Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 6, Number 292, Decatur, Adams County, 8 December 1908 — Page 1

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT.

Llume VI. Number 292.

■HE PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE I Hakes His Annual Recommendations I to Congress

Boosts himself ■hinks His Administration ■the Greatest in Country’s ■ History ■ he FINANCES ■>iscusses Most Everything ■and Makes Some RecomI mendations I I Washington, Dec. B.—ln his message congress, read to the two houses, president said: I ■ The financial standing of the nation HKt the present time is excellent, and financial management of the nainterests by the government dnrthe last seven years has shown the satisfactory results. But our system is Imperfect, and it earnestly to be hoped that the curcommission will be able to pro a thoroughly good system which do away with the existing defects. ■ I During the period from July 1, 1901, Sept. 30, 1908, there has been a net of nearly one hundred millions receipts over expenditures, a reducof the Interest bearing debt by millions, In spite of the extraorexpense of the Panama canal a saving of nearly nine millions the annual Interest charge. This is exceedingly satisfactory showing. has been a reduction of taxaI Corporation!. I ■ As regards the great corporations enin interstate business, and espethe railroads, I can only repeat |Htvbat I have already again and again believe that under the Interstate of the constitution the L'nlted has complete and paramount to control all agencies of intercommerce, and I believe that the government alone can exerIHcise this right with wisdom and esso as both to secure Justice J ■from and to do justice to the great incorporations which are the most 1mfactors in modem business. I ■ ■believe that it is worse than folly to IHattempt to prohibit all combinations, ■ Has is done by the Sherman anti-trust IHlaw, because such a law can be enI ■forced only imperfectly and unequalIHly, and its enforcement works almost |Has much hardship as good. I strongly | ■advocate that instead of an unwise I ■effort to prohibit ail combinations there IHshall be substituted a law which shall [ ■expressly permit combinations which I Bare in the interest of the public, but at the same time give to some of the national government full I ■ power of control and supervision over r ■ them. One of the chief features of I ■this control should be securing entire I ■ publicity in all matters which the pubI BHe has a right to know and. furtheri ■ more, the poyver, not by judicial, but ( ■ by executive, action to prevent or put I ■ a stop to every form of improper faI I voritlsm or other wrongdoing. The railways of the country should ' K be put completely under the Interstate ( I commerce commission and removed I S from the domain of the anti-trust law. The power of the commission should I ■ be made thoroughgoing, so that it I I could exercise complete supervision ■ ■ and control over the issue of securities : ■ as well as over the raising and lower- ■ I Ing of rates. As regards rates, at least ■ this power should be summary- Pow- ■ er to make combinations and traffic S agreements should be explicitly com I ferred upon the railroads, the permlsI slon of the commission being first I gained and the combination or agreeI ment being published in all its deI tails. The interests of the shareholdI erg, of the employees and of the shipI Pers should all be guarded as against S one another. To give any one of them ■ undue and Improper consideration ts ■ "to do injustice to the others. Kates I must be made as low as is compatible ■ with giving proper returns to all the ■ employees of the railroad, from the I highest to the lowest, and proper reI turns to the shareholders, but they I must not. for instance, be reduced in I ’such fashion as to necessitate a cut I Sn the wages of the employees or the I abolition of the proper and legitimate I profits of honest shareholders. Telegraph and telephone companies I engaged in interstate business should I be put under the jurisdiction of the inL I terstate commerce commission.

Ample Rewards For Intelligence. It is to the interest of all of us that there should be a premium put upon individual Initiative and individual ca-1 pacity and an ample reward for the | great directing Intelligences alone competent to manage the great business operations of today. It is well to keep In mind that exactly as the anarchist Is the worst enemy of liberty and the reactionary the worst enemy of order so the men who defend the rights of property have most to fear from the wrongdoers of great wealth, and the men who are championing popular rights have most to fear from the demagogues who In the name of popular rights would do wrong to and oppress honest business men, honest men of wealth, for the success of either type of wrongdoer necessarily invites a violent reaction against the cause the wrongdoer nominally upholds. The opposition to government control of these great corporations makes (Continued on page 6.) THE SECOND DAY The Board of Commissioners Are Still in Session BONDS ACCEPTED New County Officers File Bonds—Other Business Several macadam roads were accepted and are notv a part of the macadam road system of the county. The commissioners accepted the Reynolds No. 4, Monroe Central No. 2, Lachot, Bucher, Ahr. West Pleasant Mills No. 1. J. A. Cline and the Wash-ington-Kirkland roads. The official bonds of Surveyor-elect Ernst, Coroner Grandstaff, Auditorelect Michaud and Sheriff Meyer were accepted, and the bonds placed in the custody of Clerk Haefiing for safe keeping. In the petitions for the Buuck highway the costs and damages has been assessed against the petitioners and others' interested. When this cost and damage is adjusted the highway will be opened. t The viewers report upon the Decatur & Monroe No. 6 road was approved, and the road ordered constructed. The board goes to Bluffton Friday, where they will take part in a joint session with the Wells county board, the matter under consideration being a joint county line road. Appointment of superintendents on macadam roads was considered and several appointments were made. Conrad Doehrman, Sr., was appointed on the Gallmeyer road; Samuel Jaberg on the Preble-Kirkland and Henry Wafel on the Wafel road. The board will likely wind up the business of tthe tomorrow. They will meet on December 28 to finish the business of the year. / — o — — dies in search for robber Physician Accidentally Shoots Himself In .Hunting Burglar. Springfield, Mo., Dec. 7. —While searching early this morning for a burglar he believed was in his cellar Dr. Charles E. Brown Jr., a prominent physician of Springfield, accidentally killed himself. Mr. Brown had been aroused from sleep by a noise In the basement of his house. Revolver in hand, he went in search of the intruder. When he reached the cellar he became excited and dropped the weapon which was dischargd. The bullet j penetrated the lower part of his body | death resulting within a few hours.

IT’S DAN TO JAIL Daniel Straub Draws Jail Sentence from the Mayor for Wife Beating WAS GIVEN HEARING Last Evening Where He Pleaded Not Guilty—ss and Costs Daniel Straub, a familiar police court character, known to be tthe most abusive man to his family residing in or about Decatur, was re-j manded to jail last night by Mayor! C. O. France, after the pleadings of the wife, charging most inhuman treatment, were heard by the court. Severely injured as a result of a blow dealt out by the husband. Mrs. Straub appeared before the mayor where an affidavit charging that on the seventh day of December, he struck her in a rude and insolent manner, was preI pared. The accused was soon captured by Marshal Bohnke and was taken to the mayor’s office, where, although the temperature was at an almost freezing point, the trial ensued amid chattering of teeth and trembling of muscles. Mrs. Straub submitted her story of the grave affair conveying the idea that she was half frozen to death, both of which statements sOemed indeed plausible. Mrs. Straub also volunteered that her “hubby” struck her with a high phair. During the questioning Dan smiled vigorously venturing a word occasionally, but when his honor removed the pencil from his ear and entered something on the docket which looked something like $5 and costs and ten days In jail, the smile disappeared as though magic and a protest was forthcoming, but of no avail, as every one knows that when Mayor France says jail it’s jail. Let us hope that Mr. and Mrs. Straub have this as the closing chapter of their much annoying episodes.

TRACTION AFFAIRS Facts About the Ft. Wayne and Springfield Interurban Affairs MAPLE GROVE PARK Association Has No President —November Business Very Good

Interurban car number two presents a modified appearance as a result of a coat of varnish, some people really thinking it to be a new one when they saw it on~the track "yesterday. The promoters of the Fort Wayne & Springfield have arranged to re-var-nish every car and at the present time men are engaged in varnishing car number one. The freight busiess on this interurban is greatly increasing, and the report for November. which is now being compiled, will show a big increase in business over that of the preceding month. The passenger traffic, of course, greatly decreased during the winter months, and will in all probability be verysmall for two months following the holidays. No definite action has been taken by the stockholders of the Maple Grove Park association In regard to the pleasure resort for the summer of 1909. As yet no successor has been chosen for T. W. Shelton, who fulfilled the capacity of president. It is hinted, however, that the park will be more attractive next year reason of the proposed establishment of high class amusements than it was the past summer. Work will be resumed on the extension of the interurban next spring and it is not improbable that cars will be operated Ito ’Berne before the fall of 1909. ■ The restaurant proprietors are advertising their nuts, candies, etc. They offer special prices to school teachers, churches and other organizations.

Decatur, Indiana, Tuesday Evening, December 8, 1908,

DROWNS IN ENGLISH CHANNEL: Allied Dobson, General Agent for Tasmania in London, Loses Life. London, Dec. 7. —Alfred Dobson, general, agent .'or Tasmania in London, while crossiiie, the channel from Foulogne to Folkestone was drowned. He was sitting in the stern of the boat in a forbidden part of the vessel. One of the officers warned him he could not be allowed to remain there, whereupon Dobson threw up his hands and fell overboard. Mr. Dobson was born in 1848. He had 1 been speaker of the Tasmanian as-I sembly, attorney general and solici- i tor general. o OPTION ELECTION Wabash and Lawrence Counties to Vote December 29 I GETTING ACTIVE They Are Talking Serious in Other Counties in the State Wabash, Ind., Dec. 8. —Five minutes too late a restraining order was served upon the county comtmissloners yesterday afternoon to prevent them ordering an election under the county local option law. A restraining order had been asked and the commissioners cited to appear before Judge

( Plujmmer at 3 o’clock this afternoon, j They appeared and an error in the ■ papers was found, and the restraining (order could not be issued. The commissioners returned to their chan- ' bers and the attorneys for the saloon j men hastened to their offices to prei pare new- papers. In their absence Representative Fred I. King demanded and obtained action on the petition. Five minutes later a new restraning oirder was issued, but it came too late. Tuesday, Dec. 29, was the date selected for the election. This will make Wabash county the first in Indiana to vote. The injunction was demanded on the grounds of unconstitutionality and because the county council had granted no appropriation for the election. The county council will be convened to make the appropriation. The saloon men promise further moves, but they met with signal defeat today. Bedford, Ind., Dec. B.—There was filed with the county commissioners yesterday ,a petition asking for a special election giving the people an opportunity to express through the ballot as to whether the sale of liquor shall continue in Lawrence county. The petition contained over double the number of signatures necessary. The commissioners have set Dec. 29 as the day on which the election shall | take place. Immediately following : the announcement of the date a rep-. resentative of the brewery- interests said an injunction would be secured to prevent the holding of the election, j It has developed today that there will be a hot fight in every township on the part of both sides. Columbia City. Ind, Dec. B.—The Whitley county board of county comtnlssioners deferred action on the pe- : tition filed Saturday asking for a ■special wet or dry election until 10 o’clock Thursday forenoon. The petition was signed by 1.229 voters, but attorneys for Benjamin Raupfer. pro- < prletor of the local brewery, and saloon keepers have learned some signatures were secured on Sunday and : will use every means possible to pre- i vent calling of special election. <

Huntington. Tnidi.,| Dec. 8,.— Every minister in the county was made a member of the County Ministerial Association today at a banquet and meeting held behind closed doors In the Presbyterian church. It is said the new members were taken in order that the Ministers’ Association may have a thorough county organization in the local option election fight, Decatur people are shopping early this year to avoid the Christmas rush. This is a good idea. Ice skating is the popular pastime for the boys and girls at the present time. It is reported that the ice is fine.

SERIOUS QUESTION What It Means to Deplete the Purse of Our Home Manufacturers CITY MEN THRIVE At the Expense of People in Cities Our Size—Let’s Get Away from It The cigar question is a serious one, and it should be regarded as such. Propositions which have to do with the welfare of our city call for profound consideration from the people, and wh ynot the cigar question? The amount of money which is drawn from the purses of Decatur people and sent to wholesale cigar manufacturers in large cities is almost unfathomable. It is no trivial affair as regarded by many,and while a five cent purchase may seem meager within itself, the multiplicity of similar purchases figures into more than four figures within twelve months. Is it not then time for some remedial action at the hands of the consumer? The depletion of the purses of home men, means, relegation to the rear of home enterprize. It has a definition which should be abhorred by all right thinking people, should be resented ,by patriots. If it is proper that we : shall sit idly by and with no murmur lor protest permit men in cities to I grow rich at our expenses or partialjly so, then be it so, but such is I brazen inconsistency. We as residents of Decatur are pledged, not in writing, nor orally, but by reason of our fidelity (if we have such a quality), to home industry to give our iunawe.Tving )support to local cigar manufacturers. It is high time we begin now lest we soon forget our obligations as Decatur citizens. Such brands as Standard. 252, N. H. C, ' Royal Ribbon and Lone Star are beyond criticism.

ORGANIZE TEAM 1 ■ Local Elks Organize Bowling Team to Play Elks at Fort Wayne EXCITING CONTEST Was Pulled Off at Palace Alleys Last Night—The Ladies Like to Bowl A bowling club was organized by the local order of Elks last night and ; the team will have the honor of play- ! ( ing the opening game on the alleys 'in the new Elk building under conj struction at Fort Wayne, the contest ( to come off some time during the holidays. Those selected for the local team are: C. O. France, Tom Peterson, Maynard Frisinger, Fred Vaughn, Fred Bell, and D. E. Studabaker. These gentlemen are all clever bowlers and will make their (opponents go sofrne to beat them. They consider it quite an honor to be given the opportunity of participating in the initial game to be played on the Fort Wayne alleys, and in token of their appreciation they will endeavor to administer a bitter defeat to the hosts. C. O. France and Tom Peterson tn a two man contest, defeated Maynard Frisinger and Guy Dorwin last evening the former getting the larger number of pins in three games. The contest was close and spirited. Decatur ladies find amusement in bowling and Manager Peterson of the alleys has arranged special times when the fairer sex can indulge in the popular pastime without expense. o . —, , — New York, Dec. 7. —The wanderlust has again taken possession of George Ade, the w-ell known politician of the | middle west and Holland House. On Dec. 16 he and his Intimate friend, Ort Wells, will set sail aboard the Lusitania on a trip that js to take them around the world. The two globetrotters expect to away for nearly six months. Ade will devote a part of his time to writing a new comedy.

KILLS HIS BOY PLAYMATE. Children Fight Fatal Duel, Believing Guns Unloaded. Marquette, Mich., Dec. 7. —As the result of a childish duel, Robert Warren, a 14-year-old bey, lies dead at his home with a bullet hole through his neck. Robert Miller, a playmate, is said to have fired the fatal shot. The two children played at hunting deer. They stalked up the South Shore tracks in quest of their fancied game. When some distance from home, in a playful mood, one suggested a duel, and they pointed their shotguns at each other, neither knowing that either was loaded. Miller took deliberate aim. it is said, and pulled the trigger. His face blanched as he saw the gun go off. His little friend fell to the ground, and as Miller came up to him and, with terror in his voice inquired into his condition, lie found Warren dead. The bullet had passed clean through the neck. Horrified, the child ran back to town and told of the tragedy. Friends went out to ! secure the body, xvhlch was lying between the railroad tracks.

The public schools are to close December 24 and convene January 4th. I Two weeks holiday vacation is one of the many things welcomed by the i students. FOXY UNCLE JOE He is Now One of the Rankest Revisionists in Washington A CONFERENCE Today He Will Land the President-Elect on His Little Red Wagon ■Washington, Dec. 8. —There will be ' a conference in Washington today I which probably will decide whether Speaker Cannon is to have any serious opposition for re-election as the presiding officer of the house. It also is expected to shape the trend of tariff legislation. Speaker Cannon through intermediaries, asked for the conference. The principals at the i conference will be President-elect Taft and Mr. Cannon. Some of Mr. Cannon’s friends would like to be present, but whether they will be admitted remains to be seen. Mr. Can non is no longer riding a high horse. Apparently he has decided that tariff . revision is something that cannot be avoided, and ;'|nst now he is one of the most ardent revisionists in Washington. There is some specula-. tion as to how much of his conversion is due to a change of heart and how much to the fact that he has

i his ear to the ground, but at any j rate he is now the boss tariff revisionist. It was learned that Mr. Cannon is spurring the ways and means committee on to a revision of the Dingley schedules, and that the recent great activity of that committee is due to the prodding it is receiving from the speaker. It was the speaker who was back of the resolution adopted today giving the ways and means committee the power to summon witnesses and to go about the duties before it in a businesslike ★ay. There is every reason to believe that the conference will result in clearing the atmosphere. Cannon has convinced President Roosevelt of his sincerity 1 as a revisionist and it is reasonable to suppose he can also convince Pres-ident-elect Taft. ESCAPE FROM STATE PRISON Three Convicts Use Rope to Scale Walls at Jeffersonville. Jeffersonville, Ind., Dec. 7. —Three (convicts escaped from the Indiana Reformatory today and are still at large. The men are Martin Whalen, 1 convicted of grand larceny; John ■ Whalen, assault, and Charles Russell, grand larceny. All were serving indeterminate sentences with maximum penalties ranging fro m fourteen to twenty-one years. The escape was effected while the men were doing special Sunday work in the power house, a coil of rope enabling them to scale a secluded part of the wall. |

Price Two Cents

SCHOOLS PROSPER Bi-annual Report of County Superintendent Shows I Excellence OF OUR SCHOOLS I I Increase in Attendance and in Interest of Teachers ’ and Pupils 1I County Superintendent Opliger reI cently sent the following report to > the state superintendent showing the ’ splendid condition of the Adams 1 county schools; 1 State Supt. F. A. Cotton. Indianap’l olis, Indiana: U Dear Sir-The schools of Adams ; county are In a very progressive con- ': dition, as shown by visitation and i the reports of teachers and patrons, j The educational spirit is good and '; seems to be growing with each year’s • | work. While the total enumeration : has been gradually decreasing the to- ! tai enrollment and the average attendance have been Increasing gradually. If the first month of the pres- ; ent school year is Indicative of the , close of the term will eclipse all previous years in the history of the county. The high schools have been im- ’ : proved very much during the past two years. Their courses have been strengthened. laboratory equipment addd, and the length of term made more uniform. Every township high school in the county, with but one exception, is maintaining a minimum ' term of eight months. Their course of study is arranged so that it conforms with that of the certified and * commissioned schools. As a result of which, ’students completing their course in the township high school are privileged to continue their work in the town and city schools, with full credit, without a break or loss of time In their educational career. The Geneva school is now commissioned. The Beme school has ’ strengthened its course and labor- . | atory so as to be certified and will , j soon ask for a commission, making J then, a total of three commissioned ; schools in the county. There has not only been growth in the material 'development and organization of the high schools, but also a marked ■growth in numbers, in the spiritual : development. The .for the ■ current year show an approximate i enrollment of 253 students, which is ■ a large increase over previous years. Last year we enrolled 202 students : and the year previous 183. a gain : in two years of more than 25 per cent. I Our teachers, on the average, are j well trained, enthusiastic and inter- ; ested in their school work. They have been encouraged to seek spec- ' ial training in their profession by : the school patrons, the school officials, and. especially, by the enactment of the new law favoring those , who possess such training. 1 At the beginning of this year, we enlisted (about twelve first term teachers, who I are graduates of high school and have had. in some cases, more than ithe minimum professional training. | These teachers, on the average, are (more mature, more reliable, dignified, command greater respect, show greatler intellectual strength, are more ■thorough in their work and utilize better methods of presentation than the beginner of former years. As a (result of their high school and pro- : fessional training, these teachers arf ' able to take a very active and inte.ligent part in the township institutes and thus enhance their Interest an usefulness. Onp condition, about by the effects of the new law, which I consider unfortunate for the public schools, is the fact that we are obliged to accept and fill our district schools largely with lady teachers. Young men consider the inves ment too great for them to enter the teaching profession. However, I trust that the immediate effect may not be permanent. That young men in the future, may be attracted by the greatest of all professions. “Not so much for myself as for others Educational sentiment has been strengthened, in part, by the anntm county commencement, which was ’> augurated last year. These are e in different parts of the conn > the convenience and enthusiasm both pupils and patrons. The gr uatfng class of W* l ® ha<i * (Continued on page