Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 March 1911 — McGurran Signs to Play Ball With Missouri State League. [ARTICLE]

McGurran Signs to Play Ball With Missouri State League.

The Daily Capital of Sedalia,. Mo., the city in which Leo McGurran, Who was one of St. Joe’s leading ball players for several years, makes his home, has the following to say about him:

“Leo McGarran, who- pitched the Sedalia Cubs to victory last season, appended his ‘John Hancock’ yesterday to a contract to play with the Sedalia club of the Missouri State league during the season of 1911. Leo had a flattering offer to join the Joplin club, but turned it down on the advice of his friends who want to see him on the mound with the home club. Manager Easley was highly pleased over securing McGurran’s signature and believes he will develop into timber which will attract the attention of major league owners.” Leo played several games of ball with the Wrens, pitching and playing at second base or shortstop. He is an all around player and bats and runs bases like a major leaguer. His old friends here will expect to see him in real fast company in another year or two.

Ethan Allen Carpenter, age 56, postmaster at Elkhart under Cleveland, and a well-known druggist and later real estate man, died Saturday morning. He leaves a widow and little daughter. A history of the Thirty-fdUrth Regiment, Indiana Volunteer Infantry, written by Capt T. L. Fussell, of Company D, now in bis eighty-fourth year, just published, is a comprehensive and interesting account of the organization and movements of the regiment known as the "Morton Rifles.” The regiment was organised at Anderson, and among the first companies to arrive were those from Grant, Huntington and Wells ooonties.

The Jasper County Democrat seems to be the only paper in this section of the state that has the audacity to call the Proctor regulative measure a temperance one. It was opposed in the legislature by all temperance people, it was supported by all brewery and saloon interests except that Steve Fleming, the Fort Wayne brewer, opposed it when it was originally in the senate, but it developed before the bill finally passed that Fleming and Proctor had a pretty good understanding about what they both wanted and that the wily Fleming was voting for effect. During the time the measure was up for passage Proctor, its author, was called back to his home district to speak from a “wet” standpoint Just before the election. The division on the measure was plain between temperance and “wet” forces, and the only republicans who voted for it were “wet” republicans and the only democrats who voted against it were “dry” democrats. Had Proctor been sincere Jn his desire to restrict the number of

saloons he would have provided that that number would be restricted In communities that have Jjaore than 1 to the 500 population now, but he provided that all the saloonkeepers now in business could continue in business and be relicensed. The copies of the bill circulated in Rensselaer were sent Out by the Association of Indiana Brewers, of which Steve Fleming was the secretary and on the front page of the copies thus sent out are mentioned the so-called strong features of the measure. Whenever this association advocates a measure or glories in its passage it is a quite sure thing that the law will be detrimental to temperance interests and we shall not be surprised before Hie courts get through with an interpretation of the liquor laws passed by the recent legislation if it finds excuse to establish saloons £bout everywhere. People with good sense know that Senator Halleck voted with the temperance interests when he voted negatively on the Proctor bill, and neither Babcock’s prejudices in favor of saloons or against Senator Halleck will avail Him anything in his effort to misrepresent the .senator who represented Jasper, Newton, White and Starke counties in the legislature. If perchance the operation of the law should lessen the number of saloons in Gary and a few other places if will lack a long ways from being a temperance law. . If the members of the legislature had wanted temperance they could have provided for the qualification contained in the Proctor regulative measure without a repeal of the county option law. The effect of that repeal has already been felt by the establishment of a lot of saloons in territory made “dry” two years ago. The Proctor law is a saloon measure, whose author is a saloofi advocate and it has the endorsement of the brewers’ association, and it is in keeping with the spirit of the last general assembly of Indiana. As was said in the beginning of this article the Jasper County Democrat seems to be the only paper In this section cf the state, at least, that has had the andacity to call it a temperance measure. Evidently he gets his cue from the brewers’ association that claims this bill is just what the temperance people want. There are a lot of temperance people who would sooner have a chance of passing their own liquor laws, however, and Senator Halleck voted for these. Jacob Eady, age ,40, assistant superintendent of the Decatur electric light plant, was instantly killed while working at the top of a sixty-foot pole. A cut wire, which struck him on the hack of the neck, caused instant death. William Parent, with him on the pole at the time, was severely burned. EJddly leaves a widow and three children.