Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 23, Number 84, Decatur, Adams County, 8 April 1925 — Page 1

Vo l. XXIII. Number 81.

STREET PAVING HAS ATTENTION OFCOUNCILMEN Steps Taken Toward Im- ' proving Several Streets This Spring OTHER MATTERS UP Paving Os South Fifth St., Sought; Sewer Improvements Discussed an<l sewer improvements had th' attention of the city counci! ja<t evening, and action was taken towards Improving neural streets this spring. Engineer Orval Harruff filed the plans and specifications for the improvement of South First street, south from Adams street to Rugg' street, and Jefferson street, west of First street to the Pennsylvania railroad tracks. The streets will be improved with 1 brick, cement sidewalks and curb. ■ Hearings on the proposed improve- j ment« will b“ heard by the council on | Tuesday. May 5. Petition for Improvement Fied Plot he and others presented a petition to the council asking that South Fifth street, ' from Adams street to the alley just north of the Erie railroad tracks, be paved with brick. The petition also asked that a curb be placed along the street and, that cement sidewalks be construct- 1 ed. The petition was referred to the street and sewer committee. Other Council Doings Attorney Dore B. Erwin appeared before tht council anti explained that, the sewer running from in front of; his home on Norfii Second street, across the Fred Reppert property had caved in. and he prestnted a petijioin for rebuilding the sewer. The fewer would be paid for by the bene■ffflts and property owners ure desirous of building it at once. The matter was referred to the street nnd sewer committee with power to act.l The petition of Joe Palmer and I others for the opening of Bush street north of the Nickel Plate railroad tracks, was referred to the street and sewer committee. Engineer Orval Harruff reported the completion of the France sewer extension and May 5 was fixed as the date on which objections against the preliminary assessments would be heard. The plans and specifications for the Sudduth sewer in the west part of the city were filed and approved. Notice to bidders will be given at a later date. An executive session of the council was held during which time the contract for building the addition to the light and power plant was awarded. o MAYOR DEVER'S PLANDEEEATED Chicago Votes Against Municipal Ownership Os Transportation System Chicago, April 8— Mayor William Dever’s proposal for municipal ownership of Chicago's transportation system was rejected by the city’s voters by more than 100,000, the complete vote showed today. The balloting, which climaxed a long and bitter campaign for and against the proposal, established a record for contests of this kind. With the exception of a few adermanic contests, there was no other issue before the voters, yet 556,782 ballots were cast. Mayor Dever’s proposal called for expenditure of $250,000,000 for purchase of all street car linds and the elevated system. A city commission would have’ been responsible for the operation. Three former mayors, one of whom is also a former governor, led the fight against the municipal ownership under Mayor Dever's plan. Evanston and Oak Park, Chicago’s 'ending suburbs, decided that Sunday movies should not invade fneir corporation, limits. They voted 5 to 3 and 11 to 4 respectively against ordinances that would have permitted motion picture houses to operate °n the Sabbath. The "blue law" issue brought out record votes in these suburbs.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Open Holy Week Services at! St. Marys Church Thursday i The Holy Week services will Icegin Thursday morning at the St. Marys Catholic church. A high mass will be celebrated at seven-thirty In the' morning and the- church will be* open throughout the day for those who wish to come' and pray. On Friday morning the mass of the pre-sancti-fied wil be celebrated and on Saturday morning the services wil begin at six o’clock. I.an evening Rev. Otto Peters concluded his series of lenten sermons on Christ's Passion and suffering. The services wore well attended. IMPROVEMENT IN BUSINESS SEEN Construction Started And Industries Reopened In Many Cities That general business in Indiana I is on the upward ternd. is evidenced ( bv reports of several sources receivII cl here recently. Reports are to the I effect that building of all sorts is j starting in the larger cities and also lin some of the smaller cities and ; towns of the state. Many roads 1 throughout Indiana are being improved and the state is advertising' for bids for more road construction! and improvement. Street improvements in Fort Wayne and other neighboring cities and towns are underway. Factories i ihat have been closed or running ' pact time are again swinging into fulli time production. Decatur factories I are going full force and most of those I in neighboring towns and cities report heavy output. Salesmen who. have been called in off their routes during the lull the last few months are again on the road and report business conditions as improving. Roger W. Babson, statistician and business expert of nat'onal repute, reports that national business conditions are about six per I cent above normal and says that in i the next month or two improvement will bo more marked. Among the building improvements in northern Indiana are: the installing of a new heating plant in the Kendallville high school building: the paving of seven streets in Fort Wayne; the enlarging of the government sanitarium at Marlon; the construction of a new post office at Rochester; the construction of a municipal cultivation field at fort Wayne. Among industrial improvements are: The opening of a basket factory at Warsaw; the reopening of the Farmers and Merchants Bank at Geneva and the opening for production of the Engman Range company at Goshen. Such improvements and reopening of factories are reported in other parts of Indiana also, and with the reports comes the forecast of a general business and manufacturing improvement. o Two Persons Adjudged Insane Here Yesterday Two persons were adjudged insane at inquests held in this bity yesterday afternoon. Flossie O. Dudgeon, age 37, of Blue Creek township, was found to be insane at an inquest held before A. C. Butcher, justice of the peace, while Mrs. Mary Johns, age 70, of Washington township, was adjudged insane at an inquest held before J. W. Merriman, justice of the peace. Mrs. Dudgeon was taken into custody at the interurban station yesterday afternoon by Sheriff John Baker, upon a request from relatives that she was attempting to run away. , o CHICAGO GRAIN CLOSE Wheat—May, $1.51; July, $1.37 3-4: Sept., $1.29 1-2. Corn—May, $1.04 1-4; July, SI.OB 3-8; Sept., $1.09 1-2. Oats —May, 40 3-8 c; July, 42 3-8 c; Sept., 43c. o Shepherd’s Attorneys Seek A Writ Os Habeas Corpus Springfield, 111., April B.—Seeking a writ of habeas corpus to secure the freedom of Wrn. D. Shepherd, accused of slaying his foster son, Billy McClintock, affidavits and a request for such a writ were received today by the Illinois supreme court. The move by attorneys for Shepherd is the final effort of the defense to secure his freedom. The plea was taken under advisement by the court.

KIRKLAND PUPIL WINS IN CONTEST (Jerald Zimmerman Wins County Oratorical Contest Here Last Night Gerald Zimtjx rman, a student of the Kirkland high school, won the right to represent this county at the district oratorical contest to be held later this month by winning first place in the county contest held last night at the Central school auditor him. The debate was on a subject selected from the United States constitution. The annua'? contest was the first of an elimination series, which ends with | the National contest at Washington I D. ('. The discussions are sponsored I by the Indianapo'is News and state department of education. Mr. Zimmerman will be permitted to make any desired changes in his talk before presenting It at the district meeting. Paul Graham, principal of the Monmouth high school; Lewis Greider. of the Monroe schools, and V. C. Sheldon. of Fort Wayne, acted as judges at the local contest. Mr. Sheldon also talked at the meeting of the Decatur school teachers which was he d at the Central building prior to the discussion. | 0 Dance Hall Murder Case On Trial At Indianapolis | * , Indianapolis, April B—Presentation8 —Presentation i of evidence was resumed today in j the trial of William Blackburn, 56. changed with murdering John F. Martin, 24., in a dance hall fight lust fall. Arthur Lyness, 21. who was with Martin at the lime of the shooting testified that they had been drinking when they went to the dance hall, where Blackburn was doorkeeper. R'ackburn shot Martin when the two youths attempted to "crash the gate." o Kryl’s Rand To Play At Bluffton Next October Bluffton, April B—The Tri Kappa Sorority of this city lias engaged Hohuinir Kryl and his Victor recording band for two concerts in this city early next October. The band will lie accompanied by several feature entertainers, it is said. The contract also calls for a soloist. LIGHT PLANT CONTRACT LET Christen And Comoany Employed To Build Addition To Plant The contract for remodeling the old boiler room and constructing a new addition at the City Light and Power plant was awarded, by the city council last evening, to C. N. Christen and company, of this city, on their bid of $5,690.00. This was the lowest of the three bids filed, the others being, Moon and Butler. $5,916 and H. F. Linn, $6,100. Work on the new addition will begin immediately. The addition will house the two new 400 H. P. boilers which will be installed this month. The old boiler room is not large enough to house the two boilers, making it necessary to enlarge the quarters. The addition will be 34 by 40 by 32 feet and will conform to the rest of the building. The foundations for the new boilers have already been installed and the boilers will be shipped from the factory about April 15. Coal is Saved During 1925 more than 1 000 tons of coal was saved, although 277,380 K. W. If. more power was manufactured at the plant, the new equipment installed at the plant making it possible to reduce the coal consumption. Want House Removed A petition signed by about 45 residents of Decatur requested the council to take action towards having the old Romberg house, corner : of Ninth and Monroe streets, removed. The house was partially destroy ed by fire a few years ago and stands as an eye-sore in that part of the • city. The petition was referred tc the committee on public safety and no doubt an order will be issued tc remove the ruins.

Decatur. Indiana, Wednesday, April 8, 1925

.... —. . -►. .. . . •— ■'- • - - ■ —• -f* ■*—- •« ll■ ■ ■ ■ Hear, Ye! Hear, Ye! Decatur Has A New Heralder Os Spring All precedence has been broken! While F. V. Mills mid Jim Frlstoe have been busy with spring garden Ing, a new rival has entered the straw hat field as ih> champion heralder of spring. Roth former champions have fallen—their throne lias been captured, and a third candidate has entered the tied to vie for "early bird,” honors. Arthur Fisher appeared today with the popular summer head gear namely the straw hat. substituted for the winter felt. Mr. Fisher is a ne w comer in the "■early straw” contest. For many years Jim Fristoe was the first citizen of Decatur to “mothball’ his winter head-gear and get out the old straw. Then a few years ago F. V. Mills jumped into the field by getting a several day advantage on tlie former champion. These two citizens scrapped for, several years as to who was the cham- • pion heralder of the summer solistice- but with the batt e still raging, a dark horse has jumped into the argument. From now on it is expected that the three men will scrap for the “first straw" honors. VON HINDENBURG IS A CANDIDATE — Former Field Marshal Is Candidate for Presidency Os Germany (By Carl D. Groat. United Press st. ' correspondent) Berlin, .jtil 8-(Special to Daily Democrat) — Former Field Marshal Von Hindenburg today accepted the nomination of the "empire bloc” as its candidate for presidency of the German republic. The “empiro bloc.” composed of -arties of the right sating of German politics agreed upon the world warj hero as the candidate to succeed Dr. Jarres. who honied the poll taken i last month without obtaining a majority. Foreign Minister Strasemann op-| posed Hindenburg's qandidacy,, fav-| oring Jarres, but all parties of the Right, including the Bavarian folks party and the economic party, en- i dorsed the former field marshal. Hindenburg had announced he would accept only on the condition; that his nomination was unanimous i on the part of all members of the “empire bloc.” Engineer Badly Burned When Boiler Explodes Indianapolis, lud., April B.—Asa Clark, Pennsylvania railroad engineer., was in a critical condition in a , hospital today from burns and injuries suffered when the boiler of his i locomotive exploded near Bhi Davis > late yesterday. B. W. Taylor and Arlie Haskett, both of Logansport, were slightly in- . jured. , « RED MEN HOLD DISTRICT MEET ; Local Lodge Represented At Meeting Held In Fort ■ Wayne Today s i W. H. Foughty and Mat Breiner i left this morning for Fort. Wayne 1 where they will represent the Decatur lodge at the Northern Indiana district, convention of the Improved s Order of Red Men. Mr. Breiner also 0 will represent the Decatur Homestead of the Yeomen, who are holding >- their state conclave at Fort Wayne, t There will be about 25 towns of >• northern Indiana represented at the district meeting of the Red Men. A business session will be held all day 5 and a social gathering is scheduled e for tonight at the Red Men’s hall at • Fort Wayne. The Decatur iddge is r one of the oldest in the district. r . — Weather e—- — Increasing cloudiness tonight. Bert coming unsettled Thursday with o probably showers iu west portion; not much change iu temperature.

RECISTR ATI OH LAW EXPLAINED Poll Books Made In November Election Must Be Followed (UNITED PRESS SEBVP'Ri Indianuplis, April 8 — The original poll books made at 'ho general elections in November 1924 and at each general election thereafter shall bo used for preparing voters registration books according to interpretation placed by Charles Kettleborough, head of the state legislative refernece bureau, on the Mammitt registration act which goes into effect witli the May primaries. The act would prevent the overlapping of precincts in the registra- ; lion of voters and would keep the , list of voters constantly renewed, it lis said. j The bill provides for a county board of registration consisting of the county auditor and some other person of opposite political faith. The board shall be in session for 59 days prior to the election and shall prepare registration lists from poll books of the previous election. The board shall also receive the names of those making app:<cation 1 for registration whose names are not on the poll books or whose names are no' listed in the precincts where they live. o Red Cross Relief Fund Passes SIOO,OOO Mark Indianapolis, April B.—A gift of $3.j 400 from citizens of Shelbyville to- | day sent the Red Cross tornado rej lief fund over the SIOO,OOO mark. Red Cross officials expect to raise many muse thousands of dollars before the campaign closes. Bishop Font of the U. B. churches made an appeal for contributions from members of the church during the next month to rebuild churches of i that denomination destroyed in the ■ tornado. Most of the money will be ■ needed at Princeton. — o Goshen Council Abolishes Board Os Public Safety j Goshen, Ind., April B.— After the I first of next January the city of GoshI en will be without a board of public i safety. The city council list night ■ voted to take over the duties of the board itself, D.H.S. JUNIORS TO STAGE PLAY To Present “A Full House” At High School Auditortorium April 22-23 “A Full House’’, Is the title of the three-act comedy play that the Junior class of the Decatur high school will present at the high school auditorium, April 22 and 23. The play was written by Fred Jackson. The production of the play is under the direction of Miss Josephine Myers, class guardian, and Mrs. J. R. Blair. The synopsis of the story is as fol 'ows: Mr. and Mrs. George Howell, newlyweds, have rented a furnished apartment from Mrs. Flemming. The second day after their marriage Mr. Howell a prosperous young lawyer, is called away from home on business. He tells his wife he is going to Cleveland, but in truth he goes to Boston to get some Tpve letters • of Ned Pembroke from Vera Vernon, s a show girl. Ted wants to propose ■ to Daphne Carters, but does not dare i to for fear Vera will sue him for 1 breach of promise ami use his love > letters as evidence. George does not - come back as soon as expected, and 5 Ottily, his wife, is very wornea. ■ While George is away, there is a f wreck which causes Ottily much rtis- * tress. Mrs. Pembroke's jewels are K stolen, and she causes a great deal r of excitement over the loss. 1 George Howell is in this wreck and 1 in the excitement of it a'(l, he takes s the traveling bag of Nicholas King. who is a crook.. King takes Howell's. i When George gets home, his wife opens his traveling bag, and finds Mrs. Pembroke’s jewels and all sorts of tools that a burglar could use. Mra. Winnecher, Ottily's aunt, deh clares that George is a thief, but (Continued Ou Page Five)

Suggestions For Easier Dinner In Friday’s Paper Sunday is the Joyful feast of Easter and in many homes there will be reunions and family dinners. The Daily Democrat will make a spacial effort Io puldish all the grocery nnd meat market ads on Friday. Howi over, this office will bo closed from twelve to three o'clock on Good Friday I and those who wish to have ibeir ads in the special Easier basket pages ' are urged to get their copy into the [ hands of the printer as early as pos-; siblo. Housewives are invited to read i these ads and then do their shopping. o DEPOSITION IS READ TO JURY Trial Os Typhoid Fever Damage Suit Becomes More Monotonous The hearing of the Fort Wayne typhoid fever damage suit, on trial in, the Adams circuit court here for the past two weeks, grew even more monotonous today as counsel for the plaintiff read the deposition of a wit- 1 ness into the records, that is. read k p:.rt of it into tlie tecords. as counsel for the def-rse succeeded in having a portion of it stricken out. The deoositicn read today was that of Dr. A. L. Oiler, epidemfidogist of the, state board of health at the time of the typhoid fever epidemic in i’o’t Wayne during the fall of 1923, and who is now studying in Harvard University. Counsel for the Pennsylvania railroad company and the City of Fort Wayne, defendants in the case, fought desperately to keep Dr. Oiler's ti -r.inony out of the trial records. Viui.' el Ins testimony was attacked on the grounds that it was 11 resay and :l'..u Dr. Oii‘r had couducted a 'Ugh investigation h r.'self. The depositions ' f . two more witnesses are to be n.toduced as rv - t d.-nce by the Lincoln Trust como ny, administrator of ‘lie estate of Herman Bauermoister. the plaintiff in the case. The depositions are tl-ute of L. A. Giples. form -r sanitary .' "i-, neer of the state board of heai'h, tint now employed oi Poland. i Mrs. McCurdy, technician of the state board of health. Moro witnesses are to be introduced by the plaintiff, also, counsel stated today. It is unlikely that the plaintiff will rest its case tomorrow evening, as previously predicted. Only one witness, a physician, was haerd this morning. Mrs. C. C. Schafer Has Major Operation Today Mrs. C. C. Schafer underwent a ■ major operation at about eight-thirty - : this morning at the St. Joseph hospital. Fort Wayne. A Fort Wayne physician performed the operation, I assisted by a local physician. No word was received here up to press time from Mr. Schafer, who accom-; panied his wife to the hospital. Last fall Mrs. Schafer underwent an operation at the Adams County Memorial hospital ami her host of friends wisli her a speedy recovery.

0 Names Os Four Jurors Are Omitted In Story In the list of petit jurors for the ; April term of the Adams circuit court, published in Tuesday’s issue of the Daily Democrat, the names of four juors were omitted. They are as follows: Frank Kuntz, Berne; Martin Boese, Preble township; Harry Hay. J St. Marys township, and Louis Merillot. FFrench township. o U. B. Ladies* Aid To Give Musical Program The Ladies' Aid Society of the United Brethren church will give a musical program at the church Thursday evening at 7:30 o’clock. At the ! close of the program a silver offering will be taken. ! Song. Prayer. Selection—High School Glee Club. Reading—Pearl Clair. Violin Solo —Miss Akey. J Selection —Bobo Choir. 5 Reading—Mrs. Harve Baker. Instrumental Duet —Clara Ellen Mummi and Mary Jane Devon ’ Instrumental Duet—lreta Fisher. . Selection—Male Quartette. Benediction.

Price 2 Cents.

ELLINGSON GIRL TAKES STAND TO PROVE SELF SANE Young Matricide (’ailed To Witness Stand By Prosecution Today — DEFENSE OBJECTS Question Os Her Sanity May Be In Hands Os Jury Before Night (United Pre hp Service) San Francisco, April 8. (Special to Daily Democrat) I Dorothy Ellingson took tlie witi ness stand in a dramatic move j Io prove that she is sane. 'lite 17-ycar-ol<l matricide was callefl by tht - prosecution land her testimony was admitti ed over the slrentants objection of the defense. “Dorothy do you want to I (tike the stand?" Judge Harold Louderback asked. “1 most certainly do.” replied the jazz girl, glancing scornfully at her consul. After taking the oath Dorothy, dressed in new spring outfit in honor of the moment, sat down and facet! the prosecuting attorney. San Francisco, April B—(United8 —(United Press) —The question of Dorothy Ellingson's sanity may be in the hands of the jury before night. Arguments by attorneys for tlie state and defense were scheduled for today, with the probability that the case of the 17 year old matricide will' lie handed to the nine men and i three women within a few hours. They will decide whether the dance girl is deranged as her attorRileys declare, or whether she is menI tally competent and. able to stand trial for kiling her mother. I In Dorothy's opinion there is but 1 one verdict for the jury to reach - that she is a sane girl. The long prison term she may re- | ceive as a convicted murderess Is prel fen:b e to Dorothy to incarceration 1 in an asylum. — 0 Fort Wayne Counterfeiter Sent To Federal Prison Chicago. April 8. — Jordan Christoph. 30. arrested in Fort Wayne as the alleged brains of a counterfeit ting was sentenced to live years at Atlanta by Judge A. C. Cliffe, hero ' today. Three men alleg’d a< complices ".ere ■sentenced to 30 days and a 1 fourth to one day. 0 Seaman Kills His Wife And Commits Suicide Astoria. R. 1.. April 8— (United | Press) — Without warning. Joseph , Reichel, 28, a seaman in tlie merchant i marine, shot and killed his wife, May. | and then committed suicide with the I same revolver at their home here ■ last night.

MAT BREINER HEADS MOOSE Elected Dictator At Election Held By Local Lodge Last Night Mat Breiner was elected dictator | of the local Loyal Order of Moose for . 1925-1926 at a meeting held at the Moose home on Third street last night. He succeeds Walter Wilkin, son who has acted in that capacity ■ for several years. William Hoffman was elected vice-dictator. John Kciss was elected prelate. : Other officers were reelected at the : meeting. They are: Adam Schafer, trustee; Jack Tester. treasurer; I Robert. Green, secretary. After the j election of officers the regular meeting was held at which time the lodge business was transacted. During the leadership of Mr. Wilkinson. the local lodge has increased its membership considerably and has bought the home that it now occupies. The Decatur lodge also has assisted in several civic movements. They recently completed a successful membership campaign.