Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 11, Number 15, Decatur, Adams County, 17 January 1913 — Page 1

Volume XI. Number 15.

A SPEEDY I DIVORC': L. : Eli W. Steele Given Decree from Mary E. Steele—Case Was FILED ONLY TODAY Alimony Had Been Agree: I Upon Between Them Before Filing Suit. Perhaps the most quickly disposed of divorce suit ever heard in the Adams circuit court was that granted this morning to Eh W. Steele (better known as Willard Steelei from hi? wife, Mary E. Steele. The case was filed in court only this morning by Mr. Steeles attorneys, Heller, Sit ton & Heller, and action was taken at once. The principals had agreed be fore on the alimony to be given M s Steele. I). E. Smith entered appearance for tier, filed answer, and the cause was submitted, Mr. Steele be ing granted the divorce, he to pay the costs of the suit. The judgment for the defendant fi r alimony was according to the agree mint between the plaintiff and de f endant. By its terms, Mrs. Steele re ceives property totaling about |6,(Mn Thia Includes *5,400 in cash, the 1 i»i; hold goods, 25 ItTTßhels of corn, one ton of hay, a horse and buggy, all the chickens, and the vacant lot north of the opera house, the hous-’ on which was burned recently. In consideration of this, she is to con 'ey the Mayer residence on North Fifth street, which the Steeles purchased, and which was in her nam?, to Mr. Steele. In his complaint Mr. Steele al leg -■« cruel and inhuman treatment. He recites that they were married Man h 8, 1908, and lived together until January 11, 1913. At time of marriagl»e states, he was a bachelor abo>t forty-eight years old. and his wife about forty-six years old, she bein'--divorced from her former husband. ' nnd having four children: William iieed, Allie, Elia and Leota. He sets out in his complaint that be "a* encaged In farming, gardening and trucking and employed many per sons to assist him in his work. He

•ays that they were no sooner msr ried than his wife begun to Interfere with the management of his business, discharging his employee* and hind ering and annoying his business Ilf-* lie stated in his comidaint that h--had various tenants living on hla land from wnom he received rental, an I that hie wife interfered with this part of bls bttslneaa, not only causing son" of the tenants to vacate, but even ar •suiting some ot them Another thing that .be didn’t like, was that When he was engaged In buying and selling property, and turn *d the proceeds over to her to keep expecting her to give It back to him on request, she refused to do so At one time she had about 11,50 d o his In safe keeping and refused to return it to him unless he conveyed to her a house and lot, known as thold court house lot, valued at •>.#'**». which he finally did To keep pence In the family be also deeded her what was known as the Mayer residence on North Fifth street On thia was a mortgage* of 12.000 and 'thia, he says, ho wante*d her to renew when It be-

hi me due. which ah* refused to d«> At another lima he mm abe refused to sign th* dead for the sale of forty *<r«a In Washington township. un leas ha gives her 11.000. During thelt marrlwl life. Mr. Kt veto avers she kept one or more of bar children al thalr home, the yonnr eat King a daughter about fifteen year* old. and that she took their part in matters against him Once Mta Steele told him, hr says, "I could •«* y«« hong on one of those trees out Uwe. Without •inching." and that •ha has told him he tied, stole, cheated and robbed persona Another time •ha told him she thought more of their dog than of him He elates that on January 2. h* •ollM ted from hie wife's son in la* . Orggt pi yers, who resided in Mterla'a park. a debt Mrs Steele thereupon, bad OM of his employers to haul a load of com to market and sold 11. iking the pee bark ths •obey which • be collected flwn (Oon»w»««H. un rage If 1

decAtur daily democrat

FAAHR MAY RECOVER. liarring infection from the self-in-lifted bullet wound in his right temple, Horace Faahr, the Bryant butcher, ’ho attempted suicide Monday afternoon, will recover. However, with »oun<is of this character, it is claimed there is more or less danger of the bullet having carried foreign matter *hlch may bring about conditions that may result fatally. Although able to up in bed, Faahr could not see from either eye, and some fears are entertained that he may be left toally i'lind, if he does survive. Worry over Jnancial difficulties is supposed to ave caused the act of Faahr. hrs. lee Charged Wife of Slayer of Samuel Purdy Arrested on the Same Charge. AS IS HUSBAND That of First Degree Mur-der-Claimed She Had Guilty Knowledge. _____ Bluffton, Ind., Jan. 17—The second in-est following the brutal shooting of Samuel Purdy a week ago Thursday oci urred Thursday evening, when Mrs. Cora Lee, wife of John Lee, slayer of Purdy, was arrested on a tharge of flrst-regree murder, the same charge that was made against Lee the day following the crime. Mrs. I<ee was arrested by Constable LU K. Plessinger ass she passed along Market street, within a block of the uonty jail, the murder charge having filed during the afternoon iu • t court of Justice John K. Rlneaart uion information, officers say, ’ rnished by the woman's husband. The officers say that Lee broke down is the jail and gave information to the effect that bls wifo had guilty Uo»ledge of the shooting*>efore the .rime uas committed, and It is claimrd by the husband, officers say, that U wife urged him to the act. The two families live in adjoining hons<*« and the Lees had an imaginary jr.-aucs against Mr. Purdy, claimre Ise had been Instrumental in cawing Lee to lose bls position at the Khl < roea factory, where Mr. Purdy was a foreman, and he also blamed i-urdy because a dollar be had paid a a mutual benefit society of Red . employees was not returned

to him when he was dlacuarged Whin taken to the jail Mr*. Lee ' «u > »nfronted by her husband, but ih* n-tlned perfect composure and declared ahe was entirely Innocent, tod. instead of upbraiding her husband, as had been expected, she be--00 tu use i-ndoaring terms. Insisted tttt he knew he waa mistaken, and the two were aeparated Leo i uki te-d in hl* atory and aaid ,oni,. of the thinga he had aaid were not « rect. Tb» uflUtus realize that It may be hard to convict the woman of ,h< nalntalna her present stand in (hr »«ee, although she ia generally rrsvili l locally aa probably guilty, io a degree at leaat. |m is regarded as a rather simple-minded nnd trn;»t tn®d to following his wife's dktati The officers have hope*, hn»iiv' getting further informsdno from the two n»ung *on« of the lee, Wsme, 12, and Francis. Ift, both ot * >tn were on their horn® lot when ,h. r t iher shot Purdy three time®, In the alley In the rear of the Lee rr«ul< W®.

I tic <nnsr aaya: "John l-ee, murr ( |, r ,. of Samuel T. Purdy, baa been . |> ns < distantly since last evening tn hi» - ell at the county jail, and ae- ,, ,ito word from there this after- ? i ■. t re npitrant to be no end to , nt* i • ■'•’rs, During the night Lae bn. .tone v rv noisy with his shouting and davi'ins hit hands and the other prie..tut* i i the jail Inst a few hours' n the result of his religion Evrry < SU'lon has been taken to prevent lx 0 from 'aklag his own life and when ItP is locked In bls cell at night every article that might reauit in him at-mtni-ting sulclda Is taken away from him Many former friends of ha>e rall"d at the jail and have been ulh.srd to talk to the man." -— i • UNCLE HEZEKIAH OBSERVE*. law When sumpin fnlea ws think th' ottoar feller Js 1* blame; when it s a aukaas* »e think Ife don' P our own good msnurtnuut

“DECATUR CAIM AND WILL”

BECOMES OFFICER T. J. Durkin Elected Secre tary of Tri-State Sheriffs’ Association. AT FORT WAYNE r The Organization Will be Enlarged to Include More Counties. Sheriff T. J. Durkin of this city was elected secretary of the THState Sehriffs’ association at Fort Wayne Thursday afternoon, succeeding Aaron M. IRelchelderfer of Fort Wayne. H. B. Wilson of Van Wert, Ohio, was re-elected president. The meeting was held at the Wayne hotel. Plans for taking more counties into the organization were discussed and decided upon and another meeting will be held in May. The organization includes sheriffs of northwestern Ohio, northern Indiana, and southern Michigan, and is for mutual help in the apprehension of law-breakers. Bach has his own individual county organization of small town peace officers and rural constables to whom by the agreement adopted Thursday, . he will communicate at once when ■ notified by any other member of the association of thetheft of a horse or the fight of a fugitive. Each sheriff > will compile a mailing list of the members of his local organization . and these will be assembled and a ; copy given to all sheriffs so that when telephoning fails to bring immediate results they may send post . cards broadcast giving descriptions of stolen property or men wanted. FIFTEEN CASES — Kept the Police Court Busy Thursday Nght and This Morning. ,1 NINE GO TO JAIL Three Are Acquitted and Pay Their Fines—Big Business. • The nine Italians who were arrest ed yesterday afternoon by Officer Melchi and Deputy Sheriff Kelly at their camp near Magley on a roit charge, were given trial last events* before Squire Stone. Bix of the nine , were found guilty and were given fines of *1 and coats amounting to *11.50, while three were acquitted. The convicted men were without funds and were committed to jail, however it la expected that the time (keeper win be In today to settle with jthe state and enable the men to go • back to work Pat I tow an. who maims •Bluffton a» me homo" arrived in the city early Thursday morning and proceeded tn Immediately absorb nnd get on the outside of all the ftAswatcr he could hold. About ten o’clock last evening th® spirits got to working on hie mental facilities and put th® idea Into his head that h« was some wonderful hull player, He secured a beer bottle nnd hurled It through the larre flat® rlaaa window of the trtman & Hess Case. Bos an wan taken before Mayor T«®pl® thia morning on th® charge of public Intoxication nnd was given a fin® of **■ nnd costa amounting In all to *ls but will be compelled to lay It out. Just what action will be taken against him in regard to th* deatruetton of the property has not been decided upon >«L Officer Melchi mad® the arrest Daniel Frawley, another drunk wan arrested this morning by Marshall Fetetaon nnd was given the usual done of |f> sad coats He wan *J»<> found to be dead broke In thia cruel, cruel world nnd It wan therefore found necceaaary tn visit for fourteen day» with the sheriff Deca ( dr. whit® generally supposed

f Decatur, Indiana. Friday Evening, January 17, 1912.

Ito be nettled to a large extent by | Germans, still has a big place In its heart for tho representatives of Ireland, as was shown last evening by the arrival of four big typical Irishmen v.ho enjoyed the hospitality of tho city so much that they immediately proceeded to get "tanked" and about ono o’clock this morning began to indulge in their favorite sport, that of fighting, at the G. R. & I. station. Officer Melchi was called and making the transfer buss serve as a ''Lilly” hauled them to the county hotel. They were taken before Squire Stone this morning and were presented with a nice little package of *1 and costs amounting to *11.50. Pat Murphy, Peter Crowley and Mike Murphy had the means to satisfy the state hut it was found neccessary to give Pat Hanlon a vacation of twelve days. THE KRITZKA WILL Aged Suicide Leaves All of His Estate to Christian Burghalter. HE LIVED THERE And Enjoyed Good Home and Showed His Appreciation of It. I The will of August Krltzka, the aged man who committed suicide at , the home of Christian Burghalter, ’ near Ceylon, ’tuesaay, January 7th, by strangling himself to death with his suspenders, was probated in the Adams circuit court this morning. The will was executed March 23, 1908. and was witnessed by Emil Franz and Fred Am. The first item sets out that the testator had asked to be allowed to remain wih the Christian Burghalt«-r family until his death, and that he j had asked them to care for him durI ing any sickness which may befall him. In consideration of this, Christian Burgbaiter is to have all of Mr. Kritzka’s estate, for his own use, after paying any debts that the testator might owe at his death, and also after paying for a good and decent burial . for Krltzka. The will closes by Krltza stating that he has no heirs, 'either in this country or any other, -' and that. he enjoyed a good home with the Hurghalters. having no other home. He was a native of Germany and at one time served in the I army.

LAST RITES HELD In This City This Morning for Late Dr. W. W. P. McMillen Before BURIAL TOMORROW At Massillon, Ohio—Body Left This Morning by Way of Orrville. Ohio. The last *ad riles for th® ’ate Dr. W. W. P. McMillen, held In this city •before the body was taken to Masaillon, Ohio, for burial, were conducted thia morning at the residence at 9 o'clock. A large conco'irwe of friends listened to the beautiful sermon given by the Rev. R L Hernans of the Methodist church and th® Revs. Gioiaer nnd lulling, who assisted In the •ervlce, offered prayer*. A quartet, comprising Dr. and Mr*. P. It. Thomas, Mr. and Mr*. C U Walter*, sang I-cad. Kindly IJght.” and "On® Sweetly Holemn Thought, l»«autlfully nnd ItnprsMlvejy, nnd a solo by Mrs, P. D Thomas. "I will sing you a *on< of that beautiful home,” the same thn* waa suns al the service for th® lat® Mrs. McMillen, gave consolation Physh Into* of the city served aa pall bearer*. At io o'cloik the cortege Fort Wayne, thence to Orrvill®. Ohio At thia place th® body will b® taken to the horn® of the doctori* only slater, Mr*. Dr. Fampbell. until tomorrow mnrnlng, when It will b® taken to Maaolljon, Ohio, nnd Interred In tho fatally W in the cemetery there. IfWnn'e on «'ags *»

RELATIVES HERE Miss Cecil Daigneau, Benton Harbor Nurse, Who Was Fatally Burned • WHILE ON DUTY Is a Niece of Mr. and Mrs. James Hendricks, Sr., of Monroe. Miaa Cecil Daigneau, a nurse at the Mercy hospital at Benton Harbor, Mich., who was fatally burned there late last Friday, is a niece of Mr. and Mjs. James Hendricks, sr., of Monroe, and also of S. E. Daigenau, one of the directors of the hospital. Attending physicians do not offer any encouragement for her recovery. With the exception of her face and head the flesh on the young lady's body was literally cooked when her clothing accidentally caught fire. The accident happened while she was preparing to administer a hypodermic injection to a patient. She was using an alcohol lamp in her work and was holding a piece of cotton soaked in alcohol in her hand. The soaked cotton caught fire and the young lady attempted to extinguish it by throwing it on the floor and stamping upon it. In doing so the flames communicated to.her dress. She was clothed in* a light cotton dr<-ss and in a second she was enveloped in flames. Bessie Abbott, nurse and assistant superintendent of the hospital, is auf- ■ sering from a severe burned left hand. She went to the aid of her sister nurse. She has been a pupil nurse at the institution and last spring was graduated from the hospital school that has been conducted at that insituion. She is twenty years old.

BILL IS OFFERED Providing for a Constitutional Convention—Senator Grube Author. — |TO BE NON-PARTISAN Believes the Old Constitution Needs Revision and Will Push Bill. i (I’nlted Frees Service! Indlanapoll*. Ind., Jan 17—(Special :to Itaily Democrat) —A uon-partlaau constitutional convention is favored by Senator Harry Grube (democrat. Plymouth), author of one of th® bills In traduced iu the state legislature for the election of delegate* next fall to a convention to revise Indiana'* conaiitutlon. He want* the delegate* *elected without regard to political affiliations and without the aid of party enpdema. 'We cannot afford to shad® th® organic law of the land with any color of partican prejudice," said Grube to I day. , "About the only argument w® hear against th® calling of a convention i»| that of legal technicnittie* They say, wn have no right undej th® present constitution to call such a convention Our nnprem® court nay* th® |egi»lniur<-! bad no authority to submit a conatl-; lutlon tn lb® people, Between the ati-j prem® court and the atandpat lawyer we ae®m to 'be In ® d, “•! of a fix.' “All agro® that lhe people have th® Inherent right to chant® the organic law of the stat® at any tint® Th®r® la no authority higher than th® people Frnm what I can learn th® agency used Ja every stat® where a new row■Uttiiioii la adot-ted I* the ronatltutional convention tinlean another method is specifically preecrlbed. "Two years ago I voted for the Marshall conetltutlon. I did so because I believed that It would h® valid. W® planned to submit the proposition to lhe people for acceptance or rejection, but the court put u« out of buslnea* We tried that tchert® nnd failed Now I »tu o rrv the other nltcraalive.”

TONIGHT AT OPERA HOUSE. That big laugh show, "A Crazy Idea," by tho Fort Wayne Dramatic club, will be presented tonight at the Bosse opera house. Have you secured your reserved seat yet? You want to gel busy, as nearly all of the opera chairs are taken, and you better hurry. You will miss a great treat if you fail to see this show. It is one big laugh from start to finish. You can buy a ticket at the drug store If the solicitors have missed you. The price is 25c and if you want an opera chair, you pay 10c extra. Everybody is going, why not you? LANDS IN JAIL At Fostoria, 0., Does “Kneepants” Boy Horse Thief from Elwood. THE SORDID END Has Come to a Dazzling Career as is Usually the Case.

"The boy horse thief, who got away with the horse and buggy belonging to Frank Manship Tuesday morning, and who, on investigation, was shown to have left a trail cf theft* behind him, ran into the meshes of the law at Fostoria about 4 o'clock Thursday afternoon," says the Van Wert Daily Times. “The the lad's acitiona are difficult to understand a* lhe did not make any effort* to dißipose of his booty. 1 "Deputy Sheriff Wilson got on the ’ trail Thursday morning and located | the buggy which bad been stolen ifrom Berne, Ind., at George Hauler's {farm in Ridge township, where it had been abandoned; the chase was I continued with the result that the horse stolen from Elwood. Ind., with it* harness and Manship’* bug'gy was recovered near Fort Jennings, ( having been hitched to a tree near a farmer's barn some time Tuesday afternoon and abandon®.! He then evidently saddled the remaining hontq and rode it Into Ottawa, where be sel cured another outfit. Ot Ottawa he 'followed the same plan that worked iso successfully here, leaving the city, a* though going to *om<> point west, land then circling to the east. At Ottawa, he only had a few hours' start over the sheriff, who. by advising officers in the neighboring towns, made |it practically impossible for the Jad ito escape, with the result ,hal he was arrested with the Ottawa outfit and {Mr. Manship'* horse in hi* pow.elision as soon as b® entered Fostoria. -Communication with the Elwood, Indiana, authorities brought the word that the boy's name is Frank Mertz and that he lived within three blocks of the livery stable where he obtained the first horse. i Officer* from that city arrived here | Thursday evening to Identify and recover the Elwood horse and buggy. Aa the I'utnam county official* ' Itave the latest case against lhe lad. •and offered the largest reward for jhi* capture, he was turned over to | Sheriff Miller, *o that he will have to face the mu*ic at Ottawa before thl* i county can claim him Mr. Frank Mnnship left for Fimtorta Thursday afternoon to Identify and claim bl* 'hots®, which will be brought back to I this city al once " I Frank Brown, the Beren llverymnn, , who*® rig wa» among the boy’s th®tt* stopped off her® over night an a I guest* of l>r, nnd Mrs, 8. B. Hoffmaa. Ill® waa enroute horn® from Ohio where h® had been tracing down th® boy. finally recovering hl* stolen rig H® returned to Bern® thl* morning w I II I —< ■ ■' 111 . » A 810 SUCCESS. Wa* Sale er* Atttnd. Two hundred «nd thirty head of horse* wcr® dl«|H>s®d of by the Decatur Hora* Hale Co., st their semimonthly sal® today. A large number of buyer* all over th® country were preaent b®*ldea the many local buyer*, and th® warm, spring Ilk® weather add' d to tho intereat and competl tive bidding to make thia sale the best of the season Many of the hors®* Were brought in by th® farmers in th® surrounding country and fancy price* were received for them.

Price, Two Cents.

A GOOD INDUSTRY Statement by Receivers of Ward fence Company is Interesting. THE PAY ROLL LARGE Amount Spent for Advertising and Postage Shows Large Business Done. Ry request of the receivers of tho Ward Fence company we publish tho following statement concerning that plant, of particular interest to those who have the welfare of the city, its laboring men and the continued growth and prosperity of our community at heart: Editor Decatur Democrat: As receivers of the Ward Fence company and as citizens of Decatur who have the general welfare of the city and its industries at heart, wo feel it oyr duty to the citizens and business interess of Decatur to make public such portions of the company's business as will not be betraying the trust itn|M>sed in us as receivers. W® find, by going over the records of the company, that there has been paid out in pay-roll to employees since the company started in business jln Decatur, the surprising sum of *102,195 99, up to January 1, 1913. We did not realize that such an amount had been paid out in pay-roll by the I Ward Fence company, and no doubt (there are others of us who hereto’fore have not realized the value of the Ward Fence company to the citizens and business interests of Decatur from a pay-roll basis only. It is the policy of the company to advertise and sell their products direct to the consumer and orders are daily received from every state in the union as well as quite a number of orders from foreign countries. Since January 1. 1908, there lias been paid to magazines, farm papers and various periodicals the sum of *52,194.0’, and which has contributed toward spreading the fame of our fair city. During the year 1912 the company paid to the local postoffice *2,58289. Assuming that this would be an average year, they have paid out a total for portage since January 1, 1908, 112,91145. j By carefully considering the figures above, you will realize the necessity of the continuance of the Ward Fence company, its value to Decatur as a wage pitying institution, and we feel that all blfcdness firms an dcltlzens will more fully appreciate 'he value of this industry with these f< w facts laid before you. The history of all mall order concerns Ir that vast sums must be spent to advertise their products before deriving any profit. The Ward Fence company had all but reached its goal when adversity st nick it, and we respectfully ask that each and every citiarn I nd their moral support to th® comi r v and further the continuance of th Innt The Ward Fence company a valuable industry for Decatur 'id Its loss would be a serious blow i' both wag® earner* and business fl-ms. Respectfully submitted, M. KIRSCH. C. 8. NIBLICK. Receivers. » S. HOOVER THE SAME. Dr. ’Ufa, the physician attending Mrs ntph Hoover, who was shot last F ’day, called on hi* patient Thursday, nnd found her In much th® aarr -mdltion that she had beeo In forth, •■eat. ala day*. Wednesday h»r tr> tw r-.iure was normal, while she had a slight fever Thursday nnd one erf th® wound® showed a slight au,® pum'lon. it appears to be th® opinion of physician* who ar® following the cr«®. that th® stat® of unconaclouare** will likely last for several dav* y®‘ th® entire period extending or®. possibly B» days, at which time she wl’l suddenly lake a change, either retraining her sense* entirely or pesnin® away quite suddenly,-'an Wert Daily Time*. OUT or TOWN VISITORS. From tnary source*, we learn that a gteal number of out of town patron* of th® drams ar® already arranging tn attend the performance of Fh-ri-s Kl®ln‘» great play. .’Tit® Third Dege®®." when presented In our city