Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 23, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 January 1916 — LITTLE BENSON BOY HAD APPENDICITIS [ARTICLE]

LITTLE BENSON BOY HAD APPENDICITIS

Charity Board Had His Removed to Makeever Hotel Where He Underwent An Operation. The Charity Board, learning that little Jimmie Benson, 9 years of age, was sick with appendicitis in the miserable tented home of his indigent parents, caused him to be taken to the Makeever hotel where he underwent a surgical operation this Thursday morning. It was performed by Dr. Johnson, assisted by Drs. Washbum and Loy. The appendix had •ruptured and an abscess had formed and the case is a quite bad one. The frail lad showed the ecect of the deprivations he has been compelled to suffer and his thin little body indicated that he was almost starved. The father is known as “Shorty” Benson and for some years has lived here part of the time. At present the family are living in a tent and a boat house on the bank of the river. The father works about town as a housecleaner and at odd jobs. The family is the most indigent, probably, in the community, and it might be a good thing if the children, who are said to be bright, could 'be taken from the parents and placed in some institui tion where they could be removed .from the shiftless influences that sur- : round them. A number of years ago when one x>f the children was a baby and there were older ones scarcely able to walk the parents put the baby in an old 4)uggy and started down the railroac} track, stating the intention of walking to Attica. They were gone for a year or two and then came back here. Some years ago the father lived in the marsh section of the northern part of the county. Miss Nell Biggs, a trained nurse, is taking care of the boy.

Now is the time to advertise your pure bred poultry and eggs, your seed oats and seed corn and to put on the market those tilings which are not earning you anything but which may be turned into cash. The Republican furnishes a medium of sale that seldom fails.

District Meetings of State Tax Board Planned.

County Assessor G. L. Thornton has received a notice of the meetings to be held in the various sections of the state by the state board of tax commissioners. Jasper county assessors will meet at Lafayette on Thursday, Feb. 3rd, at 2 p. m., with representatives from Benton, Cass, Carroll, Clinton, Fountain, Montgomery, Newton, Parke, Pulaski, Tippecanoe, Vermi Ilian, Warren and White. The county assessors are urged to be present and to have as many of the township assessors and deputies attend as possible. The letter concludes by saying: “We are very anxious indeed this year to secure the equalization of taxation between the various classes of property and this can only be done by uniform methods and work between the assessing officers.”