Daily Democrat, Volume 1, Number 19, Decatur, Adams County, 2 February 1903 — Page 1

VOLUME 1

STOLE FROM WIFE. Peculiar Circumstances Which Send a z Man to Penitentiary. Irving E. Rader was sent to the penitentiary from Auburn Saturday for from two to fourteen years for stealing a team of hones from his wife. The affair is rather a peculiar one and John Weber, formerly of this city, may have to pay for the horses. Kader and his wife parted some time ago and the former took a team of horses belonging to Mrs. Raber to Fort Wayne and sold them to Mr. Weber for $lB5. As soon as Mrs. Rader learned the facts she made an effort to replevin the team but was too late, they having been resold by Mr. , Weber. The criminal case against her husband followed. The Auburn Dispatch says: “It now remains to be seen what action, if any, will be taken bv Mrs. Rader against Liveryman Weber of Fort Wayne, who purchased the horses from her husband. Soon after she learned the name of the purchaser replevin proceedings were begun in a Fort Wayne justice court, but before the writ could be served the animals had been spirited away. We understand the horses were sold for $lB5 and the owner, if unable to get them, will probably endeavor to secure the purchase price from Weber. HORSES STAMPEDE. ® Boys Have Lucky Escape from Injuries .This Morning The shipment of five car load of horses belonging to The J. W. Campbell Cc , of St. Louis, was deferred and the hundred and twenty head were not loaded until three o’clock this morning. When on their way to the stock yards, a number of horses stampeded and Arthur Beery and John Rice came near being tramped to death. Frightened by the crack of a whip the horses broke from their leaders and the two named above, were engulfed in the midst of the maddened brutes, and were it not for the fact that the horses were bunched together, it would have been impossible for the boys to escape alive. Even as it was it seems miraculous that they escaped without injury. The horses were captured after an hour or more ana were taken to the railroad. While loading at the car one big horse broke through the chute and fell on his back where he was pinned fast until an engine came and pulled away the car. Last night will certainly be long remembered bv horse dealers of Decatur for not only was it the greatest individual shipment, over $30,009 worth from this city, but it was attended with exciting incidents as well PEDRO PARTY. The C. B. L. of I. will Entertain Their Friends February 12. Members of the Catholic Benevolent Legii m are arranging for a grand event to occur a week from Thursday evening, February 12th and it’s a foregone conclusion that nothing but pleasure will be the result. A hundred guests will very probably lie present and no doubt every single one of them will be glad of it. Progres sive pedro will be the amusement of course and several handsome prizes will be given to the lucky winners, with boobies of course for the poor players. RAIDED BY POLICE. A Disreputable House is Raided and Three Arrests Made. A house of disrepute, on Sawdust avenue, was raided by the police Saturday night and three habituates were pinched. Those arrested gave their names as Henry Monday of Willshire, Jacob Tuesday of Bluffton, and Henry Troutner of this city. They were tried before ’Squire Smith, Sunday, and given a fine of ten dol lars each. Monday paid, and the Bluffton man did the same, having received help from his friends of that place. Troutner was broke and had to go to jail. The proprietor of the joint, Mary Moon, evaded the police and has not yet been located. NOTICE K. of P. A called meeting of the K. of P. lodge will be* held Tuesday night for rank work. The attendance of every member is earnestly requested. J. L. Gay, C. C.

' '"4 <®. The Daily Democrat. ..

ANOTHER PRESIDENT. The Democrats Have an Inning in the Running. In New York state they call Judge Alton B. Parker a “man of destiny.’’ Throughout the south, from Florida to Texas, he is hailed as the Moses who will unite the scattered forces of democracy and lead j,he party out from the wilderness into the promised land. His star is just risen above the horizon, but it glows like Mars at perihelion. Who is Judge Alton B. Parker? The question has been asked a thousand times these past few weeks. The name politicians are beginning to [conjure with is new to the great mass of the American people, though none is better known in the empire state. The signs of the times, democrats are saying, point strongly to the nomination of Judge Parker for president by the next national democratic convention, and interest in the man, his personality and his career naturally is aroused. His friends say he has the intellect of a giant, the breadth of a statesman; that he is fitted for the highest place. He is not known to have enemies, but if such he has, even thet must admit that hie record is clean. Alton B. Parker is chief judge of the New York court of appeals, having been elected to that high judicial seat in 1897. He was elected as a democrat, and he is the only democrat that has carried New York in a straight-out contest since the state went for Grover Cleveland in 1892. It is true that the Tracey-Low fight in New York city contributed in a measure to Parker’s success in his contest against Judge Wallace, but it is claimed by his friends,, and not without justification, that he would have been elected even had there not been a bitter mayoralty battle in Gotham. INFIRMARY DEATH. Another Inmate is Called fr»M Earthly , Scenes. Levi Diehl, seventy-two years old, died at one o’clock Sunday morning I at the county infirmary, where he has I made his home for over six years. He i has been suffering for some time with I dropsy, and although he received all possible care and attention, the end | could no longer be averted. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Dir hl and was born in Ohio in the year 1830. He was feeble of mind and for sometime luu, required considerable attention. He had not a single relative to attend the funeral, and his death was indeed sad. OVER A MILLION. Bills in the Legislature Increase the . Taxes. The dear public may not realize it, slid one of the members of the legislature Saturday, but there have already been introduced bills which if they become laws, will increase the taxes in Indiana just <l,l (M),(ilX) annually. These bills include those backed by the prosecutors, sheriffs, county recorders, supreme and appellate judges, and other officials, and the one raising the state sote« i l tax levy from 11 to 1(1 cents. Personally I shall fight every salary-increasing bill. The officials interested knew just what salaries to expect when they sought and secured election, and I do not like the" whole-hog-or-none” disposition they are displaying the moment they have got their noses in the public crib. DIRKSON’S BILL. It Passes Both Branches ol the Legislature. Word has reached uh that Reprerentatiye Dirkson’s bill regulating the court terms for the twenty-sixth jucicial circuit, this county, has passed both branches of the general assembly and now but needs the signature of the governor to make it a law. According to the provisions of the bill as passed, one week is »aken off of three court terms during the year. This gives time for the clerk of the court to make up the docket for the new term and have everything arranged for the business of the court. It also provides sufficient time for the lawyers to prepare their cases and makes postponements less necessary.

DECATUR, INDIANA, MONDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 2, 1903.

SOYS ARRESTED. LaFollette Mysteries May be Cleared Up. Youths Charged with Serious Crimes and Developmer*s Expected. John and Charles Harrod were arrested Saturday at their home at Williamsport, and are now under | bond, awaiting their trial Tuesday. The specific charge as set out in the I affidavit under which the arrest was I made is posting scurrilous verses in a , public place at Williamsport, which [ ! reflected upon the reputations of Misses Susan. Mary and Jane LaFollette, daughters of Dr. G. W. LaFollette, of that town. It will be recalled that : the doctor and his family have been the victims of a number of misfortunes. Tn the first place, Dr. LaFollette’s barn was burned, and not long ago a stick of stovewood into which an explosive had been inserted let go j in a heating stove and seriously dam aged his house and painfully burned one of his daughters. This was followed by the posting of the verses. A detective was sent to investigate and I the arrest of the boys is the outcome. I Just how much evidence has been ob- j tained will not be made public until | the preliminary Tuesday, but it is I supposed that the testimony will be I enough to convict the boys. The | Harrods are of a good family, and j. their actions cannot be understood. WILL RAFFLE FARM. I — j Maas CMtty Km Yiil fever of Its Farm. August Studler, a well known farI mer living in the southwest part of I Hartford township will operate a Louisiana lottery of his own. and the prize will be his farm rtf eighty-six acres, on w hich are several first class oil wells. He values his land at 89.000, and pot being able to sell it outright for that sum has determined • to dispose of same to the man holding the lucky ticket. The price of the I tickets has not been made public, but 1 it’s safe to say it will take several •days to dispose of them. Mr. Stud- * ler, it is said will retire from an acI tive farming life when he has sold ins . farm and will make a visit to his naI tive home in Switzerland, and may I possibly remain there. WERE MARKED. Poptfar Decatur Girl Marrtes a Chicago Engineer. At eight o’clock Saturday evening ; at the home of Mr. and Mrs. L. T i Brokaw in the north part of town, oc-1 curved the marriage of their daughter, j Miss Luhi, to Mr. F-ank Jones <>f Chicago Rev. Pontius of the United i Brethern church officiated and the I ceremony was witnessed by only the! most intimate friends and" relatives. I The bride is quite well known here] and th*’- groom is an engineer on thGrand Central railroad. They left today for Chicago where they will make their futurq.home. WEIGHTY LEGISLATION. Blanket Remonstrance will be Put toj Legislative Test. According to reports in the Indianapolis papers the blanket remonstrant law is receiving a very black eye. The committee to which the bill in question had been referred, has reported favorably upon its passage and it now de|jends solely upon what action is taken upon it by the legislative bodies whether it becomes a law’ or not. The bill is intended to ■ take away the power of attorney clause in the law. As it now stands, when a list of names is given to the attornev whoje handling the femonstrators’ side of the case, he receives from each person a power of attorney, which gives him the right to sign the j same list of names to any remonstrance that may come up in the same township in the future. This is what they are trying to have done awav with and should the law pass it will be necessary to circulate a new re monstrance every time an effort is made to get a saloon out of business. There will no doubt be a great deal of discussion on the bill ami the out come of it is very much in doubt.

TWO MAIL ROUTES. Berne and Geneva Enjoy Additional Mail Service. Two new rural mail routes are today added to the mail service of Adams county. One circulates out of Berne taking a circuit east and northeast of Berne, and the other one out of Geneva and covers a comfortable portion of Jefferson township. Both routes traverse an important section of the county and furnish mail at the door of a large number of people. The Daily and Weekly Democrat -are strongly in evidence on both routes and the number who anxiously subscribed for the daily was a surprise to the managers of the paper. It is now evident that the Daily Democrat is going to outgrow its youth before the usual probation period. Its circulation is traveling upward at a prodigious rate and the amount of substantial encouragement is enough to tickle the vanity of a banker. Its superior news service including its excellent market reports from all quarters of the globe, and its mechanical excellency are the strong points in its favor. The people lik? it. aud we like it because everybody else likes it. If you are one of the few who do not take it, subscribe now. AS AMENDED. The Prosecutor’s Bill Will not Boost the Salary in this County. The prosecuting attorneys of the I state, who have organized and sent an an aggressive lobby to support Hie bill increasing their salaries to SI,OOO, or just double the amount they receive at present, will be somewhat disappointed at the action of the house committee on fees and salaries, which has decided to amend the bill materially before recommending it for passage. The amendment provides that prosecutors iu circuits composed lof two or more counties shall reI ceive the desired increase to SI,OOO, and that those in single county cirI cuits that contain a city of at least 825,000 population, shall have an increase to 8750, but that in the rest of the circuits there shall be no increase. The prosecutor of Adams county will, therefore, haw- to worry along on 8500 per year ami the modest amount in fees which he receives. It is not altogether improbable that the bill, even with these amendments, will fail to pass, as many of the members of both houses have expressed themselves as opposed to aR salary-boosting measures. MADE REPORT. Sheriff Butler Tells the Story of His First Month’s Business. Albert A. Butler, sheriff of Adams ■ y this m ning foraarded his first monthly account of his official career to the state b< ird of charities, this being required of him the first day of each month. His statement showed that he has r. wived at the jail thirty prisoners, twenty-nine male and one female, all for minor offenses. Yesterday morning there were in jail pi . though foui number have since been discharged. The thirty prisoners cost the county for board and extras the sum of $56.80. WANT A DITCH. Petition is Filed in Circuit Court Today. For the first time in several years a petition has been filed in the circuit court asking that a ditch be located. The location of the desired improvement is in the southwest part of Jes ferson township and same is asked for by Troy Huey, William S. Daugherty, George Daugherty, Martha Butcher, E. J. Butcher and heirs of Perry and George Butcher. Attached to the petition is a list of those benefitted bs’ such an improvement. Other necessary facts are set out in the proper manner. It has been the custom in this county to petition for ditches before the commissioners and these facts make this proceeding a little out of the ordinary, though in other counties in the state circuit court ditches as they are known are quite frequently built.

COURT OPENS. February Term Ushered in With Due Formality. Some Business Transacted and Prepartions Made for More. At nine o’clock tliis morning Deputy Sheriff Ferrill made the proper announcements and Judge Erwin opened the February term of the Adams circuit court. The hearing of the criminal cases were set for the third week. In the case of State of Indiana vs. Alvin Woods, assault and battery, the defendant plead guilty and was fined five dollars and costs, which he paid; German Building and Loan association vs. Frank Ereshman, foreclosure of mortgage, judgment was rendered for $380.76 and sale ordered: William H. Niblick vs. Willis W. Hoagland et al, separate answers were filed by each defendant; Charles S. Fletcher vs. Decatur Egg Casa company, $5,000 damages, Merryman & Sutton entered appearance for defendants. On motion of the plaintiff a change of venue was granted in this case to the superior court of Allen county. In several, rule to answer, was made and summons were ordered returnable in a few instances. The number of new cases filed recently signify that the present term will be a busy one. TWO NEW ONES. Suits on Note and Claim Help Fill the Court Docket. Attornev Jacob Butcher, of Genq.ya, has filed two suits in the circuit court and was present this morning to look after this and other business. One of the new ones is entitled William Fields vs. John W. Scott, and is the demand for the payment of a .8400 note. The The other is Charles Barber vs. John C. Glendening and Madison Timmonds, is a suit on account in which the sum of twenty dollars is demanded and was appealed from the justice of peace court. This makes about twenty new cases filed iu circuit court within a week, and the lawyers are happy accordingly. FLIM-FLAMMED. Beware of the Man who Wants to Sell You a Patent Oil Burner. Logansport housewives claim they have been neatly Dimmed by an itinerant agent who is selling patent .ti ( oil burners, which are said to be absolutely worthless, and now the Logansport police are looking for him with a view of landing him behind the bars. The agent made a thorough canvass of the city and taking | advantage of the fuel shortage found a ready sale for his wares. His burn er was made of some kind of materia! that will absorb coal oil. At one end is attached a wire handle. The thick end of the implement is placed in a vessel filled with coal oil, where it is allowed to soak, aud after becoming saturated with oil it is placed in I the stove and ignited. For a time there wi|J b ■ a blaze and the heat will be intense, but alter burning a few minutes, the coal oil will have burned out aud the fire has disappeared. He sold them from fifty cents to one dollar each and reajied a harvest. When the police started in to hunt him it was learned that he had left fur new fields.

WANTS DIVORCE. Geneva Oil Man Asks for Decree of Seperation. William S. Liken, a prominent oil man of Geneva, has tiled suit in the Adams circuit court through his alter neys Merrvmai Ac Sutton, asking for a divorce from his wife, Lizzie J. Liken. The complaint is one of the shortest possible, stating the facts in a very few words. Abandonment is charged and the papers show that Mr. and Mrs. Liken wore married October 2ti, 1898 and lived peaceably together until September 1900, when the wife abandoned her homo and has not since co-habiluted with her husband. Mrs. Liken is now living in Pennsylvania, while Mr. Liken still resides at Geneva. There are no living children.

NUMBER 19

AN OPPORTUNITY. Some One Should Arrange a New Signal Service. Al! thinking people, who have no tieed the frequency of great railroad wrecks and their dire calamities, have asked themselves who is to blame and whether or not such accidents can be averted. Many catastrophes have been caused by negligence and careless employees, but the m jority result from the inefficiency of equipment, and especially that of the signal system. For example, the great mix;up on the Central railroad of New I Jersey, which occurred about a week ago and resulted in the death of i almost fifty people. In that case a surbtirban train broke down and there was no way to signal the same to the oncoming express, save by a flagman who’s faint signals of danger were wholly disregarded and both trains were smashed to kindling wood. Yet i that road is equipped with the most perfect apparatus for signaling mow | used in the United States, the block system. To avert the most unnvoee sary wrecks ’het occur the signal system nfllst be improved or radically changed and the field is a good one I for inventive minds. Can not some Decatur person use their mind to good advantage on a scheme of this kind [ that will not only save the lives of their fellow man, but make them rich • GOOD NEWS. The Riverside Smith Well Makes Showing of Oil. The members of the Riverside Oil company are looking brighter today, as the wheel of fortune seems to have a more elastic spring. Their new possession, the Smith well, is now standing with GOO feet of oil iu its throat, and with every indication of being the beet of the four they now own. It is being rigged for Dumping and its true worth will perhaps be known in a few days. Power will be ec ar ranged as to pump the Smith, the Case and the Cowan wells, all possessing a showing as oil producers,and ' should they prove such the company will soon realize what it is to be in the i business with a revenue attached. The water was extracted from the ' Koos well and the service from that i well will now be better. It is to be hoped that these Riverside wells will ' prove good ones, as much depends upon them, especially in the future development of this field. One gusher there would bo worth at least a cool million to the field, and there are a multitude of prayers that some one ] may soon land the aforementioned I guslar. BONDS ORDERED. I The Banks of this City will soon Take Them Lp. Clark J. Lutz came home from Indianapolis Saturday, w here he ■fr-r fit h< >graphe< 1 gravel road I bonds. Bonds were ordered for the ■ Brushwood, West Pleasant Mills and Decatur roads, and they ! will be here iu a very short time, | ready to turn over to the Old Adams County and Decatur National banks, I the two financial institutions that pur chased them. It is certainly to the , credit of this city to have two banks who are able to handle this amount of credit, and who are always ready to ] do so without attempting to hold up : the county exchequer. If there is one I thing this city can be proud of it is ' her banks. Both are managed upon banking principles, and have practical business men in charge. Accommodations are granted or refused, not 1 upon the cut of a man’s clothes or | upon the amount of security at his back. If a person is honest and on the square, it cuts more ice in his faror than any oile r asset he may pro I duce. INTEREST INCREASING. The revival at the Christian church is increasing in interest and attend ance. A largo crowd attended in the morning ami also in the evening. The pastor preached in the morning on the Heavenly Family and there were three accessions to the church. In the evening there were many new faces. The pastor preached on "The Greater Question.” The sermon was directed to the young men. There was great interest in the meeting. Many remaining to speak with the preacher. This evening the young pastor of the West Jefferson street church of Fort Wayne will be present and preach one of his best sermons. Mr. Segur will lead the song service.