Evening Republican, Volume 16, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 21 February 1912 — Possibly Some Extenuation For Conduct-of-Night Operator. [ARTICLE]

Possibly Some Extenuation For Conduct-of-Night Operator.

Homer George, the night operator who had the difficulty with a stranger named Reed at the depot < Monday night, thinks he was -acting reasonably within his bounds when he undertook to bounce the man from the depot. According to him, Reed, after missing the milk train, tried to get passage on the local freight by offering the conductor a dime to carry him to Monon. The conductor replied “To hell with your dime.” Reed did not try further to get passage on the train but returned to the depot. George asked him if he had a ticket and he replied that he had and showed .a ticket from Reynolds to Lafayette. George told him he would have to buy a ticket or get out He said that he would not do it since the operator had got so smart, but would stay any way. The operator got a whetstone and threatened to throw it. The stranger got out his knife. The shovel deal followed. Stevens thinks Reed looked enough like a tramp to be one and joins with George in placing him in the tramp category. He don't pretend to say which was right in the melee, but thinks there was some extenuation for the operator’s actions.