Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 5, Number 155, Decatur, Adams County, 26 June 1907 — Page 1

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT.

Volume V. Number 155

THE EAGL ES ’DAY July Sixteenth Will be a Big Occasion Here hundreds of visitors coming The Program Begins at 9:30 a. m., and Continues Through the Entire Day. The local Eagle aerie are planning a big Eagles' picnic to be held at Steele's park on Tuesday, July 16th, an event that promises to be a delightful one for the members of this fraternity. Every aerie within a hundred miles of Decatur is to be invited and no doubt a large crowd of the fraternity members will take this outing. For several weeks the local lodge has been arranging for the day which will be the biggest in their history. The day’s program opens with a grand street parade in which twenty-five aeries will be represented, headed by the city band. They will march to the Steele’s park, where at 10:30 Mayor D. D. Coffee, who is worthy president of the local aerie, will deliver the address of welcome. The dance, hall, boat and swimming races will be the amusements until noon when a big dinner will be served. During the afternoon H. H. Evans, state deputy organizer of Greencastle, will deliver an address, then comes mule, pony and the fat men’s races, and then a base ball game between the Eagle teams of Ft. Wayne and Decatur. in which the “rooting” promises to be an interesting part of the afternoon's contest. On Saturday morning 65 tickets were sold to Decatur, for the county commencement. Berne and the south half of the county furnished more than one-half of those present. The commencement was a grand success for the first one of its kind to be held in this county and Supt. Opliger deserves praise.—Berne News. “SOPHER CASE” Reversed by the Indiana Supreme Court SAYS SALOONS NOT A NUISANCE Arguments Mig n t Change Law Before a Legislature, but Court Has Not that Power. The supreme court yesterday reversed the “Sopher case” in which Judge Ira Christian, of Noblesville, held that all the liquor license laws of Indiana were unconstitutional and that a saloon was a nuisance per se. After reciting the charge that Sopher kept a place for the sale of intoxicating liquors at retail without stating that it was disorderly or otherwise improperly conducted, and that the court excluded all evidence tending to show that Sopher’s saloon was operated under a county license. Judge Jordan said, in deciding the case, in concluding his opinion: “While all citizens of this state have a perfect right to cry out or declare upon the hustings or before the legislature or other assembled bodies, that the liquor traffic cannot be legalized without committing a sin, and while their arguments might be sufficient!.' potent to persuade or induce the legislature to absolutely prohibit the traffic, they could not be of no avail before a court which can neither make nor make laws. • * * “In conclusion we hold that the statute of 1875, is not open, under the constitution, to the objections urged against it by counsel for the appellee, and we, therefore, affirm its validity. We conclude that the affidavit in this case does not charge a public offense and that the lower court erred first, in overruling appellant's motion to quash it; second, in excluding as evidence the license granted to him by the board of commissioners of Hamilton county, under which he sold the liquors in question, and third, in convicting him of the offense charged upon the evidence. The judgment is reversed, and the cause remanded to the lower court, with instructions to grant appellant a new trial and to quash the affidavit.”

NO POSTOFFICE AFTER SATURDAY And Curryville Citizens Must Find Some Other Amusement. After next Saturday there will be no postoffice at the little town of Curryville and the citizens of that place, as well, as the farmers in the vicinity, who have been receiving their mail there, will be placed on rural routes and “going to the postoffice,” one of the main recreations of the village, will be discontinued. A. S. Abbott, postmaster at Craigville, said today that he had received instructions from the postoffice department to go to Curryville next Saturday and check out Postmaser George Drum. Mr. Drum has served for many years in that capacity, the position never having been considered a political "plum,” and hence not aspired for by any' of the constituents of Mr. Cromer. He will return to his farm near Curryville when released from duty. Mr. Abbott thought this morning that rural route number one from Craigville would pass through the town and that the county patrons of the abandoned office w’ould receive their mail from Magley on rural route one. In order to reach the community both of the routes mentioned must be changed considerably.—Bluffton Banner. IN SHIRT WAISTS The Dance to be Given by Columbia Club A FINE PROGRESSIVE SOCIAL Social at G. A. R. Hall—Party Giv e n by Mrs. Morrison —A Good Time at Preble. In last night’s issue in the society this year will be the Shirt Waist dance given by the young men of the Columbian club on the Fourth day of July, 1907, at the K. of C. hall. There will be a full orchestra, and electric fans in the hall. The grand march will commence at 8:30 o’clock and great preparations are being made for this event. In ast night's issue in the society column there were three names who took part in the entertainment at the Presbyterian church which were omitted by mistake; first, a piano solo rendered by Miss Margaret Hughes. The piece was very difficult, but Miss Hughes handled it in an easy manner; second, a Pantomine, by Miss Inez Snellen, who was graceful in every movement. Third, a a reading selection from Ruth with piano accompaniment. Miss Laura Alban. Mrs. Lutz was the accompanist, which both parts were appreciated immensely. The progressive social given by the Ladies’ Aid Society of the Presbyterian church was a perfect success yesterday afternoon. There were four hostesses and at each home there w'ere refreshments served and a portion of the program rendered. The attendance numbered forty. At the G .A. R. hall there will be an ice cream social on Saturday evening. Everybody is cordially invited to attend. Miss Katherine Calvert, of Covington, Ky., will be the honored guest at an afternoon party given by Mrs. Elizabeth Morrison at her home on Jefferson street. The other out-of-town guests will be Misses Lucile Locke, Mary Deam, Ermine Weicking, of Bluffton; Miss Sally Vesey, of Ft. Wayne. At six-thirty o’clock last evening a merry party of women drove to the home of Mrs. Blanche Hoffman at Preble, Ind., to spend the evening. There were no special amusements, but each lady enjoyed a good social time. During the evening a delicious two-course luncheon was served by the hostess. The ladies who enjoyed the evening at Mrs. Hoffmans were. Mesdames C. O. France, Geo. Flanders, T. M. Reid, Frank Chester, of Chicago. Misses Eva and Mina Acker, Elizabeth Peterson, Bessie Congleton. Leona and Gertrude Roste Christen. — o Bert Fronefield, of Columbus, Ohio, has been visiting his father William Fronefield for a few days and returned to his home this morning.

Decatur, Indiana, Wednesday Evening, June 26, 1907.

MR. MARTIN HERE State Tax Commissioner Makes Official Call OUR COUNTY BOARD OF REVIEW Finds the Required Advanc e on Valuation of Property Was Made Here and Praises the BoardParks M. Martin, of Indianapolis, a member of the state tax commission, was in the city today, his duties being to check off the county board of review, in their work up to date. The state is requiring an advance on the valuation of the various counties, and the commissioners are now visiting the boards of review insisting that this advance, of from fifteen to twenty-five per cent. In this county Mr. Martin found an average Increase of the valuation of seventeen per cent, and he praised the board very highly for the manner in which they had conducted the affairs of their office. In Wells county he reports he found they had not made the necessary increase and the state board will without doubt order the same advance of the required amount. This was the day for hearing complaints from Berne and up to noon only one person had appeared to object to his appraisement. o Within the next day of two a committee of prominent Ft. Wayne business men who are Identified with the new hotel project here will leave for the east to inspect the hotels which are conducted by the man who has made a proposition to lease the house which it is proposed to erect here. The gentleman in question is said to conduct several large hostelries and the local committee desires to inspect his methods. —Ft. Wayne JournalGazette. WASHINGTON ITEMS Many Postoffice Clerks Were Promoted INDIANA YOUTHS PASS EXAM’S For Naval Academy—Federal Government Will Not Interfere with the Gambling Boat. Washington, D. C„ June 25.—Clerks in thirty-three postoffices were promoted and their salaries increased from SIOO to S2OO each. The highest salary paid is $l,lOO. In the Indianapolis office alone eighty-two clerks were advtuiced. Four Indiana young men were successful in the general examination held last week for admission to the naval academy at Annapolis. The marking of the examination papers, completed today, shows that of the 285 young men who took the examination, 158 successfully qualified. The four Indiana men who got through are: T. H. McSheehy, of the Eleventh district; E. H. Rehm, of the Seventh district; W. F. Kurfees, of the Third district, and F. G. McCord, of the Second district. Kurfees was a first alternate and McCord a third alternate. The federal government will not interfere with the gambling boat. City of Traverse, on Lake Michigan, wrote the department of commerce and labor, reciting that the states of Illinois and Indiana, as well as the city of Chicago had been unable to stop the operations of the gambling boat, and asking that the federal govern ment come to the rescue by revoking the boat’s navigation license. After consulting with the department of justice. Chief Uhler, of the bureau of steamboat inspection, decided today that there are no grounds on which the government can take the boat’s license away. In his letter to Mayor Busse, Mr. Uhler will suggest that the states of Indiana, Illinois and Michigan acting in concert ought to be able to drive the boat off the lake if each has laws against gambling. The controller of currency has ap-

proved the Union National Bank of Indianapolis as a reserve agent for the First National bank of Loogootee, and also for the First National bank of Poseyville, Ind. L. P. Mitchell, asistant controller of the treasury, has returned to his desk after a two weeks’ vacation spent at his old home in Newcastle. Arthur R. Underwood and David L. Vandament, of Indiana, have been appointed special agents to collect statistics of religious bodies in connection with the work of the bureau of the census. They will receive a salary of $5 a day when employed. o While the Erie railroad company has no money to throw away, the Erie directors have authorized General Manager J. C. Stuart to use $10,000,000 in handling the situation in the present strike of machinists, was the information given out at a recent conference between the higher officials and a committee from the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers in NewYork. John Wonderly, chairman of the board of adjustment for the engineers on the entire Erie system, was assured that the' engineers would be asked to take no part wahtever in the strike affairs. All engineers will be instructed that their work will continue the same as heretofore. —Huntington Herald. ANaWeTICSHOW At Bosse Opera House This Evening TO BE A CLEAN ENTERTAINMENT One in Which Your Money's Worth is Guaranteed—Several Good Cards on Program. All of the contestants for the athletic show to be pulled off this evening at the Bosse Opera House are in our city and are ready for the tap of the gong that will start the performance. The card is without doubt one of the best that has been arranged in this section of the country for a number of years, as it includes some of the fastest boxers and wrestlers in the state and all are men of good clean reputation and have never been mixed up in any fakes of any description and the lovers of this kind of sport are guaranteed an evening of real entertainment. The performance will start promptly at eight-fif-teen with a preliminary bout between Arthur Beery and Dick Erwin, two local lads who will endeavor to entertain the audience for several rounds. They will be followed by Chick Long and Frank Mason, both of Ft. Wayne, who will put on an eight round scientific sparring exhibition that promises to be a corker. Both boys are fast and have the reputation of putting up a good clean contest. George Dale, of Indianapolis and Frank Mason of Ft. Wayne will then go six rounds and from all reports this will be the go of the evening. The boys have met upon several occasions, and the result of battles have always been draws, and each will endeavor to secure the decision over the other,which insures a warm contest. The show will then close with a wrestling bout between Sam Murbarger, champion welter weight of the United States and Max Wassem, champion wrestler of the South, the former hailing from Ft. Wayne and the later from St. Louis. These men have never met before, and a battle royal is expected of them. The match is two falls out of three, catch as catch can style, which is the favorite method of each man. Any man, woman or child who are lovers of this kind of sport should make arrangements to attend as there will be nothing done or nothing said that will shock even the most fastidious. The performance is promsed to be clean in every respect and it will be a treat for those who attend. The seat sale is now on at the usual place. o ST. JOSEPH PICNIC POSTPONED Owing to the dampness of the ground, the St. Joseph school picnic has been postponed. The date to be announced later. The picnic was scheduled to take place tomorrow so those contemplating going will govern themselves accordingly. Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Schum, of Willshire, passed through here this morning on their way to Ft. Wayne,where they will visit friends and relatives.

WAS SUCCESSFUL Operation Performed on Mrs. Railing SHE WAS NEAR TO DEATH Dr. McOscar of Ft. Wayne, and Dr. Clark the Surgeons—She is Recovering. Mrs. J. H. Railing, a well known woman of Union township, was operated upon Monday by Doctors McOscar of Ft. Wayne and D. D. Clark, of this city and a large gall stone and her appendix were removed. Mrs. Railing had been suffering untold pain and agony for several months and it was upon the advice of her physician, Dr. Clark, that she consented to an operation. The operation was a success in every respect and every vestige of the dread complaints were removed and she is getting along in nice shape and will no doubt regain her former good health. She is now under the care of Miss Conklin, a trained nurse from Ft. Wayne. The gall stone was one of the largest ever found by the physicians of his section, being about two inches long and near an inch in diameter. Without doubt the lady would have died within a short time had the operation not been performed as either the gall stone or appendicitis would have proven fatal. o The supreme court today reversed the case in which Judge Christian, of Hamilton county, held that all liquor laws in Indiana are unconstitutional and that saloons have no legal existence. The supreme court holds that the saloon is not a public nuisance if the laws are complied with. The decision of Judge Christian was along the lines laid down by Judge Artman of Lebanon, and had these circuit judges been sustained there would have been an end to the liquor traffic in Indiana. o NEXT MONDAY The Limit for Having Water Meter Installed NO LENIENCY WILL BE SHOWN If You Have no Meter in by That Date the Water Will be Shut Off by the Superintendent. On next Monday, unless you have your water meter installed and in perfect running shape the water furnished by the city of Decatur from her water works plants will be turned off and the use of the same denied each and every property owner unless the resolution recently adopted by the council is complied with in every respect. The resolution provides that every person using water furnished by the city shall purchase or procure a substantial water meter at their own expense, have the same installed then notify the water works superintendent, have him thoroughly test the same and put his O. K. stamp on the meter and the water will then be turned on and you may proceed to use the same by meter measurement. The city council expects to see that the ordinance is complied with in every respect and will see that it is rigidly enforced and if you are not prepared in the proper shape watch for the water works superintendent for he will be after you. The order is a good one and is the only manner in which the city can make this plant a paying institution the same as the electric plant is. Selling water by flat rate has proven a rank failure in the past as the patrons of the plant became extravagant and would let any one use all the water they cared for. However, with the new system this proceeding will cease for the amount of water used will be registered and you will be compelled to pay accordingly. If you have not installed your meter it is high time you were getting busy, as Monday is the last day of the flat rate, and you will wake up some morning with a terrific thirst and no way to quench it.

TO CONTROL PRICE OF ALFALFA Ranchers in Northwest Have Organized. Spokane, Wash., June 26. —Ranchers in the Spokane, Yakima and Columbia valley are organizing with the view of controlling the price of alfalfa hay and using a minimum price of not less than $6 a ton, which is equivalent to $lO a ton delivered. High prices for help and baling material are given as the reason for the organization. Os the present crop of hay practically none has been marketed, dealers refusing to quote prices. The crop is unusually large, but to offset this, demands have been made by commission men. That the efforts of the ranchers to control prices may be successful is possibly by the ready sales that await all who have hay for sale. — a " The interstate’commerce" commission has made a report that on less than 40,000 miles of track, fifty-five trains separated each day for 105 days. Os the total of 5,775 trains separated, 2,155 of these breaks were due to the couplers and their attachments. This matter of couplers will be given a thorough investigation by the railroads and reports will be made to the commission, which will in the meantime, make an investigation of the subject for itself. blufftonThere And the Big Battle Was Fought Today FEW “ROOTERS” WITH VISITORS Locals Will Go to Bluffton Friday— Alberts and Sealts Did the Battery Work Today. Bluffton is here, that is their ball team and about half a dozen of the faithful few, who support the aggregation. At this hour the two clubs are battling for supremacy at the park. “Cy” Alberts, who may become a permanent fixture on the Decatur team, is doing the twirling for the locals and Frank Sealts, of Lima, who was signed two weeks ago, but could not report until today is the backstop. For Bluffon the battery is the ild time favorite there, Lonie Boyd and Fogel. The betting if there was any was even money, but its safe to say that before the season is over the interest which just now seems to be dragging will be all that any one could desire. The next game comes Friday when the locals go t u Wells county to show them what the real article is. Geyer will very likely do the slab duty there. The crowd today was fairly good, but not as large as was expected. o PRICE OF ENVELOPES IS RAISED Government Increases the Price Four Cents per Thousand. Under an order dated May 21, 1907, postmasters are notified that under a new contact for the manufacture of stamped envelopes and wrappers, taking effect July 1, 1907, the prices at which they will be issued by the department to postmasters, and sold by postmasters to the public, are increased four cents per thousand over the present selling prices of the 1903 price list. All stamped envelopes and wrappers delivered to purchasers beginning July 1, 1907, will be at the new prices even though the order therefor was taken before that date. Order No. 340 provides that from and after July 1, 1907, when in addition to the stamps required to transmit any letter or package of mail matter through the mails there shall be attached to the envelope of covering ten cents’ worth of ordinary stamps of any denomination, with the words “special delivery” or their equivalent written or printed on the envelope or covering, under such regulations as the postmaster general may prescribe, the said package shall be handled, transmitted and delivered in all respects as though it bore a reguation “special delivery” stamp.

Officials of several of the railway lines are considering the cost of concrete telegraph poles, and it is likely that several of the companies will in the near future adopt the concrete pole in preference to wooden poles now- used, which are constantly beI coming more difficult to obtain.

Price Two Cents

HE SHOT HIMSELF Portland Lad Puts Bullet in His Head HAD LED A WAYWARD LIFE ChaUey Fox Tires of the Tribulations of this World and Will Die from His Wound. Portland, Ind., June 26. —(Special.! —Charles Fox,son of Joseph Fox, a saloon keeper here, made a desperate attempt to take his own life this morning at about 7 o’clock. The youth has been having considerable trouble for several years, not cnly with cutside people, but also with members of the family, and he has not attained a very good reputation among the better class of people of P "tland. We are informed that he has been playing a wild west role during tue past year, the culmination of which is this suicidal attempt. He was seventeen years old, but was twice that age in experience. Physicians who attended him say his death is a certainty. The iad was at home and seemed in usual spirits when he went to his room and with his 32-calibre revolver put a hole through his head. o BOYS TO CONDUCT A CITY. t Big Camp to Be in Operation in Winona Woods This Summer. It is doubtful if any project in the interests of boys has in Indiana more thoroughly stirred the juvenile element than has the mid-summer camp which is to open at Winona Lake on July 26 for three weeks. The purpose is to gather the boys from Sunday schools into one big camp, let them organize their own city government, with a mayor and other officers; make their own camp law's and enforce them, to have boys in charge of the camp postoffice, the bank, and other enterprises. Still another purpose is to give the boys wholesome entertainment in the way of music, camp fires, moving pictures, base ball, field meets, boating, swimming, fishing and many other diversions. Each group of boys takes its ow n tents and camping outfit to the camp and Winona Assembly requires that an adult leader, well known to the parents of the boys, have charge of the party from his home town. The Assembly has assurances that there will be 1,000 or more boys in the camp. The Indiana division of the United Boys’ Brigade of America will have 350 of its well-drilled members in the camp. At least 100 boys from the Sunday schools of Huntington will probably march overland to the boys’ city in the Winona woods. Fifty boys from Portland will make the trip in automobiles. Another automobile party will go from South Bend A party from Marysville, Ohio, will make the trip on bicycles. Thera will be deegations from Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis. Toledo and many other cities. The adult leaders will not only look after the boys in their charge, but all' of them are interested in uplifting work among boykind and they will hold many conferences and hear many addresses on “the boy problem” while at the camp. The enterprise is not a profit-mak-ing scheme, for an effort is making to bring a large number of boys together and give them a splendid summer outing at trifling cost. The camp is under the general supervision of Judge Willis Brown, founder of the Salt Lake Juvenile Court, and the business management is in the hands of H. B. Dickey, superintendent of the public schools at Lowell, Ind. Mr. Dickey is now at Winona Lake getting the camp site, which covers about 400 acres of w'oodland, in shape for the army of boys.

Mrs. Henry Drabenstott, living on Bond street, was a victim of the electrical storm last evening. The Drabenstott home is next to the Squire Moore barn and when the lightning struck the barn, Mrs. Brabenstott was standing in one of her rooms. While she did not lose consciousness entirely, she was knocked down and blinded for the time. The shock was very severe and coupled with the fact that she had been sick for some time, it is a wonder that no more serious injuries were inflicted. Mrs. Drabenstott was still dazed this morning and is yet very nervous, but will recover all right in a few days, it is thought. I—Bluffton Banner.