Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 5, Number 278, Decatur, Adams County, 16 November 1907 — Page 1

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT.

Volume V. Number 278

IT IS COMPLICATED The Presidential Bee is Trying to Sting Mr. Cortelyou. RAILROAD COMPACT Discussed in President’s Message—No Inheritance Tax Bill. Washington, November 16.—As the date for the meeting of the Republican national committee to fix a time and place for the party’s national convention approaches, the presidential situation —or at least that part of it which centers in the White House—becomes more complicated. The publicity given to the fact that George B. Cortelyou, secretary of the treasury, is a receptive, if not an active, candidate, has not tended to unravel the tangled skein. Here is a president, who, according to some of his most ardent friends, intends to take the nomination himself, with two candidates in his cabinet. Naturally the inquisitive are asking if collisions can be avoided. It is known to a good many persons here and in Ohio that recently, when the managers of Mr. Taft’s campaign heard that Secretary Cortelyou intended to be a candidate they took steps to ascertain the president’s view of the action of his secretary of he treasury, and got it. In effect the president said that Mr. Cortelyou had a perfect right to run for president; that he was well qualified to fill that office, and that the White House would not put any obstacles in the way ot his candidacy.

Washington, November 16. —President Roosevelt will undoubtedly advise in his message in the plainest language that legislation be enacted which will j permit agreements among the great _ railroads themselves as to rates and traffic arrangements subject to the 1 supervision of the interstate commerce ' commission. This would mean an ] agreement, which, if entered into now, ■ might be - construed into a violation ( of the Serman anti-trust law. The president has already recommended this legislation. He spoke of it as 1 something desirable in his message ' of December, 1905, and he has since recommended it to congress. The * railroads themselves could not agree. * and western members of congress ' somewhat opposed to granting any- < thing to the railroads that could be 1 (Construed into a renewal of “pooling.” < Washington, November 16. —A letter 1 received here from Senator Beveridge 1 denies a widely-published story that ’ he will, at the opening of the coming ’ session of congress, introduce an in- 1 heritance tax bill. The story seems • to have grown out of the fact that 1 the senator, while abroad his last sum- 1 mer, made a study of the inheritance 1 tax question. His present plan is to give the subject very careful study In all its phases before he offers such 1 a bill, if ever he offers one at all. He 1 has no thought of rushing headlong in- 1 to congress with a proposition for such i legislation. It has been pretty gener- 1 ally understood that the president in his message will refer to the advis- ■ -ability of ultimately putting an inheritance tax law on the federal statute books, but it is not believed he intends to ask for such legislation at the coming session. , HIGH SCHOOL NOTES. Miss Lucy Fruchte and Miss Myrtle Ueachler attended the junior section of the literary last Friday afternoon. Albert Sellemeyer. of barren schools, visited the literary last Friday and was a judge on one of the A. Price was at the high school Monday evening in the interest of the American Book company. Prof. Frazee took in the show at Fbrt Wayne last Friday night. Prof. Baumgartner spent Sunday French township. . -„„ ted The basket ball team was defeated by the Berne school last Saturday. | The game was played at 1» rue. return game will be played here to- ' Mrs. Wisehaupt and Mrs. S angle visited the literary last FridayThe high school orchestra appeared in chapel this morning for the first time this year. The boys play very well.

DELL LOCKE LOST HIS RIG. Horse Ran Away—Mrs. Long Quite Badly Hurt. A horse belonging to Dell Locke ran off yesterday afternoon at the piano factory and though it didn’t run far, considerable damage was done. It was standing loose in the yard around the building when the local freight whistled out of the yards and the short, sharp shrieks frightened it and it ran north in the yard and out the north gate. Mrs. Link Long was passing and being unable to see its approach for the high board fence the horse ran into her without any warning. She was knocked down and besides being badly bruised a gash was cut in her head about two inches long. The horse ran on across the street and upset the rig. It kicked loose from the rig there, but was soon caught. The rig was a new >2OO phaeton and is badly damaged. Mrs. Long, while not needing a physician, was worse hurt than was thought. This morning one of her hands was swollen to three times the normal size and her shoulde' pained her severely. She also had severe pains in the head from the awful blow she received. It is not thought she is seriously hurt.—Bluffton Banner. stops the deal Stem and Determined Amish Father Prevents Daughter’s Wedding. YOUNG COUPLE IS SAD James Smucker Refused to Allow His Daughter to Swear License Blank. Fort Wayne, Ind., Nov. 15. —Two hearts beating as one lost out in their proposed merger, owing to the stern religious scruples of the father of the bride-elect, James Smucker, a fanner preacher of the Amish sect, who owns 173 acres of good land in Cedera Creek township, came here, accompanied by the bride-etect and an anxious youth who wished to assume the position of benedict

When the deputy clerk presented the questions to be answered under oath, the hard-shelled old religionist balked, and he refused to permit his daughter to do anything which he thought was interdicted in holy writ. The deputy was willing that the brideelect make affirmation, but again her father interposed. The deputy could do nothing further and he brought the trio before Judge O’Rourke, hopeful that the court could persuade the stiffnecked father to forego his scruples. Mr. Smucker would not yield and the trio left the courthouse, disappointment written on the faces of the young man and his bride-elect. They scorned to use anything so worldly as the elevator and tramped along the marble corridors and down the stairways. As they passed the clerk's office the bride-elect, a buxom girl of the rugged country type, looked back longingly. The young man seemed in dispair. Away out of the difficulty has not yet developed. Smuckeris house on his farm is devoid of curtains and chairs, rude benches serving. He is a stalwart of his clan and he refuses to vote and to read anything but the Bible. NEW RULES FOR THE PUP. Must Be Checked as Baggage When You are Traveling. If you own a dog and wish to take him in a railroad trip with you on or after December 1, you will be compelled by the railroad companies to check the canine as so much baggage and he will ride in the baggage car with the rest of your luggage. Not only must the animal be checked, but he must bear a tag showing the name and address of the owner. After you have attended to all these preliminaries if your pet weighs more than ‘minimum weight of fifty pounds, you I will have to dig down in your jeans for excess baggage on the poor brute. And besides this you will not be allowed more than two dogs at one time in the baggage coach ahead. Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Metz, of Portland, arrived in the city today to be the guests of friends for a few days.

Decatur, Indiana, Saturday Evening, November 16. 1907

HE PLEAD GUILTY Former Adams County Man in Trouble Out West. LIVED AT GENEVA Given a Jail Sentence for Violation of Postal Laws. A Fargo, N. D., dispatch from the Minot Daily Optic, says: “United plates Marahal hea returned, from Washington, D. C., with W. B. Walker in his custody. Walker was taken to the county jail where he will be held until arraigned before Judge Amdion. Walker was the former printer and school teacher, who sent obscene letters through the mail to a young married woman of Balfour, who had been a former sweetheart of his. When arrested by the federal authorities he feigned insanity and instead of being sent to prison was taken to the federal insanse asylum at Washington. The asylum did not appeal to him, however, and through the efforts of a lawyer he succeeded in being declared sane and released. Marshal Shea at once went after him and now Walker will be tried on the charge of sending obscene letters through the mails. The offense is a serious one and Walker is apt to get a long term in the federal penitentiary.” A later dispatch, bearing date of October 29, states: “Judge Amdion sentenced two men yesterday morning at his chambers. W\ B. Walker, who was accused of sending obscene letters through the mails, and who was brought back Saturday from the federal insane asylum at Washington, was sentenced to serve one day in the McHenry county jail at Towner. Walker pleaded guilty, and as he has already been in jail for nearly a year, his sentence was light." W. B. Walker is well known here, this being his former home. He has now taken up a claim in Canada on which his brother Amos was living during Berkley’s incarceration. — Geneva Herald. ELKS’ MINSTRELS Their Second Appearance on New Year’s Night. IT WILL BE GOOD Fred LaDelle and F. E. France to Chaperone the Stars. At the regular meeting of the local order of Elks last evening all the arrangements were completed for the coming minstrel show that is bound to be a success. The matter was dis-

cussed pro and con and several little details that have been stumbling blocks to the committee were satisfactorily arranged and the show will positively be given on Wednesday, January 1, 1908. The advertising committees have been appointed and they are at present busily engaged in completing their part of the affair on which much of the show depends. The show will be given under the direction of F. E. France and Fred LaDelle, who are both experienced in this line, and the production is expected to be much stronger than last year. The lodge contains lots of good material for a show of this kind, as was demonstrated a year ago and the boys should pack the house to its utmost capacity on this eventful night. Numerous new features will be introduced, and an effort will be made to give the people of Decatur a run for their money. Watch for the advertising matter that will appear soon. — J. O. Ball, proprietor of the five and ten cent store, moved his household goods to Lagrange this week. With his family he will ccupy the Clark house on Hawpatch avenue, recently vacated by Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Kerr, who are now occupying part of C. L. Allen’s house on Lafayette street.—Lagrange Journal.

WAS NINETY-SIX YEARS OLD. Amherst Miller, Pioneer of Allen County is Dead. Fort Wayne, Nov. 16. —Amherst Miller, almost a centennarian, one of the oldest men in the middle west ,died Friday at his home in Milan township at the age of ninety-six years. His death was due to senility. For several years he had been both deaf and blind, though up to the time at which he was so afflicted, he was a very active man. The career of Mr. Miller was most noteworthy. He came to Allen county much more than a half century ago and passed through all the stirring incidents of pioneer days. In his younger days he was a noted hunter, and it is said that when sev-enty-five years of age he could outwalk even the sturdiest men of many years his junior. Mr. Miller’s wife died some- years ago, but he is survived by several children. The children are Andrew Miller, Anson Miller, Amherst Miller, Mrs. Sarah Jane Shimp, Mrs. Arabella Merritt and Mrs. Christian Stone. Three children died some years ago. CASH OR NO MEAT Is the Present Policy of the Big Chicago Meat Dealers. ONE DAY’S CREDIT Is All that is Now Given — Small Towns Have Been Cut out —No Reasons. The action of the big meat houses at Chicago has caused some surprise among the dealers who sell Chicago fresh meats.

Heretofore it has been the custom of these big corporations to trust any dealer, for one week at least, if he was considered good. This week their salesman who makes this territory received a telegram ordering him to trust no dealer, no matter if he was considered good as gold and to sell goods strictly for cash. Under the new order, if goods are received on the car out of Chicago which arrives here on Monday, the meat must be paid for when the salesman calls on Tuesday. Any dealer who cannot meet these conditions will be cut off the list of the Chicago meat house customers. Another salesman who has made this territory once a week and drove to see all the small dealers in outlying territory received orders to cut the driving business out and call upon the larger merchants only in the central part of the city. What effect this is going to have on the smaller dealer is not known. They will either have to order through the larger houses now or drop the meat business temporarily. This would put a number of them out of business, however, as they depend upon the meat trade to draw their grocery business. What is the reason for the action of the Chicago houses is not known. The Indianapolis and other Indiana meat concerns are following suit and it is presumed that the scarcity of money with which to carry on the business is at the bottom of the whole affair.—Hartford City News. BIG SHIPMENT OF TURKEYS Will Be Made from this City Next Monday. While it is true that the turkey crop in the United States is much smaller than usual this year, and the famine has been much talked of, one would scarcely have believed such to be the fact had they visited the Decatur Produce plant today. An even 1,000 head were killed Friday and prepared for shipment to the east Monday. This is one of the largest shipments ever made from Decatur, and will probably not be reached again this year. It is needless to say that the “bunch” represents a considerable investment. Messrs. John and Kirt Brown have returned from the vicinity of Fort Wayne, where they were on a hunting trip and they brought with them forty-1 two rabbits. |

ANOTHER MERGER Clover Leaf and Alton Railroads are Getting Together. MUCH IN COMMON Their Department Business Will Be Merged Together. Orders have ben issued by the management of the Clover Leaf road for the merging of its accounting department with that of the Chicago and Alton. W. D. Tucker, auditor of the Clover Leaf, will be made auditor of the combined accounting department, the auditor ot the Alton being let out. The consolidation will be made effective Dec. 1. The details were settled at a conference held between President S. M. Felton of the Alton and President T. P. Shonts of the Clover Leaf. It is expected that this action is the forerunner of consolidation of other departments of the two roads. Just how far the merging of the two managements will go is not known. The auditing department of the Clover Leaf has been removed from Toledo to Chicago and is in the general offices of the Alton in the Railway Exchange building. The Clover Leaf auditor employed about fifty people. The Alton has more than 100 in the same department and necessarily a number of employes will be dropped. Besides the auditing department of the Clover Leaf, the freight claim department, the president’s office, the purchasing agent and the vice president in charge of all departments will be located in Chicago. In fact the Clover Leaf has already changed its headquarters from Toledo to Chicago. George H. Ross, second vice president and general manager, and E. S. Wortham, purchasing agent, having offices in the Railway Exchnge. Speculation is rife as to whether President Felton of the Alton is to be president of both systems eventually or whether a new man will have the place. MRS. JOHNS DEAD A Pioneer Craigville Resident Who Was Well

Known Here. EIGHTY-FOUR YEARS An Illness of Ten Months With Dropsy Proves Fatal —Funeral Sunday. The Bluffton News said last evening: Mrs. Lucy Johns, 84, died at 7:45 this morning at her home in Craigville, after an illness dating from last February, due to dropsy and the infirmities of age. She was the widow of Ethan Johns, whose death occurred six years ago. Since her husband’s death she had made her home with her daughter, Mrs. W. A. Seamin, at Craigville, who with five other children are left to mourn her death. The other children are Jesse Johns, of Delphos; Mrs. Lucy Ridenour, of Lima, Ohio; and Benjamin Johns, Mrs. Warren Crist and Mrs. Daniel Macklin, living in or near Craigville. Mrs. Johns had been a resident of Wells county for about thirty years and of Craigville for fifteen years. The funeral will be held at the Christian Union church at Craigville Sunday forenoon at 10 o'clock and interment will take place at the Oakland cemetery. Rev. C. T. Payne will conduct the funeral ser vices. The K. of C. team went down in defeat before the strong postoffice team last evening at the Klondyke bowling alleys in three straight games. The , postoffice boys rolled magnificent games, and proved easy winners. The K. of C. boys although they had their usual team at work, did not roll up to : their standard and had they done this ] would no doubt have been defeated, : as the postoffice boys were determined : to win and rolled the scores. The teams will meet again next week.

APPOINTS PRIVATE SECRETARY. Congressman Adair Names Fred Woodcock for the Place. Congressman John A. M. Adair, of Portland, was in the city over night attending the Fall Festival, and to a Banner reporter this morning he announced the appointment of Fred Woodcock, of Portland, as his private J secretary. This matter has been one of conjecture and awaited for with interest all over the district since Mr. Adair’s election and this paper ’ takes pleasure in being the first to make public the selection. —Bluffton Banner. MISS hildred zerkle dead. e Popular Young Lady of Geneva and . Well Known Here. i h Miss Hildred Zerkle, aged twentyone, and one of the popular young lae dies of her community, died Friday f morning. She had been in poor health :, for several months, suffering from . kidney trouble and though every pos- . sible treatment was given her, relief failed to result. She was quite well known in this city. The funeral sera vices will be held at Geneva Sunday, a o ■ FOR THIS TOWNSHIP _____ 3 The Sunday School Conr 5 vention on Sunday Afternoon. s A GOOD PROGRAM r £ Two Sessions to be Held, ’ One in Afternoon and i One in Evening. a 3 The Sunday schools of Washington *■ township will hold a convention in 3 this city tomorrow afternoon and evj ening and a large attendance is exi pected to enjoy both sessions. The 1 first convenes at the Baptist church ' tomorrow afternoon at two o’clock and the following program, which promises to be very interesting, will ‘ be rendered: Song by congregation; invocation, Rev. E. E. Bergman; address: The Most Effective Powers in . Sunday School Work, Rev. R. L. Hessert; song, mixed quartette, Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Patterson, Mrs. Charles True and C. J. Lutz; address, W. H. Merryman, district president; song; round table, Jesse Roop, Berne; song and offering; benediction. From a glance at the program, the initial session will be intensely interesting and they should be greeted by a packed house. The second and final session of this convention opens at the M. E. church at 7 p. m. tomorrow, when union services will ensue. The program starts with a prayer by Dr. Wilcox after which music will be rendered by the kid orchestra; a report of the committee will then be made, after which the McKean quar-

tette will favor the audience with music; a report of the county convention will then be made by Rev. Kliewer, of Berne, followed by a solo by Mrs. Dr. Wilcox. District president’, W. H. Merryman, will then deliver an address, after which a song and the usual offering, followed by the benediction by Rev. Stangle, will close the convention. The Mennonite quartette from Berne will attend the evening service and render music. o NO END TO THE ARGUMENT. Questions Asked by “Puzzled Mother” Remain Undecided. We have received several more articles on the questions propounded by “A Puzzled Mother,” but as the argument seems to be a never ending one, from which but little good can result, we have decided not to publish any more articles on the subject at this time. After all. every one should be allowed to enjoy life as , they desire. They alone are accountable for their acts, be they good, bad ( or indifferent, so what's the use to ( throw stones at each other. . o ( Prof. H. F. Hart is here to tune j your piano? Tel. 153 or notify Stone- . hundreds of Decatur homes in the past , five years. Will you let him tune , your piano? Tel. 153 o rnotify Stone- , burner’s music store. Will call and inspect your piano free.

Price Two Cents

ATRIP TO TEXAS Mrs. Morrison Describes a Recent Journey to the Pan Handle. IN A DELIGHTFUL WAY- - W T.v* Says It is a Great State, Excelling Even California in Climate and Otherwise. I have been asked by some of your readers to write a brief account of our recent trip to the Panhandle of Texas. Mrs. John Niblick, Miss Hattie Studabaker, Mrs. W. J. Vesey, of Fort Wayne and myself composed the party. We left on Tuesday night traveling continuously, sometimes waiting for delayed trains, but never missing one, until Saturday noon, when we reached our destination, Lubbach, Lubbock county, Texas. Thursday we spent a few hours in Oklahoma City,

Okla. We had several hours to waif for a delayed train. We took advantage of the time to see the city. It is well built and progressive. I forget the population, but town lots are staked off for several miles in the country. Oklahoma is a fine country. The territory will soon become a state. Lands are selling high. We left at 2 p. m. for Amarilla, Texas, reaching there the next morning. A little city of fourteen or fifteeen thousand principally real estate agents. The country around Amarilla is a fine one. In the afternoon we got a train on the Pecos Valley road for Plainview. This is a short line running to Plainview since last Christmas. It is only 140 miles long, and has one train a day each way—a couple of passenger cars at the end of a freight train. We went almost south through Julia and Canyon City. The country is beautiful rolling prairie. We reached Plainview at dark, but the town was full of strangers, and we could not get a place to sleep. A gentleman we met on the way and who lived at Hale Center, county seat of Hale county, insisted we should go with his wife and himself and remain over night. There was nothing else to do, and we thankfully accepted. After making arrangements for an automobile to come for us, we started on our fifteen mile drive over the plains to find beds. It was moonlight, the air was soft and pleasant and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Our new friends are “old settlers," having gone there in the ’Bo’s. Last spring they set out a new orchard of one hundred and five acres. That will speak for itself as a fruit

country. The automobile came for us the next morning. There is a regular automoble line running from Plainview to Lubbock, a distance of 50 miles. The auto's come three miles out of their way to take up up at Hale Center. About twenty minutes after we started it begun to rain, and continued until we got to Lubbock. In fact it rained nearly all the time we were in Lubbock, and we had to return in a hack, as the roads were not in condition for the autos to run. In fact the water stood several inches deep all around the court house square. To those who say it never rains in the “Staked Plains,” I beg leave to differ for we had almost a solid week of rain.

As to the country, Amarillo, Julia county, Plainview, Hale Center and Lubbock, it is all very much alike. A very beautiful country, rolling prairie, with some well watered streams. What I say of Lubbock is about the same for all corn, Kaffir corn, milo, maize, cotton and some alfalfa seem to be the principal crops. All kind of vegetables are grown and the finest flavored in the world. All kinds of fruit is grown. Water is found from forty to fifty feet. It costs about one hundred and twenty-five dollars to put down a well. Land is cheap and easily cultivated. No frosts to clear away, no stumps to burn, everything ready for the plow. I saw furrows a mile long turned up by a steam plow turning sixteen furrows at a time. Settlers are few. because land has been owned by big cattle men who grazed from fifty to a hundred thousand acres, and who did not want farmers to use the land. Now cattle raising is not profitable and these big “cow men” as they are palled, are beginning to sell their cattle and throw some of their land on the market. They are now seeking farmers to occupy the land and (Continued on page 2.)