Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 310, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 December 1910 — HANGING GROVE. [ARTICLE]

HANGING GROVE.

No mail on rural routes Monday on account of New Years day. Greer Bunnell shredded fodder for M. L. Ford Monday. Miss Blanche Parker, of Gillam, is spending this week with relatives here. Mr. and Mrs. Albert Warner, of Rantoul, 111., came Saturday for a few days’ visit with relatives. Mrs. Etna Parker and daughter Alta, of Marion, are visiting relatives here for a few weeks. Misses Ethel, Blanche and Alta Parker visited with Mr. and Mrs. Gaylord Parker, near Rensselaer, Wednesday. Mr. and Mrs. Charley Ringeisen, of Thawville, 111., are visiting Michael Ringeisen and family this week. . Mrs. J. R. Phillips and Mrs. R. L. Bussell spent Wednesday with the latter’s parents, Mr. and Mrs. George Parker Mr. and Mrs. John McCombs returned to their home near Fairmont, Tuesday morning, after a short visit with Mr. and Mrs. Reed McCoy. A party of young folks serenaded Mr. and Mrs. Lou Mannen at Floyd Porter’s Monday night. They made considerable noise for a short time until they were invited in. JJncle John Tillett slipped on some ice at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Parker, a few days ago, and a badly bruised shoulder was the result. Mr. Tillett is 86 years old. John Herr received a new Spencer hay press last week that he will use instead of the gasoline press he bought last fall. The gasoline outfit did not give him satisfaction in all kinds of hay. Mrs. Hervey Brannon came over from Monticello Saturday to spend Christmas with her parents, Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Montz, and was taken sick with lung fever. She has been in poor health for some time and her case is likely to be a bad one. One crew of the Postal Telegraph linemen met the milk train Wednesday morning about half way Coysburg and Lee and owing to the dense fog, did not see the approaching train until it was within a very short distance of them. They succeeded in getting the handcar only half off the track, and were compelled to flee for safety. The car was demolished. Mr. Ringiessen is nursing some bruises he received from a severe fall a few days ago, while hauling manure with the spreader. The team drew the spreader against the corner of the barn. Mr. Ringiessen was standing up driving, and the contact was such that he was thrown quite forcibly to the ground on his head and shoulders. Mr. Ringeisen is a very active man for his age. The parcels-post bill hangs in the balance and just now it is uncertain what the outcome will be. But President Taft has urged that a start be made at this session toward the establishment of rural parcels-post. A number of large mail order houses and the express companies are bitterly opposing the measure as it now stands. There are thirteen bills for parcels-post before congress. One of these was introduced by Congressman Crumpacker, which seems to receive the greatest amount of approval by those in favor of any parcels-post legislation at this session. It provides for fixed rates and maximum weight of packages to be delivered on the routes only, or packages may be transmitted from one farmer to a farmer on another route originating from the same town. There is no provision for transmission of this specified class in cities, and is not to interfere, destroy or be accepted as a substitute to any class of mail now regularly handled. If any one of the bills now before congress should pass, it is not likely to be more than an experiment. The expense to rural carriers would necessarily be increased, as they are now only prepared to handle light loads, but if it is going to be a real benefit to the farmers, let it come. The great mail order houses of Chicago, who have heretofore supposedly been the staunchest friends of parcels-post, are now fighting the measure bitterly, since ft is limited to rural routes only, which gives the benefit to the home merchants, whereby, if established throughout the postal system, the large mail order houses could get the same benefit and would undoubtedly destroy the home trade. Right here it seems that the administration should be quite sure they were “right” before they “go ahead.”