, comprise the
lexicon of love. Love--the symbol and sequel of birth, the solace of
death--the essence of divinity! Frozen indeed is the heart which has
never felt its glow; gross and sordid the soul which has never been
illumined by its sunshine.

"To live is to love, my friend, and to love is to suffer a little and
to be happy much."




PART 4

RENO COMEDIES


According to some of the comic postcards which are sent out, Reno was
known in the time of Adam and Eve.

Someone sent me a card while there, which depicted Adam and Eve under
the famous apple-tree. (Telephone: 281 Apple.) Eve was beautiful in
flowing hair and fig leaf. Adam had one on too, a rather faded affair.
Adam was plucking a nice, fat, green fig leaf out of his salad. Under
the picture were written the words: "Eve, the next time you put my
dress suit in the salad, Reno for me."

One sees and hears funny things in Reno. For instance, no one will
abide there long before being asked: "Are you here for the cure?" At
first you may look astonished and say: "No, I am perfectly well, thank
you," but the smile that lightens the questioner's face makes the
meaning slowly dawn upon one. One can hear a porter say to a conductor
of the train from the East: "Any victims today?"; and the hotels
frequented by the divorcees are known as "hospitals for the first aid
to the matrimonially injured." The reporter of the local paper will
ask: "Any new headlines ready?" The Court House is known as "the
divorce mill." Sometimes as "the separator"!

Then Renoites are fond of nicknaming the members of the divorce
colony, as well as the buildings.

One fair divorcee was dubbed the "Weeping Beauty" by her lawyer,
because she wept whenever she visited him. And she looked pretty too
when she wept: "like a dew-kissed rose," he said. A gentleman of
mature age was known as the "Silver King" because of his princely
bearing, silvery white hair and Greek god figure. "The Venus of Reno"
was another one, a statuesque brunette, because of her perfect figure
and Grecian gowns. A very stout lady bore the graceful name of "Reno-
ceros," whereas an old reprobate could do no better than "Renogade."
However, "Reno-vated" they all got!

An interesting fact is that your chambermaid, bellboy, hotel clerk,
taxi driver, dressmaker, saleslady, cook and laundress, hairdresser,
waiter and bootblack may all and each be a so-called divorcee. (For
convenience sake, I speak of them all as "divorcees," although Webster
defines a "divorcee" as a man or woman who has already obtained a
divorce.) What is more, a great many of these people who are working
are well fixed financially, and are just working to keep sane. I
remember tipping my waitress one evening. The next day I received a
bunch of American Beauties from that lady, which simply bowled me over
at a glance. She got her divorce, and is now married to a wealthy New
York real estate man. So you see it is difficult to discriminate.

I received shock after shock until I felt like a shock absorber. I was
dining with a friend one evening in a restaurant we often patronized.
The gentleman with me desired a cigarette, and found his case was
empty. A waitress, noticing his disappointment, extracted a silver
cigarette case from her rather attractive bosom, opened it, and
offered my friend one of her monogrammed cigarettes. Another victim!

One evening after writing all day without any recreation, I went down
to dinner, feeling a bit tired but rather satisfied with my day's
work. I said to my waitress while looking over the bill of fare:
"Tilly, I have worked hard today; I feel that I deserve a halo!" Tilly
looked at me for a moment, and disappeared. She was a devoted soul and
had always taken great pains to please me. In a few minutes she
returned with a disappointed expression on her face, and said: "I am
sorry, Mam, I can't get you the halo. Cook says it's something Mary
wore around her head."

Some of the witnesses in divorce cases are very humorous. I was
present at a few hearings, when a tall and thin man stated in a rather
shaky voice that his wife was a "beastly vampire," and that after
living with him for two whole weeks she struck him over the head with
a crutch and told him that she had a graveyard full of better men than
he was. The present victim was the fourth husband of the defendant.

"Judgment for the plaintiff"....

Another pretty young lady said that one of her husband's favorite
pastimes was spitting in her face, while yet another lady accused her
actor husband of "too much artistic temperament, and whiskey temper."

"Judgment for the plaintiff"....

The funniest case I ever witnessed was that of an old washwoman. I
don't know where she hailed from, but the judge said:

"Why do you wish to get a divorce from your husband?"

"Well, yer honor, he don't support me."

"But," said the judge, "is that all the complaint you have? You must
have more than that to get a divorce."

"Well, yer honor, I don't love my husband any more."

"That won't do either," said the judge impatiently. "Is that all?"

"Well, to tell the truth, yer honor, I don't think he is the father of
my last child."

"Judgment for the defendant." ....

What matter law and customs to even the most staid and stone-hearted
Wall Street banker if he happens to be on top of the world with a
woman who is a masterpiece of creation? There are many in Reno,--
masterpieces: not millionaire bankers--, and lonely too, sometimes!
Anyway it came to pass not so very long ago, that a New York banker of
great wealth and international reputation went out to Reno to secure a
divorce. After two months' stay the gentleman lost his heart to a very
attractive lady, who also was whiling away six months of her sweet
young life in order to shake off the matrimonial shackles. The banker
was about fifty, the lady twenty-seven and the wife of a well-known
New York actor. So lavish were the banker's attentions to this
charming lady that he gave a most extraordinary banquet in her honor
at the Riverside Hotel to which were invited about one hundred guests.
The dinner was under the management of one of the best of San
Francisco's caterers, and all the table decorations were brought from
San Francisco. The banquet, I am told, cost about $5,000--Hoover in
those days was not popular as yet.... But alas! poor little Cupid was
obliged to succumb to failure. Before the six months had passed, the
banker's wife "got wise" to his whereabouts and his doings, and he
disappeared from Reno very abruptly. About the same time the beautiful
lady's actor husband learned of the affair, and sued the banker for
fifty thousand dollars "heart balm" .... And so we find a fool face to
face with his folly....

"Altitude," did you say? I don't know .... Funny how a few fleeting
hours can change the face of the world! How the mind when free and
refreshed can see and admit mistakes, and how our fairy castles and
wondrous dreams vanish at the touch of reason and stern reality. It's
wonderful to have known paradise: to have walked in its flower-strewn
paths and to have tasted its delirious delights. But the awakening!
"How could I?"--"How could She?"--"What was the end of it all?" "Who
knows?"

It is not well for man to be alone, nor woman either, otherwise why
was Eve bestowed upon Adam? That is probably what a young man from one
of the first families of Boston thought while exiled to the Reno
Divorce Colony for the purpose of ridding himself of a wife: the
result of one of youth's romantic mistakes. The affair of some years
ago shocked his family and Eastern society generally. Was it a shop
girl from Boston, or a chorus girl from New York? I have forgotten.
Anyway, his companion in Reno was a fascinating little dancer of the
Sagebrush Cafe. So infatuated was the young man with this little
charmer that he spent his entire income entertaining her, and when the
income had vanished he pawned his jewelry, including his watch. But
then, boys will be boys, and after all, what could the poor youth do?
All alone in a strange place! It is so uninteresting to sit and twirl
one's thumbs: "Twiddle-dee Twiddle-dum."....

"That love laughs at locksmiths" and "All is fair in love and war"
seems to be the moral of the following, if moral there be in it:

Mrs. Jones, a very beautiful and statuesque blonde, went out to Reno
for a divorce. On her arrival there she wrote her husband that she had
repented: "I am sorry I ran away from you," she is said to have
written, "and if you will come out here for me we will make up and
live happily ever after." He came out and was arrested and thrown in
jail, charged with extreme cruelty. The lady got her divorce within
three weeks instead of six months, as she was able to serve the
summons upon her husband in the State of Nevada. After that her
sweetheart came out and they were married. I am told that some three
years later the husband brought suit against them for collusion, but I
never heard how it terminated. One of the noted cases of the Reno
Divorce Colony is the divorce of a famous New York beauty and heiress.
While she was riding in Central Park one afternoon her horse bolted
and she was saved by a handsome policeman named Dow. When the young
lady looked into the eyes of her rescuer, it was a case of "love at
first sight." This god of the police force informed his wife of the
affair: she immediately packed her box and started for Reno. A few
days after her arrival, her husband was located in Carson City, by the
merest accident of course, and as it was possible to serve the summons
upon him in the State of Nevada, the case was put through in two
weeks. As soon as it was ended, Mr. Dow presented his ex-wife with
five one thousand dollar bills. When the cashier of the Reno National
Bank handed her the envelope containing the bills, she extracted them
and deposited them in her stocking. She was advised not to go about
with so much money on her, whereupon she replied that the "First
National was good enough for her." That same evening a champagne
banquet was given by the ex-policeman at the Colony Restaurant at
which most of the divorce colony were present, and among them, his ex-
wife. Both of them were extremely demonstrative; in fact the entire
party was decidedly affectionate, and the affair was the talk of the
town for months afterwards. After Mr. Dow married the famous beauty,
he found out it was riot all heaven to be the poor husband of a rich
wife, and so he decided to return to the police force. Of course, that
would never do at all, and therefore the fair lady promised to pay him
ten thousand a year, in quarterly installments of $2,500, if he would
consent to be her idle rich husband. This he did until Mrs. Dow II.
found out that hubby was indulging in clandestine meetings with Mrs.
Dow I., and presto, change! the allowance suddenly ceased. After a few
months of separation from his bank roll, having become accustomed to
an easily earned income, Mr. Dow sued his bank, Mrs. Dow II., for the
blue envelope of two quarters of the allowance, and the New York
newspapers just hummed with a fresh scandal. Finally Mrs. Dow II.
tried to get a divorce on the plea that the Nevada divorce was
illegal. Failing in this, there were ways and means found in the East,
and at last they were divorced. It has been rumored that Mr. Dow
thought the old love best after all, and that Mrs. Dow I. has been re-
installed to the place of honor by his side. "True love never did run
smoothly": not even in the police force....

A rather amusing story is told of Elinor Glyn's visit to Reno, not for
a divorce, dear reader, but apparently for atmosphere, as she spent
several months in the most rugged states in the West. One of the
handsome sons of the sagebrush, known as the Beau Brummel of Reno,
became very attentive to the distinguished lady visitor, and when she
expressed a desire to see a real Western shooting scrap, the gentleman
said: "All right; the lady must have anything her heart desires,
doggonit!" and so he staged a regular shooting scrap. And they do say
out there that it was so realistically done that Elinor fainted and
was unconscious for an hour. The "fight" occurred on the train from
Tonopah to Mina. Mr. Beau Brummel had been showing the lady Nevada's
great mining camps: a couple of seats in front of Elinor Glyn and her
escort two men began to quarrel, presumably over a game of cards. The
fight grew until each pulled a six-shooter. There was a shot and a
flash, and one man fell: dead, apparently, while the other stood over
him, wild eyed, his smoking gun in his hand.

I can truly believe this story as I saw the dead gentleman auction off
four times the same basket of roses at a Red Cross benefit, and each
time he got a hundred dollars for the basket... However dead he may
have been, he certainly was not dead on the vine!

Speaking of Beau Brummels, I never found out the name of the gentleman
who came back from Lawton's one evening--or was it morning?--minus his
silk shirt. A lady of the party had taken a fancy to it and suggested
that they auction it off for the benefit of the Red Cross: at that
time America had just declared war on Germany, and the interest in the
Red Cross was at its height. The lady's suggestion was carried out
with enthusiasm. The lucky lady was Mrs. Hall, called "the forty
million dollar divorcee"; she bid seventy-five dollars for the shirt
and wore it to a golf tournament the next day. Let us hope that the
gentleman's linen was as attractive as his shirt, for the shirt was
removed then and there and bestowed upon the fair purchaser.

I met a very charming young couple in Reno whose story rather
interested me. I was not shocked at this case, as I had been in Reno
some time before I was introduced to them, and had heard about it.
When I first met Mr. Lake he was with a very beautiful young lady to
whom he seemed very attentive, and I thought surely they were
sweethearts. We all went out motoring with Mr. Lake's lawyer, and in
the course of conversation the lawyer informed me that Mr. Lake had
received his decree about two weeks before, and as he had obtained a
splendid position in Reno he had decided to remain there. His fiancee
was expected next week from Alabama, and they were to be married at
once upon her arrival. The lady with Mr. Lake at the time, the lawyer
went on to say, was just eighteen years of age, and had received her
decree about a week before. She had a fine little boy about two years
old with her.

One day the young lady called, and informed me that she had just been
up to the future home of Mr. and Mrs. Lake unpacking his fiancee's
trousseau which had been sent on ahead, with the request that it be
unpacked and hung up in order that the wrinkles all be out by the time
the bride arrived.

"Look," continued the girl from South Carolina, and she held out her
hand displaying a beautiful Roman gold ring of artistic design. "Isn't
it beautiful?"

Was I mistaken? did her voice choke at the next words? were there
tears in her eyes?

"This is her wedding ring, isn't it beautiful? I am wearing it until
she arrives...."

The naughty fiancee arrived two days before she was expected, and came
near upsetting everything. Hubby-to-be saw her first, dodged, jumped
into his car and raced up to the other girl's home to get the wedding
ring and break the dinner engagement for that evening. Then he rushed
downtown and greeted his bride-to-be in his lawyer's office. They are
living in Reno, happily married. Mr. Lake received a telegram of
congratulation from his first wife. Mrs. Lake II. is a charming woman.
I think she has heard all about the episode, but she is a diplomat and
probably thinks that one way to matrimonial bliss is skilled
ignorance.

Happiness and contentment and.... love.... or what we think it is! And
yet, what would the world be without that inheritance.

The Six Months' Residence Law of Nevada, was not made primarily to
accommodate matrimonial misfits, but to secure settlers by offering
them early citizenship and votes, the State being only sparingly
populated. Prior to Reno, Sioux Falls, Dakota, used to be the haven
for those seeking relief from the "tie that binds." When Dakota placed
the ban on the divorce colony, someone discovered the Nevada divorce
law, and those who found that Cupid was no longer at the helm of their
matrimonial ship, turned Reno-ward. However, be it known that the
citizens of Nevada knew all about this easy relief law from the
undesirable bond way back in 1851, as the following quotation from a
very amusing chapter of Nevada's history will illustrate. The book I
speak of is called "Reminiscences of William M. Stewart" and was
written by a Senator. Of course he was a Senator! Judges and Senators
are as thick in Nevada as Colonels in Kentucky. Most every man worth
while has been, is, or is going to be a Senator or a Judge. However,
that book is a good one and I found the following most interesting and
amusing. Says William M. Stewart:

"If you want to preserve good health, keep your head cool and your
feet warm!"

"While working our claim I awoke one morning and saw a covered wagon
with two oxen which had been unyoked and were grazing on the grass
near a spring in a ravine below me. I soon discovered that a line had
been drawn from the wagon to a clump of rocks, upon which were hung
several articles of feminine apparel to dry. Women were so scarce in
California at that time that this was sufficient to arouse the whole
camp. The "Boys" as we were called, were scattered along the Coyote
digging for a distance of about four miles, and when anything unusual
happened the words, 'Oh, Joe!' would be passed along the whole line.

"When I saw the feminine raiment, I raised the usual alarm, "Oh, Joe!"
and this called the attention of the miners on Buckeye Hill, where I
was, to the clothes-line which had attracted my notice. They gathered
round on the hill, nearly surrounding the covered wagon and its
contents. The rush of the boys in the immediate vicinity to see the
wonderful sight attracted those farther away, and in less than ten
minutes two or three thousand young men were watching the wagon,
clothes-lines, and fascinating lingerie. In alarm the man that
belonged to the woman inside stuck his head out of a small tent beside
the wagon. I assured him that no harm was intended, but that we were
very anxious to see the lady who was the owner of the clothes. This
aroused her curiosity sufficiently to induce her to pull the curtain
of the tent aside so that her face could be discovered but not fully
seen.

"I then proposed that we make a donation to the first lady that had
honored our camp with a visit. I took from my camp a buckskin bag,
used for the purpose of carrying gold, and invited the boys to
contribute. They came forward with great eagerness and poured out of
their sacks gold dust amounting to between two and three thousand
dollars. I then proceeded to appoint a committee to wait on the lady
and present it. The motion was unanimously carried and one of the
gentlemen on the committee suggested myself as chairman. I took the
sack of gold and went within about thirty feet of the tent and made as
good a speech as I could to induce the lady to come out, assuring her
that all the men about her were gentlemen, that they had seen no
ladies for so many months and that the presence of one reminded them
of their mothers and sweethearts at home. I told her that the bag of
gold was hers on the condition that she come out to claim it. Her
husband urged her to be brave, but when she finally ventured about
half way the cheers were so vociferous that she got frightened and ran
back. She repeated this performance several times and I kept moving
slowly back far enough to get her away from the little tent so the
boys could get a good view of her. I suppose half an hour was occupied
with her running back and forth while the boys looked in admiration.
When I finally gave her the bag with all the good wishes of the camp,
she grabbed it and ran into the tent like a rabbit.

"The next morning the wagon and the owner of the inspiring apparel
were gone and we never heard of them in after life. It was no doubt
well that they hastened their departure, for in those days it was a
very usual occurrence for the young wife coming to that country to be
persuaded to forsake her husband on their arrival in the new camp. The
immigrants of 1850 included thousands of newly married young people
whose wedding journey included all the hardships and privations of
crossing the plains. Those hardships made the men look rather rough
and scrubby, and they were all miserably poor. The women were young,
and after they had an opportunity to wash their faces, looked more
attractive: particularly to the miners who had been deprived of female
society for several months and had accumulated some money and good
will. The miner would propose marriage, and if a divorce could be
obtained extreme cruelty was usually given as the reason for the
divorce. The intended bridegroom was always a ready witness to swear
to a case of extreme cruelty.

"In the fall of 1851 I went to Nevada City to bring supplies for the
men engaged in construction of the Grizzly Ditch. I bought several
mule-loads and was having them packed very early one morning, but
before I could get away I was summoned as a juror in Judge Barber's
court. This was before I made myself exempt from jury duty by becoming
a member of the bar. I saw the judge and tried very hard to beg off;
but he told me there were ten divorce cases on hand and he wanted to
dispose of them that day.

(I think 1917 had nothing on 1851 when it comes to divorces in Nevada.
Author.)

"The judge continued: 'I cannot excuse you but I think you can get
away in time to return to your camp tonight.' So I had to submit
though I did not like it. I then prepared the jury room for use by
conveying to it a demijohn of whiskey, a bucket of water and twelve
tin dippers. As foreman of the jury I wrote the verdict as follows:
'We, the jury, find the defendant guilty of extreme cruelty.' We
returned the verdict to the court, heard the next case, and continued
until we had disposed of the ten cases. There were ten weddings that
afternoon and evening.

"I then thought and still think that we did the best thing that could
have been done. These women had separated from their husbands, and if
they had not been allowed to marry the men who had parted them, they
perhaps would have done worse. Some of them made good citizens and
raised families, and when they grew rich became very aristocratic."

So much for the pioneer days, and they are really not so far away.

Don't take an umbrella with you, you won't need it; it never rains;
but I wish someone would write a poem to take the place of "Mispah." I
received that poem from four different people on my departure from
Reno, and I feel that it is overworked, though it is beautiful indeed,
and I have quoted two verses of it below:

MISPAH

 "Go thou thy way and I go mine
   Apart, yet not afar.
 Only a thin veil hangs between
   The pathways where we are;
 And God keep watch 'tween thee and me
   This is my prayer.
 He looketh thy way, he looketh mine,
   And keeps us near.
 I sigh ofttimes to see thy face,
   But since this may not be,
 I'll leave thee to the care of Him
   Who cares for thee and me."




PART 5

RENO AND ITS PEOPLE


Reno is named after General Reno, who died in the battle of South
Mountain. It is about two thousand nine hundred miles from New York
City; it takes nearly four days to reach it by train. From Reno to San
Francisco is only about two hundred miles. The altitude is about 4,419
feet: the population twelve thousand. This "big little city" in the
West is modern in every respect: it is the county seat of Washoe
County and the largest city in the State of Nevada.

Reno is located in the greenest of valleys and surrounded by the
Sierra Nevadas, the most majestic mountain range in the United States.
These mountains cover a length of six hundred miles from Mount Jacinto
to Mount Shasta, and a breadth of from seventy-five to one hundred
miles, with long and gradual slopes on the west, cut by deep canons.
The climate of the Sierras is beyond an adequate description: the
beautiful summer days are mild and rainless. The main peaks of the
western range are: Mount King, Mount Gardner and Mount Brewer; those
of the eastern range: Mount Kearsage, Mount Tyndall, Mount Williamson
and Mount Whitney. Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the United
States outside of Alaska, rising 14,898 feet above sea level. The
other main peaks of the Sierra Nevadas exceed 13,000 feet in altitude.
The peaks nearest Reno are: Mount Rose and Peavin Mountain, both of
which can be seen from any part of the City of Reno.

In this setting nestles our much-talked-of "Gem City of Nevada"--the
city of heart-throbs and dreams! Its chief industries, I would say,
are gold and love.... One less poetic might call these mining and
divorce.

Next to its dreamy, romantic side, Reno has a very practical side: its
position as a business center. The railroads radiating north, east,
south and west, give it an enormous tributary territory. There are
modern business blocks, department stores, excellent hotels. The best
hotels are: The Hotel Golden, the Riverside and the Overland.

[Illustration: Lobby of the Golden Hotel]

Reno is a city of beautiful residences, trees and shrubbery; asphalt
and macadam streets. There are fine public buildings, libraries and
theatres of the first magnitude.

One of the most noteworthy features of Reno is its beautiful schools.
There are six besides the High School and the University; Orvis Ring
School, McKinley Park School, Southside School, Mt. Rose School, Mary
S. Doten School and the Babcock Memorial Kindergarten. The
architecture is the "old mission," and it is difficult to decide which
one really excels in beauty. Apart from the beautiful architecture,
these schools are all equipped with every modern device for the
training of the younger generation, both physically and mentally.
Never in any public school have I seen such a splendidly equipped
Domestic Science room as the one in the McKinley Park School. Its
beautiful open, airy Assembly Hall with its hardwood floors and stage
for private theatricals and other social affairs is the acme of modern
refinement. In this hall the "Mothers' Club" holds its meetings, and
the children have their school dances.

The University of Nevada has the best equipped school of Mining
Engineering in the Western States; it also has a summer course on
several interesting subjects, which often is taken advantage of by
many who find time passing slowly, and wish to "brush up a bit."

Among the imposing buildings downtown is the Y. M. C. A., an artistic
and splendidly equipped edifice. It is located on the north bank of
the Truckee, commanding a beautiful view of snow-capped Mount Rose and
Slide Mountain in the distance, above the green of the trees. Part of
this building is devoted to indoor sports and consists of a gymnasium,
conducted by able instructors; a handball court, bowling alleys, pool
and billiard tables and a spacious swimming pool with shower-baths; it
furthermore has a library and a large number of private rooms for out-
of-town guests. At the time of the writing of this book, 1917, the Y.
M. C. A. donated the use of its Assembly Hall to the American Red
Cross for making hospital supplies and for "First Aid" classes. Here,
the residents of Reno work side by side with members of the "Divorce
Colony," women in all walks of life, from all parts of the world;
women famous and beautiful, all working for the great cause of
Humanity without any social prejudices, personal feelings, or
pettiness.... So much for the Y. M. C. A.

[Illustration: Mt. Rose School]

Among the prominent and beautiful buildings are: the Nixon Building
and the Nixon Home on the banks of the Truckee, both of which are
artistic and worthy of mention.

Also the Elks' Home is very beautiful and picturesque: it is set in
spacious grounds and has an imposing entrance crowned with an immense
elk's head. Each of the antlers holds a beautifully colored light; the
lights form the national colors. The home contains every comfort for
the wandering Brother Elk, including a warm welcome. Broad verandas
and balconies overlook the Truckee River, and when there is dancing
its playful waters sing a rustling accompaniment to the music, which,
when mixed with the moonlight on the river and the pretty girl by
one's side, is calculated to make a romantic cocktail, sufficiently
intoxicating to make any poor lonely Elk absolutely helpless.

The social affairs of this organization take a very prominent part in
the life of Reno. One sojourning in this city would be well advised to
have a card to the Elks, should he or she have relatives or friends
who are members. The Elks are a splendid organization: I have found
them always ready with a helping hand extended.

There are no less than ten churches in this charming little Reno town.
The different denominations, their pastors and location are:

1. Baptist Church, Second corner Chestnut; Rev. Brewster Adams.

2. Catholic (St. Thomas), Second corner Chestnut; Rev. T. M. Tubman.

3. Congregational, Virginia corner 5th; Rev. W. D. Trout.

4. Episcopal, Second corner Sierra; Rev. Samuel Unsworth. 5. First
Church of Christ, Scientist, Masonic Temple.

[Illustration: Reno National Bank Building]

6. Lutheran (St. Luke's), Bell corner Second; Rev. F. E. Martens.

7. Methodist Episcopal, Sierra corner 1st; Rev. W. E. Lowther.

8. Presbyterian, Ridge corner Hill; Rev. W. E. Howe.

9. Salvation Army, Sierra Street; Capt. Boyd in charge.

10. Seventh Day Adventist, West 5th; Rev. W. S. Holbrook.

The banks of Reno also do it credit; there are four in number:

1. The Farmers & Merchants Bank, Virginia corner Second Street.

2. The Reno National Bank, Virginia corner Second Street.

3. The Scheeline Banking and Trust Co., N. Virginia Street.

4. The Washoe County Bank, N. Virginia Street corner Second.

In speaking of the banks, I want to comment especially upon the Reno
National Bank. This bank a few years ago moved into its new building,
a most beautiful and artistic structure, which in my opinion would do
credit to Wall Street. Its lobby is artistically and beautifully
equipped, as well as all parts of the bank. It is finished entirely in
white marble, with blue velvet hangings, and no luxury or comfort
known to a modern bank building has been forgotten in its
construction.

This bank was built in 1915 by Mr. George Wingfield at a cost of
approximately $200,000.

"From the North corner comes the light" .... can it be that sometimes
its emerges from the West!

Last but not least is the beautiful Court House. It was rebuilt in
1909 at an approximate cost of $150,000. It is located in a very
prominent part of the city, and faces a beautiful little park; a very
imposing building with its big golden dome, numerous marble pillars
and broad steps. These steps might truly be called the "great divide,"
as many thousands have tripped up united and returned divided; which
incidentally does not mean "united we stand, divided we fall."

Perhaps much more so: "united we fall, divided we stand!"

[Illustration: Interior of Reno National Bank]

As one looks at this palace of Justice one cannot help conjuring up
mental pictures of famous beauties and prominent men, whose stories
have furnished headlines for the leading newspapers of our big cities
in years gone by; they seem to pass in review; a continuous procession
ascending the steps in search of freedom and new happiness....

Through this little city flows the Truckee River, which I think is one
of its chief beauties. This river is one hundred miles long; flowing
out of Lake Tahoe, it empties into Lake Pyramid, a desert lake with no
apparent outlet. The waters of the Truckee are as clear as crystal,
except when they reflect the rose color of the sunset, or the thousand
hues from the mountain peaks when they turn green and gold, rose and
purple: I have seen them look as though covered with heliotrope
velvet, just at the hour between sunset and moonrise.

One can follow the Truckee River from Reno to Lake Tahoe,--a motor run
of about three hours, through scenery of indescribable beauty. The
course of the river, tortuous and quickly changing from side to side,
offers to the enchanted eye a kaleidoscopic review of towering rocks,
foaming waterfalls, pine-clad mountains, snow-capped peaks, emerald
lakes and moss-green valleys.

I shall never forget my first trip from Reno to Lake Tahoe over what
is known as the "Dog Valley Grade." We stopped at the summit, at the
edge of the mountain. Down we peered into the misty shadows of the
deep valleys, six hundred feet below. It was a strange sensation to be
hanging thus between earth and sky: to feel that the only thing
between life and death was about three feet of roadbed, and four "non-
skid" tires. It was wonderful to drink in the beauty of it all. I felt
like a disembodied spirit, traveling back:.... back over centuries
into forgotten ages, trying to realize what this wonderful country
must have been like when it was still hidden by the foaming waters of
a great inland sea.....

And then we reached beautiful Lake Tahoe, set in the midst of the
Sierra Nevadas, surrounded by a dozen snow-capped peaks, the staunch,
unflinching satellites of one of God's wondrous treasures. It reflects
a picture to be surpassed nowhere else in the world. The great depth
of the lake accounts for its glorious color of waters, which,
turquoise blue in one place twenty feet away will change to emerald
green; the colors do not fade into one another: they are distinctly
separated. In some places the depth of the lake is even unknown. Lake
Tahoe is twenty-three miles long: its maximum width thirteen. Its
altitude is six thousand two hundred and twenty-five feet above sea
level: the highest body of water in the United States. On one side its
undulating waves kiss the shores of California: on the other those of
Nevada, so that exiles of the "Divorce Colony" may take advantage of
this delightful summer resort and still remain within the State to
which one day they hope to owe their happiness.....

The midsummer air is cool and invigorating; hunting and fishing
excellent; motor rides perfect; boating and bathing the finest in the
land. Hotel and camping accommodations are splendid; the landscape is
picturesque and a never-ending delight to the eye. This is one of the
great many splendid advantages of the beautiful city tucked away in
the shadow of the Sierras; so cheer-up, you prospective exiles, the
wilds have their untold fascinations.

In writing of Reno one feels a compelling desire to describe the
principal points of interest around and near the city, as in these
days of motor cars and good roads it is a never-ending joy to spend a
day among the famous gold mining districts, visit the Indian homes and
reservations, and other beautiful and interesting places. I will
endeavor to describe these further:

Near Reno, on the Truckee, is the famous Carson Dam: the first
reclamation project undertaken by the government under the National
Reclamation Project Act. I went out to look it over and found it
tremendously interesting. It was built in 1903 at a cost of
$7,000,000. The dam is constructed of earth and concrete, eight
hundred feet long, one hundred ten feet high, four hundred feet wide
at the base and twenty feet wide at the top. The main unit of this
project was completed in 1913. It was the means of reclaiming a total
of 2,000,000 acres of what was once known as the "Forty Mile Desert."
The dam produces many thousand hydroelectric horse-power, and it is
wonderful to see this stretch of desert waste turned like magic into
rich productive agricultural soil. Perhaps some day the entire desert
will flourish likewise.... Who knows?

Carson City, the capital of Nevada, is situated in the Eagle Valley
and was originally laid out in 1858. The valley was first visited in
1833 by Kit Carson, the famous scout and frontiersman. The south end
of Eagle Valley was settled by Mormons in 1849-1850. Carson City
itself is 33 miles from Reno, 22 miles from Virginia City and 14 miles
from Lake Tahoe.

The principal points of interest in Carson are the Mint, the State
Capitol, the Orphans' Home; the Federal Building and the Post Office;
the Indian School; Shaw's Springs. And many other interesting things
will well repay a visit. The Virginia and Truckee Railroad, over which
the trip to Virginia City is made, is one of the grandest successes of
railroading and engineering. It was constructed between Carson City
and Virginia City in 1869, and from Carson City to Reno in 1872. The
entire cost of the road was $5,200,000, or not less than $100,000 per
mile.

The enormous business transacted by the road may be surmised when it
is stated that for a long time it paid the Central Pacific Railway $
1,000 per day for freight on goods received there from, and collected
for freight at the Virginia City office from $60,000 to $90,000 per
month, and at Gold Hill but little less.

East of Carson City on the road to Virginia City we pass the State
Prison, known for its historic relics. Some years ago, during
quarrying in the prison yard, immense footprints of pre-historic
animals and birds were discovered at a depth of twenty feet below the
surface of the ground. They cover an area of two acres, and were made
by mastodons: they are over four inches deep. Many man-like tracks
were found, 18 to 20 inches long and 8 inches wide, with a stride of
30 inches and a distance between right and left tracks of 19 inches.

[Illustration: Elk's Home]

A few miles east of Carson is the town of Empire, once an important
trading post and distributing point for lumber, cordwood, etc.

After leaving Empire the road enters the canons of the Carson River,
passing in rapid succession the sites of numerous mills which were
erected to. crush the rich ore of the world-famous Comstock Lode.
Principal among these were the Morgan, Brunswick and Santiago mills
which turned out hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of bullion.
The grade of the road rises rapidly, the track leaves the canon and
soon reaches the Mound House, the junction point with the Southern
Pacific. Railroad trains leave Mound House for Dayton, Fort Churchill,
Tonopah, Goldfield and all points south.

Leaving Mound House the road soon traverses the famous mineral belt of
the Comstock Lode. This belt is 7,000 feet wide and 6 miles long, and
produced nearly a billion dollars. The first mine to be seen is the
Haywood, lying to the west side of the road. This mine produced over
$1,000,000 and is still active.

To the east can be seen Silver City. The mines in this vicinity
produced over $12,000,000. None of them has attained any great depth.

The road next enters the Gold Hill district. The country in this
vicinity is gashed and scarred by hundreds of cuts, shafts and tunnels
dug by the early prospectors in their search for wealth. Every one of
these marks represents a hope, and in many cases the hope was
realized; the same spirit animates their successors and the search
still goes on.

The principal mines in Gold Hill are the Ophir, Caledonia, Overman,
Seg, Belcher, Yellow Jacket, Kentuck, Crown Point, Imperial and
Bullion. The Yellow Jacket was the first mine located, taking its name
from the fact that its locators were warmly opposed by a swarm of
yellow jackets. This was in 1859. The yield of the Gold Hill mines and
the dividends paid were enormous.

The Ophir Mining Co. in 1859 sent 45 tons of their croppings to San
Francisco for reduction, the cost for transportation being 25 cents
per pound, or $500 per ton. They paid $450 per ton for smelting, a
total cost of $42,750, yet they made a profit of $128,250 on the
transaction, the rock giving over $3,800 per ton.

High above the town of Gold Hill and clinging to the side of the
mountain can be seen the flumes of the Virginia & Gold Hill Water Co.,
which supplies the camps of Virginia City, Gold Hill and Silver with
the finest water in the world. The water is conducted 3 I miles
through pipes and flumes from springs and snow-fed streams in the
Sierras 1,500 feet above the city. The capacity of the flumes is
10,800,000 gallons per day. From Gold Hill the road runs through
tunnels, twists and turns along the side of Mt. Davidson until it
reaches Virginia City, the end of the line.

Virginia City was first settled in 1859. It obtained its name from an
old prospector, James Finney, nicknamed "Old Virginny." Its elevation
is 6,205 feet above sea level.

In 1861 the population of Virginia City was 3,284, of Gold Hill 1,294
and of Silver City 1,022; in 1878 it was 40,000.

The first international hotel was built in 1860. It was a single story
building. The first day's receipts were $700. The present structure
was built in 1877; it cost $210,000.

The honor of discovering the "Comstock Lode" belongs to the two
brothers, Allen and Hosea Grosch. The majority of the miners on the
Comstock in the first days of its activity lived in tents and dug-outs
called "holes in the wall."

I never realized the vastness of our country, nor the wonderful
opportunities which the West affords those in search of wealth, until
I lived there six months. There are untold undeveloped resources, the
like of which does not exist in the over-crowded East. May this little
book, in a way, serve to introduce the West to the East.

Reno and her people cannot be spoken of as typical of other Western
towns and people, as the residents of this much-talked-of "big little
city" are subject to conditions which do not exist in any other town
in the country. They are democratic and whole-hearted Westerners, but
find themselves confronted with social conditions which change their
attitude toward things. However, I was very much impressed at the
comparatively few divorces one finds among the older, permanent
residents. I think this proves that it is the "unattainable that is
most desired."

[Illustration: Y.M.C.A.]

The women of Nevada have enjoyed equal suffrage for some time; they
are wide awake and interested in all public affairs. Besides being
domesticated, they are intellectual and energetic. There are very few
"prudes" among them, and a great many diplomats. Nowhere more than in
Reno is developed among men and women a sense of being individual. I
attended many of the Women's Clubs, and was always agreeably surprised
to find them up-to-date in every respect: a company of women banded
together to study and plan for the betterment of humanity, and social
conditions in general. The Mothers' Club and the Century Club are
doing splendid work in aiding the development of "Home Economics,"
"Better Babies," helping with all kinds of charities, civic
improvements and much other commendable work.

It was at these clubs that I met the real wife and mother, with real
sweetness of soul: the woman who even under difficulties knew how to
live a simple, pure and gentle life. Never have I come in contact with
so much human feeling--even the ministers and their families are
human, and full of understanding! The officials and people of
prominence are all natural and unassuming.

I attended a "Ladies' Aid" meeting at which there were about forty
ladies present, and among other good traits of these fine, earnest
women I noticed particularly the absence of gossip and prudishness.

However, there is a spirit of contradiction prevailing in Reno which
is very difficult to understand. All traces of the "wild and woolly"
Western town have disappeared. The people of Reno are very docile
indeed .... there are no cowboy yells nor Indian whoops, which some of
our Eastern and Southern friends imagine still to exist. And the click
of the roulette-wheel has passed with the years that have departed.
Reno has developed into a cosmopolitan city with a cosmopolitan
population. The cafes have cabarets with excellent talent, and there
is dancing every evening in several of the hotels, where amid the
bright lights, gay music, beautifully gowned women and well groomed
men, one might easily imagine oneself in one of the swell cafes on
Broadway: until one catches a glimpse of the moonlight on the Truckee,
through an open window.... Here the people of Reno rub shoulders with
those who constitute the "Divorce Colony," and to a new-comer, it is
difficult to distinguish the one from the other.

The people of Reno keep their city clean, and maintain a very high
standard of law and order. A lady may walk out unescorted at any hour
of the day or night, and will never be molested or insulted in any
way. The absence of public drunkenness and profanity is very
noticeable, and I was not surprised to read the following note clipped
from one of the local newspapers on Sunday morning:

"DEAD CALM IN POLICE COURTS ON SATURDAY"

"Police court was absolutely deserted yesterday morning, not a single
case appearing on the docket to mar the serenity of the day. Reno's
night police found the citizens unusually well behaved all night long
and were not required to make even one arrest during the twelve hours
they were on duty."

The fact that the people do not show much hospitality to undesirables,
not even the hospitality of their jails, may explain why the little
city is so calm and peaceful, and its police not overworked. The
following clipping will indicate what happened to undesirables:

"THREE MEN ARE TOLD TO GET OUT OF CITY"

"Population of Reno Dwindles, Following Session of Judge Bryson's
Court"

"Charles C. Stewart, James Joyce and John Burke were picked up by the
police on Commercial Row Wednesday for disorderly conduct. Judge
Bryson's police court was still in session and the men were arraigned
immediately. All three pleaded guilty to the charge and for the best
interests of the community were given until 10 o'clock Thursday
morning to get out of town."

[Illustration: View of Nevada University Campus]

I had the pleasure of being a guest at the "Military Ball" in the
University of Nevada, at which the Governor, his staff and many state
officials were present, and was very much impressed by the fact that
Nevada's statesmen, like the State, are comparatively young. The
Governor did not look a day over thirty. They were a fine looking lot
of earnest, unassuming, democratic Westerners. I do not know when I
have seen a prettier picture than the one I saw when I looked down
from the balcony upon that splendid assembly of glittering uniforms,
beautifully gowned women, and handsome young students, amid fluttering
flags and gay music. As I looked on, I could not help thinking of the
pioneer ancestors of some of these illustrious sons and daughters of
Nevada, who had crossed the plains in the early days, and I wondered
what they would have to say of this brilliant array, and of the magic,
modern little city of Reno and its people, if they could peep from
behind the curtains of yesterday! I am sure they would be more than
proud of both!

I fully expected to find living in Reno unusually expensive, but was
agreeably surprised to find that one can live there even more
reasonably than in the East. The prices are not extortionate at all,
there being no specially made rates for "visitors," and the people are
neither grasping nor selfish.

I have found the people of Reno charming and interesting and it has
been a pleasure indeed to get a peep behind the scenes of this
romantic little city, and above all, I have found everyone fair and
courteous in every way to those who are to become citizens of their
town.




PART 6

NEVADA DIVORCE LAWS


"The History of Nevada," published in 1913, Sam P. Davis writes as
follows:

"The unenviable reputation, throughout the length and breadth of the
land, in regard to the divorce law, has heaped ignominy on the State
of Nevada. A few unscrupulous members of the legal fraternity, little
better than outcasts at home, have come to Reno and besmirched the
good name of a great State by their activity in converting into
pernicious channels a law originally intended to give relief to
mismated couples who could not travel the matrimonial highway in peace
and harmony.

"The divorce law of Nevada was enacted by the first territorial
legislative assembly in 1861. The law was good enough for Nevada and
gave general satisfaction until its exploitation for purely mercenary
motives began.

"Twenty-two States have practically the same divorce laws in force on
their statute books, with the exception of the provision regarding
residence. Until this year, Nevada required only six months'
residence, but that had to be clearly established before action for
dissolution of marriage could have any standing in the courts of the
state. The residence had to be absolute, without the lapse of a single
day except where good and sufficient reason could be shown, and to the
entire satisfaction of the trial court.

"Six months' residence was also necessary for citizenship in Nevada
and enabled a man to exercise all the rights of a citizen. Therefore,
it naturally follows, that he could prosecute a divorce, or any other
kind of a suit, in the State of which he was a citizen.

"In order that the reader may reach an intelligent understanding of
this much mooted question, the statute on divorce is quoted in full:

"Divorce from the bonds of matrimony may be obtained * * * for the
following causes:

"First--Impotency at the time of marriage, continuing to the time of
divorce.

"Second--Adultery, since marriage, remaining unforgiven.

"Third--Wilful desertion at any time; of either party by the other,
for a period of one year.

"Fourth--Conviction of a felony or infamous crime.

"Fifth--Habitual gross drunkenness since marriage, of either party,
which shall incapacitate him from contributing his or her share to the
support of the family.

"Sixth--Extreme cruelty in either of the parties.

"Seventh--Neglect of the husband for the period of one year, to
provide the common necessaries of life, when such neglect is not the
result of poverty on the part of the husband, which he could have
avoided in ordinary industry."

"As the law governing the term of residence, to acquire citizenship,
which obtained in Nevada for half a century without causing even
passing comment, has been taken advantage of for mere mercenary
motives, the unanimous verdict of a righteously indignant people went
forth that the law should be amended, in some way, to correct the
evil. Thus at the last session of the Legislature the time required to
obtain a residence before obtaining a divorce was changed from six
months to one year.

"If some sister States are stricken with remorse or find themselves in
a sudden paroxysm of virtuous indignation, let them pass a law and
enforce it, correcting the evils complained of at home, which will
keep their divorces from coming to Reno-Nevada does not want them. If
they persist in coming, let their home State enact a law which will
make a divorce decree obtained in Nevada, void and of no effect
whenever and wherever said divorcee sets foot within the borders of
the home State. When other States enact and rigidly enforce some such
drastic measure, the West will begin to have some regard for their
particular brand of virtue. Until then, the West may be pardoned for
believing that cant and hypocrisy often join hands with the lawless
element and make a grandstand play for political effect.

"Economic conditions in the West are vastly different from those in
the East. Nevada is a sparsely populated country, and it is not
considered to the interest of the State to hedge about too closely the
road which leads to citizenship. Anything which may have a tendency to
obstruct immigration or turn it in another direction, is conceded, in
this neck of the woods, to be unwise statesmanship. The State has a
vital interest in securing and holding as large a population as is
consistent with her rapidly increasing resources; always keeping
steadily in view the fact that none but desirable citizens are wanted.
If, however, the other kind come, as they sometime do, Nevada is ready
to cope with the situation, as many of that class can testify from
personal experience.

"Nevada is a veteran of the Civil War, having been organized as a
territory in 1861, and admitted as a State of this glorious Union in
1864. No soldier on the field of battle ever made a more gallant
defense of his country than did this "Battle Born" State during the
trying times of the war. What she lacked in men was made up in money.
Nevada was baptised in the blood of the nation and paid for her
baptismal rite in a flood of gold and silver. With this flood of gold
and silver, she saved the commercial honor of the country. This gold
and silver paid the armies of the Civil War, averted national
bankruptcy, and enabled the Government to resume specie payment in
1873.

"Those were dark days in the financial and political history of the
United States, and Nevada, maligned and despised as she is today in
some quarters, was the savior of her country in that most critical
period of her history. The State that furnished the sinews of war
should have some standing in the hearts and minds of the American
people, even if Republics are ungrateful.

"From the best information at hand, it would appear that the mines of
Nevada have yielded the enormous sum of two billion dollars during the
past fifty years. Of this amount it is conceded that the Comstock
alone produced fully one-half. The figures are given in round numbers,
but are considered by mining men who are posted in such matters to be
conservative. Thousands of discoveries, many of them marvelously rich,
are still being made all over the state, in hitherto unknown and
undeveloped territory. Besides gold, silver and copper, immense
deposits of salt, borax, lime, platinum, sulphur, soda, potash-salts,
cinnabar, arsenical ores, zinc, coal, antimony, cobalt, nickel, nitre,
isinglass, manganese, alum, kaolin, iron, gypsum, mica and graphite
exist in large quantities.

"Proudly conscious of her strength and probity of character, great
big-hearted Nevada looks down from her lofty pedestal and freely
pardons all who may have misjudged her. This is Nevada's record. Match
it, if you can.

"The impulse which inspires a desire for a dissolution of an
intolerable matrimonial alliance, is as fundamental to human nature as
the one which inspires a desire for marriage, and is oft times far
more moral. Therefore, to require the commission of immoral and
degrading acts on the part of one of the parties to a marriage before
a divorce can be granted, regardless of why it is desired, places an
unwarranted premium upon immorality, and degrades society equally as
much as it does the one committing the offense.

Not only does this policy of the law foster immorality, but immorality
increases in proportion as the law becomes more drastic. Surely, the
Nevada law is more moral than that of New York, which permits divorce
for adultery only. New York has the most drastic law of any of the
States; as a consequence it has in proportion to the population, about
seven times as many proven cases of adultery as any other State. There
are nearly four times as many such cases there, as in the neighboring
State of Pennsylvania. This is not because the good people of New York
are so much worse than their neighbors, but because the law requires
that residents of the former State, who desire divorce, commit
adultery; unless they have the time, money and inclination to go to
Reno.

The effort to compel men and women to live together against their own
free will, which is the purpose of stringent divorce laws, has caused
even more immorality inside of marriage than it has outside. Immoral
conditions are never so dangerous as when they exist in marriage. And
besides, the fundamental policy of our laws which not only permits,
but requires an investigation of divorce causes, is highly productive
of evil. Many of the divorce cases in New York are simply food for a
set of morbidly curious scandal-mongers. Even the Mohammedans consider
our practice in this respect extremely vulgar: there is no more reason
why a court should know why a husband and wife wish to separate than
why they wish to marry.

Nevada most certainly has the most sane and moral divorce laws of any
of the States. More than half a century ago, in 1861, Nevada enacted
its divorce laws in their present form. It then, as now, provided for
only six months residence before filing suit. This was in line with
its other liberal legislation and with legislation in other Western
States. This divorce statute included, and still includes, seven
causes of action: impotency, adultery, desertion for one year,
conviction of a felony, gross drunkenness, cruelty and failure of the
husband for a period of one year to provide the common necessities of
life.

In addition to this there is another splendid feature of the Nevada
divorce law. It is not necessary to have witnesses, except to prove
the fact that one is a resident in Nevada. The plaintiff's testimony
is sufficient, unless the case is contested.

This law eliminates the despicable bribing of witnesses which so often
happens in other states. It also eliminates the obscene, immoral and
vulgar courtroom discussions which are often the result of calling
witnesses in divorce cases.

The wisdom of this early legislation in Nevada is shown by the fact
that more than fifty years afterwards the United States Commission of
Uniform Legislation, in preparing a law on divorce to be offered for
adoption by all states, has recommended Nevada's statute almost word
for word. It should be remembered that this Commission is made up of
the greatest thinkers of modern times: lawyers, jurists, professors,
moralists and statesmen.

No one criticises Nevada's causes for action. It is admitted that
divorce, when it results from any one of these causes, is the only
remedy for unfortunate relations, which, without such remedy, would
injure society. A great majority of the leading thinkers and writers
in our churches today admit that these causes of action are not too
broad.

I believe that Maryland has one of the most lenient divorce laws of
any of the Southern States. A divorce is granted to residents after
three years' separation. The decree is granted to the one deserted.

Some of the Eastern and Southern States, in this respect, are still in
the throes of the dark ages.

The Western States, practically all of them west of the Mississippi
River, have seen the perfidy and injustice resulting from such narrow
exactions. These modern, progressive ideas have crystallized into the
form of wise legislation, the statutes of many of the States being
almost identical with that of the State of Nevada.

In South Carolina no divorce is permitted on any ground. New York is
but little better since the only cause recognized is adultery.

New York's rigidity in this respect has annually led thousands of
people to resort to revolting and immoral acts and join in collusion,
in order to obtain relief from wretched and unbearable marriage bonds.
Such laws are unjust. Such laws wreck valuable lives. With strong
characters they lead only to unhappiness; with the weak, they result
in immoral living.

The question then: "Is divorce ever right?" must be answered in the
affirmative.

Why should two persons, who find after reasonable trial that they have
made a mistake, and that they are wholly unsuited for each other,
physically, morally and intellectually, be compelled to live together?
What is at first mutual indifference, ripens gradually into loathing
and hatred. Such conditions bring into the world innocent children,
begotten not of love, as marriage presupposes, but of disgust, hatred,
lust and incompatibility. Is it not a fact, established by the most
reliable medical authorities and celebrated criminologists, that crime
is fostered in the minds of children begotten of inharmonious
relationship?

We can never fathom the depth of untold sorrow brought about by
unfortunate marriages, where there is no way to annul them. This
burden upon mankind has resulted in countless desertions, felonies,
drunkenness, murders and suicides.

 "In the daytime when she moved about me,
   In the night, when she was sleeping at my side,--
 I was wearied, I was wearied of her presence.
   Day by day and night by night I grew to hate her--
 Would God that she or I had died!"
                             --Kipling.

There is no stronger plea for divorce than hatred; all things
mentally, morally and physically bad originate from hatred.

I clipped the following from the Pall Mall Gazette of London, England,
of May 2oth, 1920:

EASY DIVORCE

Opinions of the Typical Englishman To the Editor of the Pall Mall
Gazette,

"Sir:-If it is not too late to answer some of the arguments brought to
bear on 'Easy Divorce,' as Lady Beecham calls it, or, as I prefer to
call it, the proposed equalisation of the Divorce Laws on which she
wrote recently, I would like to know how far the sentiments of the
'Typical Englishman' mentioned in the article are known to Lady
Beecham.

"Among many great men she mentions Gladstone. Now, his opinion on the
subject is surely well known, as in 1857 he supported an amendment
moved by Mr. H. Drummond that infidelity alone on the part of a
husband should entitle the wife to the dissolution of the marriage.
Gladstone's speech was, I believe, an earnest attack upon the
injustice of the Divorce Bill to women.

"An able advocate, Sir Charles Russell, once described the action of a
man whose wife was seeking a divorce from him in the following strong
terms: 'This was not a case of mere vulgar acts of infidelity, but it
was that of a man whose continued course of conduct, consistent only
in its profligacy and heartlessness, had brought the wife into a
condition by which the marriage tie had become a galling chain.'

"If the conduct of the respondent did not amount to legal cruelty, the
law was in an anomalous state, and did emphasize in a marked manner
the inequality which existed in the laws relating to these matters
between men and women.

"George Eliot once wrote: 'These things are often unknown to the
world; for there is much pain that is quite noiseless, and vibrations
that make human agonies are often a mere whisper in the roar of
hurrying existence."

"Thackeray in 'The Newcomes' speaks of 'matrimonial crimes where the
woman is not felled by the actual fist, though she staggers and sinks
under the blows quite as cruel and effectual, where with old wounds
still unhealed, she strives to hide under a smiling face to the
world.'

"How anyone can find it in their heart to state that incurable
insanity should not be ground for divorce is inexplicable to me; but
as it is well known that partial insanity even is not, and I know of
an instance of a man who went twice into an asylum and came back twice
to his wife, the poor woman bearing him on each occasion another
child. Even this is not a ground for divorce. The Cruelty in refusing
the injured person her freedom seems almost incredible."

The first wrong step between young people is impossible to avoid,
since during courtship both wear masks, each trying to impress the
other that he or she is a paragon of all virtues. The net result is,
that the truth often becomes a horrible revelation immediately after
the wedding ceremony. Unhappy and mismated marriages, without means of
rectification, are the curse of civilization, the living, gnawing
cancer of society.

In 1913, Nevada, under the lash of exaggerated newspaper notoriety,
enacted a law changing the period of residence for the plaintiff in
divorce actions from six months to one year. From Nevada's territorial
existence down to that time it had been six months.

It is a matter of history that Nevada extended to the world
inducements to go to her sparsely settled lands, in the way of liberal
legislation and short periods of residence to acquire rights of full
citizenship-franchise included. A man becomes, under Nevada laws, a
full fledged citizen and voter at the end of six months. To him is
extended every privilege of government and from him is exacted every
obligation of government, and the fact that at the end of six months
he can bring an action for divorce is a consequence of these laws, and
not--as is often thought--their purpose.

Consequently, changing the law on the point of one of its principles
instead of equally on all was irrational and illogical. Small wonder,
therefore, that in 1915 the people, acting through their legislators
and Governor, restored the period of residence in action for divorce
to six months. It is now in strict conformity with their other laws,
and with the same rights prescribed by them. Nevada's inhabitants have
rescinded their act of 1914, by which they allowed immigrants and
citizens to be robbed of a valuable right. The overwhelming vote of
the legislature and approval of the bill by the Governor clearly shows
the public opinion upon the subject. If it be right to commence action
for divorce in one year, then it is right in six months. Length of
period of residence is not a moral question. In this act the people of
Nevada believe that they are morally and legally right, and that they
are materially helping the progress of humanity.

It is often supposed that one can secure a divorce in Reno without
having to present grounds or causes for it. Let me hasten to
disillusion such "idealists." As mentioned above, there are seven
causes for divorce in this State, any one of which in the eyes of the
liberal Nevada law, is sufficient justification for a dissolution of
marriage.

A fact which perhaps is not generally known is that one may leave the
state temporarily any time after establishing a residence, provided,
however, that the time during which one has been absent, is eventually
"made up," that is; the actual presence in the state and county must
amount to six months.

In one divorce case at which I was present,--Mrs. Jones versus Mr.
Jones--, the questions to a six months' resident were as follows:

Q. Are you the plaintiff in this action?

Q. What relation does Mr. Jones bear to you?

Q. When were you married?

Q. Where were you married? Q. Are there any children of this marriage?

Q. It is stated in the complaint that since your marriage to Mr. Jones
he has been guilty of habitual gross drunkenness, which he has
contracted since the marriage. Will you please state to the court the
circumstances in regard to his acts of habitual drunkenness?

Q. Have his acts of habitual gross drunkenness incapacitated him from
contributing his support to the family?

Q. What effect have his habits of gross habitual drunkenness had upon
his performing his part of the marital relations?

Q. Please refer to page 5 paragraph--of your complaint and read it as
to your reasons for coming to Reno, Nevada.

Q. When did you come to the Count; of Washoe, State of Nevada?

Q. Where have you been residing since you came to Reno, Nevada?

Q. Have you been engaged in any occupation or profession during your
residence in Reno, Nevada?

Q. What is your intention in regard to your continuing your residence
in the State of Nevada?

Q. What was your former name?

Q. Do you desire to be restored to your former name for business and
property reasons?

Q. It is stated in the complaint as a second cause of action that Mr.
Jones for more than one year last past has failed, neglected and
refused to provide you with the common necessities of life. Please
state, if any, what provisions he has made for your support and how he
has supported you, if at all. Q. It is stated in the complaint that he
has been during all the said time and is now an able-bodied, talented
man, and has been and is now in receipt of liberal salaries for his
services. Please state to the court what the facts are in regard to
this.

Q. Has his failure to provide you with the common necessities of life
been the result of poverty or sickness and could he have avoided such
failure by ordinary industry?

Q. Please state how you have supported yourself.

Q. It is stated in the complaint as a third cause of action that Mr.
Jones has been guilty of extreme cruelty to you in the State of Texas
and in the State of New York. Please state to the court what his
treatment has been to you in the way of using vulgar language to you
and calling you vile names.

Q. What occurred at New York City on or about May, 1919, in regard to
the conduct of the defendant, in regard to his father and his coming
to the hotel in a condition of intoxication.

Q. It is stated that at Waco, Texas, the defendant would drink and
keep you awake until a late hour in the morning. Please state to the
court the circumstances of his conduct.

Q. What occurred during the winter of 1919 at New York City in regard
to Mr. Jones flourishing a loaded revolver and threatening to kill
you?

Q. What effect did his treatment of you have upon your being compelled
to leave him?

Q. What have you done in regard to endeavoring to persuade Mr. Jones
to cease his excessive use of intoxicating liquors, his exhibition of
ugly conduct, his vile language, to induce him to resume a normal
condition of conduct and treat you with kindness?

Q. What effect, if any, has his habitual gross drunkenness and extreme
cruelty--to you had upon your happiness and health, and how has it
affected you mentally and physically?

Q. What effect has it had upon the intent and purposes of
intermarriage and rendering your life with your husband unendurable,
miserable and unbearable?

In this case the charges were non-support and drunkenness and extreme
cruelty.

The plaintiff in a divorce case need not become seriously concerned
because a defendant has refused to sign papers at the time he or she
has been served. Personal service upon the defendant--the mere fact
that the papers are handed to the defendant is sufficient, whether he has
accepted them or not--or service by publication and mailing in Nevada will
accomplish the same purpose; except that there will be a delay of forty days
in the first case and eighty-two in the latter; however, if the defendant is
not represented, or does not appear, there may arise the question as to
the legality of the divorce in some States, especially in New York State.

It will obviate considerable delay and inconvenience, if the defendant
will sign and file his personal answer, admitting the plaintiff's
allegations of residence, marriage, children, etc., but denying the
cause of action. This answer should also contain an express waiver of
notice of all proceedings. An answer cannot be signed, however, until
the complaint is filed: the complaint cannot be--filed until six
months have elapsed: therefore the divorce is not granted in six
months, as is the impression which so many have, but the suit may be
started at the termination of the six months' period.

An expeditious and simple method of facilitating proceedings is to
have the defendant appoint a lawyer in Nevada, granting him the power
of attorney to accept service of the complaint. Since this can be
provided for in advance the delay after the case has been filed can be
reduced to a minimum.

Below is the form of the Power of Attorney:

"KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS, That I, John Jones, of the Town of
Waco, County of....... State of Texas, hereby constitute and
appoint........ of the city of Reno, County of Washoe, State of
Nevada, as my true and lawful attorney, in fact and at law for me and
in my name to act for me and appear for me as my attorney in any
action that may or shall be instituted by Mary Jones, my wife, against
me for the dissolution of the bonds of matrimony existing between us,
in the second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, in and
for the County of Washoe; and in any such action to accept service of
summons thereon and to plead to or demur to, or to answer any verified
complaint or other pleading that may or shall be filed by said Mary
Jones in any action in said court; and to do and perform any other act
or acts or to take any other proceeding or proceedings he shall deem
proper in said action.

"GIVING AND GRANTING unto my said attorney or his substitute full
power and authority to do and perform all and every act and thing
whatsoever requisite and necessary to be done in and out of said
action, as fully and to all intents and purposes as I might or could
do if personally present with full power of substitution, hereby
ratifying and confirming all that my said attorney or his substitute
may do or shall cause to be done by virtue of these presents.

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and seal this......
day of July A. D., 1917.

"STATE OF TEXAS, COUNTY OF....... ss.:

"On this.... day of July, A. D., 1917, personally appeared before me, a
Notary Public, in and for the County of......... State of Texas, John
Jones, known to me to be the person described in and who executed the
foregoing instrument and who acknowledged to me that he executed the
same freely and voluntarily and for the uses and purposes therein
mentioned.

"IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my
official seal the day and year in this certificate first above
written.

"Notary Public in and for the County of ......... State of Texas.

Many people are under the impression that it is absolutely essential
to engage a lawyer before reaching Reno, or immediately upon arrival.
Both of these conceptions are erroneous. It is considerably wiser to
make one's selection after taking up a residence, when one has had an
opportunity to discuss the matter with the local people who "know the
ropes," and who are thus in a position to advise one right. No legal
action is necessary until some months have elapsed, unless of course
the case be exceptional, as the one below for instance.

The Nevada law provides that a suit for divorce may be immediately
commenced in the county "where the defendant may be found." From this
it will be seen that a plaintiff who has been a resident of Nevada for
ten days or even one day, may sue at once if the defendant can be
found in Nevada for service. That is, no six months period of
residence is necessary at all, if the defendant happens to be there,
or comes there for a reconciliation, to regain custody of children, to
obtain a satisfactory property settlement, or for any other legitimate
purpose, free from collusion.

A celebrated case of this kind was tried at Minden, Nevada, in 1920.
Below is a list of questions asked the plaintiff by the lawyer:

Q. When did you first come here?

A. The 15th day of February.

Q. Have you any other residence?

A. No, sir.

Q. Is it your intention to make Nevada your residence?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Did you by any means know of the coming of your husband into this
state?

A. No, sir.

Q. Did you make any arrangements whereby he was to come into this
state?

A. No, sir.

Q. When did you first learn that he was in this State?

A. A friend told me he was coming to Nevada on business to look for a
coal mine.

Q. Did he mention any place your husband might be going to?

A. Yes, he said something about Gold Hill.

Question by the Judge:
Answer by Plaintiff:

Q. Do you know where there are coal mines in Gold Hills? You mean gold
mines.

A. Yes, gold mines.

Questions by lawyer:
Answers by Plaintiff:

Q. What if anything did you do on hearing that he might come into this
state?

A. Why, I telephoned you and informed you.

Q. Did you see your husband?

A. No, sir.

Questions by Judge:
Answers by Plaintiff:

Q. Did you have anything to do with the appearance of your husband in
this vicinity?

A. No, sir.

Q. I want to have you very clear on this. No arrangements were made
between yourself and your husband whereby he was to come into this
state?

A. No, sir.

Q. When was it that you determined to stay in Nevada?

A. When the doctor told me I needed a change.

Q. And when was that?

A. That was at Christmas, about two weeks after.

Q. Have you ever, directly or indirectly, had any understanding with
your husband that you should come into the State of Nevada and later--
being here--that he should come into this state, that you should
institute divorce proceedings and have him served with papers?

A. No, sir.

Q. Is it your purpose and intention to [remainder of question and
answer missing in original]

Q. Did you have anything to do with the appearance of your husband in
this vicinity?

A. No, sir.

Q. I want to have you very clear on this. No arrangements were made
between yourself and your husband whereby he was to come into this
state?

A. No, sir.

Q. When was it that you determined to stay in Nevada?

A. When the doctor told me I needed a change.

Q. And when was that?

A. That was at Christmas, about two weeks after.

Q. Have you ever, directly or indirectly, had any understanding with
your husband that you should come into the State of Nevada and later--
being here--that he should come into this state, that you should
institute divorce proceedings and have him served with papers?

A. No, sir.

Q. Is it your purpose and intention to remain in the State of Nevada
as a resident and particularly in the County of Douglas?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. Is it your purpose to build here?

A. Well, if I can find a place to suit me I will.

Q. And have you given up Los Angeles as your residence, and your
permanent residence is Genoa, Douglas County, Nevada?

A. Until I regain my health, but this will be my home.

Q. Do I understand that you have come into this state in good faith,
seeking health and nothing else?

A. Yes, sir.

Q. That you have not come into the State of Nevada for the purpose of
instituting divorce proceedings?

A. No, sir.

Q. That is absolutely so?

A. Absolutely.

By the Judge:

"I think I have gone into this question pretty thoroughly. I feel that
I should do so in all these matters in view of the fact that our
statute requires a six months' residence. Therefore we should look
into these matters thoroughly. That is all."

Because of various newspaper items recently published the public has
got the idea that the Reno divorce law has been changed. The following
article, clipped from the Nevada State Journal of February 2nd, 1921,
will explain the change in the laws as amended on that date:

 SCOTT DIVORCE BILL PASSES UNAN-
 IMOUSLY-SENATE BILL PROVIDES
 THAT PARTY MUST HAVE LIVED
 IN STATE SIX MONTHS.

"Carson City, Feb. 1.--The Senate today passed the measure introduced
by Senator Scott to amend the present divorce law. The bill as drawn
re-enacts the law now in force, with the added provision, that at
least one of the parties to an action for divorce must have resided in
the State of Nevada not less than six months prior to commencement of
the suit.

"On recommendation of the judiciary committee, the bill was amended,
to make the beginning of a suit possible in cases where "the cause of
action shall have occurred within the county while plaintiff and
defendant were actually 'domiciled' therein." In a talk urging passage
of the bill as amended, Senator Scott declared that at least 90 per
cent, of the odium attached to Nevada because of its divorce law was
due to the fact that a few unscrupulous persons and attorneys-by means
of collusion-so arrange matters as to take advantage of the "Where the
defendant may be found" clause. He stated that he feared that unless
some change as he proposed was made that people might soon go to that
extreme and demand an enactment of legislation much more severe in its
requirements. He presented the bill, "not as an attorney, but as a
citizen of Nevada to cure what as a citizen he believed to be an
evil." The amendments were adopted, and the bill passed, Senator Ducey
answering "No," on roll call.

"At the afternoon session of the Senate, Senator Ducey rose to ask a
question of privilege, and proceeded to explain his vote by stating
that he had failed to get the gist of the amendment. He thereupon
requested that the Senate grant him the courtesy of a reconsideration
of the vote taken at the morning session. Under the unanimous consent
rule, a motion for reconsideration carried, after which the bill was
passed with sixteen senators voting in its favor."

[Illustration: Picture of Sir H. Walter Huskey] Following is a letter
from H. Walter Huskey, one of Reno's prominent lawyers, in which at my
request he answers some very important questions. Much of the
information I have already given you in the foregoing pages, but I
think it a good idea to give you the questions exactly as answered by
him. This information really consists of most valuable legal advice to
anyone anticipating a visit to Reno.

Twenty-second October,1920.

"Dear Mrs. Stratton:

"I am very happy to have your letter of the 11th instant, and to note
that you are making such splendid progress with your book.

"My time and services are always at your command, even though you have
asked me some questions that are not strictly in the horizon of a
lawyer's work.

"The advantages of Nevada's divorce laws are as follows:

"The residence is only six months, but requires actual presence in the
county where the action is to be filed. We have six causes of action
for the husband, and--by adding neglect of the husband to provide the
plaintiff with the common necessities of life--seven for the wife.

"In most states corroborative evidence is required, that is, testimony
of evidence tending to corroborate the allegation and testimony of the
plaintiff. In Nevada no corroborative evidence is required in the
absence of a contest, that is, testimony of the plaintiff alone in a
non-contested case is sufficient.

"In most or many of the states, the decree of divorce when granted is
not final and absolute, that is, in some states it is interlocutory,
requiring another appearance in court at the end of six months or a
year. In other states, either one or both parties are forbidden the
right to marry for six months or one year or longer, or the defendant
is given six months in which to appeal, or one or both parties are
placed under disabilities preventing immediate marriage. In Nevada the
decree is absolute the moment granted and the minister, if desired,
may be waiting at the court house door to perform the new marriage
ceremony.....

"With these few remarks I shall take up your questions by number:

"1. Where to go upon arrival?

"There are three good hotels in Reno; the Riverside Hotel, Hotel
Golden and the Overland Hotel. Besides the hotels we have two or three
good apartment houses. Many people go directly to the private boarding
houses where room and board can be had at more reasonable figures.

"2. What attitude to take up with the local people: what to do: what
to avoid?

"In the great West strangers are taken to be alright, until they prove
themselves otherwise. It is unlike the East or South, where one must
prove oneself as to character and standing, before one can hope to be
admitted into the better circles of society. Fully ninety per cent, of
the people who come to Nevada to become bona fide residents with the
expectation of taking advantage of Nevada's lenient divorce laws, are
people of high character and standing. It is naturally well to mix
with Reno's people, to keep oneself as straight and restricted as one
would do at home, and to avoid the tendency to throw off all restraint
when one passes west of the Rocky Mountains.

"3. Are there any crook lawyers?

"There are crook lawyers, but not in Reno. There were one or two who
have been indicted and disbarred. Sometimes it is possible-when the
address can be found-to communicate with the defendant spouse and stir
up trouble by offering to defend him or her free of charge, hoping by
such action to be placed in position to squeeze a few hundred dollars
out of the plaintiff. The best way to avoid this is to go to Reno and
look over the field before selecting an attorney.

"4. The possibility of blackmail?

"The only possibility in the nature of blackmail comes from
unprofessional practitioners like those mentioned in the preceding
paragraph, who, in some way having the address of the defendant,
communicate with him or her in the hope of stirring up trouble and
representing the defendant in the contest. When relations are thus
taken up with the proposed defendant, these lawyers usually notify the
plaintiff that if the plaintiff will come to him or to a lawyer of his
selection--someone closely associated with him--the matters can be
adjusted and the divorce granted. The position taken by our County
Clerk, under our law, in refusing absolutely to allow anyone, other
than the parties and attorneys for the parties in a divorce suit, to
have access to the papers greatly reduces the field of this blackmail
and protects many innocent people.

"5. How do you proceed with the case?

"Upon arrival in Reno a new resident ought to find a reputable lawyer,
consult him, retain him by paying him possibly one-third of the fee,
and state to him the entire cause of action. The lawyer will take down
the facts, given a receipt or contract showing the total fee to be
paid; will make a record of the beginning of the residence period and
will talk to the client generally about his or her cause of action,
and the steps necessary to be taken toward establishing a bona fide
residence that will hold water against all attack. Many persons have
failed in contested cases, because of statements they have placed in
letters to friends and relatives. These statements often show that the
plaintiff is only serving time in Nevada, and, if brought to the
attention of the court, will defeat one's allegation of residence upon
which the jurisdiction of the court depends. Without jurisdiction no
divorce can be granted.

"6. What is the first step?

"7. What if you cannot serve?

"After the six months' residence period is completed, the first step
is to prepare, verify and file the complaint. This complaint is a
clear statement of the plaintiff's cause or causes of action. At the
time of filing this complaint the summons is issued and handed to the
attorney for the plaintiff. Where the defendant is not willing to file
an answer or demurrer, and thus submit to the jurisdiction of the
court, an "Affidavit for Publication" is sworn to by the plaintiff,
and an "Order for Publication" is prepared for the signature of the
judge, and being signed by him, is filed with the Clerk of the Court.
After publication is ordered service may be made by publication once a
week for six weeks in a Reno paper and by mailing a copy of the
complaint attached to a copy of the summons to the defendant at his or
her last known residence.

"After publishing for six weeks, it is necessary to wait for a period
of forty days during which time the defendant may answer. Service is
complete only at the end of publication, and a defendant living
outside of Nevada is entitled to the full period of forty days after
service.

"Below is a facsimile of different forms of 'Service by Publication':

SUMMONS

No. 16447  Dept. No. 2.

IN THE SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, IN AND
FOR THE COUNTY OF WASHOE. L.M.M., plaintiff vs. A.M.M., defendant.

The state of Nevada sends greeting to said defendant:

You are hereby summoned to appear within ten days after the service
upon you of this summons if served in said county, or within twenty
days if served out of said county but within said judicial district
and in all other cases within forty days (exclusive of the day of
service), and defend the above-entitled action. This action is brought
to recover a judgment and decree of this court forever severing and
dissolving the bonds of matrimony now and heretofore existing between
the parties hereto upon the grounds of desertion, adultery and extreme
cruelty as described in the complaint.

Dated this 15th day of December, A. D., 1920   E.H.BEEMER,

Clerk of the Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, in
and for the County of Washoe.

By G. R. ELLITHORPE,
Leroy F. Pike, Deputy.
Attorney for Plaintiff.


SUMMONS IN THE SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT OF THE STATE OF NEVADA, IN AND
FOR THE COUNTY OF WASHOE. I.M.G., plaintiff, vs. S.L.G., defendant.

The State of Nevada sends greeting to said defendant:

You are hereby summoned to appear within ten days after the service
upon you of this summons if served in said county, or within twenty
days if served out of said county but within said judicial district
and in all other cases within forty days (exclusive of the day of
service), and defend the above-entitled action. This action is brought
to recover and decree dissolving the bonds of matrimony existing
between you and said plaintiff, upon the ground that you wilfully
failed, neglected and refused to provide for said plaintiff the common
necessaries of life for a period of more than two years next preceding
the commencement of this action, although having the ability so to do;
awarding to said plaintiff the care, custody and control of the two
minor children, the issue of the marriage between you and said
plaintiff, to wit: G.L.G. and R.O.G.; and for general relief, as
alleged and described in the complaint of said plaintiff now on file
in said action in the office of the Clerk of the above named court,
and to which said complaint reference is thereby made and said
complaint made a part hereof.

Dated this 8th day of January, A. D., 1921.

E. H. BEEMER,

Clerk of the Second Judicial District Court of the State of Nevada, in
and for the County of Washoe.

A. A. SMITH, Attorney for Plaintiff,

312 Clay Peters Bldg., Reno, Nevada. Jl5-22-29;F5-l2-l9-2e

"8. What if you can serve?

"Six weeks of time may be saved if the defendant can be served with
complaint and summons. This personal service outside the state of
Nevada is equivalent to completed service by publication, and the
defendant has forty days in which to answer.

"9. What if the defendant does not fight?

"In cases where the defendant is willing that a decree should be
granted, much time and some expense may be saved by defendant signing
and filing a short formal answer, admitting plaintiff's allegations of
residence, marriage, children, etc., but denying the causes of action.
By filing this answer personally, or by retaining a Reno lawyer to
accept services and file it for the defendant, the defendant need not
visit Nevada at all. The case can then be closed up, and the decree
granted within ten days after the expiration of the six months. By the
filing of this short answer the defendant submits to the jurisdiction
of the court, and any decree of divorce granted is valid and effective
for plaintiff and defendant alike beyond any question, the world over.

"10. What if the defendant fights?

"If the defendant fights the case, evidence and testimony must be
introduced and the case tried as other contested causes in other
states. If the defendant be the wife, she can by filing affidavits
showing her position financially compel the plaintiff husband, before
proceeding with his case, to advance such sums of money as may be
necessary to cover costs, attorney's fees, alimony pending the suit
and traveling expenses to and from Reno.

"11. What about the chances for losing?

"In the absence of a contest, if a divorce case in Nevada be prepared
by a lawyer who knows his business, there is no real reason for
losing. If the cause be contested, then it all depends upon the
allegations and proofs of the plaintiff as compared with the
allegations and proofs of the defendant. Probably three cases out of
four (contested cases) are won by the plaintiff.

"12. How is the case called?

"When the case has been filed and the time during which the defendant
is permitted to answer has passed, a default is prepared by the
attorney for the plaintiff, and signed and filed by the county clerk.
In cases where the defendant has appeared personally or by counsel and
an answer has been filed, they are ready for trial. On calendar day,--
which comes each Monday--either the default case or the case in which
an answer has been filed is called to the attention of the court by
the plaintiff's counsel and is set down for trial by the court--
usually some day that week.

"13. Procedure of an actual case? Witnesses: Questions?

"The trial of undefended divorce suits usually takes about fifteen or
twenty minutes. The only witnesses necessary are those to Prove
"residence in Reno" for the period of six months. Room rent receipts
are not sufficient. Usually it is necessary to call the landlady of
the rooming house, or the clerk of the hotel where the plaintiff has
resided to show a continued residence in the County of Washoe. Where
the plaintiff moves about frequently from one rooming house to
another, it is more difficult to prove continuous residence. A
residence in the county is all that is needed and all that has to be
proved, however, and often plaintiffs in the summer time spend a month
or two on that portion of Lake Tahoe which is in Washoe County.

"14. Is this case treated publicly or privately?

"All cases are tried in a court room which is open to the general
public, unless the allegations are of such immorality in the complaint
that the proof should not be heard by the general public. Divorce
cases are so common in Reno, however, that the public rarely attend.

"15 Does the decree allow you to take back your own name?

"If the plaintiff be a woman and if there be no children the issue of
the marriage, she will be allowed, if requested in the complaint, to
take back her maiden name. The decree signed by the court simply
orders that the plaintiff's maiden name be restored to her. If there
be children the issue of the marriage, the maiden name of the mother
will not be restored to her for the reason that it is thought that the
mother should retain the name of her children.

"16. What is the entire cost?

"The entire cost of a non-contested case ranges from $22 to $30. If
the case be contested there is no telling how high the cost may run.
The cost of taking numerous depositions might amount to $50 or $100 or
more. If the question is intended to cover the fees for lawyers'
services, I would say that they run from nothing up to several
thousand dollars. The usual fee for a person of ordinary means is
about $250, which is probably the average fee in such cases in Reno,
but persons of wealth often pay from $1,000 to $5,000.

"17. In what sense are witnesses used, and how do they strengthen the
case; is it the same as in the East?

"In all non-contested cases, either where they go by default or where
the defendant voluntarily files his answer after the residence for six
months is proved, the plaintiff's testimony is sufficient to prove his
or her cause of action, that is, no testimony beyond that of the
plaintiff is needed where the case is not contested. In the event of a
contest, the more witnesses and depositions one can procure the more
likely they are to win.

"18. Can the divorce be obtained at once if the defendant can be
served in the state?

"The statutes of Nevada expressly provide that, if the cause of action
occurred in Nevada, that is, if the last acts of the defendant took
place in Nevada, or if the plaintiff and defendant last cohabited in
Nevada, or if the defendant without collusion can be served with
papers in Nevada, the plaintiff need not reside there six months or
for any other definite period. In line with this express provision of
Nevada's laws, if a plaintiff comes to Nevada to begin a residence,
and if the defendant comes here for any other purpose than to submit
to service of the papers, which would be collusion, but bona-fide to
secure the custody of children, to procure a settlement of property
matters and alimony, to bring about a reconciliation, etc., service of
the summons and complaint may forthwith be made upon him in Reno, and
the case may proceed to trial at the end of ten days without the six
months' residence period by either party.

"19. How is the fee paid, and when?

"As to fees for legal services, some attorneys require the entire fee
in advance; some allow the fee to wait until some adjustment or
settlement is made, or until the case is ready for trial, but the
better method for both client and attorney is for the client to pay
down one-third of the fee as a retainer, one-third at the time of
filing the complaint, and the balance of one-third on the day set for
the final trial of the case.

"20. Please state the effect the Nevada divorce has in different
states. For instance, I know a woman who got her divorce in Nevada and
married again in New York; her first husband sued her for divorce in
New York and accused her of adultery and got a divorce. Please state
if the divorce is absolutely legal when the defendant is not
represented, because I am very anxious that my book shall state only
facts. I don't want to lead anyone astray on that subject. I am quite
sure the divorce is not legal if it is simply obtained by advertising,
as I myself was about to be handed back my divorce papers, and refused
a marriage license in New York, when I explained that my husband had
been personally represented. If that had not been the case I would not
be the happy lady I am today.

"Nevada divorces, exactly like the divorces granted in other states,
are valid as follows: if the defendant be served in Nevada, in the
event he appears in the cause either for contest or voluntarily, for
the purpose of submitting to the jurisdiction of the court, the decree
is absolute and valid the world over, freeing both parties from the
moment it is granted.

"If the defendant be served outside of the state of Nevada, either
personally or by publication and mailing, and should not make an
appearance in the case, the case goes by default and the decree, which
is held valid in most cases as a matter of comity, is seriously
questioned in the states of New York, Massachusetts and Illinois. Its
validity is questioned, however, only in favor of a defendant who is a
resident and citizen of the state where its validity is brought into
court, that is, a resident of Illinois obtaining a divorce in Nevada
by default against a defendant who resides in Illinois, will find that
his decree of divorce is valid beyond a question in New York and
Massachusetts and all other states except Illinois. Likewise, a
resident of New York may depart from his home, take up his abode in
Nevada, obtain a default decree against a spouse domiciled in New York
and may marry again and live in any other state, except in the state
of New York. It might be noted here, however, that many hundreds of
plaintiffs have obtained default decrees under such circumstances and
have married again, returned to New York state and have lived there
without difficulty. Most foreign countries give validity to a Nevada
decree.

"Respectfully submitted,

"H. WALTER HUSKEY."

In considering a divorce in Nevada, the traveling expenses are quite
an item; therefore I have written to the Traffic Department of the
Pennsylvania Railroad System, and in a letter under date of February
6th, 1921, from the Traffic Manager of that company, I am indebted for
the following information:

"Regarding tickets, etc., to Reno, Nevada; round-trip tickets are not
sold to Reno, but it is possible to purchase a round-trip ticket from
New York to San Francisco or Los Angeles, and use it only as far as
Reno. (I found that the greatest advantage of this ticket was that one
could have a peep at San Francisco and Southern California without any
extra cost, as one returns to the East.--Author). This ticket has no
validation feature.

"The round-trip ticket bears a limit of nine months and it costs
$201.06, plus tax of $16.08, to either San Francisco or Los Angeles.
The one-way fare from New York to Reno is $111.63, plus tax of $8.98."

The roads used in the trip are The Pennsylvania Railroad, Chicago and
Northwestern, Union Pacific and Southern Pacific.

Below are suggestions for the best through trains quoted from 1921
time tables:

Daily Service.

Leave New York (Pennsylvania Station)
     6:05 P. M., Saturday

Arrive Chicago
     3:00 P. M., Sunday

Leave Chicago (Union Pacific)
     7:10 P. M. Sunday, Overland Express.

Arrive Omaha
     9:00 A. M. Monday

Arrive Ogden
     1:00 P. M. Tuesday

Leave Ogden (Southern Pacific)
     12:30 P. M., Pacific time, Tuesday.

Arrive Reno
     3:25 A. M. Wednesday

In conclusion I would desire to express the sincerest heart-felt hope
that none of my readers be placed in a position where the only road to
follow is: "the Great Divide." However, when there is no way out, no
means of reconciliation, no tangible reason for submission to penal
servitude for life, the only solution left is to face the truth; to
turn one's back upon the past, and face the future!

We revere our ancestors, but the inheritance handed down to us
dissolves itself into obligations to the present: our principal
obligation to the World today is our duty to the World tomorrow! To
posterity: to those to whom "from failing hands we throw the torch...."

As Virgil said: "Nati natorum et qui nascentur ab illis:" our
children's children and those who will be born from them.

And in assuming our duty to the World tomorrow, we must start by doing
our duty to the World today: ourselves; by righting what is wrong; by
blasting the trail through life's mountainous obstacles; and purifying
the atmosphere around us and leading the World on to the light that
beacons us from beyond.

[Illustration: Renoites as seen by a Reno Cartoonist]
[              Reprint from Reno Freming Gazzette   ]
[              Aug. 7 1917                          ]




PART 7

SONS OF THE SAGEBRUSH


To write of the "Sons of the Sagebrush" does not necessarily mean that
they were born in the Sagebrush, or in the West. I was surprised to
find that about seventy-five per cent, of the prominent citizens of
Nevada had hailed from almost every State in the Union, from Carolina
to California. The Good Book says that the wise men came from the
East. From personal observation I should say that many of them settled
in the West.

I am told that there are numerous cases in which mothers worry for
fear their sons may be led astray by some fascinating "divorcee"; that
he may be caught in her "selfish snare" and left with a smashed heart
and lost youthful ideals, while the fair lady laughs and leaves; but
if you will pardon a bit of slang, I should say that the Western youth
is a "pretty wise guy," and that mother need not worry because he can
look out for himself! However, "mother's advice" may not always have
held good after a mint julep, or a stroll in the moonlight..... Hence
the experience.

I do not mean that if a beautiful lady should whisper gently to one of
the youthful sons of the Sagebrush: "I am afraid to go home in the
dark," the gentleman would ring for a messenger boy as an escort, or
call a taxi; and if she sighed for sympathy and a stroll by the
Truckee, he would think that she needed a doctor, or a nerve
specialist. .... The sons of the Sagebrush are not cold-hearted, nor
are they lacking in courtesy of any sort, but to use a Western
expression, they possess a large percentage of "horse sense!" Meaning,
that they are not wearing their hearts on their sleeves these days....

One of the most interesting and unassuming gentlemen I met in the "big
little city" was Mr. George Wingfield. I had made up my mind to that
effect long before he was introduced to me because I had seen his
beautiful home on the banks of the Truckee, and his beautiful bank
building on the corner of Second and Virginia streets (the Reno
National Bank, which I have described in Part 5), and had visited his
ranch, and admired his string of thoroughbred horses and high-class
stock. I had also been told how this gentleman had made his fortune
almost over night, so to speak, during the big gold boom, and I liked
him for staying right there and spending the gold in the State whence
it came. He did not take his riches and go away, as so many of them
have done, but he helped to build a beautiful city, and there it is
that he made his home.

I was rather surprised to find that Mr. Wingfield was not a native
son, but hailed from Arkansas: also, I was disappointed in this
gentleman's appearance, having been told that he was a resident of the
West, when the West was really "wild and woolly," and full of gold and
other things.... I expected him to be a much older man, and have not
quite forgiven him for not being at least six feet six, with cold
steel-blue piercing eyes, gray hair at the temples and a face furrowed
with strong character lines.

That was the sort of mental picture I had made of him when a friend
told me of his experiences in the mining camp during a big strike of
the miners. They were shooting up the town in real Western style, and
many of them had been heard to swear that they would have Wingfield's
life. He might well have taken his departure, but he did not: he was
strong and relentless and knew no fear, though I am told he ate his
meals in a restaurant where the walls were covered with mirrors, with
his back to the wall, and a six-shooter on each side of his plate.
Rather thrilling, to say the least.

So far, Mr. Wingfield has not found it necessary to take advantage of
the liberal divorce laws of the State: his beautiful home, charming
and accomplished wife, and lovely children account for that.

Somehow Mr. Wingfield's experience in Nevada and the gold mines brings
to my mind a poem from Robert W. Service's "Spell of the Yukon," of
which I am very fond:

"This is the law of the Yukon,
 and ever she makes it plain;
Send not your foolish and feeble;
 send me your strong and your sane--
Strong for the red rage of battle;
 sane, for I harry them sore;
Send me men grit for the combat;
 men who are grit to the core...."

It would be difficult to name a citizen of Nevada more popular with
his fellow-men or enjoying to a greater degree the confidence and
trust of those with whom he is associated than H. J. Gosse, proprietor
and manager of the Riverside Hotel of Reno.

The colony has a real friend in H. J. Gosse, who is certainly an
exponent of joy, giving optimism to the lonely wanderer who may find
himself domiciled under the roof of the Riverside Hotel where the
splendid personality of this old pioneer reigns supreme.

Mr. Gosse's parents crossed the plains with an ox-team from New
Orleans to California way back in '49. In 1862 the family moved to
Silver City, then a lively mining town.

[Illustration: Riverside Hotel, Nevada]

The subject of this sketch went to school in Virginia City and later
attended the Golden Gate Academy in Oakland, California. Like other
young men, he followed various vocations and in 1896 he purchased the
Riverside Hotel, which he has successfully conducted ever since. Under
his management the hotel has continued to be the leading hotel in the
city, and in 1901 the present large brick structure was erected.

In 1888 Mr. Gosse was united in marriage with Miss Josephine M. Mudd,
a native of California. In politics Mr. Gosse is a Republican. He is a
member of the Improved Order of Red Men, and has filled all the chairs
in the local Tribe and is Past Grand Sachem of the State of Nevada. He
is also a Mason, being a member of the lodge chapter, commandery and
the shrine. He is an active member of the B.P.O.E. No. 597, of Reno,
and was instrumental in organizing the Lodge. In recognition of his
services, he has been made an honorary life member and is a member of
the Grand Lodge of the United States.

Mr. Gosse's only son was among the first to answer his country's call
when the United States entered into the World War in 1917; he died in
his country's service a few months later....

No pictures of the picturesque West would be complete which did not
depict in the foreground the fine, handsome figure of Nevada's
erstwhile "Sentinel in Chief": former State Police Superintendent,
Captain J. P. Donnelley.

The Captain and his wife were among the very first friends I made when
I arrived in Reno. Since then we have become more and more intimate,
and my admiration and appreciation of them both grow keener, if such
is possible, the longer I know them.

Almost as interesting as the history of Nevada itself is the excited
checkered career of this man, who at an early date left his native
State of California where he had risen from the ranks of private to
Adjutant of the 10th Battalion Infantry Guards and had sought in
preference the dangers and hardships of rugged Nevada. Here he became
deputy sheriff and chairman of the Republican Central Committee of
Esmeralda County, to succeed Captain Cox as Superintendent of the
State Police in 1911.

In the same year there was a spurt of unusual liveliness from the
Indian quarter. Several white men were killed, and it was Captain
Donnelley who was selected to head one of the posses and risk the
brunt of the battle. The Captain's scrapbook, which he was kind enough
to let me look over, revealed many an interesting incident, and one
would never think when talking to him that this genial, humorous, kind
faced man was every inch a soldier and a hero. The combination strikes
me as wonderfully illustrative of what real culture and civilization
can do for a man. He fights, not for the love of fighting, from a
savage hankering after blood, but because it is for the good of
humanity in general that he should fight, and therefore that he does
well.

A large reward had been offered for the capture of those Indian
desperadoes and of the several posses that had been sent out Captain
Donnelley and his brave band were the only "lucky devils," and escaped
with their scalps.

In appreciation of his fine work the citizens passed a resolution to
send the following letter to the Captain:

"To the Nevada State Police and to Captain Donnelley, Privates Buck
and Stone, and Sergeant Newgard: "Gentlemen:-

"As a Committee of One I am directed by the citizens of Surprise
Valley, this county, by a resolution passed by the citizens last week,
to express to you gentlemen the thanks we so deeply owe you for your
efficient and loyal services rendered in the interest of public
justice in the running down of the Indian renegade murderers of our
citizens in Nevada.

"We cannot begin to express the same by words of tongue or pen and our
feelings coming from the heart must be left to better speakers and
writers than myself.

"Be assured of our great thanks, and should occasion require we will
endeavor to make good in payment.

"Very sincerely yours,

"(Signed) H. E. SMITH, Sheriff."

[Illustration: Captain J. P. Donnelly Former State Police
Superintendent]

In 1912 there were some very serious disturbances in the copper mines
in Ely. Martial law was declared; Captain Donnelley was delegated to
go down to quell the disorder, and in a remarkably short time peace
and order were restored. His success was due in a great measure to his
magnetic personality, for the Captain is very popular and makes
staunch friends wherever he goes.

One of the greatest assets a man can have is the right sort of a wife.
Mrs. Donnelley, once a divorcee, is both charming and interesting. She
is a woman of culture, has traveled extensively and is interested in
all the social problems of the day. When the Red Cross Chapter was
organized in Reno she was asked to take charge of the workroom, which
originally started with two and now boasts of a working force of
between thirty to forty ladies. Without her efficient aid, little
progress would have been made.

Both the Captain and his wife are exceptionally fond of children and
animals, and they tell the following amusing incident about one of the
Captain's birthdays. One fine afternoon, out of a clear sky, seventeen
youngsters of every conceivable size and shape, marched in upon Mrs.
Donnelley, and announced the fact that they had come to celebrate
Captain Donnelley's birthday. Thereupon they held aloft three monster
cakes which they had brought along to demolish in case the Captain did
not have birthday cakes any more. After the rather surprised lady of
the house had ransacked the neighborhood for some fruit and ice cream
to help the cake along and practically no vestige of the feast
remained, the unsuspecting Captain came upon the scene. There was a
rush and a scamper and a babel of voices shouted out, "Oh, Captain
Donnelley, we're having such a good time at your birthday party!"

Orpheus and his lute, David and his harp, Donnelley and his dog! These
are inseparable associations, and so fine and historic an animal is
"Brownie" that the newspapers devote write-ups to him just as if he
were a regular celebrity or something like that. He is now guarding
the chicks on a ranch and is making a dandy truant officer, so the
Captain tells me.

The Captain is a thinker, too. A short time ago he wrote a series of
articles for the Reno Gazette, dealing with psychology. I was
particularly impressed with a fact which he made to stand out clearly
above all others and which would vitally affect society as a whole if
it were to be universally carried out. It is the substitution of an
indeterminate sentence for the definite one which now prevails. "No
judge can determine in advance when a prisoner is fit to return to the
community," he says; and in the same way we release the inmates of an
insane hospital as soon as we think them sufficiently recovered, he
believes we should release the criminal as soon as experts pronounce
him fit to resume his relations with society.

The following is a copy of the verses which the Captain thought would
help his co-workers to do things right:

 "Did you tackle the trouble that came your way
   With a resolute heart and cheerful,
 Or hide your face from the light of day
   With a craven heart and fearful?
 Oh, a trouble's a ton, or a trouble's an ounce,
   Or a trouble is what you make it;
 And it isn't the fact that you're hurt that counts,
   But only how did you take it.

 "You're beaten to earth; well, well, what's that?
   Come up with a smiling face,
 It's nothing against you to fall down flat,
   But to lie there-that's disgrace.
 The harder you're thrown, why the higher you bounce;
   Be proud of your blackened eye.
 It isn't the fact that you're licked that counts,
   It's how did you fight, and why.

 "And though you be done to death, what then?
   If you battled the best you could;
 If you've played your part in the world of men,
   Why, the critic will call it good.
 Death comes with a crawl, or comes with a pounce,
   And whether he's slow or spry,
 It isn't the fact that you're dead that counts,
   But only, how did you die?"

And now we come to a pure Sagebrush Son who first announced himself
into the family midst only a few miles away from Virginia City, Judge
Langdon. His father had been a true pioneer of the Comstock Lodge, and
so Frank was born with a "golden" spoon in his mouth.

However that may be, he went to school at Gold Hill, thence to St.
Mary's College and finally passed the bar examination in 1886. Then he
came back to Nevada, post haste, and established a law office in
Virginia City and there he is to this day. Not for long, however, did
he remain a private practitioner. He soon became a member of the
Assembly, and District Attorney of his home County and subsequently
was elected Judge of the County of Storey. And thereby hangs a
"story."

While the Judge was on the bench a felonious murder was committed.
Preston and Smith were the criminals arraigned before the courts, and
Frank P. Langdon their Judge. Originally the trial had come up in
Hawthorne, Seat of Esmeralda County, and when in the midst of the case
the County Seat was changed the case was naturally transferred.
Feeling ran very high, for the prisoners had many friends, and several
anonymous letters, bearing a fear-inspiring skull and cross-bones
sketched in blood-red ink, did the young Judge handle: needless to say
without any fear or trepidation! A son of the sagebrush knows no fear!

At last the day for the final decision came. Some of those I have met
who were present in the court room tell me that the atmosphere was
highly charged and that many expected to see the Judge get a rough
deal. But calmly, in clear ringing tones, he boldly stated his
convictions, irrespective of the direst results that might follow; yet
nothing happened. The men were condemned and the Judge is still
residing in Virginia City, happy with his wife and six lively
children.

Not only through the popular ditty have the Blue Ridge Mountains of
Virginia become famous: their own natural beauty is sufficient to
render them beloved by all those who have had the opportunity to see
them or live amongst them. But it is also under the blue shadows of
those Virginia peaks that many a good man was born and it is therefore
a great tribute to Nevada, I think, that Judge Sanders has permanently
made his home under the purple and gray shadows of the Sagebrush
slopes.

He had been deputy clerk and librarian of the Supreme Court of
Virginia, and during this time had taken advantage of the lore with
which he came in contact to study the ways and byways of the law. Like
unto hosts of others, for him too the Comstock Lode had proved a
magnet, and in 1904 he hit the trail for Virginia City, Nevada. Then
he trailed on, attracted by the Manhattan boom, and finally landed in
Tonopah, the great silver camp. By this time he had begun to be known
as a "big fighter" in the law world. His famous speech on the
"Prospector" attracted considerable attention, and Nevada's sons soon
found out that they had a real man in their midst. He was elected
District Attorney of Nye County, and there never was a man more free
from political prejudice or more ready to give every applicant to the
Courts of Justice a fair and square deal. Cattle rustlers quaked and
trembled at the name of Sanders as did I. W. W.'s; surrounding States
never felt so very kindly disposed toward the Judge, as it was he who
in a great measure was responsible for exterminating this disturbing
element, or rather dumping it into other States, since it proved
inexterminable.

Judge Sanders is married to a Wisconsin girl and has his home at
Carson City, Nevada.

Dick Stoddard is a Reno boy through and through, and although his
middle name is Cross, it certainly has nothing to do with his
disposition, for he is most entertaining and genial. As a youth he
attended the High School and the University, after a time taking the
civil service. Then in the service of the railroad proper, he wandered
around the coast for about four years.

Not content with this mission in life, he entered the law offices of a
prominent firm of attorneys where he imbibed all the legal wisdom he
could, supplementing his practical experience by theoretical study. In
1903, behold our Judge, a full-fledged advocate; in 1905 he was
elected City Attorney for Reno. It was during his term that Reno's
streets were first paved, the new City Hall built and the Truckee's
banks spanned by the Virginia Street bridge.

A rather amusing story is told of how "they,"--his friends,--"put one
over" on Dick, the "putting over," however, being to their mutual
advantage.

The Judge, or rather Attorney, as he was then, had one of those "off"
spells that all of us have at times. He had sniffed his fill of musty
legal parchment for the time, and he decided that he would prefer a
sniff of the sea-weed and brine; that he needed a tonic arid that no
better could be found than "Ozone." So he packed his grip, gave his
friends the "slip," as one might say, and skipped off to a California
resort. And while this revered City Attorney was vigorously breasting
the Pacific billows, and enjoying cooling breezes that brought in
their wake reminiscences of Honolulu, and other lands that enchant the
senses, his friends at home saw to it that Dick Stoddard got the title
of "General" hitched onto his title of Attorney.

During his generalship there were several interesting "spats" between
the Inter-state Commerce Commission and the railroads, but Attorney-
General Stoddard was the right man at the right time, and I assure you
that the State didn't have to suffer.

Judge Moran is another original son of Erin who has adopted Nevada and
has been adopted by her. One could hardly say that he was born with a
golden spoon in his mouth, for "Barney" Moran had anything but the
"life of Riley" in his early years. Up and up he has moved along the
checker-board, however, until now he has become a "knight," a real
knight, for many a human being would still be in sore distress were it
not for the Judge's kind heart and sympathetic understanding in the
divorce court. Some have dubbed him "Papa" Moran; he is so fatherly
they say. And as of course it is no sin to kiss a father, it has
happened that some of the highly strung victims have ventured to
embrace Papa after he pronounced those all-meaning words, "judgment
for the plaintiff."

When he was only ten years of age, both his parents passed away and so
about four years afterwards he crossed the "herring pond" in quest of
a life of adventure. As far as variety is concerned, he had plenty of
it, and some to spare, and it is all those hard knocks that have
helped him to understand human nature as he does. Over in Cleveland he
attended night school while working during the day as a machine-shop
apprentice. Not finding this "job" quite to his liking, he tried
tending the "traps" or doors underground in some of the coal mines.
Soon his fancy changed again, and we find him engaged as a water boy
on one of the railroads. "Tick, tick;-tick tick-tick," signaled the
telegraph, and it was not long before young Moran became proficient
enough to take a job as an operator.

Now why the nickname "Barney," you will ask. Thereby hangs a tale!

While working in the telegraph office, Tom Morau became infused with
some of the electricity which charged the instruments, or so it seemed
anyway. Now there were no less than four boys in that office who
answered to the name of "Tom." So you may imagine, can't you, what,
stampede there was every time the chief operator called "Tom." But
don't imagine our Tom ever let anyone else get ahead of him. Although
he was the youngest and probably the least in requisition, he was
always "Johnny on the spot" before any of the Toms. To solve this
dilemma which was first considered a joke but later developed into an
unmitigated nuisance, the chief operator eventually said to Moran,
"Say, Tom, in future you're Barney."

Under the tutelage of Thomas L. Bellam, who took a great interest in
him, he did three years of general study. This whetted his appetite
for more, and he consequently landed in Chicago and took a course at
the Chicago College of Law. But not till several years later did he
take his final degree and start practicing. Now our wandering little
Irish boy is District Judge of Washoe County.

How seldom it is that we find anyone whose name is a real symbol of
his temperament or profession. Often Mr. Stone will be a weak
mollycoddle; Mr. Sharp, a phlegmatic butter-won't-melt-in-my-mouth
sort of individual, or Mr. Strong, an "acute dyspeptic."

Somehow, the gentleman in question, August Frohlich, seems to have
been a little more fortunate in that respect, for Frohlich in German
means "merry," and I have yet to find a man who is more devil-may-care
or happy-go-lucky, in spite of all his family responsibilities, than
Mr. August Frohlich.

He was born in California, and at the age of seventeen found himself
the sole supporter of himself and his mother. Since then he has held
in turn almost every known variety of commercial position. Acting
first as a fruit rancher, he then developed a passion for mining, at
the same time pursuing a business course. When next we see him, he is
exchanging smiles and general goods over the counter, his popularity
winning for him afterwards the position of Postmaster and agent for
Wells Fargo & Company at Crescent Mills. But he was young and
restless, like so many of us have been, in one way or another, and two
years are a long time. After running a stage line, doing a little
bookkeeping and a few other odd jobs of the kind, he came to Reno and
settled down for another two years to study at the University. And so
on. The scene kept changing with kaleidoscopic rapidity until finally
he found a congenial position in the Washoe County Bank, with the
position of Receiving Teller. Political ambitions then began to take
possession of this ever-progressive man, and he--was elected a
Republican member of the 25th Legislature from Washoe County,
receiving the highest vote of any of the twenty-seven candidates. In
recognition of his ability, he was elected Speaker of the Assembly
which was evenly divided, there being twenty-four Republicans and
twenty-four Democrats, with one Independent. In his campaign for
Speaker, the only promise he made was for a square deal. The proof
that he had redeemed his promise was evidenced by his being re-elected
Speaker of the Special Session which was held the following year. He
was Director of the Reno Commercial Club, and surely the club spirit
must be strong within him when you stop to think that he is a Mason,
Elk, Moose, Druid, Woodman, and is active in the Y.M.C.A. At the
present compilation, Mr. Frohlich is the owner of the Commercial Steel
Company.

I have recently been told by a lady who is prominent in social affairs
that his great function when a benefit of any kind is given in town,
is to try to drown the unmelodious clatter of the dishwashing with his
fine vibrant tenor.

Mr. Frohlich certainly enjoys popularity; his good humor and pleasing
personality account for that, and thus Reno can surely be proud of
such a bachelor, who all these years has defied lassoing.

"Railroad Day," the big day when Reno was put on the map, was also
Norcross Day, for the day when the first Pacific train passed through
this town was the one when little Frank Norcross passed into our
mundane existence to take his place--with the rest of us mortals: when
so to say little Frank was "put on the map." His parents had come out
to California as far back as 1850, Norcross' father being engaged in
mining, lumbering and farming.

Frank Norcross had his preliminary education at Huffakers, and had
early evinced a literary turn of mind when as a comparative youth he
received the degree of Bachelor of Arts. Twenty years later the
University conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Law. He
served a full term as County Surveyor of Washoe County and attended to
Reno's old-fashioned lights, trimming them as he went along, no matter
how severe the cold. One consolation he probably had was that unlike
the other pedestrians he had an opportunity to warm those frozen
finger tips. No mean advantage, I should judge, when the mercury sinks
to zero and lower.

He taught in a local school for a year or so, then did some newspaper
work for the Journal and Gazette and finally ended by practicing law,
having graduated from the University of Georgetown in 1894. After
that, promotion came easily. When he had been in succession District
Attorney of Washoe County and Supreme Judge, he served for two years
as Chief Justice, and so great was his popularity that he was re-
elected without any opposition.

A very interesting fact about the Judge is that he won a thousand
dollar cash prize offered by the "National Magazine" of Boston, for
the best article in support of Colonel Roosevelt for a second elective
term. But then, he was a great friend and admirer of the Colonel's and
it evidently came to him easily.

It was mainly through his efforts that the Reno Free Library was
established, for he had always been interested in educational
opportunities. Apparently he had some difficulty, too, in persuading
Andrew Carnegie that Reno was actually an inhabited town, and
habitable at that. "Andy," like so many other Easterners, was a little
skeptical on that score, thinking probably that the divorcees would
not want a free library, and surely according to fame or rather
notoriety, there was nothing else of any note or significance in Reno
but divorcees, with the exception perhaps of the lawyers, and they no
doubt had all the law books they needed!

Besides being a great lawyer, the Judge is also a good patriot, for he
was a captain of the National Guard and took considerable interest in
the State Militia affairs.

Judge Norcross is a member of several brotherhoods and societies,
among them the Nevada State Council of the National Civic Federation
of which he is chairman, and the Committee of One Hundred of the New
York University "Hall of Fame," the business of which it is to decide
upon those who are to wake up over night and find themselves famous.

Among the prominent Nevada citizens of the early mining days, are
"Lucky Baldwin," C. C. Goodwin, James G. Fair, John W. Mackay, Marcus
Daly and Mark Twain. Those who have not already done so would, I am
sure, enjoy reading Mark Twain's "Roughing It." In this book he tells
many interesting and amusing stories of his experiences in Nevada
mining camps. I quote him as follows: "I went to Humboldt District
when it was new; I became largely interested in the 'Alba Neuva' and
other claims with gorgeous names, and was rich again in prospect. I
owned vast mining property there. I would not have sold out for less
than $400,000 at that time, but I will now. Finally I walked home--200
miles--partly for exercise, and partly because stage fare was
expensive."

Again he says: "Perhaps you remember that celebrated 'North Ophir.' I
bought that mine. You could take it out in lumps as large as a
filbert, but when it was discovered that those lumps were melted half
dollars, and hardly melted at that, a painful case of 'salting' was
apparent, and the undersigned journeyed to the poorhouse again."

The following is one of the tragic incidents in the mining game. I
think it must have been such an instance that caused the origin of the
Western slang phrase-"Out of Luck."

"I paid assessments on 'Hale and Norcross' until they sold me out, and
I had to take in washing for a living, and the next month the infamous
stock went up to $7- a foot.

"I own millions and millions of feet of affluent leads in Nevada, in
fact the entire under crust of that country nearly, and if Congress
would move that State off my property so that I could get at it, I
would be wealthy yet. But no, there she squats--and here am I. Failing
health persuades me to sell. If you know of anyone desiring a
permanent investment I can furnish one that will have the virtue of
being eternal."

I think "Roughing It" was written about 1851.

If you knew Senator Huskey as I do, you would agree with me that the
Senator is indeed Huskey by name and "husky" by nature. A more
complete parcel of huskiness you never did see, nor a jollier, more
cordial and better hearted could you ever wish to meet, for he has
never allowed the musty parchment to dry up the finer faculties of his
sentiments, and he can appreciate a beautiful sunset, a fine verse,
and in fact all Nature's beauties, and yet be the big man and the
great lawyer he is.

Then too, the Senator is an enthusiastic sportsman and plays a
splendid game of hand-ball. I have known him, for hours on end, to
pound at the ball at the Y.M.C.A. as if his very life depended upon
whether he had hit it a hundred or a thousand times in an afternoon;
as if he would be shot at sunrise if he fell below the mark. But in
college days, his strength ran to his feet. He was known as a powerful
kicker, and woe betide the man who would try and act as a buffer
between his feet and the ball.

And now let me tell you about the Senator's early life. He started his
career on the farm, for his father was a school teacher, and you will
agree that--a family of fourteen is a rather expensive kind of brood
to rear. And so, some of those fourteen chicks had to hustle and fence
for themselves as soon as they could. Among the little Huskeys was
Walter. It is thus he graphically describes some of his reminiscences:

"I was a cracker jack at cutting corn. Father and brothers could beat
me at husking, but somehow or other I was good at cutting. And some
days I could cut as high as twenty-six shock in a half day. Finally I
had accumulated a little fund and decided to brace myself for a talk
with the college professor in charge. I was the greenest thing you
ever saw, and they called me 'Lengthy,' for at that time I weighed
only one hundred and thirty pounds."

The title of "Senator" has since done its historical duty, for the
once "bony laddie" now turns the scales at 250 pounds.....

After that, the college professor paid young Huskey's parents a
surprise visit, as a result of which we find the boy at work at a
preparatory course in the Wesleyan University, Kansas. Within two
years, through assiduous perseverance and keen enthusiasm for his
work, he was able to teach in the country districts. For a decade he
taught the younger generations how to shoot, and thus eked out a
fairly moderate living, for the pay was not staggering by any means,
nor was it like Huskey to forget the folks at home.

In La Porte, Texas, whither by this time he had wandered, they offered
him the principalship of the High School. "They gave me," I heard him
say one day, "one hundred dollars a month, and I thought it was the
biggest salary in the world."

[Illustration: Senator H. Walter Huskey]

Then he realized that it was almost impossible to convert a mint of
knowledge into a mint of money, even as a principal, so he struck out
vigorously for law, took a special course at Stanford University and
received second highest honors. Shortly after he landed in the "big
little city" of Reno and entered into partnership with Charles R.
Lewers, who had strangely enough been His professor at Stanford
University and who evidently held his erstwhile pupil in very high
esteem, in thus throwing in his lot with him.

In 1906 Huskey was elected by the Assembly of Nevada, and in 1914 by a
very flattering majority was sent up as State Senator for Washoe
County. As a law maker, he had proven his worth on more than one
occasion, for not only is he a Senator with a brain, but also a man
with a heart. The passing of the Employers' Liability Act was due
directly to the Senator's spirited persistence. He lost the Southern
Pacific contracts through it, but he did not care.

One of the real romances of the divorce world is the Senator's second
marriage, and the present Mrs. Huskey is exceedingly charming and
interesting, and a splendid horse woman.

An amusing incident is told of a little political difference of
opinion between the Senator and the suffragettes about a remark which
this worthy gentleman let forth in an unguarded moment. You should
have seen the sparks fly and the fire flame up! In fact, it gave me
considerable pleasure to be able to announce at the moment of writing
that Senator Huskey's golden crop of curls was not singed beyond
recognition and that his eyes were still steel blue and not black.
This is how the conflagration started:

At a conference in Carson City between the City Council and the Washoe
delegation, the Senator, who put in a rather tardy appearance, is
reported to have said to the other members: "All the ladies who came
to Carson on The Cat Special' are waiting for you upstairs. I'm going
to a show. Anything you do is all right for me."

Miss Anne Martin, the president of the Women's League, did her best to
put a favorable interpretation upon this very questionable term of
endearment by saying that probably the Senator meant that they were as
undrownable as cats, who are reputed to have nine lives, and that this
persistence was getting what they wanted. That was all very well for
the "mild" cats, but the spit-fiery ones were not so easily satisfied.
One of them sent him a letter addressed, "Mr. H. W. Meow Huskey,
Senate Chamber, Carson City." Others still more vindictive pasted a
picture of a large tomcat, hunched of back and bristling of hair,
right next to the Senator's campaign picture which already decorated
the middle of the Truckee. Under it was written as large as life, "THE
HUSKEY TOMCAT." Needless to say the whole town of Reno turned out the
next day to enjoy the joke, and among them was the Senator, who
enjoyed it as much as anyone.

There is a strong rumor abroad that the Senator is to be a likely
candidate for Governor: I certainly wish him every success. If a
comprehensive knowledge of the law, a vigorous prosecution of the
principles of Justice and a big heart are attributes that count, then
the Senator stands the greatest chance to win the fight.

Maurice Joseph Sullivan, Lieut.-Governor: No mining, no teaching, no
law! This sketch is of a thoroughbred business man, who after
graduating from the Polytechnic High School in San Francisco, joined a
large wholesale hardware firm as a start in his career. Here he got
some pretty "hard wear": those preliminary knocks that rub off all the
rough edges and take with them some of the glamour of life.....
However, Maurice Sullivan didn't have as many rough edges as most
young fellows. He was good looking, popular and unspoilt--a phenomenon
rarely come upon--and being ambitious it was not long before he had
set up in Goldfield under the style of the Wood-Sullivan Hardware Co.,
selling hardware with lightning rapidity, just as if it were the
easiest ware in the world to dispose of.

Then one fine day Sullivan developed into a full-blown philanthropist.
Each little baby visitor born into the camp of Goldfield was donated a
big silver dollar, by way of encouragement to stay. And they surely
did stay, those "Dollar Babies."

In 1914 he was elected to the Lieutenant-Governorship, and an amusing
anecdote is told of how he became "peeved" when he discovered that
several of the house members were playing "hookey" in order to avoid
voting on a bill, and sent the State police after them. How many of
the culprits were collared and brought back I was not told, but I am
inclined to think that it was the good round figure "nought," for the
bill was scratched and the Lieut.-Governor fumed in vain.

Mr. Sullivan was Lieut.-Governor during my stay in Nevada.

Senator Morehouse.... One does not often in a lifetime meet a person
born on April Fool's Day, and, usually when one happens to come across
such a butt for mirth he will probably try to pass it off by telling
you that the day of his birth is the last day of March, or something
similar. I have known scores of people born on the 28th or even the
29th of February, but Senator Morehouse is the first one I have met
who has the courage to face the world, and boldly announce the fact
that he is an April Fool's child. But then, the joke is on the
original April Fool, for the Senator has fooled him by being one of
the brightest men of the State, and certainly its most gifted orator--
the Demosthenes of Nevada, in fact. Surely a true son of April Fool
should stutter and stumble, and stammer and shy in the most pitiful
manner. Well, anyway, the Senator can always have the consolation that
he has "put one over" on Father April Fool.

Way back, in the days of "Mobile Bay", young Harry Morehouse, then
only a lad of seventeen, fought for his side until he could fight no
more. Then the Sisters of Mercy had to mend the ravages of that
unnatural fight, and for seven months Harry had a little holiday lying
on his back. No sooner recovered, the rover spirit seized his feet and
round he came to California, by way of the Isthmus, where he acted as
"a sort of reporter," until he had eked out enough knowledge to teach
in the grade school. Thence he started on the law path, from which he
emerged most triumphantly, and after practicing in California struck
out Renowards in 1913, where he was associated with the late Judge
James G. Sweeney, who but recently passed away.

By nature the Senator is mild and gentle, and always ready to lend a
helping hand to a fellow traveller. I have had the pleasure of meeting
him in private life, and have always felt impressed with those perfect
manners, that pleasant voice and those kindly words. Although one of
the newer Sons of the Sagebrush, he is surely one of the most
acceptable.

Governor Emmet D. Boyle has the distinction of being the youngest
governor into whose hands Nevada ever thought it safe to entrust her
well-being. He is none of your gray-beards, stolid of thought and
sluggish of action, but a young politician (his real profession is
mining engineering) with a wealth of experience, and plenty of good
common "horse sense."

His mother was a literary woman, and from her he learned to find a
friend in books. As for his father, he was one of the most prominent
mining men of the Comstock, and as a lad the governor-to-be had
already acquired an extensive knowledge of mining, surveying, assaying
and milling.

At sixteen he joined the University and became a member of that most
select of fraternities, with that weird-sounding name, Phi Kappa
Kappa. He had specialized in mining at college, and upon graduation
left the State, and engaged in several mining enterprises in British
Columbia and Mexico. Then when his father passed away, he returned to
Nevada and was offered a position as State Engineer.

In 1915 he was made Nevada's Tax Commissioner and he traveled the
State far and wide, gaining both fame and popularity.

At college the Governor had distinguished himself considerably in the
sporting arena, and he was known to be a particularly strong man when
it came to kicking the ball.

"Once a sport, always a sport!" If this spirit does not have the
opportunity to show itself in active practice on the field of sport,
it will nevertheless make itself felt in one's relations with men on
the field of life, and so we have in Emmet D. Boyle a practical man
with a vast knowledge about Nevada's foremost sources of success, with
a true appreciation of the booklore of our ancestors, a keen eye and
the love of fair play of the true sportsman.

[Illustration: Governor Emmett D. Boyle Of Nevada]

That he has a kind and humane heart can be judged from the fact that
it was he who was responsible for the re-introducing of the six months
residence law. Why should two people be forced to live together in
distrust and misery any longer than was absolutely necessary? And so
he worked as best he could to shorten that time, as much as the
statute would permit. He succeeded, and thanks to him, several people
have had their happiness given back to them.....

I had the honor to meet the Governor on a number of occasions and
always found him so simple and unassuming that I could hardly realize
I was conversing with the man holding the highest position in the
State, as if I had known him for years.

The leading man of the State should have a charming wife! The Capitol
would indeed be a desolate place without a hostess to entertain the
Governor's colleagues, and apparently Governor Boyle has made a
remarkably good choice in Miss Veda McClure, for she is extremely
popular and takes a great interest in the Red Cross work, which is
making such splendid strides all over the State.

Let me here relate to you a most amusing incident which occurred to
the Governor some little time ago.

It was a State function and the dinner was scheduled for eight o'clock
sharp; but it was not on time, and you shall hear why. At a quarter to
eight, when his dress suit had not yet put in an appearance from the
tailor's, the Governor sent a search party after it and waited, as
patiently as circumstances would permit, for the delinquent "fine
feathers" to blow in. By eight, he was a little more than uneasy, but
it didn't help any. Suddenly, on the domestic horizon appeared a
weird-looking creature! A human being, apparently in a state of frenzy
over some terrible catastrophe. It was the tailor! "Here," he
whispered, almost in tears, as he handed something to the outraged
head of the State, "these ain't yours, but you'll have to wear 'em;
yours someone else is wearing."

[Illustration: Governor's at Carson City]

And he wore them.... But, the tale runs, the Governor looked----He
certainly did establish a precedent at that dinner. Mockers say that
Judge Pat McCarran ran a close second, because his Excellency is lean
and lank, while Judge McCarran would make two of him one way, and
almost half of him the other, and because what happened to Governor
Boyle had also happened to Judge McCarran that very night.

Fred, de Longchamps... As a youngster, when playing amongst the
rabbits and brush on the south side of the river Truckee, Fred, de
Longchamps, like most youngsters, built many a castle in the air.
Later, those castles descended literally from the air to the earth,
for little Fred became a great architect, and now I am not surprised
when I think how often I have admired those beautiful villas, which
are strewn in such profusion all over Reno.

When at Reno University, de Longchamps did the pen and ink work and
other illustrating for the "Artemesai," the University publication.
Mining, too, seemed to have a certain fascination for him, and in
addition to his course in building, he gained considerable experience
in mining operations. Then came the toss-up. Mining won, but wasn't
strong enough to hold out, and thereupon, behold him returned to his
old love.

Do you see that fine modern looking structure over yonder? It is the
Court House, without which Reno would not be Reno, and it was Mr.
Fred, de Longchamps who conceived and built it. The Y. M. C. A.
Building, The Nixon Bank Building, all these and more, are the
splendid achievements of this brilliant young architect, who has
helped in such a great measure to make the City of Reno as attractive
as it is.

It might also interest you to know that the Nevada Buildings at the
San Francisco Exposition were erected "on the originality" of Fred, de
Longchamps, and though their cost was comparatively small, they
compared favorably with any State buildings on the grounds.

Senator Nixon.... Although a native of Texas, Senator Nixon's life is
essentially a Nevada Romance. He started on his career as a simple
telegraph operator, and then migrated with all the Nevada immigrants
in the boomy days of the goldfields. It wasn't exactly "open Sesame"
and then a fortune. It was perseverance that "did the trick." But it
made a mighty good job of it, for at the time of his decease in 1912,
the Senator was worth several millions, and his beautiful residence
situated at the top of a hill on the outskirts of Reno is said to have
cost no less than $200,000. It does seem a pity, however, that as soon
as a moderate sum of wealth is accumulated-with but few exceptions-
there is a hankering to desert the State of Nevada in favor of some
more populated, but surely not sunnier clime. And so young Nixon took
his father's millions to the adjoining State of California, and Nevada
knows not of them.

Often I have felt that there was an analogy to the generous, self-
sacrificing Mother Earth who gives all of her life and energy to
nourish her sons, and who in reward receives little but slights and
neglect.

Frank Golden..... While writing of the Sons of the Sagebrush, we must
not forget Frank Golden, Jr., who is a native son of Nevada, and one
of the youngest hotel managers in the West, having become manager of
the Golden Hotel at Reno when he was about nineteen. Mr. Golden's
father built the Golden Hotel in 1901. He died in 1911, at which time
the management was taken over by his son. The hotel was burned down in
1916 and reconstructed under the supervision of Frank, Jr., with the
result that it is now perhaps the most beautifully equipped, best run
and most modern European hotel in Reno, or in the State of Nevada, for
that matter.

Apart from being one of the youngest hotel managers in the West, he is
also one of the most popular.

Frank Golden was among the first to answer his country's call and
served in France.

[Illustration: Frank Golden, Jr.]