Daily Democrat, Volume 5, Number 15, Decatur, Adams County, 17 January 1907 — Page 1

Volume V

ke jan wee cars an ' Uiterurban Made a Test Run to Fort Wayne ®J6.B SCHEDULE WILL BE ANNOUNCED i-wkMMfa' <l?s7 fithin a Few Days—Four Cars Will be Completed by the End of This Week. >day I Manager Fledderjohann informed us oday that three of the Fort Wayne & .. ;Jprngfield companys cars had been fit4tpd with motors and are now ready for tuusiness. Yesterday three cars were ' un to Fort Wayne to test the apparaus and each was found perfect. By S, he end of this week another car will irg, Pse completed and the time of start's: ni£g cars on regular runs, the schedule ind ticket offices will then be annonnc- • ’ jd. By the first of next week some I, j h; jeflnite information can be given the @je.|Ublic. The Ft. W. & S. will soon be @s6.|nd assured fact and a real railroad setween here and the Allen county 'apital. Many obstacles have been overcome and Mr. Fledderjohann and 7ssis associates expect to overcome sev<B|ral more apparently unsurmountable .lines and to continue the line south o.|ntll it becomes one of the best prop- .. ‘Ysltions in the country, financially. ■ 3Srhey are the kind of men who never f '»ay die and are bound to win. Watch tor their schedule in a few days. »<<> o LAW SEEMS A LITTLE SEVERE o@ss®T House Burglar at Greenville Gets a o@s«p Life Sentence. [email protected] ”®st‘j The house burglar has a rough and rugged road to travel nowadays in ... $, .Ohio, if he happens to be caught in ••. 4 the meshes of the law. The recent ■ • ■ " Ohio legislature passed an act making the punishment for burglarizing an in- . / : habited dwelling, life imprisonment in ... f the penitentiary, the same as for first • 1 degree murder where the jury recomaj C rg mends clemency. The Greenville Advocate narrates how a life sentence was recently dealt out to a hobo arrested at that place for breaking into houses. It says: “The next prisoner to be arraigned William Welch, the hobo burglar. $ Now, ‘Willy’ didn’t do a thing but ‘swipe’ a few things to eat and a couple bottles of wine, but under one of the strange consistencies of the law 7 he received the same sentence as . 6 George Potter did after being found • ■ guilty of one of the most atrocious murders ever committed in Ohio. persisted in entering a plea . 12. -of guilty and the court had no alterna>c®3 five. Repeatedly Judge Allread attempted to explain to the unfortunate tramp what his entering a plea of giiilty really meant. The fellow finally Unn clinched the matter by saying: ‘I have @l4, been doing that sort of business for .S2M over a year, and will probably do it • 201 again if turned out.’ • “Still the court hesitated. The man had not resorted to any violence and 4 Trad only stolen food and drink. 'Just 2'l.' let it go at that, Judge,’ were the words which sealed his fate. “ ‘I sentence you to the Ohio penitentiary for the remainder of your natcbani ural life,’ said Judge Allreod. “The hush which followed was appalling. Men whose hearts arc hard to criminal proceedings stool s ill. Their hearts throbbed and every man from the judge on the ben-.u to the 44 , i humblest spec-tm knew nunishiti ment was too nwre. But• is t! c law @l* and Welch iceei’-ed the only sentence 3's< 1 that could be imposed.” E. -o— WILL BOYCOTT THE ELECTRICS » — Steam Roads for Merger to Fight the Interurban*. ~ I Chicago, Jan. 16.—A1l the railroads which are members of the Central s3'l Passenger Association today entered s3.fl into an agreemnt not to exchange business or courtesies with the electric lines. The result of this agreement is said will be an appeal to the interstate commerce commission by the electric lines to compel the steam roads to put in join tariffs with them and to treat them as they do steam Iroads. The electric lines are f fixing Keir tariffs with the commission and are of the opinion that they are c®amoa carriers under the law an<’ that the steam roads can be comp<lied to interchange business.

The Daily Democrat.

ANCIENT ROMANCE AT MARION Told in the Trial of a Case in the Circuit Court. That was a strange story told in the circuit court of Marion, revealing as it did the courtship of William Davis, 70 years old, and Miss Clara Fox, 56 years old, well known people of Marion. It was in the trial of a breach of promise suit which is being prosecuted by the woman. She demands damages in the sum of $5,000. Because of the prominence of the parties the case is attracting unusual attention. The aged lover is wealthy and is the father of two well known Marion physicians, Dr. Albert Davis and Dr. O. M. Davis. Miss Cox, neatly attired and wearing a veil, testified that it was on the street some time last July that the defendant “popped the question.’ They Davis, she said, suggested that his home was lonesome, that he desired a companion and that she suited him. It was all so sudden, but she agreed to consider the matter and give him her decision within a few days. She said that Mr. Davis continued to press his suit and that she finally accepted his proposal. .After she had agreed to the marriage she says that he proposed an ante-nuptial contract, whereby she was to receive SI,OOO. She asserts that she agreed.to this proposal but that the wedding was postponed before she was given an opportunity to sign the contract. The wedding was set for September 26 and they planned to elope to Warsaw. The application for a marriage license had been prepared when the grown children of Mr. Davis learned of his intentions and declared that the wedding should not take place. Miss Cox testified that she was ready to go to the depot for the trip to Warsaw when she learned of the postponement of the ceremony. The defense will attempt to show that there was no love nor affection in the courtship of the litigants, and that only a property consideration entered into the contract.

MATTER IS SETTLED Interurban Company has Agreed to Assessment SECOND STREET IMPROVEMENT Sign the Waiver With Understanding That Corporate Limits Will Not Be Changed for Two Years. The city council met yesterday afternoon in special session to hear further argument over the assessment roll on the North Second street improvement. Mayor Coffee presided and every councilman with the exception of Christen who is sick, was present. The argument was opened by Attorney Koenig who stated that after a due deliberation over the matter of their assessment they had concluded to raise no objection to the same and would file waiver as required by law and take the ten year plan as to paying the same. This agreement was reached by the company after having held a conference with the council at which time it was agreed that if the interurban submitted to the assessment as imposed without a law suit, the city would agree not to extend the corporate lines of the city north for t wo years, to which the railroad agreed and the assessment roll was adopted and ordered certified to the treasurer for collection. This improvement has been the cause of several special sessions and the council seemed glad to have the matter finally settled. 0 WINTER IS FADING AWAY Seige of Snow Was Short —Walking Disagreeable Today. The winter forecast of a day or two past seems to have been only another bluff. The beautiful snow turned to sleet and rain and this morning the foot traveler had a difficult trip up town. But in a few hours the crust melted and a slush of snow, ice and water made strolling still more uno pleasant. The ice man is again wearing his worried expression and the weather man’s prediction for the next day or two promises not to dispel it.

Decatur, Indiana, Thursday Evening January 17, 1907.

COURT HOUSE NEWS November Term Drawing to a Close ONLY TWO DAYS OF SESSION 1 Breiner Case is Dismissed—Action is Taken in Several Other Pending Cases. Only two days of the November term of court and then a two weeks' vacation. From appearances the business for the term has been almost completed. At any rate the dockets show but little business transacted today. Mary A. Briner vs. Sara;, and William Eble, partition case dismissed and the costs paid. Clara B. Thomas vs. William Hamilton et al., complaint to quiet title, deed reported and approved and com missioner E. B. Lenhart discharged. Pearl Barnell vs. Aaron Ireland, $2,000 damages, motion by defendant to require plaintiff to make complaint more specific. Norvell Shopleigh vs. Schafer Hardware Company, suit on account, answer in two paragraphs filed, rule to I reply to second paragraph. Interrogatories submitted to plaintiff, rule to answer same by first day of next term.

Noah A. Loch vs. Edward Dirkson, et al, complaint for receiver, the receiver ordered and empowered to bring suit wherever necessary. o ECLIPSES TO OCCUR THIS YEAR A Partial Eclipse of the Sun on January 29th. The yearly data of 1907 will be of general interest to all, and the knowledge that four eclipses of the sun and moon are to occur will afford much satisfaction to those who delight in research of all kinds. The first eclipse was on January 14, and was a total eclipse of the sun invisible to North America. The next eclipse will occur on January 29, and will be a partial eclipse of fair Luna, and can be seen here. Those who desire to see the shadow creep across the face of the moon will have to be early risers, as the big show starts at 6:06 in the morning. On July 10 will occur an eclipse of the sun, which will be visible to North America. On July 24 the moon will undergo another partial eclipse ‘and those who are on the streets in I the evening can see it readily. This will be the star event of the year in the eclipse line, as it occurs at 9:04 o'clock in the evening and stays that way until 11:41, when it leaves the I shadow. ;WAS KNOWN IN THIS COUNTY 'Mrs. Wiliam Boese of Allen County, i i is Dead.

Mrs. Dorothea Boese, wife of William Boese, died Tuesday night at 11:30 o'clock at the family home in Adams township on the Wayne trace southeast of the city. Death was due to the infirmities of age. Mrs. Boese was seventy-six years of age and had been a resident of Alien county for almost half a century. Mrs. Boese was bora in Germany. She came tg America fifty-one years ago, locating in Williamsport. While there she was united in marriage to William Boese and immediately following marriage Mr. and Mrs. Boese moved to Adams township. Besides the husband seven children survive, Fred Boese, Mrs. Doenges, Mrs. C. Sehlaudroff, Mrs. C Koenig and Mrs. Henry Kraft of Fort Wayne, and Carl Boese and Mrs. Charles Bruick of Adams township. Mrs. Boese was a members of the Emanuel Lutheran church in Adams township. The funeral services will be held Sunday morning at 11 o’clock from the residence in Adams township and at ■con ‘icn the Emanue. Lut.nran church in Adams township The Rev. Zschoche will officiate. —Ft. Wayne I Journal-Gazette.

WATSON PUSHES SHIP SUBSIDY Appropriations Increased for Agricultural Schools. Washington, Jan. 17. —It is the decision of the “bosses” of the house that the ship subsidy bill favorably reported by the committee on merchant marine last evening shall be jammed through without delay. A rule preventing amendments to the oil) and limiting debate will be brought in and “Whip” Watson, whose vote made it possible to get the bill out of committee, will be instructed to line up the Republican members of the body for the legislation. In the past the house organization has always been able to crowd through any piece of legislation it favored and it will probably succeed in this case. Washington, Jan. 17. —There seems to be some prospect of getting through congress the bill increasing the annual appropriation for the agricultural colleges that were established under the law of 1862. Purdue University is one of these so-called government grant institutions. These institutions now receive $25,000 each from the federal government. The legislation proposed i increases this amount $5,000 annually until an annual appropriation of $50,000 for each institution shall be made. In other words, if the bill becomes a law these institutions will receive 30,000 next year, $35,000 the following year, $40,000 in three years, $45,000 in four years and $50,000 in five years. Sixty-five state colleges of agriculture I are now receiving the $25,000 a year. o THE NEW OFFICERS Installed by the Knights of Columbus VISITING BROTHERS WERE HERE District Deputy McLaughlin and Staff Officiated —Social Session and Smoker. The installation of the officers for the local branch, Knights of Columbus, occurred at their rooms last evening, District Deputy T. J. McLaughlin and staff including J. J. Wolfe, and Mart Rinehart of Fort Wayne, officiated as installing officer. Past Grand Knight E. X. Ehinger presided and a large number of the members were present. The new officers 'are Charles N. Christen, Grand Knight; H. F. Costello, deputy grand knight; H. J. Yager, chancellor; T. F. Ehinger, financial secretary; F. J. Wemhoff, recording secretary; D. M. Niblick, treasurer; Ben Kohn, warden; Ed Meyer, lecturer; J. C. Moran, advocate; Charles Lose and Joe Wolpert, guards; W. A. Kuebler, Dyonis Schmitt and Frank Heiman, trustees. After the installation services a social session and a smoker was enjoyed. John Baker served a delicious luncheon and short talks were made by visiting knights and local members. It was a delightful occasion.

SECRETARY HURTY HELD/IT UP Holds Up the Bill for Hospital for Treatment of Tuberculosis. The measure appropriating funds for the establishment of a state hospital for the treatment of tuberculosis has been “held up” by Secretary Hurty of the state board of health. The secretary was not pleased with the wording of the bill as prepared by the commission which investigated the question of establishing a hospital for consumptives. The secretary insisted on having the institution called “State Health Farm," and as the commission had not used this term it was necessary to have the bill rewritten. o IS AN AWFUL DIRTY TOWN Because bis wife, to whom he was married in 1900, persisted in allowing the house to go for a period of eighteen twonths without being renovated, during which time bed bugs accumulated until the sleep of the plaintiff was one protracted nightmare and about as pleasant as sleeping on a bed of thistles, Thomas Williams today filed suit in circuit court for a divorce. —Bluffton Banner.

IT’S AN INDIANIAN The Man who Will Build Panama Cans! WAS BORN AT MISHAWAKA Another Wonderful Hoosier in Whom Everyone Has Much Confidence. Among its other titles to distinction Indiana will be known as the state that produced the contractor who is to dig the Panama canal. William J. Oliver, who submitted the lowest bid for the construction of the canal and whose offer in all probability will be accepted by the isthmian canal commission, is a Hoesier. He was born at Mishawaka, Ind., and spent his early years there and at South Bend. He began to earn his own living when he was 16 years old as a timekeeper for the Cotton Belt railway. He drifted to Kansas, where he started in business in a small way as a contractor. During the last four years his headquarters have been at Knoxville, Tenn. He is about 40 years old and a veritable bundle of nervous energy. As a contractor he is known the country over. He has made vast sums of money in the contracting business, which he has Invested in mills and other properties. Altogether he has about 25,000 men in his employ. He is worth about $3,000,000 and is abundantly able to provide the finances necessary to carry on the work of digging the big ditch which is to connect the two oceans.

Mr. Oliver arrived in Washington last night and in an unpretentious way talked about his early life in Indiana and the responsibilities of the nevz work he is about to undertake. He said that his bid is the lowest because he is able to finance the undertaking himself, while other bidders would have to secure financial assistance from banks, which would have reduced their margin of profits. He will use a great deal of negro labor in digging the canal. “It is simply a great big job,” said he. “The engineering problem is the only thing about the job that makes it difficult in its magnitude.” The late Samuel Spencer, president of the Southern railroad, had a great many dealings with Oliver and he used to say that Oliver's word was as good his bond. In fact, when Spencer made contracts with Oliver on behalf of the Southern railway he never asked for a bond. o PHYSICIANS MET AT GENEVA Adams County Medical Society Held Session. The Adams County Medical Society met in Geneva January the 11th, all of the doctors of Geneva were present, including Drs Brayton, Ward, Aspy, Mattox, Swarts, Price and Graham, and Decatur was well represented, Dr. Miller, president of the organization being present. After a goodly amount of business was attended to, Dr. Price read a paper upon the subject of lagrippe and after discussing the many interesting complications that are apt to be present in cases of lagrippe, its treatment was thoroughly discussed. The doctors then took up the subject of collections and of preparing a dead beat list, and those that have owed bills to their physician that is delinquent and made no effort to pay, will not find it so smooth sailing in the future as i. the past, and if your name is among the class that is referred to it will be necessary to perfect arrangements with the trustee to insure : prompt and immediate services. In the past there has been a class of people that will patronize a doctor to the limit without paying and then when they receive a statement, the old doctor is dropped and another is tried the same way and now it seems ‘.:i# i-'-'tors are t'ro i ■! tb.>t ’ I cl work, and are exchanging lists and each doctor will be perfectly familiar with those who are in the habit of 'getting the doctors’ services free. — [Geneva Herald. —o Ollie Kingsbury, an old Decatur boy, who is now traveling for a big wholesale concern, was in our city today renewing old acquaintances and looking after his trade; He is looking fine, 'and stated that he was getting along 'in nice shape.

CELEBRATED GOLDEN WEDDING Happy E 'ent at the Home of Mr., and Mrs. Jacob Crist. Mr. and Mrs. Jacob Crist of West Washington township, celebrated their fiftieth wedding anniversary at their palatial home on Tuesday January 15th, 1907. At 12 o’clock a, sumptuousrepast was served to all present and. the afternoon was spent in relating many reminiscences of “ye olden times,” and in having a good social time. One of the novelties of the day was the groom attired in his wedding costume. “Those present from a distance were: Mrs. Wm. Diehl, Mrs. Ada Schoolie, Wm. Diehl and Master Marion Schoolie of Elkhart; Mr. and Mrs. S. D. Crist of Fort Wayne, Mr. John Floyd of Durbin, Ind. Mr. and Mrs. Crist received many useful and valuable presents as reminders of the occasion. They also proved to be royal entertainers and have not lost any of the old-time zeal of trying to make people feel better by having come in contact with them. May they live to enjoy many happy returns of the day, are the wishes of their many friends. A VERYGOODTIME Fcur Candidates Given the Degree Work A TWELVE O’CLOCK DINNER The Shakespeare Club Held Interesting Meeting—Many Other Society Events. BY PEARL BURDG. One of the most interesting meetings any order has had during this season, was held last evening, by the Red Men at their hall on the second story of the Studabaker building. Promptly at eight o'clock, the members were called to session and they initiated the following men into the mysteries of the order: Charles Howe, Fred D. Bell, William E. Butler, and Charles W. Johnson. The work continued until nearly ten o’clock, after which an elegant supper was served. At the close of the social tim.» excellent addresses were delivered by James Bain, Al Buhler and Peter Mougey. The announcement of the Rathbone Sisters meeting this evening,, was a , mistake and was intended for the . members of the Pocahontas lodge, and they are requested to be present tonight without fail . By order of A. W. Garard, drill master of the degree staff. Miss Jessie McKean entertained the members of the Pastime Club last evening. As this is a newly organized , club they started a new’ game, called “Pillows.” The young ladies are so enthused over their success that they intend to make it one of the leading games of the season. Miss Louise Holbrock captured the prize. The hostess at a late hour, served an elaborate three course supper. The next meeting will be with Miss Holbrock. The following clipping was taken from the Lima Gazette: If, perchance, in transactng business at the Manhattan hotel, the genial day clerk, Mr. Will Phillips, should short or long change you, or fail to give you any change at all, while with a far-away, absent-minded expression on his usually alert and attractive countenance, don’t think harshly of him. We all have our sorrows and our joys, and Continued on Page 2. ■ " o ' WAS A VERY SUDDEN DEATH Carl Bartle Dies at Muncie Under Mysterious Circumstances. i A tragic sequel to a happy wedding i which occurred in this city just four i weeks ago last Saturday was the I death at Muncie last Friday afternoon ■ of the youthful groom under very f mysterious circumstances that leave - it a matter of doubt whether his death wp.s accidental or the result of a successful attempt at suicide. The young , man was Carl Bartie, and the young - bride of less than a month who is ■ now in a very serous condition from ; the shock of his death, was formerly , Miss Omah Collier, a daughter of Mr. ; and Mrs. C. M. ‘Collier, living near j Keystone.—Bluffton News.

Number 15