Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 8, Number 11, Decatur, Adams County, 13 January 1910 — Page 1

Volume VIII. Number 11.

| LAMPHERE’S | CONFESSION i Mrs. Guness’ Hired Man Tells Story of Her Awful |. Charnel Home. I AND PART HE TOOK Secret Did Not Go With Him to Grave as Has Been Generally Supposed. (United Press Service.) St. Louis, Mo., Jan. 13.—(Special to I / Daily Democrat)—Ray Lampher;, Who died recently in the Indiana pen- | Itentiary at Michigan City, where he was serving a term of years for ar- § son, setting fire to the home of Mrs. I Guness, near Laporte, Indiana, did not carry the secret of the Guness Keharnel farm to the tomb with him, to a copyrighted story in ’the St. Louis Post-Dispatch today, iSjwhich says that he made a confession '*to the Rev. Mr. Shell, former pastor Hos the Methodist church at Laporte, i It says the Rev. Shell could corroborate the story if he would consent to break the silence of the confession which it publishes in full. The Postffl Dispatch, however, says the confession which they publish was made to Sa man of unassailable character. Lamphere, according to the confession went to the farm house with a woman and there they chloroformed Mrs. Guness, her three children and Jessie Olson. They light they used, was a candle, and they left the house not knownlg that they had left a spark that soon burst into flames. Mrs. Guness' method of killing her victims, Lamphere said, was first to * * Chloroform them while they slept, and then if the drug did not kill them she would sever their head with an axe. Each time a man was to be murdered, according to Lamphere, she sent him to purchase chloroform. Lamphere said he saw one man killed and aided in burning three of them. Lamphere said he was drunk the night he visits ed the place and said he thought he could find $1,500. LATE DISPATCHES Victims of Mine Explosion Will Recover—Veterinaries Close Session. SAILORS DROWNED Twenty-Nine Die in Sea off Western Coast —Sad Accident in Kentucky. (United Press Service.) Terra Haute, Ind., Jan. 13. —(Special to Democrat) —The fourteenth victims of the explosion at the Lyford mines at Clinton, Indiana, late Yesterday, who are in the local hospital here, are today expected to recover. (United Press Service.) Indianapolis, Ind., Jan. 13. (Special to ally Democrat The fourteenth annual meeting of the Veterinary association closed today with a series of clinics at the Indiana Veterinary college, where a number of specimens of diseased animals were placed on exhibition. (United Press Service. | Marshfield, Oregon, Jan. 13 — (Special to Daily Democrat)—Rushing through the heavy fog that hung rover the coast, in response to an appeal for help which came to late, the

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT.

steamnship Queen, is now reported to be close to the wreck of the Southern Pacific steamer Czarina, which broke in two on North Stip Coos late i yesterday. Twenty-nine out of the crew of thirty men on the Czarina | are believed to have drowned, while one man, the assistant engineer, is in a local hospital suffering from exposure, having been washed ashore, I following an attempt to swim. He will recover. (United Press Service.) Owensboro, Ky., Jan. 13 —(Special to Daily Democrat) —As the one-year-old baby of Mrs. Pack Walters slept ’ in its mothers arms, the entire side of its face was torn off by the shot from a gun. accidentally dropped by a six- ( year-old cousin. The baby died soon afterward but the mother was unhurt. The gun had been loaded by Walters without the knowledge of his wife to catch chicken thieves. A FIRE IN BOSTON > Caused Destruction of the Big Y. M. C. A. Building Early Today. i OHIO RIVER RISING Loss is Great and May be More if the Thaw Con- > tinues—Other News. (United Press Service.) Boston, Jan. 13. —(Special to Daily Democrat) —Fire early today destroyed the central Y. M. C. A. building here, causing a loss of $200,000. After two hours’ fight it was practically un- ' der contral (United Press Service.! Madrid, Spain, Jan. 13. —(Special to Dally Democrat) —To the Intense an- ' ger of thousands of families which - have been anticipating the early reli turn of their “bread winners’’ from , service in Morocco, the Riss have again resumed activity against the Spanish troops. The country is again inclined to a semi-anarchy condition ’ as it existed before the Maura cabli net fell. [ / , (United Press Service.) Evansville, Ind., Jan. 13. —(Special to Dally Democrat) —Melting snow ■ and heavy rains throughout the south i part of the state have caused the rap- ■ id rise of the Ohio river. The damI age to river men will exceed $50,000, according to reports today. Should the river overflow its banks, the ’ property loss will be enormous. (United Press Service.) Lisbon, Portugal, Jan. 13. —(Special to Daily Democrat) —King Manuel left the palanre today for his country villo at Vicosa, the move being taken in accordance with the wishes of his advisors, who think it will be easier t to guard the king in his isolated residence than in the palate. SOME SIXTY DOLLARS , Have Been Collected by ’Squire Smith —Seventeen Judgments. Very little is doing in the ’squire’s courts these days, but occasionally ’Squire Smith dons his judicial robes, and grasps his pen in hand to enter • judgment on his dockets against more i of the belated poll tax delinquents. - This morning saw the dawn of one > of his judgment days, two more having been entered. Mr. Smith stated that this week would probably see the wind-up of this run, as the return date on all of the hundred or more summons Issued in these cases will fall within this week. He has collected In 1 all about sixty dollars, while others - against whom suit was threatened, i settled directly with the city officials, r In all about seventeen judgments have J been entered by default. It Is said 1 that a similar war will soon begin against the dog tax delinquents. o Mr. and Mrs. Ray Buckingham of - six miles eastVf Geneva were in the - city Wednesday on business and while ; here were the guests at the home of - her uncle, Abe Bergman, and family 3 of East Main street.—Portland Sun.

Decatur, Indiana. Thursday Evening, January 13, 1910.

HELD A CAUCUS I ■ ■ » t Only Three Members of Congress From the State of Indiana. » w RECEIPTS GROWING i The Indianapolis Postoffice Receipts Have Been ' Looming Up. I . ( Washington, Jan. 13. —The republi- , can delegation from Indiana held a caucus for the selection of a member of the republican congressional committee and Representative CrumpackI er was chosen for that honor, to sueceed former Representative C. B. Landis. The caucus was short and informal. The republican delegation ; from Indiana is so limited numerically that there was no danger of overcrowding. Those present at the caucus were Senator Beveridge and Representative Barnhard. The remainder of the delegation, Representative Crumpacker, was absent. This is ■ how it happened: Representative Barnhard went over to call on Senator Beveridge. He found the Senator at his noonday repast in the senate restaurant. “Senator,” said Representative Barnhard, “I think we ought to elect Crumpacker as a member of the republican congressional committee from Indiana.” “Fine,” exclaimed the senator. “Go and tell him.” The caucus then adjourned. It was by all odds the briefest and most harmonious of all state caucuses that were ■ held yesterday and today. Washington, Jan. 13. —The receipts of the Indianapolis postoffice are Increasing by leaps and bounds. Todav the postmaster-general made a report , of postoffices of the fifty leading cit- . ies of the United State?, for December, 1909. Only a few of them show . a larger growth than the Indianapolis office. The official statement shows . the receipts of the Indianapolis office , for December last were $116,318.21, as against $99,934.29 for December, 1908. This is a gain of 16.39 per cent. had a session l Commissionrs Cleaned Up the Business for the Last Year. i MAKE IMPROVEMENTS i Long Needed Improvements t to be Made at the Auditor’s Office. 111 1 " K — The commissioners are in session today cleaning up the business left for them by the county council. All allowances were made of the bills left over from last year and now they have a clean slate for this year. / • The board made an order for a little improvement in the auditor's office, which, when completed will give the board more room for the transaci tion of business. The wall between the auditor’s private room and the room where the board now have their ’ meetings will be taken out and a solid ' panel railing substituted, and which s will have a tendency of keeping the people and those having business with the board as a discreet distance, ’ thus giving the board more privacy ‘ for the transaction of their business. I The improvement is a long needed » one and will prove a great conven- ; ience both for the officers and for the • public as well. I i T. H. Ernst, custodian of the court 5 house, will have charge of the im- , provements to he made at the auditor’s office, and that means that the ? work will be done in the best possiI ble way. I_— ♦ — HELMAN SUICIDE, SAYS CORONER Terra Hauto, Ind., Jan. 13.—(Specf ial to Daily Democrat)—William Hel- ? man, the local jeweler, supposed to 3 have been poisoned by his step daughf ter, died from the effects of poison 1 taken with suicidal intent, was the . coroner’s verdict, announced today.

DECATUR WILL LIVE ABROAD. The famq of Decatur will be extended abroad to a considerable extent in the next few months, many new postcard views of the chief points of interest in the city having made their appearance. The latest coming to notice are twenty new views received by Steele & Weaver. This firm had the photographs taken and these were sent to a firm which turns out the postals from the photos. Four months are required to turn out the postals. Among the views are those of the automobile factory, the Ward Fence factory and several school buildings, the county farm, the St. Marys river bridge, Murray hotel, the Steele & Weaver racket store, Erie depot, Presbyterian church, library, jail and many others. COLD IS GENERAL And Florida, the Land of Roses and Oranges Said to be in Bonds OF THE ICE KING Do Not Find it so Agreeable at Orlando—May Go Further South. Miss Hattie Studebaker and Mrs. Elizabeth Morrison, who with their brother, David Studebaker, are spending the winter at Orlando, FFlorida, write friends here that the ice king which has held such complete sway over the territory of the north for a season, has pushed his forces on and on until he has invaded the ranks of the warm south and the winter there has been more cold and severe than at any time in the memory of the southerners. The sojourn there la therefore not so pleasant as they would desire, and it very difficult to keep comfortably warm, as the cottages are built as those are in a place where the summer season reigns the entire year and the heat from the fires which they make in the open fireplace finds a ready escape through the wide chimney without even a slightly warm farewell to the chilly rooms about It. At one time ice froze over the water in the pitchers in the cottage, and the magnificent roses on the two hundred bushes on the Kooter Kove Kottage grounds were frozen while in full bloom. The banana stalks also are frozen, the orange leaves are browned by the searing touch of the frost, and thousands of dollars worth of damage has been done to the orange crop by freezing. As soon as the pulp of theorange fruit has frozen the orange drops from the tree and is therefore lost. Their location is an unusually pleasant one. The cottages are built in the rambling style of the south, with numerous large verandas, covered with climbing roses, and the spacious lawns of Kooter Kove Kottage roll away to the very edge of the beautiful Rock Lake, where the wavers are as clear as crystal. This very clearness of the water, however, make the fishermans luck rather luckless, as the fish can see every act of the would-be lurer. Unless the weather becomes more agreeable, the Decatur party will probably go further south—to Tampa, or St. Petersburg for the remainder of the winter. As Mrs. Bell and daughter, Pansy, of this city, the Hendricks of Portland the Morrows of Bluffton are at St. Petersburg, they would be given tffeir companionship and the change would therefore be the more delightful. o OTTO PETERS IN PLAY. The play, “Crawford’s Claim,” given at the opera house at Willshire, Tuesday evening under the auspices of the Knights of Pythias, was a very good one, and a number of people well known in this city took part • therein, achieving success and adding ma'ny laurels to their name. Among the players was Otto Peters, a Decatur boy, now engaged In the \rug • business at Willshire. Otto played ■ the part of a Chinaman to perfection i and his part Is said to Have been one ■ of the best. Miss Dove Cully, also i known to many here, J. B. Baucher i and Willis L. Laughery were also among the cast.

FIGHT IS STILL ON i- Salvation Army Wins a Sweeping Victory Over Old Enemies. I — ~ ' THE AMERICAN ARMY t I ■ The Latter Are Prohibited From Longer Imitating The Original Army. i Decatur people will remember the strenuous fight made here a few years ago between the Salvation Army and the American Army. The fight is still on. ’ The Salvation .* ’my throughout the United States is making capital of the recent decision of the New York appellate court, respecting the action of the Salvation Army seeking to enjoin the American Salvation Army, prohibiting the latter organization from using their present name, wearing the Salvation Army uniforms, car- ' rying on the work for which they are organized in a manner similar to that employed by the Salvation Army, which was the first of the two religious bodies to organize. The two institutions have been at “loggerheads” ever since the founding of the American branch and suit was instituted by the Salvation Army against the alleged stealers of their name and “war tactics.” In a lower court in New York Judge O'Gorman rendered a decision in favor of the American Salvation Army and the first organization band of religious workers traveling under the Salvation Army caption carried the case to the appellate court, where the O’Gorman decision was reversed. The last decision is considered a sweeping victory in favor of the Salvation Army, however, the American Army contemplates car rying the case to the court of appeals and the matter may not yet be settled. o — . ANSWER IS FILED Mrs. Krauss Has Filed Her Story in the Now Famous Divorce Case. i i ACCUSES HUSBAND I iSays he Murdered Daughter —She Asks for Allowanc in Sum of SI,OOO. ' Marion, Ind., Jan. 13. —(Special to . Daily Democrat) — J. A. Hindman, an • attorney of Hartford City, Ind., filed 1 in the superior court here today the answer of Rae Krauss to the divorce suit of her husband and denying . therein the charge that she is guilty . of the murder of her step-daughter, 1 Crystal Krauss, and charges her hus--1 band with the crime. She also petitions for an allowance of SI,OOO in order to bring to this state witnesses 1 and to make a defense. These are the latest steps in one of the most sensational crimes in this part of the state. The application for the allowance and the answers were signed by Mrs. Krauss in the Indiana woman's prison at Indianapolis this morning and brought immediately to this city and filed. o BREAKING ICE JAM AT BLUFFTON i (United Press Service.) Bluffton, Ind., Jan. 13.—(Special to ' Daily Democrat) —Workmen for the ' G. B. & C. traction company this morning began the work of dynamit- [ ing the ice out of the Wabash river i in this city to prevent the destruction i of their new bridge, which it is fear > ed would occur in a day or two un ■ less this is done. The job Is a bis > one and was watched by hundreds ol peopie.

ll RETURNS FROH HOSPITAL. | Mrs. Fred Kolter, a well known lady formerly of this county, now of Tocsin, "who has been at the Lutheran hospital, Fort Wayne, for some time, I where she submitted to an operation for appendicitis, has recovered sufficiently to be discharged from the hospital. She arrived here this morning from Fort Wayne and spent the day with her sister, Mrs. Martin Worth- , man, before returning to her home at Tocsin. o WILL MOVE TO WILLSHIRE. I Jacob Wechter, one of the pioneer farmers of Blue Creek township and for several years trustee of that township, is preparing to retire from active life and will move to Willshire, Ohio, to spend the remainder of his life. His son, John Wechter, who » has been farming the home place, will i take up his abode there, and sontinue I the supervision of the place. o I THE COURT NEWS » —i i—■ ■ The Yoders-Hoffman Case • -Was Disposed of on Plea in Abatement. A QUIET TITLE CASE ) Was Also Submitted and Judgment Rendered in Court This Morning. George W. Brewster vs. Philip Wendell, foreclosure of mechanic's . lien; demand, $325. Appearance by D. E. Smith for defendant; rule to answer. Bank of Gevena vs George W. and ■ Alexander Bolds, note, $2,000. Separi ate demurrers filed by each defend- > ant. i ' s Sinda Yoder vs. Peter Hoffman et ■ al., damages and possession of prop- > erty. In completing the issues in this case a plea in abatement was filed ’ and today submitted; evidence was ' heard and the court found for the defendants on their answer. Judgment I that action do abate and that the defendants recover costs. David B. Roop vs. Anderson Roe- - buck et al., submitted; finding for plaintiff, judgment rendered quieting title in plaintiff. Paul G. Hooper appointed coinmissiower to convey property. Judgment against plaintiff for costs. John Bogner has been appointed guardian for Ida Bogner and eight others, children and heirs of the late - Mrs. Michael Bogner. His bond is $2,000. S. B. Fordyce, administrator in the Mercy A. Andrews estate, petitioned for order to re-appraise, which was sustained and re-appraisement filed, 3 increasing same from $3,500 on the 1 sixty acres to $4,000. 1 o a LARGE ATTENDANCE 5 __ T f Day of Fasting and Prayer I Was Observed —A Great Spiritual Uplift. 1■ - ■ s “Who Is on the Lord’s Side?’’ was t the subject of the Rev. Naftzger of Muncie at the Methodist church Wedk nesday evening, neard by a large audience who in their zeal and interest ' in the revival braved the inclement weather—and they were not disap- ’ pointed. The meeting was one of the best of the series. The music by the quartet and that by the men'? chorus, with an anthem, “Seek Ye 1 Lord, ’ were especially insplrlnr-celot only was another soul convey’ nickel ing the service, but the enthusiasm of all wer(^^ v j ve > day of fasting and>^. a y er o |— 3 Wednesday at church wa g of the best ev,< r attended by a. .. those present' and was a great s VIor ’ ual upHft The Rev. Thorn r spoke zin the morning, the Ro n NafXzger at the noon service and th r- 15ev. Guild in the afternoon. Th 1- Rev. Powell will speak this evenin g and there will be music by the men' >f chorus. All will be given a cordfa welcome to attend these services.

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JUST AS EXPECTED Were the Matrimonial Ventures of Emanul Wyer Who Didn’t Want HIS CERTIFICATE Married Seven Times - Three Wives Were From Decatur —Wants Divorce. Emanuel Wyer, an old soldier, well known here where he lived for several years, and where he secured three of his seven wives, is seeking a divorce from his seventh and will thus make way for the eighth matrimonial alliance should the opportunity so present itself. The last divorce action of Wyer was heard by Judge Paulus in the Grant circuit court. The plaintiff was a soldier and was once a member of the Soldiers' home, but now lives In South Marion, not having entered the home hince his return from Richmond where he married his last wife July 7, 1907, and where, he says, she kicked him out of the house December 14, 1908. On cross-examination Wyer admitted seven marriages and said he was the father of fifteen children, eleven of whom are living. His first marriage was at Bluffton. Six children were born to this union and this wife died. Second time married; at Decatur; three children born X this union; this wife died. Third marriage; at Marlon; six children to this union; wife died. Fourth marriage; at Decatur; this wife died. Fifth marriage; the result of answering a matrimonial ad; place not stated; this wife secured a divorce from him. Sixth marriage; at Decatur; He obtained divorce from her. Seventh marriage; at Richmond through correspondence with the present Mrs. Wyer. Wyer's complaint with his present wife is that she corresponded with other men and that one of her correspondents came to see her. She told him to go, that she had ne further use for him. Wyer says his present wife has both property and money. The court heard the evidence and took the case under adi visement. When Mr. Wyer secured his sixth marriage license at this place, and 1 the fancy marriage certificates were displayed, the bride was seemingly desirous of having one on which to perpetuate the record of their union. (Continued on page 2.) IS SERIOUSLY SICK ' James Willey, Many Years Drainage Commissioner, is Very Low. 11 ■ A PROMINENT FARMER Os Blue Creek Township— Suffers From Abscess o* y ’ Liver—ls Bedfast At g three .so received James Willey, one ’ e class for ln ' prominent future ’ J Degre " oe conferred next township, and ng> an( j a gO0( j attenclthe county probably be manifest at service, b. , very n ' . INJURIES ARE SERIOUS. . h? Noah Loch has received word from his wife, who was called Monday to ,1 Swayzee on account of the injury • received in a fall by their daughter, Arbye, wife of Grover Hoffman, stating that her Injury was even more serious that at first thought. Instead of a dislocated hip, as thought at first ,the accident resulted in a 1 dislocation of a part of the spinal 5 column. Absolute quiet for four days ti and then confinement to her bed tor he ,wr o weeks at the least, is a part of ■ig/Tl rigid treatment in store for Mrs. 's Ifr lan. She Is getting along well, til|coxW er , an< ] while she has the best I h,s e the only thing to be done st nature take her course.