Decatur Daily Democrat, Volume 23, Number 94, Decatur, Adams County, 20 April 1925 — Page 1

Vol. XXIII. Number 91.

STEPHENSON IS PLACED UNDER ARREST

Rev. U. S. A. Bridge Made A District Superintendent

PASTOR OF M.E. | CHURCH IN THIS CITYPROMOTED — Rev. Thornburg Also Advanced; Rev. Summerville Light Sent Here PASTORS ASSIGNED Monroe (Jets New Pastor; Most Os Pastors In County Returned The Rev. U. S. A. Bridge, I pastor of the First Methodist (him h of Decatur for the last j three years, was made superintendent of the Wabash district of the Northern Indiana Conence of the Metodist Episcopal church, at the closing session of the conference at Anderson this afternoon. The Rev. F. F. Thornburg, former pastor of the local church, but recently of Kokomo, was made superintendent of the Richmond district. | The Rev. Summerville Light, former superintendent of the Richmond district, was assigned to the pastorate of the Decatur church to succeed Rev. Bridge. Most of the pastors in Adams | county were re assigned to their j I churches for another year. Rev. Light retired as superintendent of the Richmond district last year. He lias been superintendent of that district since 1915. During his ministry he has held the pastorate ut Marion First church. Nappanee. Middlebury, Bristol. Knightstown. Milwaukee, Wisconsin. War saw. Wabash, Elkhart, and Bluffton, and was superintendent of the Goshen district. Rev. Light was in Bluffton from 1897 to 1900. The Rev. S. 1. Zechiel, pastor ot (lie Methodist church at Monroe for the last few years, was not returned, the Rev. E. M. Foster being assigned to the Monroe church. No selection was made for the 1926 Conference city. The assignment of pastors in the Fort Wayne district is as follows: Fort Wayne District Angola, H. A. P. Hotner; Arcola. (Continued on page two) FARMERS URGED TO RE PRESENT Good Program Arranged For Big Farmer Meeting Here Thursday The farmers and their children and members of the Junior Farm Clubs being sponsored in this county this year, are urged to attend the meeting at the old gymnasium Thursday evening. A good program is being arranged for the meeting. It will include speaking by local and out-of-town men, the showing of interesting films by County Agent L. M. Busche and the serving of a lunch following the meeting. The farmers of the six north townships, together with the entrants in the Junior Farm clubs, are especially’ invited. A similar meeting was held at Berne several weeks ago, which t b < i - _ «...

the farmers of the six south townHhipß attended. A cordial invitation is also extended to them to attend this meetilng. The program will begin at about seven o’clock. The meeting will be over in time for the farmers to return home before late and the program Promises to be one of real interest. More than 150 boys and girls are enrolled in the Junior farm clubs und the meeting on Thursday evening is for the purpose of encouraging 'hem in their work. County Agent Busche reports much Interest in the club work. The work of the boys and Kiris will be carried on throughout lhe summer.

DECATUR DAILY DEMOCRAT

Public Gatherings Are Still Banned In Goshen Goshen, April 26 The ban on all public ; alh< rinr-- in this city continue and extended efforts are bring made <o curb the scarlet fevi-r epidemic ; which has been prevalent here since | the .utter purl of February. The dis ; ease hus gained c onsiderable head way during the hist few weeks. Since the proclamation by the mayor that all schoo's and movies be closed only one new case has been reported and it is believed that tire disease will be stamped nut before long. To I date six persons have died of scar--1.1 fever and more than fifty have be'ti sid: with it. .— o CHURCHES PLAN FOR BOYS WEEN Make Plans To Hold Special Services In Honor Ot Boys Next Sunday From every church pulpit in the city at the Sunday services, the min- | Islers made mention of the approach ! of international Boys week and how the churches are going to cooperate jin the program by holding special services or in delivering talks to the | Imys on Sunday. April 26. known as | "Boys day in the churches.” The various Protestant churches are planning ro observe the day wTth a program in the morning. In the St. Marys Catholic and Zion Lutheran church, a talk will be delivered to (he boys in the afternoon. Ministers were enthusiastic in their talks in sponsoring the Boys program for Sunday and mention was made of the observance. They also urged the parents of the boys to became interested in the observance and stated that it was a fine movement for the churches to sponsor. The purpose of Boys day in the churches is explained as follows by the general committee of International Boys week: ‘‘To focus the hoys’ minds upon the religous faith of their parents. -To interest the parents in the religious life of the boy. “To cultivate in the heart of the boy. devotion to the faith of his parents. “To interest the churches in developing a program that will appeal more strongly to the boys." The boys week program, which is sponsored here by the Decatur Rotary club, the churches, schools, lodges and ciMzens co-operating, is also endorsed by President Calvin Coolidge, former President Taft, Cardinal Hayes and many other lead ing Americans. The program will be carried out in at least 28 countries and in nearly every city of any size .in America. M. F. Worthman. superintendent of schools, is the general chairman of the observance and committees have been appointed to carry out the seven-day program, beginning with Sunday. April 26, o— Two Negroes Held For Street Car Robbery Tore Haute. April 20— With Joe Vence, 22. and John Franklin, 22, both colored, still in jail here under SIO,OOO bond as suspects in the holdup of Arthur Sutherland, street car conductor, Indianapolis authorities have notified the local police that

the negroes are wanted there for a 1 street car robbery in that city. —— -oSeek Driver Os Car Which Was In Accident i Indianapolis, April 20— Police today searched for the driver of aij auto , which collided with a machine drlvi en by Fred Wagner. Indianapolis. . near Fort Benjamin Harrison yes- ; tcrday. j Five occupants of Wagner’s car i were injured. The driver of the other I machine stopped to aid the injured but drove, away when an ambulance arrived.

I STORMS SWEEP OVER SEVERAL j STATES SUNDAY I . Spring Storms Cause Property Damage Aggregating Millions Os Dollars TWO PERSONS KILLED — I Peoria,lllinois, Hardest Hit; Eastern States Suffer Big Loss (United Press Service) | Spring storms, varying from snow i squalls to cyclones, swept New Eng- | land. West Virginia. Ohio. Illinois i and Pennsylvania Sunday, causing ' two deaths, injury to scores of persons and property damage aggregat ing millions of dollars. * Two persons were killed and damage estimated at $500,60(1 was caused' by storm at Peoria. 111. Considerable property loss also was suffered at’ Pekin, along (lie river . The cyclone did heavy damage in the business district of Wheeling. W.

Va. anil ten Tien, mostly motorists, were hurt. Though no fata .ties were report ed. the storm caused enormous damage at Altoona. Pa., where several persons were injured. Toledo, 0., was battered by hail , stones an inch in diameter. Zanesville, Cambridge and Martin's Ferry were amontftheTifiTi towns hard hit by the storm. At the same time. New Englandj was deluged with snow. rain, hail and sleet. Ohio Is Hard Hit I i Columbus. O, April 20 —(United ■ Press I—High winds lashed Ohio from west to east Sunday, taking a < heavy toll in property damage and injuring persons. • One of the worst hail storms in l years struck Toledo. The city and vicinity were pelted for 15 minutes , by chunks of ice, some of them an : inch in diameter. Greenhouses were shattered. Automobile tops were ripped open. Total damage amounted to several thousand dollars. : . The Zanesville, Cambridge. Mart- ; Ins Ferry and other eastern Ohio mining towns and Wheeling, W. Va.,l just across the river, were hardest ' hit. Many business buildings were ' unroofed and residences were dam- i aged. Several persons were injured at Wheeling where the wind blew an automobile through a drug store ' window. i At Cambridge scores of trees were ; uprooted, two houses were unroofed and several garages blown down. i MEMORIAL HELD i BY MOOSE LODGE < I Decatur Lodjre Holds Impressive Ceremony For > Departed Members More than a hundred members of 1 the local lodge of the Loyal Order of Moose gathered at the home on • Third street Sunday afternoon to hold their annual memorial for deceased 1 members. The event is of national ' scope and each lodge holds a mem- ' orial service each spring for Moose

members who have died during the year. Included in the program were several songs sng by Mrs. L. A. Holthouse, commemorating meml>ers who have died. No speaker was arranged for, and the rest of the program consisted of the ritualistic ceremony of • the Moose lodge for such occasions. , Flowers were used to represent deceased membrs. After the ritualistic program a benediction was given by a member of the local lodge, which concluded the program. Mat Breiner, recently elected, assumed the dictatorship of t’’e lodge, at the memorial services.

Decatur, Indiana, Monday, April 20, 1925.

A GETS A PROMOTION Rev. U. S. A. Bridge The Rev. (T. S. A. Bridge, pastor of the First Methodist church in this city for the last three years, was made superintendent of the Wabash D! trict of the Northern Indiana Con I for. nee of th.* Methodist Episcopal church, at the annual session of the I conference in Anderson today. Rev. Bridge is president of the Decatur 1 Ministeir.'l Association and has a host of friends in this city who regret to see him leave Decatur, hut who are happy at his promotion.

o — ODD FELLOWS TO HAVE BllSf WEEK Lodge To Have Program Each, Night This Week; Observe Founding The local lodge of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows has arranged a special program for every evening this week, as a part of the re consecration week program being held by I O. O. F. lodges throughout the • state this week, in celebration of the founding of the lodge, April 26. 1819. The week's program will start this evening with degree work by the Subordinate lodge. Lunch will be be set veil. On Tuesday evening the Rebekahs will give degree work and tlie needle club .vill meet. A big social n ling ill the < lub ohis" i<>r all Odd Fellows. Rebekahs and their families has been planned for Wednesday night. A chicken supper will; be held from 6:30 to 8:30 o'clock Thursday evening, and an entertaining program of music and speeches' wiil be given following the supper. Reiter encampment will confer the Royal Purple dgeree upon a class of candidates on Friday evening. Lunch and smokes will be served. The week's program will be brought to a close on Sunday. The Odd Fellows and Rebekahs will meet at the lodge room and go tin a body to the Christian church Sunday morning to hear an Odd Fellow sermon preached by the Rev. H. W Thompson. A pro , gram of music, speeches and readings will be given in the club rooms Sunday evening, bringing to a close the week’s celebration of the 106th anniversary of the founding of the lodge. The Decatur Odd Fellows lodge is an active organization. It owns a three-story building at' the corner of Monroe and Second streets the lodge occupying the second and third floors 1 The lodge rooms arh on the third floor while the club rooms pro on the second floor. The lodge has a large membership. The auxiliary organization, the Rebekahs, is an active organization. also.

iz.ii i joi;, uinir. 0 — Methodist Hospital Fund Is One-Third Subscribed Indianapolis, April 20— Additional workers joined today in the cam-; paign to raise $1,000,000 for Methodist hospitals in Indianapolis, Princeton, Gary and Fort Wayne. A total of $347,000 has been pledged to date, directors of the campaign announced. Weather Mostly fair tonight and Tuesday slightly warmer Tuesday.

WOMAN ADMITS SHE POISONED TEN PERSONS I Nebraska Woman Confesses To Crime Which Took Seven Lives I HAS CHILD’S MIND Killed Another Woman’s Children Because Mother Talked About Her St. Paul, Nob,, April 20 (United Press) —Mrs. Ammanuel Ccrenson 2." year old wife of a Dannebrog labore; and a paronoiac, with the mind of an eight year old. Sunday confessed to County Attorney Dobrey that she . had administered poison to ten persons over :i period of eight years. Seven of the victims died. Two children victims were poisoned “because I had it in for the children, who gossiped about me", the 1 written statement said. Poison was given her husband in his medicine a short time after a disagreement ’ Mrs. Sorenson said. Mrs. Sorenson “felt sorry” for her ' infant victims and gave them poison . to "end their misery", she told the attorney. Ono of her own children was killed because it had St. Vitus dance, and she wanted to "relieve her suffering." | In the ca.se of the other two family . victims, her second child was dispatched dead, “because it was too ! much trouble to care for. ’ and her mother-in-law fell victim to the mania when she became old ami feeble and a burden on her young daughter-in- ' law. Invest iga* ion of the iong series of poison deaths started about three weeks ago. Dobrey said, when two children among visitors at the Soren son home became suddenly and violently ill. Inn subsequently recovered. : Tests showed that strong doses of poison had been given the children. Mrs?. Sorenson will probably bo be taken to the insane asylum at Hastings today, having been adjml'-’ -d ' imane last Saturday. No prosecution . wil be made because of her mental . condition. . “Each time 1 had a feeling of elation and happiness," Mrs. Sorenson .'told Dobrey, speaking of her reaction 1 following death of those to whom she fed poison in randy, sweets ami > medicine, "hut later. 1 would begin to ‘I feel uneasy and would do things to keep people from finding out what 1 ; had done”. That suspicion in the death myster- ■ ies was so long diverted from Mrs. sorenson is ascribed to two other supposedly satisfactory explanations of deaths. Once, following two deaths in quick succession, it was believed a ’ dog which had licked the hand of one of the children, was responsible, and the dog was shot. In another case a ■ doctor was blamed. o REV. 0. P.VITZ DIED LAST NIGHT I Former Pastor Os Reformed Churches At Vera Cruz And Newville Dies j The Rev. Oswald P. Vitz, pastor of !St Peters Reformed church at Clay

1 <n, 1 I W » • — - . , City. Indiana, and for many yearsj' pastor of the Reformed churches at ( Vera Cruz and Newville, died last; (night at the home of his brother. Rev.I, .Nathan Vitz. at New Bremen, Ohio,.j. A funeral service will be held Tues-1 I day afternoon at 2 o’clock at New I Bremen and burial will take place at Clay City, on Thursday afternoon? I at 2 o'clock wirh Rev. A. R. FledderI johann. pastor of the local Zion ReI formed church, conducting the serI vice. Rev. Oswald Vitz was known to many Decatur people. He was a brother of Rev. Henry Vitz, who was pastor of the local Reformed church for many years.

i Zimmerman Arraigned At Van Wert, Ohio, Saturday Harry Zimmerman wa- arraigned j in court at Van Wert. Ohio, Saturday I afternoon, on a charge of robbing I Mrs. John Harmon, of near Wren, k 1 Ohio. more than a yt ar ago. Attorneys I for Zimmerman filed a motion to I quash the indictment on the grounds! of alleged irregularity in serving the * ’ copy of the indictment. The court | granted an intermission on the hearing in order that Sheriff Johnson I might be brought in as a witness, i The sheriff was out of the city Sat- j urday Zimmerman's attorney also I • asked leave to file a motion on hnhoas I j corpus. DECATUR PUPILS CAPTURE HONORS Make Good Showing in Dis-i trict Commercial Contest At Fort Wavne Decatur high school made a good ' ■ showing in the annual district com mercial contest held at Fort Wayne : , last Saturday. Local teams finished second in typewriting, second in penmanship and third in shorthand. Miss , Mildred Akey. of Decatnr won the individual honor of being the best high school typist in the district and . will enter the state contest at Mun- . cio May 1, to compete with other district winners. Miss Mary Catherine Schng. a sophomore won third place in the elementary typewriting contest Many persons who attended tipcontest Saturday believe that Miss Akey will win the state contest this year with ease. Her record Saturday of 77 words a minute is considerably higher than the record that won the, state title last year. Authorities ale said that Miss Schug undoubted yj . would bo at the top in n-xt year's h 1 contest. She showed unusual ability in the elementary class. The Decatur team lost the team 1 competition in typewriting by five , sixth of a point and was awarded . second place. Bluffton finished first, t Central of Fort Wayne finished third, and South Side, fourth. Miss dare ' Macy was fifth in the advanced contest. In penmanship the local high I school placed second. Columbia City, the only high school in the district I that teaches penmanship, don first I p’ace. Central of Fort. Wayne received , ' third award. I Miss Pauline a freshman in the local high school, will represent ] ■ this district at Muncie in penmanship. [The Columbia City team won as a [ team, but Miss Niblick's individual 'score, merits her the honor of entering as an individual, in this depart- , inent of the contest. ] '! Deactur finished third in the short , hand contest. Miss Akey received _ second award in this, and will receive . 'a ribbon as the second best short-1 [hand student in the district. South Side of Fort Wayne won the team | competition, and Central received ( third honors. | Local school authorities and com- ) mercial instructors are highly pleas- ( ed with the showing made by Decatur . '' Students. It shows the high elficiem y , i that department instructors at the ( I Decatur high school and also giyes , the Decatur school a higher ranking , . in the state. Miss Blanch McCrory, head of the commercial department, accompanied the Decatur entries to Fort Wayne, and it has been due 1 chiefly to her and her assistants that , ’ vneh a good showing was made

SUCH » o ’ bulletin Indianapolis. April 20 (Special lo Daily Democrat)—Pleas in abatement for the latest , charge, that of murder of Miss Madge Oberholtzer, against D. C. Stephenson, former grand dragon of the Ku Klux Klan in Indiana and his two aides, Gentry and K'inck. were overruled in criminal court today. The pleas, filed by Eph lu-i man. attorney for the trio, were identical to those filed and overruled on five other indictjments against them last week.

Price 2 Cents.

HELD IN JAIL WHILE LAWYERS PLAN NEXT MOVE Former Old Man of Ku Klux Klan In Indiana Jokes With Prisoners OTHER TWO HELD Attorneys For Three Men Plan Habeas Corpus Proceedings Next < (United Press S. rvl< ■■) Indianapolis, April 20 (Special to Daily Democrat) •> lutughing and joking with othei prisoners, I). ('.. Stephenson, ont! lime old man of the Ku Klux Klan of Indiana, paced the hull pen in the Marion county jail this afternoon, awaiting the next move of his attorneys on the charge against him for the death of Miss Madge Oherholtzer. Fail Klinck, former deputy sheriff and Earl Gentry, under indictment with Stephenson on the murder charge, were also In Id without bond in the jail. Within :t few hours Eph Inman, atorney for the trio is expected to launch habeas corotis proceedings for their release on bond. Stephenson joked with tho others in the bull pen—mon accused or bootlegging, white slavery, murder ami other crimes about his wook .‘nd f siting trip while authorities hunted for him to arrest him He ate heartily of the jail ration of fried liver, gravy and potatoes, at noon. Attorney James Curtis, who represents Sheriff Hawkins in habaes corpus proceedings, conferred with the sheriff at noon. Curtis said the habeas corpus papers had not been file.!. but that he wai ready for the mo\.» if it comes. Any motion for a writ of habeas corpus is expect ‘d to attack the evi(Continued on page two) G, C> STEELE DIED SUNDAY Former Merchant Succumbed To Brief Illness Os Pneumonia George C. Steele, age 41. former merchant in this city, died at his home on North Fifth street, at 12:30 o'clock Sunday afternoon, following a brief illness of pneurWonia. Mr. Steele was ill only five days. Mr. Steele was a son of James A. and Victoria Leßrun Steele, and was In rn in Kirkluad township, Adams county. January 10. ISSI. He spent his entire life in this community For nitiMeen years he was engaged in the mercantile business, but about a year ago he sold his store in the north part of the city and since that time hus been employed by the Schafer Company. He was married to Irene Weaver on March 11. 190‘>. Mr. Steele was a member of the Yoeman. Red Men ami Pocahontas lodges. He held the office of Foreman in the Yeoman lodge and of Keeper of Records and Seals in the Red Men lodge at the time of his death. He

was a member of the First Christian church, also. Mr. Steele is survived by his wife; two children, Jeanette and Virginia, at home; his father and stepmother; five sisters, Mrs. Celia Caton, of Lagrange, Mrs, Cora Pence, of Sturgis. Michigan. Mrs. Rose Welker and Mrs. Bess Andrews, of this city, and Miss Mary Steele at home; aud one ■ brother. Eat 1 Steele, of Fort Wayne. Funeral services will bo held from the First Chrisitan church at 2:30 o'clock Tuesday afternoon, the Rev. R. W. Thompson, pastor, officiating Burial will be made in the Decatur cemetery.