Decatur Democrat, Volume 49, Number 35, Decatur, Adams County, 2 November 1905 — Page 1

aIL THE NEWS all the time

volume xlix.

home again j 1 Hendricks Concludes Western Trip Some Interesting Facts Concerning Spokane and the Trip Across the Continent.

Monroe, Ind., Oct. 31, 1905. I will now finish my letter on my stay at' Spokane, ‘Washington, and return trip. While in the city I attended the county fair and -joes which were on the same plan as that of Adams county, the fair grounds being out of town about a mile. We took the street cars out and paid fifty cents to get in the first gate on Derby day and twentyfive cents to get a seat in the grand stand, but we failed to get a seat so we returned to the fence near the race track where they started the fast ones, and took a seat or a lean on the fence and saw some pretty running races mnoh better than Decatur’s were this year, having as high as ten or twelve starters at once and all went for the money—no fooling. Some very good trottng races but the best of all was the relay races which was given mostly by Indians, was exciting from start to finish, each having three horses, riding one around then changing to his nsxt horse and so on until he had run three horses once around the track, changing his horse saddle from horse to horse. There were eight of them in this race and it was fun to see them hustle to see the quickest and d o his changing. This race was won by an old Indian who |felt very large over his victory. In the running races given Wednesday there was one boy rider killed and one hurt very bad. The last race I witnessed was one given by four Indian women, a running race half mile dash all astride. After races were over we took in the shows and ate cracker jack and gebo, returning to the Hotel Trenton at eight o'clock. We then had a small oyster supper which was given by the managers of the hotel Trenton (Miss F. E. Thompson and Miss Marne Kirkendall.) This hotel is no boarding house. It is a rooming house a nice corner flat located opposite the Spokane Hotel No. 152 First avenue. They have thirty as nicely furnished rooms as you will see in most any town and they are clean and up to date. After our oysters were all looked after they took me to tne tram. While in Spokane I called on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. Mrs. Smith was formerly Emma Ershman in Decatur. They were happy and glad of it, as they have a very sweet baby girl and are preparing to move back to Great Falls, Mont., his old home. I called on Mr. Porter who runs a nice clean restaurant and bake shop. He and wife are happy a n d glad to see old Decatur folks, Next on program was e Honorable Dick Reed and ■amily. I took supper with them and had a very pleasant talk to aether. He now lives in Spokane, as a small flat over some business rooms and rents eight or ten of the rooms to comers and goers and has »n doing some contract work in “ w »y of plastering and lathing, [ a* 3 has made a few real estate ®als nad cleaned up a few hundred i J 6B 06 took me over the falls * rips -10 paoe ot the west as now the people in the far west am> ery f aSt you hardly ever see I Walkin 8 Vo ry slow. Then & Mon Mrs. Murdock (Rice) at bcatedTnd 1 happily nice n } ooks good and has a babies three them her husband not

QwcATifft D^M oc *4r.

being at home I did not get to see mm. Then the girls put me on the train at ten o’clock and I left over the Great Northern railroad for St. Pau], Minn., passing through Idaho state and northern Montana seeing the cascades on the north side* which was very interesting, very hilly and mountainous, a large portion of Montana being all ore and mining and smeltering mills, some large sheep and horse ranches on the small hills and some rather levell strips. Our first stop was at White Fish, Mont., Snow was two inches deep here, and we crossed Flat Headjriver. After crossing this we took dinner in the dining oar. Down near Dakota we saw a few very large bunches of sheep, two thousand in a bunch. Here we came along near the Missouri river for a short distance. Along this route we get above the clouds a good bit of the time. Coming down into North Dakota, it becomes more level and we saw some good farming country As we reached Minot and Devil’s Lake we seen splendid farming country, and then struck some rough country again for a ways, coming to the plains where you can see a good long distance. As we neared the Minnesota lines we seen a seemingly t flne country, good houses and barns. I saw one old fellow who had nine fine five horse teams at work on his three thousand acres, plowin gen the same land right close to one another and he was in his buggy watching them. We next arrived at St. Paul at 10:40 p m Saturday [night, took the C M & St P railroad out of there for Milwaukee, thence to Chicago, arriving at Chicago Sunday at 11:45 a m and left there at 6 p m for Lincoln, Neb. Mrs. C. A. Tnompson met me at the train and took me to their home in the famous old town, the home of William J. Bryan, who is now in foreign lands sight seeing. Here I put up for five days and took several branch trips with Mr. C. A. Thompson, my brothor-in law, on the B & M railroad, as he is now running trains and signs his name conductor. We made a run to Omaha, Aurora and Ravena, stopping over at each point, which gave me a chance to visit in different towns along the line. We took dinner one day at Tuomora, Nebraska, which has 200 population, three elevators, one run by two blind horses and one by’steam and one by gasoline. Lots of corn in Nebraska and good quality. Going up this route we crossed Platte river and stopped at Grand Island ,Neb., two hours and I took in the town here the Union Pacific railroad crosses the B & M railroad. A good town, has sugar beet factories, soldiers’ home and car shops, etc. At Central City we find T. B. Ford a large stock and elevator man. He owns at different places in all 52 elevators of his own and last winter he had 147 married men and a small bunch of single men working for him and he gave them all a turkey for Christmas dinner and for three of four months he fed as high as fourteen hundred bushels of corn each day shelled. They pile a good bit of it out on the ground and then shovel it up when they feed it and he has a very large ranch. In Nebraska they raise most all kinds of grain and hay, alfalfa as well as blue grass. M e were out three days aud then back to Lincoln. Then the folks proceeded to show me the town and the very fine farm home of W. JBryan. This city is very nice for n western city. It has on its mam street 25-foot sidewalks and you don’t dare spit on them, either white or brown spit, unless you want to be fined for doing so. i left Lincoln for Chicago, arriving at Chicago Sunday, Oct. 22, leaving there at 11:45 a m for Fort Wayne on the Manhattan Flyer, a very fast train. I had to give up .5 cents for a seat, in the sleeper to Wayne, arriving at- 2:50 pm, and here we stopped again for tour hours. The time was spent with a friend of mine F. D. Beal, who is now assistant train master t r “ Nickel Plate railroad, leaving tor home at 7 pm, and landed at old

DECATUR, INDIANA, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 1905.

Monroe againa t 8 p m and took a room with a bed in it at Jim Hendricks, and here I caught up some lost sleep. But on Monday my wife says, “Jim, hitch up,” and I did so, and we went to Decatur nd got our mother, Mrs H. W, Thompson and drove to Van Wert Dhio, and on Tuesday we took dinner with her son E. K. Thompson, who is day operator there for het Pennra Co. railroad. After dinner we drove to Cavette, Ohio, visiting with Dr. Kohn and Mrs. H. W. Mook, where we had a real pleasant time, returning to Van ert Thursday morning and visited with Thomas Barrick and my uncle and aunt, David Springer. Friday we came out to Daisy, Ohio, and took dinner with my cousin, L. W. Springer, who is a merchant there and justice of the peace, returning to Decatur Friday night and returning to my old job at Monroe Saturday noon. I over looked mentioning one novelty which I saw in Spokane, which was a lady barber shop, a very fine shop, four chairs run by 'Mrs. Wilson. Os course I had the proprietor to shave me and clean up my whiskers and hair. They are pretty good barbers, if I am any judge. I bring this letter to a close by saying that I had a very fine trip and one long to be remembered. Yours, J. A. HENDRICKS. Mr. and Mrs. Jesse O. Smith left Friday for San 1 Lake, Michigan, where they were called on account of the death of his sister, Mrs. Mary Ovley, of that place. She has visited here several times and was a guest of Mr. and Mrs. Smith only last spring. Mrs. Ovley was fifty-nine years old and leaves a husband and five children. She was born in Ohio, but has lived the greater part of her life in Michigan. The funeral will be held Sunday morning at the home at Sand Lake.

A jury in the Welker murder trial now on at Fort Wayne was obtained Saturday, after three days’ labor by the attorneys and the real trial of the case began this morning. The jury as finally accepted by the defense and prosecution and sworn oy Judge Joseph Adair, is composed of Henry Emerick, of Marion town ship; Charles S. Gunnison, of Wayne township; Stewart Milliman, of Milan township; August C. Pequinot, of Eel river t wnship; Henry Beaouf, of Lake township; Joseph E. Wertz, of Milan township; Joseph E. Baldwin, of Jackson township; Chauncey H. Lake, of Milan township; Charles Fishburn of Cedar Creek township; W. H. Johnston, of Eel River township; August Chevelot. of Jackson township; W. J. McNabb, of Cedar Creek township. Mr. McNabb, who was the last man to be declared satisfactory by both sides, was the ninety-ninth man to be examined by the attorneys. Relatives of Welker and his dead sweetheart are attending the trial and takingjquite an interest.

The “Bells of Shandon” is a romantic Irish comedy, adopted from Gerald Griffith’s stories of Irish folk, woven into which has been skillfully blended Father Prout's beautiful legend of the “Bells of Shandon.” The story of the play deals with the uprising of the Irish peasantry during the land war of 1778 and is told in a richly humorous vein that stamps it as the foremost Irsih comedy of the day. The oast for this beautiful play has been carefully selected and includes the best talent of the city such as Misses Mae Niblick, Kate Mylott, Tena ’Radamaker, May Holthouse and Messrs. Louie Holthouse, Frank Wemhoff Martin Mylott, Hugh Hite, Dan Vail, Wall Wemhoff and Henry Thomas, all of whom have appeared before a Decatur public on former occasions. The play is given b ? the SL Vin ’ cent de Paul society and the proceeds will be used by them in carrying out their many kind acts o charity. The cause is a good one and the opera house should be paokefto its utmost capacity, admission | , 5o and no extra charge for reserv- , ed seats. Remember next Monday ■ night, November 6. i

J ‘Freckles,” one of the products of Mrs. Gene Stratton Porter’s pen, is to be dramatized, and Dorothy i Desmond, the English actress, has secured the right to produce it in all English speaking countries. Mrs. Porter is a resident of Adams county.—Bluffton News. Joun Dean, a wealthy farmer who lived in the southern part of Grant county, went to Marion last Saturday and paid his taxes amountng to 166.20. He gave his personal check fcr S7O and received $3.80 in change. Monday Dean fell dead in the street at Summitville. Tuesday morning the county treasurer received notice that the bank at Summitville on which the check was drawn had refused to honor the check, alleging that Dean was dead before the check was presented. The county is out $3.80 and the amount of the taxes, while Dean’s administrator has a receipt for the amount of his taxes. Drs. J. S. Boyers and P. B Thomas, together with ’Squire James H. Stone held an insanity inquest Tuesday morning on Grover Diehl, the examination being con ducted upon the filing of the necessary papers by the boy’s father, Tillman Diehl. The doctors' report was that while they believe the boy’s mind is slightly affected due to a nervous condition, still they could find no satisfactory or conclusive evidence at time of examination. Acting upon this report ’Squire Stone refused to declare Grover insane. The young man is twenty-one years old and lives in Kirkland township. He has been acting strangely unusual for some time and there is little doubt but

that his mind is failing him. Mr. Herriok, of Chicago, repre- . seating the Western Adjustment association, is here today, and assisted by Mr. Wilson, of Fort * Wayne, is adjusting the loss caused ■

' by the J. W. Place oompanys fire | 1 of last week. The Western Adjust- | r ment association represent practi- ; ‘ cally every company which .carried < • insurance on the stock, and Mr. £ Herriok will settle the loss for each c 1 company, his report being final. ] 1 He and Mr. Wilson have been busy t all day going over the invoices, 5 1 policies, etc., and it is thought a r settlement, will be effected with- j out difficulty. The representatives t of companies carrying insurance <■ ■ on the buildings will be here today t and tomorrow and the insurance 3 problem will soon be solved. The 1 company parried $13,600 on build- q ings, fixtures and stock and the loss v is practically total. However there j ; is always a certain amount of form necessary. The place company’s

line of insurance was first-class and they will no doubt be fairly treated Judging from the conditions that exist in the markets of Fort Wayne, as well as the larger cities the citizens will have cheap turkeys for Thanksgiving. Last Friday the price in Chicago dropped four cents and on the following day another drop occurred. The local commission men thought it was merely a ruse of the merchants in the large markets to fleece the farmers, but when the second drop occurred they began to think that probably the turkeys were weak. The local men kept the price at 14 cents until I last night, when they authorized a decline amounting to two to four cents. It is said that a great many turkeys have been raised in the western states this year for the Thanksgiving business and that is the probable cause of the drop in the market. The farmers in this locality have been holding back in the hope of an advance, but if present conditions are to be relied upon they will have to accept a low price or keep the birds. The same conditions prevail in the chicken market. In the local market the price of eight cents is quoted, and in Chicago yesterday morning the same figure f was posted. — ■Fort Wayne JJournalJ- Gazette. The Decatur poultry merchants are still quoting a price of 13% cents on turkeys but with the city price so low cannot hold it up much longer, I

Rev. Jaus, pastor of the St. , Johns’ Luhteran church seven miles north of this city, was opertated on at 7 o’clock Thursday nigh for appendicitis at the Lutheran hospi'al, Fort Wayne. Mr. Duemling one of the best known surgeon of that city performed tho work, which so far as can be told now was a complete success. He is very weak, of course, and the outcome will not not be known positively for several days. Rev. Jaus has been located in this county about a year and is a popular man. His many friends hope his recovery wdl be speedy. Harry Harb’s defalcation from the Columbian Relief Fund of Indianapolis has caused considerable talk among his friends here, many of whom refuse to believe anything wrong about him, and who hope he will explain his disappearance. The company still refuses to make public the amount of the shortage, but it is not believed to be very large. It was learned this morning that Harry told one of his friends here that he was going to Missouri wit! his brother, who had been visiting him, and this statement is probably true. Harb had been working insurance at Geneva for several years and was considered an honest man. It is expected that he will send the money to the company and no action in court may be brought , against him.

Henry Koenneman and David Gerber, while enroute to Williams Friday morning to load hogs, had a runaway, as the result of which Mr. Koenneman had his thumb broken and and dislocated and his head badly injured. The extent of the latter injuiy will not be known for a day or so, but it is feared the skull may be fractured, as it is badly swollen and bruised. Mr. Gerber escaped with slight injuries. The accident happened near the Sam Pillars farm, when the horse they were driving took fright at the bicycle that mail carrier, Samuel Magley, was riding into town, shying off into the ditch and starting off at a mad pace down the pike. At the first jump Koeneman was thrown out and received the injuries above stated, while Gerber, who was driving,

managed to stay a little longer, he too being thrown out before the horse traveled very far. Lee Stults, who happened to be in that part of the country, brought Mr. Kohnneman home, and Dr. D. D Clark dressed his injuries. The buggy is a total wreck and when last seen the horse was making tracks toward Fort Wayne. Dr. Lawrence Hughes, of Chicago. but formerly of this city, and the oldest son of Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Hughes, who reside on Fourth street, was united in marriage Saturday evening to Miss Eldora Ellis, of Chicago. The ceremony took place at the home of

the bride’s mother on Washington boulevard, at seven o’clock. Rev. Case, an uncle of the bride, performed the ceremony. The wedding was a quiet affair, only the immediato relatives of the contracting parties being present. At eight o’clock the happy young couple took passage on a boat for Grand Rapids, Mich., where they will spend their honeymoon. Dr, Hughes is a graduate of the university of Chicago, and for a while practiced at Geneva, where he made many friends. His stay there was short and he moved his office to Chicago, where he has been located for some time and has built up a fine practice. He is a popular young man and has a host of friends here who wish him much joy and happiness. Miss Ellis is also quite well known here, having during the past summer visited here with Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Hughes. She is beautiful and accomplished and made many friends during her short visit. The young couple will make their future home in Chicago. Mr. • and Mrs. W. S. Hughes and Mrs. Clark Coverdale of this city were in attendance at the wedding. The Democrat extends congratulations.

CIRCULATION 2800 WEEKLY

Jesse Robison of this city, who has for the past j’ear been working life and accident insurance, and who recently has been connected with the Cjlumbia Relief Fund of Indianapolis, has resigned with this company and on next Monday will start on the road for the State Life Insurance company of Indianapolis. A box social was advertised to be held at the Sohnepp school house, six miles east of here last Friday evening A large crowd was present and a good time enjoyed for a while, until four young men, ( harles Bailey, John Fleming, William Workinger and Earl Nidlinger appeared on the scene. They are said to have been intoxicated. Anyway they talked [so loud and used such profane language and otherwise misbehaved that the people left the school house and the social was broken up. Benja min Sohnepp appeared before ’Squire Smith Saturday and filed affidavits, charging the boys with disturbing meeting, and Sheriff Butler arrested them Saturday evening. They will have their trial next Thursday.

At the annual meeting of the Clover Leaf stockholders held in this city Wednesday, the annual report was submitted, showing that the company had a prosperous year. The total gross earnings from operations were $3,785,165.28 against $3,341,648.29 for the previous year, being an increase of $443,516.99, or 13.27 per cent. The earnings were divided among the several departments as follows: Freight, $2,907,46832, being an increase of $338,875.75; passenger, $682,893.18, an increase of $98,512.28; mail, $67*688.59, a decrease of $131.74; express, 56,088.15, an increase of 5,292.17; miscellaneous, $71,026.04, increase $968,53. The total expenses of station service, train service, engine service, contingencies, maintainanoe equipment, maintainance of road and structures in general, together with taxes were $2,979,708.55, an increase of $435,184.51, leaving a total net increase of $8,332.48, or 2.57 per cent.—Frankfort Cresent. If membership in any church is of advantage to mortal man in his wandering after his time on this earth is done there will be 725,409 people in this state who will start into the dark future with that

much advantage, for figures compiled by Joseph H. Stubbs, chief of the bureau of statistics, shows that in 1904 there were that many church members in the state. And substracting this number from approximately [2.500,000 inhabitantof the state, it is seen that about 1,775,000 people will be handicapped in their efforts fcr future happiness by their non-membership. Perhaps some of the children who are not members can get some grace anyhow, and the figures show that there are 435,600 Sunday school members, the number of Sunday schools being 5,106. In all there are 6,068 churches in the state, owning property to the extent of $21,124,528. The salaries paid to the ministers was $1,646,477, or about $2 for every church member. In addition to this the cost of maintainance for the churches was $835,694, and the benevolent contributions amounted to $438,242, making a total expense of $3,020417, or about $4.16 per member. The Methodists have the largest membership, 174,862. Following comes the Catholics with 145,269 members, Dowie has 84 avowed followers, the smallest number. The Mormans have 248 and Christian Science 792. Other denomina tions in the order of their numbers follow: Christian, 92,788; Lutheran, 59,697; Baptist 57,992; Presbyterian, 43,433; United Brethren, 42,491; German Methodist, 35,128; Friends, 22,940; Amish, 14,713; Hebrew, 7,198 Episcopal, 5,603; Adventists, 4,973; Congregational, 3,722; Church of God, 3,498; Free Biptists, 3,456; Henoniets, 3,004; Church of Christ, 2,921; New Lights, 2,563; Universalists, 2,490; and Pentecost. Band, 1,364.

NUMBER 35