Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 77, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 March 1913 — Page 1

No. 77.

GREAT MAN GONE; BUT WORKS REMAIN

Benjamin J. Gifford Passed Away in Rensselaer Sunday—Reclaimed Much Land. Benjamin J. Gifford, best known in Jasper county for his work in reclaiming thousands of acres of swamp lands and for having buil> a railroad from McCoyshurg to Kersey and further north, died' at the Rensselaer hospital Sunday morning at 6:30 o’clock after an illness extending over almost three

B. J. Gifford, well known as a pioneer in the drainage of swamp lands, as a builder of railroads, as a soldier and an able lawyer, died at the hospital in Rensselaer, March 30, 1913.

months. On the morning of January 11th, while at his apartments at the Makeever hotel, he suffered a slight apopieptie stroke and since that time his decline has been rapid. His faithful and devoted wife died five days after he suffered -tbe-stroke, heart failure evidently having been superinduced by her worry and devoted attention to her husband. Some time later, when the physicians and the friends of the stricken man realized that there was no chance for improvement he was removed to the hospital, where he gradually failed until the end Sunday morning. The appended obituary tells somewhat of the life and the accomplishments of Benjamin J. Gifford, but his active career and his remarkable personality would justify the publication of a book. Mr. Gifford made his first investment in Jasper county about 22 years ago and he bought land as low as $3.50 per acre. His holding at one time amounted to 36,000 acres. He started the first important dredging system in the county and brought vast swamps into a state of fertile and ran a railroad through the center of the tract he owned and thus afforded a close market for the products of most of the land. ,He doubtless done more toward the regeneration of the swamp lands than any man who ever lived in the county antLjthose who were associated with him during long years of struggling know how much he planned and worked to the completion of his road and know how grand an old man he was. That he failed because of theinflrmaties of age to carry out his plan of railroad building does not in the least lessen the value of his work in Jasper county and in years to come prosperous farmers will plant and harvest vast crops of corn and other grain because of the fact that B. J. Gifford bought the swamps that other men had regarded as almost entirely worthless. Jasper county owes much to the labors of this man and his name will always be associated with progress and reclamation. The body of the deceased was taken to the Wright undertaking parlors Sunday and this. evening at 7 o’clock a short service will be held at the Makeever house, conducted by Rev. J. C. Parrett. The body will be taken to Kankakee, 111,, Tuesday morning s and the funeral will be conducted at the M. E. church of that city at 1 o’clock that afternoon. The pallbearers will be Thomas Callahan, Ed Oliver, Frank E. Lewis, C. J. Hobbs, W G. Halsey and Chas. G. Spitler. ' The following obituary was pre pared by Miss May Gifford, sister of the deceased: Benjamin Gifford was born near CPlano, 111., April 5, 1840. His parents, Freeman Gifford and Cornelia Fielder, were natives of New Jersey, moving from Monmouth county to Illinois in 1838. His birthplace was a farmer’s home in a thinly settled section where there were large tracts of prairie land which

The Evening Republican.

KNIGHTS WILL GO TO BROOK TONIGHT

Will Attend District Pythian Meet Ing and Probably Give_Third Degree Work. Several Knights of Pythias went from Rensselaer to Brook today to attend the district meeting. The heavy rains of last week and the threatening clouds today kept some from going. The local lodge had been asked to confer the third degree work, and has a splendid team for the purpose, but it was difficult for all .members to get away. The trip was made by autos.

farmery thought to be of little value. As a boy, he received all the experience that comes in the making of a home in a new country. His early estimate of the value of prairie lands was shown, when at eleven years of age, he negotiated for the purchase of an eighty acre tract, which was not consummated because his father objected, giving as a reason that it was a mile and a half from timber. In his twelfth year, and the first in his experience with the plow, he detected the difference in the height of ... corn planted at the same time on low lands. He traced the cause to the quality of the sdil, which fact, then not generally recognized, made him later a leader and benefactor in reclaiming vast bodies of worthless swamps in Illinois and Indiana. Bv a system of thirty miles of ditches he by 1884 had satisfactorily drained 7,500 acres in Champaign county, 111. ■ Selling this land at a profit, he next drained the Vermillion swamps in Ford , county, 111., with equally profitable results. These reclaimed tracts are now the most productive lands in Illinois. In 1891 he began purchasing syyamp lands in Indiana, continuing h's purchases until his holdings embraced upwards of 33,000 acres in Jasper and Lake counties. With 75 miles of broad dredge ditches, this county has bgen changed from a feeding ground for wild fowl to one of the choicest agricultural sections in Indiana. These lands are divided up into farms, having comfortable houses, good barns and rock weds, which today have largely become the property of thrifty parties who realize what he has done to help the man of little means. -Mh Gifford early gave evidence of a bright intellect and every effort was made by him to procure the training his mind craved. He attended the rural schools the neighborhood then afforded and later found meahs to attend a seminary at Mt. Morris. The work he did here was ever referred to with just pride. Later he continued his studies at Clark Seminary, Aurora, 111. He began his professional work by teaching the Yorkville school. In 1861 he answered Lincoln’s call for volunteers by joining Company E, 13th Illinois Volunteer Infantry. He served under Grant and was twice wounded in the siege of Vicksburg and later promoted to a lieutenancy for bravery. After the expiration of his three years’ enlistment, he returned to Illinois, raised a company and again went to the front, remaining until the war was over. , » . . On his return he married Etta L. Martindale, Nov. 16th, 1865. One child, Otto Gifford, was born to ■ this union, and died in infancy. This estimable and devoted wife suddenly died of heart failure during his recent illness, Jan. 16, 1913. In -the spring of 1868 he moved from Plano, 111., to his farm in Champaign county., In the fall of that year he moved into Rantoul and began the practice of law, which he pursued for ten years. , Moved by hardships occasioned by discriminations in freight rates by the I. C. R. R. Co., in 1873, MrGifford organized the Havana, Rantoul & Eastern R. R. Co., building 75 miles from Leßoy, 111., to West Lebanon, Ind. In 1880 he sold this road to Jay Gould. Later he joined w’ith a New York syndicate in purchasing the Cleveland & Marietta R. R. in Ohio, of which he was made president. This road was sold in 1882 to Commodore Garrison. In 1900, feeling the growing demand for a railroad to market the products of the vast farming districts developing in the redeemed swamp lands of Indiana, he organized The Chicago & Wabash Valley Ry. Co., he furnishing all the money and controlling the management of the road which is now operating about forty miles of line.

A man of untiring energy, he set all opposition to his demands with a wisdom and fortitude which knew no defeat. Generous to all worthy projects, tender In his regard of every living broad In hi l , conception of the relationship of man to God, forgiving, a true friend, he passed without a fear Into the Realm of Rest.

* Just as much as you value your $ f $ you will make a mistake if you decide on your new spring suit without seeing our Friedman worsted line. ROWLES AND PARKER.

bt«r*4 faaaary 1, UOT. aa SMcaS alfis man matter, at tea poaHSte* at »M*Mla«?, IMHaaa, aaOe* tta act of Mom* 8, IOTB.

Contributors Gave With Willing ness to Aid of Flood Sufferers— Other Citi**. William S. Day. met with , ready and willing response in soliciting aid for the flood sufferers and by Saturday afternoon $233.75 had been subscribed and paid and after James H. Chapman had sent a telegram to Governor Ralston stating that the money was being sent to him a draft was procured and sent to the governor. Other cities contributed with equal or greater liberallity, and from north, south, east and west money and provisions and proffers of further aid was offered. It is said that the money is apt to be iri excess of the netids, but if it is placed in proper hands, and Governor Ralston will certainly see that it is either properly disbursed or refunded, there is no chance of the money falling into dishonest hands.

Property and Death Loss Exaggerated But Otherwise Conditions Were Very Bad. A. U. Cloud returned home Sunday afternoon from Peru, to which city he had gone as soon as he could get a train but after learning that the floods had wrought havoc there. He left here Tuesday evening, went to Monon, remained there over night, went north on the Michigan City branch ' the following morning and thence to Plymouth and from there to Peru, arriving in Peru Thursday. By that time the water was receding and many families who had been flooded out of their homes were moving back. Mr.. Cloud states that while the death and property loss was greatly exaggerated that otherwise it was almost impossible to over-state the frightful conditions that existed. The water ran in a swift current through many streets frdm 7 to 10 feet deep And Itßequiredl the. most active work on th£ part ofthe boat crews to rescue the people from the flooded homes. His own parents and his wife’s mother were flooded from their homes, being taker? in boats from the porches at the second stories of their houses. The water raised so "rapidly that it was impossible for people to move their furniture to the upstairs rooms and consequently there was a great loss of home furnishings, while several stores were flooded and suffered extensive loss. He stated that his own parents had been damaged to the extent of SSOO. Mr. Cloud stated that a block from the home of his parents there was a ’ considerable elevation and it was to this place that the’ refugees from the flooded sections were taken. Over a thousand people spent three nights in one block, and 210 people spent the same nights in one large building. Among the refugees were some with measles and mumps and a considerable spread of these diseases is expected, but he states that the report from there that smallpox was' widespread is not so. There was only one case of that disease that he learned of and it was properly Isolated from the other people. The water that flowed through the streets and entered the houses was very muddy and when the water receded he states that there would be from a half inch to two inches of muddy sediment left on the floors. Fine rugs and carpets were thus almost ruined. He says that Logansport suffered almost as much as Peru. At the latter city there were no houses actually floated 'away and not to exceed a dozen swept partly from their foundations. The number of deaths, as nearly as he could learn at Peru, was only tour. . \

RENSSELAER, INDIANA, MONDAY, MARCH 31, 1913.

RENSSELAER SENT $233.75 TO GOVERNOR

A. U. CLOUD REPORTS CONDITIONS AT PERU

Lon Healy’s New Song At Princess Wednesday Night.

Composer Lon Healy has recently had published his latest song, entitled “Carmellne,” an Indian waltz song, and he has arranged to have it sung at the Princess Theatre Wednesday night of this week, and a ninopiece orchestra will furnlsn the music. Harry Eger will sing the song. That the house will be crowded at every performance is quite certain. _ 12

Popular prices stylish millinery and competent trimmers to help you plan your hats. ROWLES AND PARKER. We have them again this year. Rush Park, new gardeh seeds, 2 packages for sc. Also red, white and yellow onion seta, Early Ohio and Early Rose potatoes. JOHN EGER.

DESCRIBES BATTLE OF PARRAL, MEXICO

Perry Gwin Saw Rebel Attack and Repulse March Sth—Was Shot at Several Times. Perry Gwin, son of J. 0. Gwin, of Rensselaer, has for some time been stationed at Parral, N. Mex., where he is employed by the Waters Pierce Oil Company. -On March Bth, following the three days’ battle of Parral, he wrote describing the battle, and The Republican is in receipt of a copy of a letter sent to his mother, and it is here printed in full: “I survived the battle unharmed, but We sure had a warm time for three days and nights. On Wednesday, March sth, General Manuel Chao, a former leader of the volunjin Parral, who, with his men, deserted about ten days ago and returned and made an attack on Parral with 1400 to 1600 men, who we're t rebels and' called themselves "Madwistas.” They had the city completely surrounded and for three days and nights a terrific battle raged in the town. There was a constant boom of cannon, crack of-'mes, roar of Gatlin guns, bursting of shells and crash of windows breaking night and day. Most of the-Americans went to U. S. Consul Bong’s house during the battle. His mouse was out of the range ot thejiring, but I did not have time there as General Salvador R. Mercado, the federal commanding the .defense of the city, issued orders that all persons seen on the streets would be shot and I saw a number of citizens shot down trying to get to their homes, so 1 stayed in the foreign club, the firs& night sleeping on a billiard tabw in the club, and a bullet came through the window and broke an electric globe just over my head, and the second day the federate planted a battery in front of the cluk which drew the rebel fire, trying to dislodge the cannon, andpnore bullets and shells hit the elutt than the battery, so things got >oo warm there for me and I macle a dash for my room a block away and the rebels from a distance fired at me, as they could not tell whof I was, and bullets lafrly rainsd around me, hitting so close thal tIW threw dirt all over me. Tb<« wire All poor shots. However, L time- fchaii .1 everdW on the football field. I then watched the rest of the battle with a pair of field glasses from my window. The second night the rebels rushed the city and some got inside and burned the market, but the federal’s rapid fire guns soon ran them out. The afternoon of the day the federal bugles blew a call not to surrender as re-enforcements were coming, and at 4 o’clock 800 troops arrived from Chihuahua, with four cannon and six rapid fire guns and soon put the rebels to rout, but-if they had been three hours later the rebels would have had the town, as they had driven the federate from their important positions, and the rebels had drawn their lines in until they were most all inside the city and the federate had but 10,000 rounds of ammunition left out of their 500,000 they had to start with. The •federate had but 450 men to start with and they had lost 200 killed. I enjoyed every minute of the battle. It was better than a picture show. It was a good fight and both sides displayed a great deal of bravery, although they were all poor shots. It is estimated that about 800,000 rounds were fired, but the number of killed and wounded was small compared to the number of shots fired. The next morning I rode my horse all around trying to count the killed who were lying all over the streets and hills. I did not see but 69 dead, however. Since then there is reported to be 200 dead, but I do not think there was over 100. The federate have executed 60 rebels since the battle who were captured after the re-enforcements came. If the rebels had taken the city they would have hung the federal general and sacked the city. They were a tough looking bunch and they were after plunder. -“Everything is quiet now with federal troops patrolling all the streets, and the rebels have scattered to the mountains. I think the revolution is about all over now, as Lunderstand that this was the last stand of the rebels and the rest of them have all surrendered, in fact, a part of the re-enforcements were Orosszco’s men who are now federal troops. , “My office was hit 16 times but not much damage dona I think Huerta, the new president, will be able to control the country, as he has started a reign of terror to the insurrectlng forces, killing every one that does not surrender. No Americans were killed or wounded and I am perfectly safe, so will close for the present”

Curtain materials In voiles, stripe marquisette, colored and white swiss, everything new for curtains, 10c to 45c a yard. ROWLES AND PARKER.

Special Wednesday Night Jit Che Princess theatre Hear Lon Healy’s Latest - Song “Car me line” Sung by Harry Eger Accompanied by The Metropolitan Orchestra . t off Nine Pieces.

The Rex Tonight "The Speckled Band” By A. Conon Doyle The original Sherlock Holmes mystery and one of the most interesting detective stories of that great author tragically told in 3,000 feet of film. General Admission 10 Cents.j <

WEATHER Fair tonight and Tuesday; cooler tonight.

John E. Alter Marooned At Cincinnati-Writes Card.

John E- Alter, ot Union township, who has been spending the winter in the south, writes from CincliipaUun<.lei’ dgte of March 28, at follows: “The half has not been told of the flood conditions. thousands of others 1 am tied up in this city indefinitely. No trains running, bfldges are out. We are promised the mails will be moved soon by autos over circuitous routes, by boats or otherwise. Railroad-offi-cials will make no statement as to the probable extent of delay. Yours hopefully, John E. Alter.” Mr. Alter was returning from his visit to Alabama and other southern states and had reached Cincinnati when the flood caifie and has, been marooned there ever since. He sent a telegram to relatives last Friday and it is expected that he will arrive home in a day or two. Mrs. Alter, who haN been spending the past three months witia their son, Cecil, at Salt Lake City, arrived in Chicago Heights Sunday night and will spend two or three days with relatives there and arrive here Tuesday or Wednesday. Amos Alter and Steve Comer, who have been spending the winter in California, expect to start back east from Santa Monica Wednesday of this week. They will go'together to Ogden, Utah, and Steve will come on home from there, while Amos will go to Salt Lake City for a visit of a few days with his nephew, Cecil Alter. Steve will probably reach Rensselaer next Monday and Amos a few days later.

Day C. Norman Writes From Chester, Nebraska.

Chester, Neb., March 27. The Republican, Dear Sirs: Enclosed you will And money order for another year’s subscription to The Republican. We are very thankful we were not in the cyclone district Easter Sunday. One struck a town 25 miles north of us. The wind blew very hard Saturday, March 22nd, and Sunday. March 23rd, from the south, but it changed to the northwest about 5 p. in., and was a regular hurricane Our winter and spring has been very dry and backward. No farming done yet. It has been too cold for oats sowing. Alfalfa and wheat look all right. There is a big acreage of alfalfa in this part of the country. It se||s at $lO to sl2 a ton this spring. The Republican is always we! corned as It is like getting a letter from home. Hoping this finds Jasper county prospering as usual, I remain • DAY C. NORMAN.

Ginghams. crepes, voiles, tissue ginghams. Come in and let us show you wash goods of all kinds. ROWLES AND PARKER.

Stop that Skid! use the famous Chain Tread Nob by Tread Tires CHAIN TREAD—The only successful adaptation of the skid-Chain principle to pneumatic tire construction. NOBBY TREAD—The most popular non-skid tire ever put on the market. Made by the United States Tire Company Your size ready at / Renssslasr fiarap

SHOKE THE i COMET A HIGH-GRADE > FIVE CENT CIGAR Made io ’ ReiMelaer. ■ J. DeLONG, Maker I Factory: Opera House Block Patronize Hoae ladutry *

Thomas and McFarland Winners in Checker Tournament.

The Checker Club played two matches this week. McFarland did not play In the first and Stevens failed to appear in the second. In the first the score stood: Moloney 2%, Hill 2, Stevens 3, Thomas W,. In the second match: Hill fa Moloney 2, Thomas 3’/», McFarland A , Thomas offersx his goose egg to be contested for in the next match.

The week, commencing April Ist, has been named by all the packers of canned goods lor special adver Using and special sales, and for this week we will have a special sale with a special low price marked on all our canned goods. Every ean guaranteed or money refunded. JOHN EGER. Nothing better or more stylish than a Crosset shoe for men. gee our new lasts. ROWLES AND PARKER.

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