Decatur Democrat, Volume 47, Number 20, Decatur, Adams County, 23 July 1903 — Page 1

ALL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME.

volume xlvii.

|A TRIP TO THE VATICAN, liow Herman Yager Saw His Holiness, I Pope Leo XIII.

■FULL DESCRIPTION ■Attended Mass on Easter Sunday. ■ ■An Experience That But Few Have Had, as Remembered by a Decatur Citizen. I Who has not often thought of the ■blights of a visit to Rome, the ■beautiful city of Italy, the home of ■th.- Roman Catholic church, the ■place where stands the Vatican, ■largest palace in the world, the ■home of the pope? Few of us how ' ■ever have ever realized that de-1 ■light, but Herman J. Yager, a well! ■known business man and member ■of the firm of L. Yager & Sons, is ■one who did. From earliest boy■hocd he had planned and thought ■of such a trip, studied it, and dur■ing leisure hours of day time would ■plan and dream of it at night, how i ■he should explore the Vatican and ■see pope Leo XIII, not only the i ■head of his church but a noble man, I ■reverenced and loved by people of ■every denomination who have | ■studied his life. In the early spring 1 ■of 1897 Herman sailed for Europe. ' ■and while he went to tour the ■country, and did visit nearly ■every prominent city of the old ■ country, his one thought above all ■ others was to visit the Vatican and ■ see pope Leo. It is not every one ■ who visits in Rome who even then ■ succeeds in gaining a glance at the ■ Pontiff, but Herman went deter- ■ mined and prepared. He secured ■ a letter of introduction from ■ Bishop Rademacher of this ■ diocese to Rev. John P. Farraley, S rector of the American college at R . since ad vancv.*<i pessk tion of Archbishop of New York. He arrived in Rome about April first and as soon as possible sought Rev. Farraley who wrote a letter and application for admission to Pope’s mass and bade him take it -to Cardinal Rampolla, the pope’s secretary, which he did. He gained admittance to the Cardinal's Chamber without difficulty, presented his application which was dulyfiled. A week latev a tie.'v't ■< f ad« 8 mission was received, being sent to the hotel with instructions that he would not be admitted unless he appeared in full dress apparel. His ticket, which by the way he has had framed and still retains as a souvinir of the occasion, provides that he be admitted to Pontiffs mass at eight o’clock, Easter Sunday morning, April 18, 1897,and was written in Italian. The only preventative of realizing his hope then was the dress suit, he having neglected this part of his wardrobe, but a convenient place was found and a perfectly fitting garment rented for the occasion. Mr. Yager appeared at the gates of the Vatican at 6 o’clock of the morning named and found that 300 people had already gathered, and an hour later the crowd had swelled to over 1100. When 300 people had gathered in the entrance hall, they were passed up a flight of ninety-one steps to the second floor, then to the third. By this time 720 people were in the halls ant this being the seating capacity of the Sistina Chapel where the services were to be held the doors below were closed and four hundred deeply disappointed people were prevented satisfying their ambition. Then began the rush for the doors of the chapel, np five more flights of stairs, seven in all, an elevation of 150 @feet.

The crowd of ladies and gentlemen, all in evening costumes remember, went wild, surged and pushed along, each attempting to beat the other that he might gain a choice of seats. The men of course forged ahead but at the chapel doors they were met by eight Swiss guards, four on each side who compelled them to stand back and admitted the ladies first. The Sistina chapel is 133 feet long and 45 feet wide, the ceilings and walls being beautifully decorated with handpaintings executed in 1481-83 by the greatest masters of the world and representing incidents from the life of Christ and Moses. This is the pope’s place of worship and here only can be seen excepting once each year, in May, when he attends services at St. Peter’s Cathedral. For fully half an hour on Easter morning Mr. Yager as well as the rest of those present drank in the beauties and wonders of the marvelously finished and appointed place of worship. During all the time a continual noise almost deafening was kept up, then a Cardinal gave the singal of the approach of Pope Leo. Instantly a death stillness prevailed, and the noisy crowd became so quiet that as Herman expressed it one could almost have heard a pin fall upon a cushion. Presently six cardinals dressed in their red robes appeared at the rear and marched down the long aisle to the altar, bearing on their shoulders a chair m which was seated the venerable pope. As he entered every head was bowed and every person present felt the solemnity of the occasion. His Holiness was dressed in his pontificial robes of cream and immediately went to the front altar and officiated at mass, he was then seated to the right while mass was read for him by Cardinal Voutinella. Then he arose and gave the people his final blessing- and was carried out the same as he entered. During the services the Papal choir, the finest furnished the music and it is needless for us to attempt to describe how inspiring was the whole ceremony. As the pope passed out Herman stood in the aisle and so close did the pope pass that his robes brushed against Herman’s clothes. The pope seemed very weak physically, but his voice was strong and his marked vitality was so apparent that Herman wrote in a letter home that he believed he would live ten years. riernia’n made a number of trips through the Vatican and the pope's gardens during his stay of twenty days in Rome and on one occasion his guide allowed him to take therefrom a century plant which may even now be seen at the Yager home, though it has grown considerably during the past six years. He also has a cactus from the American college at Rome. Herman is, as was stated yesterday, the only person in Decatur who has the distinction of having seen Pope Leo and at this time the story of how he did it is certainly of interest to our readers. The funeral of Mrs. Harvey Segur was held from the Christian church at ten o’clock Monday morning. Rev. Austin Hunter of Indianapolis, formerly of this city, preached the funeral sermon. He was well acquainted with Mrs. Segur and paid her a fitting eulogy. In twenty-five years residence here, Mrs. Segur, by her active service in the church, and exemplary conduct as a citizen, won a host of friends and the Christian church was fairly crowded Monday. A large concourse accompanied the body to Maplewood cemetery. She was forty-nine years old, and leaves a husband and four children.

DECATFR, INDIANA, THURSDAY, JULY 23. 1003.

Herman Mayo hasjaccepted. a position at the Meyers’ livery stable and began work Monday morning. , , Complaints have been made to the city officers against boys riding bicycles on the sidewalks or playing ball on the streets. Those in authority request that the offenders take warning. The vest pocket soda fountain is the latest. The apparatus can be i carried in the pocket and when you ' want a drink of soda, all that is necessary is a little cold water. A tablet is dropped in the water and in a few moments you can have genuine carbonated water at your command. The funeral of little Vera Deßolt was held at Vera Cruz Sunday. The story of the death was told in Saturday’s Bluffton News as follows: The sudden death of Vera Neoma D<Bolt, little six weeks old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Alexander Deßolt, of Vera Cruz, occurred last evening about four o’clock just after they had started home after spending the afternoon in this city. They had just reached the pike leading toward John McCleery 's when they discovered that the baby was in a stupor and unconscious. They hurriedly turned around and drove back to the residence of Francis Sprowl on Spring street. Dr. Goodwin was summoned but the child was dead before he arrived. An inquest was held by Coroner McBride but he has not yet given his verdict. The opinion of the doctor is that death was probably caused by the bursting of a blood vessel in the child’s head or throat. The parents of the child said it had not been sick and apparently was well when they started home. The committee on heating the St. Mary’s Catholic church, school house and parsonage awarded the Contract for the same Tbesday to the Floral Heating company of Monroe, Mich. Contractors from Fort Wayne, Elwood, Toledo, Bluffton, Ohio, and Logansport were here yesterday, but the Monroe men were the lowest and their plans most satisfactory. The contract calls for three separate boilers, one at the church, and one at the sisters house both for heating with low pressure steam, also one at the parsonage for heating with hotwater The Monroe firm manufacture their own boilers, pipes and fixtures and were thus enabled to cut down their bid. The president of the company was nere tms mornin” ana Eiea his bond for the satisfactory completion of the work. The following bids were placed yesterday: Floral City Heating Co., Monroe, Mich., $4035; W. F. Noll Fort Wayne, $4100; Lindre and Graff, Logansport, $4440 T. G. Scheid, Bluffton, O, $4872; Elwood Plumbing Co., Elwood, $4954.85; Hyland and Yobst, Decatur. $5058.09; A. E. Rose Decatur, $5475; Zimmerly and Co. • ■ -*«•«■»*** The Rathbone Sisters Monday night proved themselves royal entertainers by their courtesy to Monroeville visitors. A dozen of the Monroeville lodge were here and the Decatur ladies left nothing untouched to show them a good time. They assembled at their hall about eight o'clock and the out of town ladies were soon made acquainted. Early in the evening Mrs. Chas. Elzey| read a paper the subject of which was, “Little by Little, We Accomplish Great Things. As expanded it was a difficult theme and the careful preparation which it evidenced was fully appreciated by her hearers. After this reading a business meeting was held, and then followed a good social time. The various musical selections rendered during the evening were highly pleaisng to those present, and encores were not lacking. Then followed the feature without which 'no gathering is complete—the luncheon. It was a two course spread, and certainly touched the spot. Out of town guests were Mr. and Mrs,® L. E. Wright, J. F. I Winans, Mesdames A. Krick, | James Previn, C. W. Purman, G. Ginthcr, and Miss Blanche Wright all of Monroeville, Mrs. Drummond, Auburn, Ind., and C. M. | Simcoke, Joliet, 111.

Trustee Boehnecht of Root township has purchased a new automobile (?) It will be used mostly for farm purposes. Bids for the heating of St Mary’s Catholic church were opened by the offiical committee yesterday at four o’clock . Each bid was accompanied by plans showing the bidder’s idea of heating and the consideration of these necessarily delays the contract. The committee realize the responsibility of their position and are carefully considering every detail. It is certain that after the labor and time spent by them their choice will be a wise one. The contract will probably be awarded tonight. About seven months ago Mr. and Mrs. Vesey of Fort Wayne celebrated their golden wedding anniversary at the home of their son Judge W. J. Vesey, and the occasion proved so enjoyable that the latter and his wife have announced a reunion of all the guests who attended that event. The reunion will be in the form of a house party and will occur today at Mr. Vesey’s cottage in Rome City. Guests from South Bend, Terre Haute, LaGrange Elkhart, Goshen, Greencastle, Chicago and Cincinnati are to come and the assemblage of people from all over the country, makes the event doubly interesting. The elder Mr. Vesey’s brother who traveled with him on foot from St. Louis to the Pacific coast will be present. A party of fifteen composed of the following people from this city are present: Judge and Mrs. Studabaker, Mrs, Catharine Cham per, Mr. and Mrs. John Niblick and family, Mrs. Morrison and daughter, Harriet, and David E. Studabaker and family. Charles Carpenter, now of South Bend, was in the city over Sunday. He has been absent for several weeks and has been very busy getting the wheels started for manufacturing his new fuel. The White Coal company is now turning out material at a rapid rate. They have secured a new machine built especially for them which is already making 5,000 tons an hour of their fuel. At that rate a half dozen factories can supply the United States with fuel, providing material can be obtained. Mr. Carpenter informs us that the next factory will be located in Decatur, and they will complete arrangements for same within a few weeks. The White Coal Company has been incorporated with SIO,OOO capital stock, Mr. Carpenter receiving SI,OOO cash and holding half interest in the company. They are spending considerable money in experimenting at present, but expect to have large amount of fuel for the market by fall. The factory here will be a first class one, and Mr. Carpenter will have full charge. “Maxwell’s Americans,’’ the best ’ ..--.•••ba.J tellm of was badlj defeated in this city Sunday by the locals, the score resulting nine to two. The game was started by the visiters who led off in the second inning with two unearned runs which were made possible through several errors by the Decatur team which followed in quick succession. This was the only time that the home team went off their feet however, and never again did it look possible for the Limas to make a score. The outs were made without much excitement as on'v one man reached third base, after the eventful second inning. Lima was decidedly weak at the stick. Only two hits are credited to her, and one of those was made by driving the ball so that it was awkward for pitcher France to handle and delayed him in throwing to first base. Decatur did not score until the fourth inning, but in the fifth, six men scored the rubber out of the twelve that batted. The locals also scored in the sixth and in the seventh. In a summary of the game we may give Pitcher France three fourths of the credit for winning. He struck out twelve men and let down his opponents with only two hits. His 1 support was good, but had strteral * errors been avoided the game would I have been a complete shut out.

The buisness men are having their cellars filled with coal and to see the unusual activity in this line of bgsiness helps one to imagine the good old winter time. The idea is not a bad one for a coal famine this year like the one of last year is possible. Indicatons point to a revolution in the shooting of oil wells. The newly revived explosive, rack-a-rock, has been used by the Ohio Oil company with splendid success in three cases within the last few weeks. The first well shot with the explosive was No. 17 on the Willson lease in Liberty township. The results of the shot were so gratifying that the Ohio decided to repeat the experiment No. 4, on the Roth heirs lease in Cass townsihp was shot Wednesday with better results than before. There was 700 feet of fluid in the hole and it is said the well was cleaned better than in the majority of cases where nitro-glycerine is used. Still another experiment Was made on the Schawb lease in Cass township. In the latter case the same satisfactory response was reported. Just what the effect the explosive has upon the rock is not known but it is genera ly admitted that rack-a-rock throws fluid from a well more decisevly than the common explosive in use. Two advantages, cheapness and safety, are said to" be possessed by rack-a-rock over nitro-glycreine.—Findlay Republican. Lyman Brothers are making pre parations this week to enlarge and increase the capacity of their portrait house in this city. Less than two years ago the Lyman Brothers started their western branch office in this city, but so pleased and successful were they in this territory, that now Decatur is their central station. Two New York artists have been employed by the firm to assist Mr. Chas. Ross, who has been with the company since they started. Mr. Ross left Monday on a three weeks trip through the east, and will bring a New York artist back with him. Mr. Nat Popkins, who is here from one of the New York academies, will be employed during Mr. Ross’s absence, and will continue with the firm on the latter’s return. Commodious quarters are being arranged in the Stone building and the company expects to turn out over a thousand orders a month. Mr. Ross’s fine work has been winning success everywhere, and his assistants will doubtless maintain the same high standard. The Lyman's now have twenty men on the road and expect to double this number within a few weeks. Decatur was saturated with the smell of crude oil Monday and many an unknown visitor no doubt thought that this place was in the center of a great oil field. The order came from a point along the Erie railroad between .the. afey ‘ G. R. & I. crossing where an eight inch main of the Standard Oil Company had bursted. The leak evidently had been sprung several days ago but it was not discovered until Monday when the oil was found to be bubbling from the ground. A detachment of men were immediately sent out from Lima and about noon they had the leak stopped. After the flow had been controlled a large gang of men were set to work at uncovering two lengths of pipe each way from the leak which will be be relaid with new tubes. The new pipes are both painted and then wrapped in paper before laid, which is thought to be a barrier against rusting. The company pays twenty cents the hour for such labor and the men are paid off at the end of each day. A temporary telegraph office was established on the scene and the work was directed from the Chicago offices of the company. The pipe line which bursted is an old one and rust on it was almost an inch thick. Leaks are frequent and several repair gangs are kept busy all the time attending to such happenings. A thousand barrel run had just been repaired at Wren when the men were cal led over here. The leak in this city is estimated at only one hundred barrels.

CIRCULATION 2800 WEEKLY

NUMBER 20

While the end of the Post Office investigation is said to be in sight, the overhauling is still going on systematically and vigorously. Drafts and checks are being tracedGrand juries of the different cities are hearing witnesses and now and then new charges develop against already implicated officials. All in all it looks as though sanitary methods were being employed to clean the foul hole. George Scoville, the man who defended Guiteau, the assassin of President Garfield, lives on a farm a half mile back from Bass Lake, in Starke county. A great many stories have been written about Scoville, how he has become a recluse and how he was shunned by his neighbors. Then they made him insane and one over ambitious New York reporter caused Mr. Scoville to commit suicide. The facts are that Mr. Scoville is leading the peaceful life of a farmer. Though somewhat eccentric, he has a great many friends, is a member of the township advisory board, and takes a good deal of interest in local politics. Mr. Scoville dislikes to talk of Guiteau and his crime. If present plans materialize Berne, a thriving little city which is always up to date, will soon have a thoroughly equipped electric light plant. William Sheets is behind the scheme and the business energy with which he directs any enterprise he undertakes almost assures the success of this adventure. Mr. Sheets was in this city today and stated that a definite date for the completion of the plant could not be ascertained but that it was his intention to work the scheme to an actuality as soon as possible. If proper arrangements can be made with the city council of Bijrne, the lighting of the streets with arc lights will be provided for. An incandescent dynamo will also be installed, and the plant made in every particular complete. A location for the plant has not been determined on, but it is probable that a new buikPng will be erected in some convenient part of the town. Berne is a hustling little town which can afford to be up to date and the electric light plant would be an advantage to the town as well as a good investment for the promoter, and the prospects are so favorable that the plant is almost assured. The Zsts&tate 3bs? teachers of Adams county will be held at the court room in this city, beginning Monday August 17, and continuing five days until Friday evening. August 21. Prof. Brandyberry has completed arrangements for this meeting which is always of great interest to those connected with the various schools in any way and has succeeded in getting splendid instructors, thus assuring a for the teachers, The list includes Prof. T. S. Lowden, professor of pedagogy in Depauw University, Greencastle; Prof. GeorgeW. Neet, one of the leading instructors of the Indiana Normal College, Valparaiso, Prof.H. Z. Cozine, Musical director of Northwestern University, Chicago. The last named gentleman was here last year, made many friends and proved himself a thorough master of his line of work. These three instructors are acknowledged leaders, and the teachers of Adams county will certainly appreciate the opportunity to work a week under their guiding hand. Besides the lessons by these learned men a musical program is being arranged for each session and there will be two evening entertainments. “The Unity of Life” by Prof. George W. Neet, and an evening of miscellaneous reading by Mrs. T. S. Lowden of Greencastle, These events may probably be held at the opera house, though arrangements for that part has not been completed. The programs for the event will be printed and sent out some time this week. Prof. Brandyberry is highy elated over his success in securing such prominent helpers and feels that the institute of 1903 will be the best ever held in the country