Decatur Democrat, Volume 50, Number 40, Decatur, Adams County, 6 December 1906 — Page 6

ACCOUNT OF FATHER’S DEATH Returned to Prison Yesterday—Friend* Will Make an Effort to Secure His Release. Joe Osborne, who, two years ago, killed his father-in-law, John Busenbark and was sentenced to prison for life, was returned last Friday after a two days’ parole, given him to attend the funeral of his aged father, John Osborne, whose faithfulness during his son’s trial will be well remembered. An effort to secure Joe’s release is now being planned, according to the following dispatch: ELWOOD, Ind., Nov. 29.—Guard A. B. White of the northern prison, with Convict Joseph Osborne, returned to Michigan City this morning. Osborne, who is serving a term of life imprisonment for the murder of his father-in-law, John Busenbark, was seen by a Star reporter at the depot. He was surrounded by a large party of relatives and friends, who shook hands with him as the train pulled in and encouraged him in the hope that they would soon see him again. The Osborne case was one of much interest to the people of several counties in this part of the State. The families formerly lived north of Elwood and removed from the Rigdon neighborhood to near Decatur, where t£e murder was committed, in a dispute over some property. Osborne maintains his assertion made at the time of the trial that he acted in self-defense against the angry old German who started the argument, and that he did not mean to injure seriously, much less to kill him. This fact was made so strong at the trial that the jury brought in a verdict of manslaughter. Osborne was cordially received by the members of the family and neighbors at the burial of his father in the country north of the city yesterday. Every man and woman shook hands with him and expressed the belief that he would soon be released on parole if not pardoned. Guard White said that if the board of pardons had been there and seen how the entire neighborhood welcomed Osborne that he might have never been returned tq prison. Osborne is employed in the binder twine department in the penitentiary and is a model convict. There has never been a single black mark made against him and his clean record will go a long ways to securing the liberty .that the application to be made at an early date by his friends hopes to secure. He expressed himself as much pleased with the treatment he had received and said he had enjoyed a visit back to the old home scenes after an imprisonment of two years more than he could tell. In custody of Mr. White he spent the two nights of his visit at the home of his brother, Frank Osborne, on Rigdon rural route 20. The friends of Osborne will at once set about to secure his release. oFOR VIOLATING THE SABBATH Entire Bill of Nearly Two Hundred and Fifty Dollars Promptly Paid by the Company Cashier. A legal representative of the Standard Oil company, together with their local legal advisers, Merryman & Sutton, appeared before Squire Smith Friday morning and entered a plea of guilty in each one of the cases filed a week ago, against the employees of this company, cn a charge of working on Sunday, In the construction of the oil tanks at Preble. The squire at once assessed a fine of a dollar and costs in each case, which amounted to nine dollars and eight-five cents * for each man, thus making the Standard Oil company pay into the coffers of this county the sum of $246.25. The amount was paid in hard cash and each of the defendants was discharged. The representative of the company took the action in good humor and stated that this was not the first time that the company had been forced to pay a fine for the same offense There •were twenty-five arrests made, though ever twice that number were at work. It Is probable that no more Sunday tank building will be indulged in. o The recent appointments of President Roosevelt have resulted in making the civil service commission Democratic, Mr. Mcllhenny’s selection giving the Democrats a majority of the members. This will no doubt disturb some of the old line politicians, but so long as the commission acts without fear or favor and in the public interest, the people will not care •whether its members are Republicans, * Democrats, Prohibitionists or Popu- . lists. Mr. Roosevelt’s disregard for party lines in his selection of public officers is doing a world of good. A breaker of precedents, he is at the same time establishing a very wholesome one. —Ft. Wayne News.

EACH CITY IS TO HAVE ITS OWN A New Departure for the Stamp Issue of IW. Postoffice stamps of the issue of 1907 put on sale at the 6,000 presidential postoffices will bear on their face the name of the State and City in which the postoffice is situated. The chief reason for this innovation is said at the postoffice department to be the belief that it will help do away with the big postoffice robberies and make it much easier to trace criminals. The postoffice robbery in Chicago a few years agb is a good example of the ease with which stolen stampscan be disposed of, for no trace of the perpetrators was ever discovered although nearly a hundred thousand dollars worth of stamps were stolen and these mostly of small denominations. At one time the authorities thought they had found a clew to the robbers. A Chicago mail order house a couple of years after the robbery secured a $5,000 mail order, in payment of which was tendered a package containing that amount of 1 and 2 cent postage stamps. « The order being so unusual in character, the head of the firm informed the United States authorities and efforts were made to find out from whom the order had come, but without avail. It was regarded as fairly certain that these stamps were a part of those taken from the Chicago postoffice, but there was no way of proving it. Another reason for the change is to enable the postoffice department to 1 determine the amount of business done by the different postofflces and 1 prevent padding through stamps sold at some offices to residents who do ' business in adjoining cities. A great deal of complaint has been 1 made in the past on the ground that certain offices were doing a very 1 much greater volume of business than ! they were credited with doing and 1 postmasters have had more or less trouble in showing that they needed increased facilities for handling their mails as in the opinion of the congres- ' sional committees having the matter ' in charge the receipts from the sale 1 of stamps did not warrant the increase. This plan of engraving the names of the city of issue op postage stamps 1 is not entirely new as it has-been fol- 1 lowed in Mexico for years. In Liberia also the names of five of the princi- 1 pal towns are engraved upon the 1 stamps. o THEY ARE LOOKING FOR WATER The Government is Making an In- ; vestigation. The Hydrographic branch of the United States Geological survey has under way an investigation whose object is the determination of the source quantity and quality of the available ground waters of the region lying north of the Ohio river and extending from Pennsylvania to the Wabash river. The investigation is broad in its scope, comprising systematic studies of all the conditions that affect the occurrence of water in wells ,the depth, at which the water may be found at all localities, and the industrial purposes for which it is best fitted. To facilitate this investigation, whose results will be of such great value and interest to the people of my district, I desire to secure for the use of the Survey all possible local information concerning wells, and I shall esteem it a favor if well drillers, owners of deep wells, and all other persons having such information, will send me their names. Very truly yours, G. W. CROMER. o THAT INTERURBAN MERGER Six Hundred and Eighty-Two Miles of Line Will Then be Controlled. ■ When the big merger company, ! now forming "to control all the syndil cate traction lines in Indiana, is fin- . ally incorporated and made ready to • launch into business, it will own and 1 operate 682 miles of interurban rail- ! way in the State. In addition to this, ) the street car systems of several : cities will be under its control. Judgi ed by its mileage, the new merger . company will be the largest traction ' company in the world. The lines to bq merged and the mileage of each are as follows: Indiana Union traction, 315 > Fort Wayne - & Wabash Valley, 111; Indianapolis - & Northwestern, 93; Indianapolis & . Eastern, 79; Indianapolis & Martinsj ville Rapid Transit, 31; Indianapolis 3 & Western, 20; Richmond Street & t Interurban, 18, and Indianapolis Coal J Traction (the Plainfield line), 15, . making a total of 682 miles. B I — -O rn°. A. COLD IX ONE BAT. ’’ Take LAXATIVE BROMO Quinine ,”ab- . lets. Druggists will refund miney it is en each box. ■j ' C thPr Gra v’ B Sweet Powders for I P? u ® ed T , bv Mother Gray, a nurse in Children s Heme. New York, breaks e HeadarhJ n <a» 4hou ‘ l ';> uu,e Feverishness «- Eu ¥ he ’ Stomach Troubles, Teething Destroy Worms. At all i Sampl mailed FREE. | Address Allen S. Olmstead. J eßoy, N. Y. I

GEO. T. BURK THE PURCHASER Comes Here From Colfax, Indiana— Takes Possesion on December 15th. * A business deal that has been hanging fire for several weeks was closed Friday morning whereby E. L. Carroll the grain man, dispose’d of all his interests in his elevators to George T. Burk, of Colfax, Indiana. The deal was one of the largest that has been made in Decatur in recent years, as it involved considerable property and a vast amount of territory. The elevators are located at Decatur, Monroe, Peterson, Curryville and Craigville, and each of .which buildings' are of modern structure and have a large capacity for handling grain, the largest of these elevators probably being the one located in this city. The consideration was not made known, but it is a certain fact that the deal involved many thousand dollars. Mr. Carroll has been a resident of this city for nearly six years and during that time he built up the grain business to its present standard, the plants ranking among the foremost businesses of the kind in the State. He has beep a progressive citizen and during his stay here, he has made a host of friends. His success in business was due to hard, eonscientious labor, and he is deserving of much praise for his successful methods. His successor, Mr. Burk comes to our city highly recommended, having been engaged in the grain business at Colfax, where he made a success of the same, and in purchasing Mr. Carroll’s interests, he is just broadening out in the business. Mr. Burk expects to move his family to this city as soon as he can secure suitable quarters and expects to be fully settled by the first of the year. By the terms of the agreement, Mr. ’Burk is to assume control of the elevators and business by the fifteenth of December, and, until that date, Mr. Carroll will hold the reins of the business. Mr. Carroll informed us that he had not as yet formed any plans as to the future, but expected to remain in this city until spring, when he would be ready to announce where he will go and what business he expects to follow. Here’s wishing future success to both Mr. Carroll and Mr. Burk. o • INJUNCTION SUIT FILED TODAY » Sureties on a Note Secure Service to Prevent Jay Chapman SellingNotes and Accounts.' A marriage license was issued Weti nesday afternoon io Sarah Ayers, ageq forty-four and Joseph Sjf. Hakes aged fifty-one. M-s .- yers was diverged three years ag» Mr. Hakes lives in St. Marys town I’-’.a A new case filed by Attorneys Peterson & Moran, was entitled John Ryan vs. Jay W. Chapman, a suit for injunction. The complaint says that said plaintiff and August Koenneman, Nathan Ayers and S. M. Williams as sureties for Chapman, signed note for S6OO on November 21, 1905, that Chapman and his sureties have been sued on said note and Chapman is now trying to dispose of $2,000 worth of accounts and SI7OO worth of notes, all the property he owns. The court granted a temporary injunction until December 15, when the summons is returnable. MRS. FRED KNIPSTINE IS DEAD Stroke of Paralysis Three Weeks Ago, Proved Fatal. Mrs. Fred Knipstine, aged fifty nine years, died Sunday morning at ten o’clock at her home, two and one-half miles east of Hoagland, after an illness of several months, death resulting from heart trouble due to a stroke of paralysis, which she suffered three week ago. She was a well known woman and was popular in the community in which she resided. The funeral services will be held Wednesday afternoon at one o’clock at the Flat Rock church, and Interment will be made in the Flat Rock cemetery. She leaves a husband, four sons and three daughters to mourn their loss. Qfi Frank Trim was the first saloon keeper to feel the effects of the new Sunday system put on by the Mayor and police, and this morning was Arraigned before his honor to answer to a charge of keeping his place of business open on Sunday. He plead guilty and was assessed a fine of ten dollars: and costs, amounting to $18.30, which I he paid and was discharged. The police are keeping a close watch on the Sunday violation and as a result the lid was on again pretty tight yester-| day. The Trim offense was the only I one reported by the police. ! I . - 11

I WHO THEN DESERTED HER ,v. Mr*. Melchlng Goes to Bluffton to File Affidavit and is Directed to Come to Decatur. Another case of brutality on the part of an over-grown man toward a ’ frail little woman was brought to light yesterday morning, when a Mrs. Melchlng, residing just across the line in Adams County, straight east on the road from the river bridge, applied to the officers in this city for the arrest of her husband. She ‘ stated that he had cruelly beaten her and her person bore mute evidence of the truth of her statements. The officers here, after learning her abiding place, informed her that in order to swear out a warrant for the arrest of her brutal liege, she would have to go to Decatur, the county seat of her county. She at once left town and no doubt carried out her purpose, as she seemd to be thoroughly exasperated and if her story is true, had every reason to be disgusted with mankind. She said her husband had been working about the farm Wednesday afternoon and came to the house at the usual time for his supper. He seemed not to be angry and when he came in asked if supper was ready. He was told that it was and then asked about the milking. His wife stated that she had milked the cows and exclaiming, “What in hell did you do that for,” he set upon her and commenced to beat her unmercifully in the face. When in town yesterday her eye was bruised and bloodshot, there was a big bruise on her forehead and her throat showed finger marks where her husband had choked her. Mrs. Melching is a little woman and in no way able to cope with the man who attacked her. She stated that some time during the night he packed a portion of his belongings and left. Melching came from near Wabash, and 'this is the third time in their married life that he has attacked his wife and deserted her in this fashion. She seemed ready now to forever put him aside and to have nothing more to do with him. Mrs. Melching is a daughter of John Sovine and has gone to the home of her parents to reside. She will ask a restraining order to, keep him from selling his property. —Bluffton Banner. O . . r THE CHARITY BOARD ORGANIZES The Adams County Board of Charities Met on Saturday. The Adams County Board of Charities at a meeting Saturday reorganized by the* election of L. C. Miller president and Mrs. W. A. Lower secretary. These selections were made in recognition of the past services of these two excellent charity workers and officers. As now composed the board is composed of L. C. Miller, A. Van Camp, Miss Hattie Studabaker, Mrs. Catharine Ehinger, Mrs. W. A. Lower and Miss Catharine Butcher, the latter of Geneva. They have in mind/ several needed improvements at the county jail, where the cleaning process will be put to work. The Decatur Packing & Produce company invoiced the Scheiman stock of meats, preparatory to taking them into that corporate company. o — PREBLE HOTEL IS COMMENCED Jacob C. Miller of this city, has been awarded the contract for the erection of Jeff Klopfenstein’s new hotel at Preble, and began work on the same today. It is to be a twenty-room building, modern and convenient in every respect and Mr. Klopfenstein will in no way be disappointed when the contract is completed. ——o —— The Indiana State Trustees’ association will hold its annual meeting at the State house Tuesday and Wednesday, December 18 and 19. Arrangements are being made for a reduction in the round trip fare for the trustees. The detailed program is now being arranged. The present officers are as follows: President, 0. C. Miller; vice president, William A. Thornton, Terre Haute; secretary, A. F. Dalton, Bedford; treasurer, Charles F. Potter, Richmond; executive committee chairman, F. Richard Schaaf, jr., Hammond; vice chairman, Perry F. Smith, Lexington; secretary, O. C. Peterbaugh, Elkhart. Leonard Monroe was found guilty in the circuit court at Bluffton of the . charge of shooting Officer W. H. Fox, . on the afternoon of May 15, and was , Sentenced >to the reformatory for an . Indeterminate period. Monroe had ' gone to the home of Mrs. Jennie Fad,l ley for the purpose of killing, her, and [when Fox interfered Monroe shot at , him, inflicting a scalp wound. Fox hit , • Monroe, but the injury inflicted was i only slight. | Frank Gideon returned to Gideon, Mo., last evening, after making a I pleasant visit here with relatives.

I MISS EDNA EHINGER, HOSTESS s At a Delightful Affair—Many Dinner* and Entertainment* .Yesterday and Last Evening. „ (MISS PEARL BURDG, Editor.) k Mrs. Holloway entertained Mrs. , Bailey and daughter, Leota, and Miss Byerly, at a Thanksgiving dinner. s : : : t One of the pleasant occasions of , Thursday was the elaborate course • dinner at the home of Miss Edna » Ehinger on. Monroe street, given by • the members of the Beau Not club. In > the evening, Miss Ehinger charmingly entertained the club and their young ■ gentlemen friends at a progressive i pedro party. The prizes were won by i the following: Misses Stella Bremerkamp, Louise Brake, Agnes Mylott and Zella Stults and Messrs. Todd Linn, Clyde Reathrer, Glenn Glancy and Milo McKenney. The home was beautifully decorated with palms and terns. The out of town guests were: Messrs. Clyde Reathrer of Ft. Wayne, Glen App, Ed Desser and Cloyd Reathrer, of Fojt Wayne, Charles Wlthney of Monroeville and Miss Bernadine Violand. The following went to Marion Friday morning to attend the Marion Choral contest: Misses Fanny Frisinger, Marie Beery, Winifred Johnson, Frances Bryson, Mrs. D. E. Studabaker, Mrs. Morrison, Mrs. Jeff Bryson, Mrs. J. T. Merryman, Dan Beery, Mr. and Mrs. Chas. Bell, Miss Mabel Erwin, Miss Hattie Studabaker, Miss Sallle Vesey, Miss Viola Studabaker and Mrs. James Rice. Messrs. Kuebler and Dugan spent Thanksgiving with Rev. Father Kuebler at Shelby,. Ohio. Mr. and Mrs. Dr. Connell pleasantly entertained Mrs. Kuebler, Miss Rose Martin, Marke Laughlin and Glenn App of Fort Wayne, at a Thanksgiving dinner yesterday. The different families of relatives of Mrs. D. E. Studabaker were entertained charmingly at her home Thursday at a Thanksgiving dinner. Mrs. John Heller delightfully entertained at her home on Third street Thursday at a Thanksgiving dinner and supper. In the evening, Mrs. Heller entertained her guests at a theater party. Those present were: Mr. and Mrs. D. D. Heller and family, Mr. and Mrs. J. W. Tyndall, Misses Elizabeth Peterson and Corbus. Mrs. Deam of Bluffton entertained the following at her home at a Thanksgiving dinner: Mrs. Crabbs, Mr. and Mrs. R. K. Alilson, Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Allison and L. C. Waring. Mrs. Dugan delightfuly entertained Mr. and Mrs. Nachtrieb and son at a six o'clock dinner yesterday. Mrs. J. C. Patterson was hostess at the regular meeting of the Shake-' speare club last Wednesday at her pretty home on Second street. The afternoon was pleasantly spent in studying the noted musicians, which caused great interest among the ladies. Mr. Clymer Fuelling agreeably entertained the “Central” or “hello” girls at a banquet Thursday evening. In the afternoon Mr. Fuelling sent up to the office a big roasted turkey, prepared with the best kind of dressing and other articles that belong to a Thanksgiving dinner. At nine o’clock the girls gathered at .the office to partake of the feast. The report of the the girls today, is that they will always have a warm spot in their hearts for Mr. Fuelling, and only hope for many more such Thanksglvi ifig days. The annual Thanksgiving ’dinner of the ’Archbold family was held at Allen Archbold’s hoine in Marion, Ind. Those present were: Dr. and Mrs. Miller, Mr. and Mrs. Wash Gilpen, Mrs. Butler and daughter, Ethel, Homer Lower and family. 1 ’ !- —: —: Mrs. H. L. Conter was hostess at the annual Thanksgiving dinner of the . Conter family, which was held at her . home on Fifth street. The outside guests were Mrs. Belle France and Mrs. Will Pyles of Alexandria. Mrs. Lee Vance delightfuly entertained a few friends at a six o’clock l dinner at her home on Fifth street s Friday evening. The dining room ar- . tistlcally decorated in chrysanthemums ! and smilax, which was very beautiful. 1 The dinner was served in five courses. I The guests were: Mr. and Mrs. Glenn • Baughman of Eau Claire, Mich., Mr. I and Mrs. Farnk Porter of Parker, Ind., - Mr. and Mrs.. John Porter of this city - and their son Therman Porter of Ge- ! neva. An exceptionally good time is reported. t i Another very pretty dinner party of i Friday evening, was that of Mrs, John

I Peterson on First street, given in the honor of Mrs. Pyle and son. The guest* at dinner were: Mr. and Mrs. H. L, • Conter, Mrs. C. O. France, and Mrs. George Flanders. • Mrs. W. A. Lower pleasantly entertaine dthe Young Matrons' Club Fri- . day afternoon at her home on Thirds . street The ladies spent the afterj noon in doing fancy work, and at five o’clock, Mrs. Lower served an elegant two course luncheon; The outside , guests were Mesdames C. A. Dugan, Fred Linn, Earl Snow, Dallas Butler, ' Fred Bell, Ora France, Frank Bell, of , Loraine, 0., and Misses Elizabeth Peterson and Bertha Heller. The next . meeting will be held at the home ’of . Mrs. John Heller, in two weeks. I , . KNOWN AS “IN AND OUT” FEES The Appellate Court Decision is Being Generally Discussed All Over the State. < It is the opinion of the attorney general’s office that thousands of dollars can be recovered from and! ex-sheriffs by the several counties of i the State, under the decision of the Appellate court, Tuesday, to the effwt ' |hat the sheriffs, under the fee and' salary law of 1893, were not entitled' to' what are known as “in and out fees?” The sheriffs, for years, have been charging the county 25 cents for every prisoner received into the jail, if only for the night, and 25 cents, for turning him out. These two 25-cent fees were known as the “in and out fees,” and 1 were paid to the county sheriff on the theory that he should be paid’ for keeping jail. The Appellate court in its decision,. Tuesday, tobk the broad ground that it was the intention of the Legislature that enacted the fee and salary law of 1895, to make the county sheriff’s office, like other county offices, a salary and not a fee office, and hence the sheriffs were not entitled to the in and out fees. In reaching this decision the court reversed itself, in effect, having reached the opposite opinion last February. Yesterday’s decision was on the rehearing of the case. M the sheriffs have not been entitled to the in and out fees since the passage of the fee and salary law of 1895,. the conclusion is that the counties can recover from the ex-sheriffs back to' 1895, every dollar of in and out fees that has been paid the sheriffs In every county. Os course, unless the exofficer pays over voluntarily, suit will' have to be brought against him. Thdfe is still the possibility that the case will be transferred' to the Supreme court. It is for thia to be done upon motion <ft either of the parties. As pointed out, however, e it lies within the discretion of the Sb 1 - preme court whether or 'not it will permit the transfer, and, of course, nothing is known of the court’s mind on this matter. If the decision of the Appellate court stands,’former Sheriff Robert Metzger and Sheriff Edward Sburbier |Wijl pay nearly $6,000 into the county treasury in compliance with the ruling. —lndianapolis News. MARTHA CASE HAMRICK. Martha Case, the daughter of Jasper and Ellen Case, was born in Blue Creek township, Adams county, Ind’., ApriU2o, 1879, and ended this life in her own home off North Second street, Decatur, Ind., November 23, 1906. She was brought upon a farm, the place of her birth and the scene of her school days and early education. As a young woman she was the favorite among her associates, and ever maintained the loving disposition that ever marked her high degree of friendship. She was not a member of any church but she never lost sight of her Savior, and her last words, ‘TH soon be at rest,” gave evidence of her thought '.and the hope within her soul. * She loved her husband and children fervently, and remarked that she would like to live to care for them, but expressed herself submissive toi God’s will, patiently waited the end ofi earthly suffering. As a member of the Tribe of Ben Hur, she made many friends. She is survived by her husband, Warren A. Hamrick, two children, Chalmer and Albert, a father and mother, brothers and sisters, Mrs. Belle Ainsworth, Van Wert, O.; Lou Case, at homd, Mrs. Will Garwood, Mercer, O.; Mr. Frank Case, Cossey, Ill.; Mrs. Nettie Spangler, Ft. Wayne, „ Ind.; Mrs. Bertha Jack, Willshire, O.; Mr. Earl Case, Willshire; Miss Lulu Case, at home, and Mr. Robert Case, at home. While these dear ones will miss her, much comfort may be had in the thought, that Though earth’s fairest blossoms die. And all beneath the skies Is vain, There is a brighter world on high, Beyond the reach of care and pafn. Then let the hope of joys to come Dispel our cares, and chase our fears? If God be ours, we’re traveling home Though passing through a vale of tears. The funeral services were conducted at the late home by the Rev Kohn of Willshire and the Rev. John C. White of this city. Interment was at Steele, Indiana. • —-—o Miss Millie Ashbaucher returned,to Bluffton today after making a pleasant ‘ere wttb Mr . Mrs , H . Tett .