Decatur Democrat, Volume 49, Number 48, Decatur, Adams County, 1 February 1906 — Page 1

XL THE NEWS ALL THE TIME

olume xlix.

T M. Thornburg, representing the mancan Investment Company, Ith headquarters at Indianapolis, in the oity on business for his jnpany, which, by the way, is i 3 of the best in the country. Invitations are out annouoing at Mesaames Fred Schafer, W. Daniel and C. C Schafer will iat home |at the home of the | tter from four to six o’clock, Fri r afternoon, February second. A crowd of poung people Sunday •ove to the home of Mr. and Mrs. jter Comer, ten miles north of town, ley were royally entertained and 1 partook of a dinner which had jen deliciously prepared for them hose composeing the party were the isses Lena Miller, Celia Mayer isephine Lang. Gracs Dyketnan and Basie Beery. Jeff Liechty and Emanuel Leh an who had one-third interest each the Leiehty, Sommer A Co. stock hardware.' soldtheir interests on durday to Dad id P. Sommer, who now sole owner. Messrs. Liechty id Lehman have not definitely dededlorthe future. The firm has orked up a very nice business. Here's ishing success to the present own- . - Berne News. The [St, Joseph, (Mich.) marriage cord for the past year will reach 1210 licenses. St. Joseph is the Grett Green, not only for Chicago exirsion’ets, but for Indiana couples ho do not possess the nerve to face ie Indiana marriage license law here'were more Indiana couples arried in St. Joe this [summer than any preceding year. The new marage license law is held responsible ir this. The report was brought to town hursday of the death of William Redding, known farmer ring one half mile south of Steele i Blue Creak township The de ased has been in impaired health nee last summer. Death came on ednesday night. Mr Redding as a man of about fifty years and aves a sorrowing wife and one orl ors adopted children. The funera irv’.oes will [ be held from the etnodist ohnroh in Steele today. •Berne Witness The Fort Wayne Presbytery, consting of the -eleven northeast (unties of Indiana, will hold their iring meeting •here about April ft and already* the local church IS began preparations for the ocision. About one hundred dele itea [and visitors will be present id the sessions will be foil of inrest, especially to|Presbyterians. ie principal part of the session 111 be devoted to missionar y >rk. Peterson and Moran filed a new »at the clerk’s office Friday, in lioh Peter Schafer of Willshire, is e plaintiff and bis brother, Ma ias bohafer, the well known sa in keeper of this oity, is the de idant. Pate says that on Sep tuber 3, 1903, Matt borrowed 00 from him, for which he exuted his promissory note, due in e vear, with four per cent inest and attoreney’s [fees. Now te wants his money but Mat has ide no effort to settle, and a law it is the result. 3. F. Birdseye, inspector and itwhile representative the Roose ItJandJ Cortelyou investigation sney has concluded his work in catur for the present at least and 'eady many are beathing easier, •parently the learned gentleman b been busy since yesterday noon the duties of filling out his lort. He has examined no one lav so far as could be learned d has been busy in his room at s hotel the greater part of the 13 We learn unauthentioally it the inspector has been orderto ;eave here this afternoon for rt Wayne, from where he goes Ossian to stir up the boys. His ties seem to oe entirely confined the Eighth district and but f ew places have been over ked by the inquisitive gentle He gave no intimation as to at he has discovered here or at the nature of his report L but his stern countenance not relaxed any sinoe his

■■ ‘ it ''’ ..... Obcatilß

Sixty-nine people took the county examinations Saturday for licenses as teachers. County Superintendent Huyette stated this morning that the list of questionsjsubmitted were, in his judgment a very fair one. Most of the applicants finished their work in good time and this is another indication that the list was not a hard one. Mrs. C. A. Goldner entertained the following young ladies at lunchen Sunday afternoon. The Misses Sophia and Hannah Jaebker, Martha Beibenek, Nora Klopfenstein, Emma Hoffman, Lizzie Bittner, Millie Goldner, Verornea Werling and Lena Bentz and from all reports a most enjoyable time was had and Mrs. Goldner proved herself a charming hostess. This paper has been asked several times recently what the outlook was for a base ball team here during the coming summer. At this stage of the game we are forced to say that we don't know. If Bluffton is to have a base ball [team as good as the one last season, now is the time to get out and hustle for players. The fans should not wait untill all the good people have signed contracts for the year. —Bluffton Banner. Because roads were not kept in passable condition, residents along three miles of rural free delivery route No. 12, in Adams twonship, will Ire deprived of delivery on and after Feb. 1. Orders to this effect have been received by Postmaster Page. Ernest JH. Felger, carrier upon route No. 12, has made re peated complaints of the conditions of the course along his route. The highway was almost impassable and it is said the road supervisor was given due notice of the matter together with a warning that failure to remedy the defect would possibly result in the loss of free delivery. The three miles between what is known as Eggmann's corner and Traudtman’s corner. thence east.to the school house and north to'the Wayne trace road will not be covered by the carrier after the first of next month —Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. The oil territory east of this oity continues to boom, and our [people need not be surprised if by spring the field is’one of the best anywhere in this section L. W. Holt, a successful oil operator has struck several rich wells there during the past few months and Thursday afternoon one of the best producers in this territory came in on the Oliver Sheets farm, just across the state line, six miles east. The well shows 1,100 teet of oil and is so good that no shot is necessary at this time. Mr. Holt was in town last night and was highly elated over his success. He predicts that this field will prove a hummer and that many big ones will be drilled in during the next year, especially if John D. Rockefeller thaws out a little on the price of crude petroleum. The field is known as the i Wren territoiy and is the same in which Deoatar people invested considerable capital two years ago. October 18, 1905, I brought in one bushel of corn from field that weighed 75 pounds and ranked the ears of corn on a shelf in barn to test the sbrinkagejin weight. Nov. 20 I weighed this bushel of corn again which was 67 pounds, 4 ounces; loss 7 pounds, 12 ounces. December 200 weight was 64 pounds 13 ounces, loss 2 pounds, 7 ounces. January 20, 1906. weight 63 pounds, 3 ounces; loss 1 pound, 10 ounces. Total shrinkage in 94 days, 11 pounds, 10 ounces. The last month mice destroyed some of corn, about one pound. Price of corn 50 cents per hundred at Decatur, October 18, 1905; price of corn December 20, 1905, 50 cents per hundred when the shrinkage is 10 pounds, 30 ounces; price of corn January 20, 1906, 55 cents per hundred. From this yon can figure the loss by hold ing corn for 90 days or more at prices here given. As you can see, by disposing of corn early in sea son, the price would have to ad vanoe a few more cents per hunded to make up for not consider the rnonev could have been used- Joh.i D. Stults, A

DECATUR, INDIANA, THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 1, 1906.

Jacob Hunsicker, who formerly conducted an open saloon in his frame building on Main street, yesterday moved to his farm seven miles east of town. The household goods etc. were hauled in several loads to the farm by some of his ■•regulars.” In a conversation with the news reporter of the Witness Hunsicker stated that ho would spend the rest of his days iu peaceful and independant farm life and that Samuel A Sprunger would conduct a restaurant in building. Mr. Sprunger has . heretofore been working for saloon-keeper Sam Kuntz. — Berne Witness. J A young attorney of this city has handed the following for pub lioation. fie invites the readers to help him untangle his relationship: “I met a young widow with a grown up step daughter and I married that widow. Then my father met our step-daughter and I married her. That made my wife the motbar-in-law of her father-in law and made my step daughter my step mother and my father became my step-son. Seer Then my step mother, the step daughter of my wife, had a son That boy was, of course, my brother because he was my father’s son, but he was also the son of mv wife’s step daughter and therefore her grand son. That made me grand father of my stepbrother. Then my wife had a son. My mother in law, the step sister of my son, is also his grand mother because he is her step son’s child. My father is the brother in law of my child because his step sister is his wife. lam the brother of my own son, who is also the child of my grand mother lam my moth ere brother in law, my wive is her own child’s' aunt, my son is my father's nephew and I'm my own grand father Two junk dealers named Studley and Waggoner from Fort Wayne and wanted here for beating their board bill, were arrested Thursday at Bluffton. The police there tele phoned here and a settlement of the accounts due being forthcoming the men were discharged These two bunco men came here in the early part of December and boarded at the Indiana House on East Madison street, putting their team up at one of the livery stables. After a few days, during which they made drives into the country they failed to return one evening and Mrs. Biglon of the Indiana House had a bill for seven dollars and the livery stable one for three dollars. Marshal Greene was notified and soon located the men at Fort Wayne, where they were arrested, but were released on a promise that they would return here at once and settle They failed tc do so and their story yes terday was only accepted when backed up by money enough to pay the bills and cost of collection. It is said these men have worked the same graft in various places in this section. Mendon, 0., Jan. 25 —This town suffered a terrible fire loss, estimat ed conservatively at $75,000, last night, when practically the entire business portion of the town was wiped out. The fire originated from some unknown 'cause at 10:30 o’clock in the Evans grocery store on Main streht. A brisk wind was blowing and the flames spread rapidly, within a few hours taking an entire block, including two hard ware stores a grocery meat market racket store barber shop pool room one empty business house and a dwelling. The buildings were all frame but in good repair and quite a large stock was carried for a town of 700 inhabitants, due to the fact thatjthis is an oil center The loss will reach $75,000 with insar ance for about $30,000. Early during the oonaflgration is was known that the local volunteer fire department,[with a hoso and ladder wagon as their only apparatus could hot cope with the flames and a message for help was sent to Lima, but the company there could not reach the scene. The water supply was soon exhausted and the fire simply burned itself out about daylight this morning. The town will be rebuilt.

John Dudley and C. W. Wagner, two jank dealers from Fort Wayne, were arrested yesterday by Marshal Green on a charge of buying junk without a license. The men were lodged in jail until this morning at eight; o’clock, when they were ar raigned before ’Squire Smith, where they stated they were buying for Barney Kai ver and had not the least intention of violating the law Mr Kalver substantiated their evidence, after which the court discharged them, giving as his verdict that he figured the men had no intention to violate any law. Thev were instructed however to at once take out the necessary license. The oity council held a special session at their hall Monday night to hear evidence in the John S. Col chin sewer question, which is just | now creating some interest, espe- I oially among those effected by this ' proposed improvement. Several , weeks ago J. S. Colchin petitioned for a sewer to be constructed through the alley at the rear of | his property on Fifth street. To | this petition B. J. Ter veer and : Mrs. Lenhart objected Various reasons for the defeat of the sewer ; have been offered, among which is the contention that the alley is a private and not a public one. Property owners claimed that che damages from the construction of such a drain would exceed the benefits and last night’s meeting was to hear evidence on this question The testimony was not concluded at last night’s’ meeting and a oon i tinuanoe was taken until this even ing. Attorneys D. D. Heller & Son appear for the petitioners and Hooper & Lenhart and A P. Beatty for the remonstrators. Auditor Lewton has completed the distribution to township true tees, and from his report we gleen the following figures Union town ship will get of liquor licensee, con gressional school, common school tax, township tax, tuition, special school, road, township poor and bridge tax $2,488.36, Root $2,767.36, Preble $1,826.18, Kirkland $1,335 97, Washington $3,350.08, St Marys $2,710.68, Bine Creek $1713, Monroe $4,424.27, French $1,039.29, Hartford $2,732.43, Wabash $3,081 11, Jefferson $1,602.33, Deoatur $7,639.24, Geneva $2,469.9#, Bernp $2,9.40.38, total $42,120.72. The on umeration of school children i?. Union 391, Root 379, Preble 402, Kirkland 386, Washington 542, St. Marys 391, Blue Creek 391, Blue Creek 385, Monroe 839, French 413, Hartford 433. Wabash 640, Jefferson 427, Deoatur 1,230, Geneva 372, and Berne 398, total 7,638. The total amount of liquor license tax is SISOO, congresionnl school tax $671.31, common school $10,313.01, township tax $6,064,223, tuition $9,017.64, special school $13,394 40, road $266, township poor $662.30, bridge $231.74. District Chairman Terhune has notified J. M. Frysinger chairman of the republican committee here that a meeting of the district chair men will be held at Muncie next Thursday The meeting is for the purpose of deciding whether a pri mary election or a delegate convention shall be adopted as a means of nominating their candidate for congress If a convention is fav ored the date will be named and in that event Bluffton is striving to land it. Both the candidates seem to be glued to the proposition that a primary election is the favorite with them and should Mr Stillwell not be bluffing it will probably be a primary. Whichever way it may be there will be the kind of a political scrap that make a demo oratio primary in Adairs county look like thirty cents Beth candidate are fbcodling ‘boodlars and they will throw the long green in all directions at the same time. It will be a merry time. The Adams county anti-Cromerites have taken courage sinoe the developments in the organization, 'and they boldly assert that Adams county is not tied tc the apron strings of those who turn the trick for the Cromer slate. Altar Thursday perhaps we . will know whether it is to be a oon vention or a primary

W. W Weisell Sunday celebrated his seventy eighth anniversary and at the noon hour a number of guests were entertained at the Weisell home for dinner. Mr. Weisel stated that his last four birhtdays have been easily remembered by him from the fact that on each occasion ha has suffered from some slight accident. Yes terday he was cutting a stick of wood when a piece flew into the air and struck Mr. Weisell a blow on the nose. A year a»> he fell through a hay mow Once before he fell backward over a pile of wood and four years ago he slipped and sustained a few bad biruises. —Bluffton Banner. As the Fort Wayne and Springfield railway company have nearly completed arrangements for the operation of their line between this oity and Fort Wayne, a few statistics on interurban electric lines will perhaps be of interest. The bonded debt per mile of some of the leading traction lines varies from $75,000 to $8,750, the latter being the bonded debt per mile of the Fort Wayne and Springfield line. The gross earnings all hover close to $5,000. Dividends are being declared all the way from two to ten per oent, and an estimate of the line hare shows it up as a six per oent. dividend payer. Arrange meats have been completed for the loan of $175,000. The conditions of the loan provide for the sale a certain amount of additional stock, tha largar part of which has already been subscribed As soon as tha remainder of the stock is subscribed, work will rush on the completion of the road, and within ninety days the oars will be running. Those in charge of the affairs of tha Fort Wayne and Springfield railway company have demonstrated many times over that they are good business men, and will make good citizens of our oity, from which place the manage meat of the road will be made. Deoatar people should interest them sei ves and hain tna management of this road to get the ball rolling. They have encountered obstacles that would ordinarily have taken several of backbone from the more But the light now shines, and let us give them enoouragemsn'i and something more substantial if investments are on the slate Farther particulars concerning the death of Mrs Emeline shamerloh, wife of [Christopher Sham erloh, one of the best known farmers of Union township, were learned Friday morning in an Interview with the undertaker, It seems that on yesterday morning Mrs. Shamerloh got up apparently feeling as wall as ever. She assisted in getting the breakfast and doing up the dishes, after which she and the hired girl started to do the week’s ironing. About ten o’clock Mrs. Sohamarloh complained of terriffio pains m her stomach, and when asked by* the hired girl whether or not she had t aken her pills, she replied [in [the negative. She then sat down >n a chair while the hired girl got turpentine and lard and greased her. This task had been no more than fin ished, when witn a sigh she fell back in the chair apparently life lees and with a fixed stare on her face which frightened the hired girl, who summoned the men, working near by, and Dr. S. D. Beavers was summoned, but his trip was useless and before his ar rival Mrs. Schamerloh had expired and was beyond all earthly assistance She was fifty-nine years of age and was one of the best known women of her community, being devoted Chirstian and a member of the Blakey church where the funeral will be conducted Sunday .morning at ten o’clock and inter ment will be made in the Blakey cemetery. She leaves a husband, two daughters, two-step daughters and two step-sons to mourn their loss. |srs. Shamerloh was a daugh ter of Uncle Jacob Berger who still resides in Root township.

CIRCULATION 2800 WEEKLY

N UMBER 48

In compliance with the numerous requests made by farmers just at this time, Prosecutor Jessup is ea deavoring to ascertain whether the law on cruelty to animals includes the dehorning of cattle. In looking up the law it was found that deprivation of animals of any natural means of protection or defense is made punishable by fine. How ever.it is now believed that the law was'intended to include the horns of cattle, which are not generally regarded as a means either of protection or defense, so long as they are domesticated and in no danger. The opinion of Attorney General Miller has been asked on the matter. Much interest centers in the reply Proscutor Jessup expects to receive in a few days. In the event the opinion states that dehorning is cruelty in a statutory sense, it is a probable that it will not be indulged in by Wayne county farmers.—Richmond Sun. Sheriff Grice was notified a few days ago by Sheriff Butler of Adams county, that Isaac G. Copp, a citizen of this place was confined in the insane ward of the jail at Decatur. Sheriff Grice at once went to Decatur and took Copp to Fort Wayne, where an insanity inquest was held and the investigation showed plainly that Copp was mentally deranged and was in a very serious condition, He now being cared for at the county asylum, south of Fort Wayne. Copp has been a resident of this place for years and for some time his family and friends have noticed that bis mind was not iif.lt Two or three months ago his wife tiled papers before Esquire J * D. Allegar as to his case, an inquest was held but the verdict of examining physicians was such as would not warrant his confinement in an asylum for treatment. He remained here until a few weeks ago, when he went to Decatur to visit his daughter, Mrs. George Doctor, when, it seems, he became serious knd officers were obliged to take care of him-—Monroeville Breeze. For the benefit of those who are desirous of knowing what kind of material the Elxs lodge has to pat on a mipstrel show, it was decided last evening by the officials in charge to give a list[of the end men. the interlocutor and soloists who will take the prominent parts in an endeavor to entertain the public. From the oast selected you will certainly recognize some of the best talent in the city. The Elks will leave no stone unturned to make this their first show, a success, and after the same is all over the citizens of our oity will come to the conclusion that [everything advertised was given. The date for this show will be Tuesday, February 20, and will be given at the Bosse opera house. A special set ting of scenery has been ordered and the electrical effects will far surpass anything ever presented before. The jokes will all be new and up to date and the songs and musical numbers will meet with the approval of all. The Elks will en deavor to present a clean and moral performance and should be greeted by a packed house. The oast so, far selected are as follows: Interlocutor, H. L. Confer musical director, J. W. Bosse; W P. Schrock, D. W. Beery, Jack Dailey and M. J. Mylott will constitute the end men on the tamboureen section, and R. J. Holthouse, Dick Neptune, C. O. France and Nat Popkins will make up the end men on the bone section, while the soloists will include such talent as Lewis A. Holthouse, Hugh Hite, J. Ernsberger. H. J. Yager, Wosley Hoffman and Bart France. The chorus will be made up from the leading vocal talent of the order. The opening will surpass anything ever presented by a minstrel show in Deoatur and better than we are able to tell you. The advertising committee consist of W A. Lower, C. C Ernst and C S. Niblick, who will endeavor to present a souvenir program to the public for tuture reference. The rehearsals will begin next Monday evening and will continue «until the evening of the performance.