Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 194, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 August 1910 — MARSHAL GEORGE MUSTARD SUCCEEDS KING DAVIS. [ARTICLE]

MARSHAL GEORGE MUSTARD SUCCEEDS KING DAVIS.

Latter Tendered Resignation and Mayor Meyers Appoints Contractor, Who Assumes Duties. A rumor has been afloat for the past ten days that J. K. Davis would tender his resignation as city marshal, and with the announcement of Mayor Meyers Monday evening that the resignation had been accepted came the further announcement that George Mustard had been selected as his successor. It seems "that Mr. Davis tendered his resignation about ten days ago and that Mayor Meyers had kept it a secret until he could select a successor. The double announcement was made Monday evening.

When the Republican man saw Mr. Davis this morning he was busily engaged cleaning the dirt and weeds from the edge of Cullen street. Asked to confirm the announcement that he had resigned, he stated that he had, and added that he would not take the position again for S2OO per month. He said it is a “case of be damned if you do and be damned if you don’t.” He said there had been a lot of knockers ever since he took the office and he placed the writer in the number that had not given him a square deal. He said that he had not been given a square deal in the write-up following his arrest of the young man on the night of the circus, but he was informed that from the testimony furnished us by eye witnesses of the affair that we let him down quite mildly. Mr. Davis put in a busy forenoon for his last half day on the job’aud made a good showing as his concluding effort. Mr. Mustard took the job at noon.

It may be remembered that the argument offered against W S. Parks was that he did not do enough work himself. The people were clamoring for a marshal that just loved to shovel handle a scythe, and it may be, that they will never find one that meets every voter’s ideal, but the weed proposition was uppermost in the minds of the people and some one was needed that would see to it that property owners cut the weeds. Most people seemed to be saying that Mr. Davis did not accomplish the thing for which he had been appointed. The Republican was appealed to daily to get after the weed nuisance and urge that some action be taken to have the weeds cut and the streets cleaned. We have not wished to antagonize the marshal and have hoped that he would make good.

The new appointee is George Mustard, who was a citizen of Rensselaer some years ago and went to Wabash with George Barcus and later lived one year in Kansas and then returned to Rensselaer a little more than a year ago. He is a carpenter by trade and has had several good jobs this year, being regarded as one of the best workmen in Rensselaer. The surprise about his appointment was that he would accept it, there being a demand for his mechanical services at a somewhat better salary. There were no formal candidates, it is understood, at this time, although all who had asked for the place before might be considered to be in a receptive mood. It is hoped that Mr. Mustard takes hold of the work with a vim and accomplishes the cleaning up of the town. Every property owner or tenant should be told to cut the high grass and weeds and then it should be seen that they do it. Washington street is to be cleaned and oiled and pride should be taken in keeping it clean and the marshal can keep it that way if he ■ will keep constantly on the job. '