Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 9, Number 96, Decatur, Adams County, 24 April 1911 — Page 1

Volume IX. Number 96.

|A RIVER I PROJECT ■ Meeting to be Held at Wapakoneta, Ohio, May 16 to Talk It Over. Ito strike decatur ■ Improvement of St. Mary's River May Mean Much in the Near Future. ■ In a recent issue of the Minster, fl Ohio, Post, a paragraph of vital infl terest to Decatur and all the surfl rounding country was published. It I means that if the public of the counfl ties having the head-waters of the fl St. Mary's river so wills, that Decafl tur will become a point on the huge fl Erie to Chicago canal project. It fl reads: | “County Auditor J. L. Morrow is ■ sending out notices for the purpose of regulating the St. Mary's river in Shelby, Auglaize. Mercer and Van Wert counties. A meeting is called for May 16th to find out if the public is in favor of bettering the river or not. The work is calculated to cost about one-half million dollars." To grasp the full import of the paragraph it will be necessary to review, briefly, the geography of the proposed routes in relation to those already built and in operation. The Erie and Chicago canal is in- > tended to connect Lake Erie and Lake Michigan by a canal that will dispense with the round-about trip through Lake Huron and down Lake Michigan. From Toledo to Fort Wayne there is built a canal known as the Maumee canal, which it is proposed to widen and use as a part of the project. From Fort Mayne to the eastern shores of Lake Michigan is all of the proposed route that remains to be built, and when this stretch is completed we w*ill have the long-sought canal which will materially reduce the freight rates on western merchandise. The problem which affects Decatur, however, comes from a different source. At Defiance, Ohio, a branch canal is in operation, maikng a junction with the Erie-Chicago canal, and its route is directly south, connecting at Cincinnati by a i lock with the Ohio river. This canal is fed by a reservoir located near Celina. Ohio, and at St Mary's, Ohio, where the canal crosses the St. ■ Mary's river, the level of the river is . seven inches above that of the canal The object is to get the people to; see the advantages of dredging the , St. Mary's river to its mouth at Fort Wayne, Indiana, thus eliminating a round-about route through Defiance,! Ohio. A look at the may will show ( you the reason. St. Mary’s, Ohio, Defiance, and Fort Wayne, Indiana, are the three points of the triangle, and by using the caals as already built, the barges will be forced to go by way of Defiance, covering two sides of the triangle in reaching Ft. Wayne. I If the river improvements are made the barges will take a lock at St. I Mary’s. Ohio, and float down the St. . Mary’s river to Fort Wayne, where by another lock they will be admitted , to the Erie-Chicago ship canal. This improvement will save about two hundred miles of travel and will be the means of saving about four days in time. Cincinnati, Pittsburg, and all the big river towns are fighting I for the river improvement as it will give them a water route from Pittsburg to Chicago. The great value of the improvment is at once apparent to the discerning mind, and the fact alone, of it bringing the traffic through the corporate limits of Decatur, means many dollars yearly that will be spent in our town for provisions, fuel and the many necessities needed to run one of the barges. It means that many barges, with many passengers w.H arrive here dally. It means that they will have to be fed, and that they will >, have to buy from the merchants henr True we will not get the bulk of the trade, but we will get our share, and in the aggregate it means many lars. Eventually the St. Maby s ny er will be dredged, its economic possibilities will not long be overlooked once the great Erie to Chicago canal is in full operation. The many

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

elers who will be forced to draw their barges up to Defiance to make a connection will soon bring the matter to the note of the government, and then it will be dredged. Our being but a few miles from Ft. Wayne will, to some extent, seem but a reason why we will not profit by the extension of the canal through our river. But in practice it will soon be found that many of the barges will prefer to provision here, rather than experience the delays at Fort Wayne which will necessarily come from the fact that there will be a constant crush at the locks and from the fact also that no barge can stop for provisions, or the like after entering the busy waterway of the main canal. GO TO BLUFFTON Many Masons From Here to Attend Big Meeting There Tuesday. LOCALS GIVE WORK At Evening Session as Will Also the Fort Wayne Delegation. Tuesday will be a big day for Bluffton in lodge circles, and especially so with the Masons, who at that time will take in tour candidates and confer upon them the third degree of the order. Work of conferring the degrees has been given to the Fort Wayne and Decatur lodges, and eaph will confer the secrets of the order upon one candidate. A large crowd is looked for by muffton and they expect to entertain large numbers from Fort Wayne, Ossian, Montpelier, Geneva. Hartford City, as well as from Decatur. A large delegation is expected to leave here in time for the evening session, when they will give a part of the work. The afternoon and first meeting will open at 3 p. m., and will be in charge of the home team. Several noted lodge members from various cities will be in attendance and the Fort Wayne delegation will be accompanied by the Scottish Rite quartet of singers, who will furnish music for the occasion. The many visitors will se served with a buffet luncheon in the Masonic hall. They are looking for a distinguished gathering and the day will no doubt go down in annals of history as one of 1 prominence. TRAVELED SOME. Frightened Horse Takes Occupants a Wind-splitting Ride. Some excitement was witnessed about 4 o’clock Sunday afternoon ' when a horse being driven by Leo Weber, accompanied by several othier parties in the rig, when just in front of the Parrish restaurant, horse became frightened at something unknown to the driver and started down the street at full speed. When in front of the Teeple, Brandyberry & Peterson clothing store the bit snapped and nothing was left to hold the frightened animal excepting * the check rein, as the bridle had been stripped entirely off of him. He traveled at a very fast gait until near Adams street, when the horse lessened his speed, and was captured by parties who ran to the street to stop him. No one was hurt, excepting Mr. Weber, who jumped and received a twisted ankle. The horse received several cuts and bruises, but outside ;I of that nothing serious resulted, ex--1 cepting that all were badly frightened. — - -o— — LEASE DIBBLE HOUSE. Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Hoffman have ■ leased the residence at the corner of First and Jefferson streets, which •(was formerly the F. W. Dibble resi- ■ dence, and May Ist will open a room- ■ ing -and boarding house. Things will f be arranged in a first-class shape and 1 up-to-date way, and this will no doubt prove to be one of the best in the 1 city. , o — > AN ERROR CORRECTED. 1 A notice in these columns last - week that, Mrs. Fortney had been - called to Monmouth as nurse for Mrs. , Robinson, was an error. She is 1 ready to answer any call for nursing. - I 'Phdne 445.

Decatur, Ind.

SWEET AND CLEAN Must be Odor of Children or They Will be Sent Home From School. SAYS THE NEW LAW Dr. Hurty Calling Attention to New Health Law§— Several Changes. In sending out notices this week of the annual school of instruction for health officers at the Claypool hotel at Indianapolis on May 9th and 10th, Dr. J. N. Hurty also inclosed to city and county health officers, copies of some new laws relating to health matters that are of interest. The ophthalmia neonatorum law will soon be in effect. It requires a report of births within thirty-six hours and commands precautions against ophthalma neonatorum, failure to report births within thirty-six hours or failure to apply phophylaxls when necessary, makes the bill for services null and void. There is also a fine of $lO to SSO. Failure to collect births under this law will simply prove the health officer Is careless or incompetent or spineless. The sanitary school house law requires that all school houses hereafter constructed or remodeled, shall conform to certain sanitary principles, carefully set forth in the law. Failure on the part of the school authorities to obey makes the bills for material and construction null and void. There is also a fine of not less than SSO. Employment bf teachers or janitors having syphilis or consumption is forbidden. Teachers shall send home all children in any degree sick, or who are dirty or malodorous. Hygiene shall be taught in the fifth grade or other grades at the option of the school authorities. The medical authorities law is optional. Schoo! authorities may institute such inspection at any time, the same to be done as set forth in the law. There also is a new law noted which requires that after April first hereafter the county auditor shall send to the state auditor each year one-fifth of the surplus in the dog tax fund. Money so sent to the state auditor is to be used in a campaign against hydrophobia. WAS KNOWN HERE Allen DeVilbiss of Toledo Died Saturday Evening After Short Illness. A FAMOUS PATENTEE Inventor of Toledo Scales— Mrs. Cole Leaves to Attend Funeral Services. Mrs. Fannie Cole left Sunday evening for Toledo, called there on account, of the death of her cousin, Allen DeVilbiss, which occurred Saturday evening at 4:45. Mr. DeVilbiss was thirty-eight years old and was known by a number of people here, being a son of Dr. DeVilbiss of Toledo. He was the inventor of the Toledo computing scales and the patentee of several other valuable articles, artd one of the most popular men In his home city. On the first day of April he fell and suffered a stroke of apoplexy, never speaking a word from that time on. Bright’s disease followed and his death had been expected for some days. He 'is survived by the widow and two children, a daughter aged fifteen and a son, aged thirteen. The funeral services will be held Tuesday afternoon. ADDS MORE HORSES. Friday evening Louis Holthouse arrived with a shipment of eleven horses which he secured in Kalamazoo for the use of his livery business here. All the horses are good lookers and a few of them show evidence of having some speed.

Monday Evening,

FUNERAL HELD. Freddlck Falk Laid to Rest Sunday Afternoon. The last earthly rites for Fredrick Joseph, the little son of Mr. and Mrs. John 8. Falk, whose death occurred at an early hour Saturday morning, were held Sunday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock from the home. The services were in charge of IRev. Semans, the newly appointed pastor of the Methodist church, and many of the friends and relatives were present to show their respect. Interment was made in the Decatur cemetery. COURT HOUSE NEWS Blue Creek Case Will be Adjourned Next Week— Criminal Cases WILL BE TRIED Interpreter For German Witness—Several Marriage Licenses Issued. The trial of the Blue Creek ditch case, which will take at least another month to finish, was resumed this morning in the Adams circuit court, before Special Judge R. Hartford of Portland, but will be adjourned next Saturday noon, and not taken up apain until a week later on account of the following crimial cases, which have been set for trial next Monday, May 2nd: State vs. Ed Neaderstine et al., disturbing meeting; State vs. John Kratner and Mary Deiner, fornication; State vs. Orval Wells, provocation; State vs. William Bryton, selling liquor without license. On account of the fact that the court room is occupied during the week with the trial of the Blue Creek ditch case, and the fact that the small jury room is unsatisfactory for the holding of a trial, the Foughty divorce case, which has been in progress Friday and Saturday afternoon, was discontinued until next Saturday afternoon, when the main court room will again be clear. The trial is nearly finished, but one or two witnesses of the defendant being left for examination. There is but one more week left for tax paying without the penalty and there is still a large amount outstanding on the spring installment. As the time of grace grows shorter, however, the receipts frow heavier and heavier. The mail order business is quite heavy at this time, and the force at the treasurer's office was obliged to work Sunday to care for the money that came in through the mails, about $6,060 worth of receipts being issued Sunday for money received through the mail. Mrs. John Stoneburner began work this morning to assist during the rush that characterizes the last week. Marriage licenses were issued to Henry Fell, aged 31, farmer, of Root township, to wed Pearl Frickel, aged 24, daughter of Henry Frickel; also to Elam Steiner, aged 23, carpenter, son of John Steiner, to wed Fanny Zurcher, 22. daughter of Fred Zurcher. Real estate transfers: Calvin N. Hamerick to William W. Harper, 7% acres. Blue Creek tp„ $150; William W. Harper to Calvin N. Hamerick, 7% acres. Blue Creek tp., $450; Robert Poor to Mary L. Armstrong, lot 378, Geneva; $700; Reuben Schindler to Barbara Schindler, lots 218, 219, Berne, $1250; Decatur Cemetery Association to DavitJ Cook, lot 595, Decatur cemetery, $35.50; John Cook to John Wieman, part of lot 5, Berne, $350. Another mapriage license granted was to Henry Droege, 24, farmer, son of Henry and Augusta Droege, to wed Bertha Gallmeyer, 21, daughter of Ernst and Sophia Gallmeyer. The current report of Peter N. Moser, guardian of Joseph Snyder, a person of unsound mind, was allowed. A marriage license was issued Saturday afternoon at 4 o’clock to Peter P. Welty of Wyandotte county, Ohio, aged forty seven, engaged in the elevator business, to wed Miss Martha Sprunger, aged forty-three, daughter CONTINUED ON PAGE FOUR i

April 24, 1911.

GREET NEW PASTOR Reception Will be Tendered Rev. R. L. Semans at Methodist Church. TUESDAY EVENING Under Auspices of Epworth League—Elaborate Arrangements Made. One of the leading events of the week will be the reception to be given Tuesday evening at the Methodist church parlors for the new minister, the Rev. R. L. Semans and fam ily, the reception to be given under the auspices of the Epworth League. The pleasures of the evening are not limited to Methodists alone, the public being cordially invited to be present and to join in welcoming the pastor and his family to the city, members of other churches being especially invited to come. The program will begin at 8 o'clock and will be short, thus allowing a general good time to follow. A program will be rendered as follows: * Voval Solo—Mrs. J. O. Sellemeyer. “On Behalf of the Church”—C. L. Walters. Piano Duet —Misses Nicholas and Edwards. “On Behalf of Ministerial Association”—Rev. D. O. Wise. Recitation —Zelna Stevens. “On Behalf of Other Churches"— Clark J. Lutz. Vocal Solo —Cecil Andrews. The Rev. Semans and family come to the pastorate here from Kendallville, where they were highly esteemed and beloved and already have endeared themselves to the the Decatur congregation. Their househol goods have arrived and are being installed in the parsonage here and they will soon be comfortably at home. Rev. Semans conducted his second Sunday’s services at the local church yesterday, large audiences hearing him both morning and evening, the sermons being discourses of unusual power and eloquence. —oMiss Effie Patton left this morning for Angola, where she will take a twelve weeks’ course in the normal college. She was accompanied to Ft. Wayne by her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Patton, and Miss Esther Sellemeyer. THE HOME-COMING First Services Held in Christian Church Sunday Aft- • er Remodeling. WERE HAPPY ONES Attendance Large —Services Appropriate For the Occasion. The “home-coming” or the first services held in the Christian church after the redecorating and the renewing, were of unusual interest Sunday, highly appropriate for the occasion, and the audiences at all the services tvere unusually large. With the new improvements, the interior of the church is one of the most attractive in the city. Fine paper, in harmonizing, tints of brown and cream, with a dado and panel effect, adds to the beauty of the walls and dome, while the dark oak-finish of the general woodwork and the pews, complete the effect of the quiet richness. The sermons of .the pastor, the Rev. Dawson, were appropriate, as was the special music of the choir, with solos by Mr. Fred Hancher and Mrs. A. M. Anker. The congregation has been working very enthusiastically for the material improvements of the church, as well as the spiritual, and are much rejoiced over their success. A pleasing feature is that there is very little debt remaining, and it is thought that this soon can be paid off and other remodeling, including an addition to the church, made.

MRS. WILKE SINGS. Filled Her Place at the St. Mary's Choir Sunday. Mrs. John Wilke of Leipsic, Ohio, a former resident of this city, has arrived here for a visit with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Gabriel Kintz. Mrs. Wilke, prior to leaving the city, was one of the members of the St. Mary’s choir for many years and Sunday took her place for the day, rendering several of the soprano parts for which she is quite popular. Her singing Is beautiful and her taking part Sunday was as excellent as that of former occasions. ACROSS THE ROOF Did Policeman Ceph Melchi Chase Pair of Law-break-ers Sunday Night. TRIAL HELD TODAY In Mayor’s Court on Intoxication Charge—sl.oo and Costs. Policeman Melchi succeeded in landing a pair Sunday night, Jacob Kiper and Gertrude Trimble, being respondents in the case, and were found in an intoxicated state and disorderly. About 12 o'clock the night policeman noticed the pair on Second street and keeping watch soon saw them go into the alley, he following. It being dark, he lost track of them, but waited a while and he soon heard a noise on the roof of the M. Burns workshop. He crawled up to the roof and found the couple trying to gain entrance to a room there which is occupied by Jim Woods. He arrested Kiper, but being unable to handle both, the woman disappeared, and laftr was arrested. Kiper Was brought up before Mayor Teeple this morning and drew SI.OO and costs for his saaic, $ll.OO in all. The woman was tried this afternoon on the same charge. She pleaded guilty and was assessed the same fine as in the foregoing case, SI.OO and costs, $ll.OO in all. She stated that she could pay the fine in the morning but not now. and the defendant was instructed to appear in the mayor's court in the morning or she would be remanded to jail. MR. MULHOLLAND HOME. Gas Company Manager Returns from Stay at French Lick. S. E. Mulholland, general manager of the Indiana Lighting company, returned last night from French Lick, where, with Mrs. Mulholland, he had been spending two weeks recuperating after his recent siege of illness. Mr. Mulholland is greatly improved in health and will be able to resume his business duties at once. —Fort Wayne Sentinel.

JL i jAk biiW'"Mie> • ;

REV. SEMANS, PASTOR M. E. CHURCH

Price, Two Cent«

ENROUTE TO COAST Labor Men Charged With Dynamiting Los Angeles Times Rushed West. WILL ARREST OTHERS Labor Men Will Raise Big Fund to Fight Charges— Believe The- Innocent. (United Press Service.) Los Angeles, Cal., April 24—(Special to Daily Democrat) —When McNamara and McManigal arrive here they will be given speedy trial, according to statements of the police. The first step of the labor leaders will be for a habeas corpus writ, whereby it is hoped to secure the release of the men. At the district attorney's office it was stated that at least twenty men will be arrested within the next few days charged with complicity in dynamiting the Los Angeles Times building. Toledo, April 24—(Special to Daily Democrat) —At noon today Detective Bums seized a grip at the union depot which he says belongs to James W. McManigal. The contents were examined. Topeka, Kans., April 24—(Special to Daily Democrat) —James and Ortie McManigal passed through here today at noon over the Santa Fe. They were shackled to two detectives. No one except the passengers were allowed on the train. Washington, D. C., April 24 —(Special to Daily Democrat) —Setting forth the attitude of the American Federation of Labor in the arrest of the iron workers. Frank Morrison said today: “It will take more evidence than I have heard to convince me that McNamara has any connection whatever with the destruction of the Los Angeles plant or the destruction of property at any time." Chicago, 111., April 24 —(Special to Daily Democrat)—Labor leaders here and throughout the country today furiously denounced the “Russian Po lice Methods” in smuggling John J. McNamara, James M. and Ortie MeManigal to the Pacific coast on dynamiting charges. The alleged third degree methods used in securing the confession of McManigal are also denounced. It is predicted that labor men will raise a monster fund for the defense of the men. Indianapolis, Ind., April 24 —(Special to the Daily Democrat)—The Marion grand jury today began the investigation as to the finding of dynamite in the American Central buildCONTINUED FROM PAGE TWO