Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 49, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 February 1916 — YOU WHITE COUNTY FELLERS LISTEN HERE [ARTICLE]

YOU WHITE COUNTY FELLERS LISTEN HERE

We’ve Got Ten Checker Experts Who Can’t Be Trimmed By Any Sich Numbers of Your’n.

With , lightning rapidity the terms and conditions of a checker contest between White and Jasper county players have been brought up to the point of having the managers sign the contract for a match. The preliminaries, as instituted by The Wonticello Journal and The Rensselaer Republican, have put the players into a keen pitch of anxiety and they are fairly aching to get at each other's throats.

The last article in The Republican brought a prompt reply from The Journal. There was a delay of only one or two days during which time Col. Ed N. Thacker, of The Journal, rounded up the White county knights of the checker board and assured hdmself that they were a “stand pat” crowd and would back him up to the dast ditch. They not only assured him that they would do this but prompted him to reply in caustic and bold tones that they were in a perpetual state of preparedness, fully as strong at offensive as defensive play and that they were just as willing to oome to Rensselaer to demonstrate their strategical prowess as they were to remain with spiked boards in their own fortifications.

Jasper county is therefore up against something. The theatre of operations will be the city of Rensselaer and all the 42-centimetre players of White county will be here at a time to be mutually agreed upon, probably Thursday or Friday evenings, March 2nd or 3rd. The outcome is, of course, a matter of no doubt. TUie gallant knights from the classic banks of the Tippecanoe and the rolling prairies and rich com belt surrounding Wolcott, Brookston and Chalmers, after a brief splash in the spotlight as the opponents of real checker players slink back to their haunts and proceed to fish for bass and suckers and to raise maize and alfalfa and herd their flocks as in the days before they were tempted to abandon piscatorial and pastoral persuits tp satisfy a vaulting ambition in the realm of sport, The last “spiffy” note from Col. Thacker as printed in The Evening Journal of Friday reads: “The honor of our town and county is to be defended; aye more, ’twill be saved, we wager. “The uppish bunch of checker players over at Rensselaer who have been throwing out hints about their ability to do certain things to certain parties are now and herewith called. When it comes to checkers we are in a perpetual state of preparedness over here at Monticello, and when ft comes to the attention of our valiant band of that there

was a doubt in the minds of the Rensselaer boasters concerning the local knowledge of the first principles of the ancient and honorable sport of kinds, why, cur simply flared up and said ‘Well, we'll show them!’ ” “And so it comes that we, as the custodian of the checker honor of White county, and likewise of Monticello, the capital -of said county, having been authorized to speak for our club, we respectfully inform the Rensselaer players,- through their next friend, Major George H. Healey, of the Republican, an evening paper of general circulation, printed and published in the county of Jasper and state aforesaid, that the Monticello checker club will meet any two fivemen teams that Rensselaer can dig up. And to show them that our men are not wedded to their own soil, but can be as valiant and as brave on foreign soil, it is conceded to Rensselaer that the games shall be played in that city at a time and place that suits the pleasure of the challenged parties. Now, what have you got to say?”