Evening Republican, Volume 17, Number 264, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 November 1913 — HALLOWE’EN CAUSED TROUBLE IN MILROY [ARTICLE]

HALLOWE’EN CAUSED TROUBLE IN MILROY

John Ward, Former Resident of Rensselaer, Has a Fight and Later His Barn is Burned. Serious trouble occurred in Milroy township as a result of some Hallowe’en pranks. John Ward, the well driller, formerly a resident of this cdty, and his son, Clayton, had trouble with Joe Grouns and John Havens, and later the barn <fn the farm occupied by Ward was burned to the ground. The Republican gets the following story, which may be incorrect in some of the details: Some time Friday night buggies belonging to Grouns and Havens disappeared. They blamed Clayton Ward, son of John Ward, and Grouns went to the Ward home and demanded that Clayton ,fao6 him. Clayton was in bed and his father claims he had not been away from home the night before and could not possibly have had anything with the disappearance of the buggies. He told Grouns that Clayton was in bed and that he would not call ordered Grouns from the place. He left and had gone down the road only a dhort distance when Havens appeared. Ward and Havens had words and Ward says Havens struck him and then ran but did not run fast enough. Ward grappled with him and they were fight-, ing and Havens called to Groups to return. Grouns picked up a club and started back and Mrs. Ward got Clayton up and he slipped on the stairs and came down. He may have slipped on his pants also Dut he didn’t have on much; The elder .Ward, in the meantime had produced a weapon that Is very effective In cases of this kind, having 'drawn a revolver, and its effect was sufficient to cause Grouns and Havens to leave. That closed the incident for that day. Theinext morning the Ward fam-

ily drove to the home of Ed Johnson to spend the day. Some neighbors discovered the barn on the farm occupied by Ward to be on fire and before anything could be done it was completely destroyed. The mow was filled with thradhed millet and some harness and other tools were lost. The barn was insured. An adjuster who came there to make settlement Tuesday became satisfied that the barn had been set on fire by an Incendiary and he has procured the services of a detective and expects to trace the fire to its origin.