Jasper County Democrat, Volume 5, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 February 1903 — LEGISLATIVE NOTES. [ARTICLE]

LEGISLATIVE NOTES.

The bill to double the salaries of prosecuting attorneys has been killed, and the bill to abolish the office of truant officer has been indefinitely postponed. Representative Wilson introduced two new bills Wednesday, One, No. 338, is to raise the salaries of the adjutant-general and quartermaster-general to $2,500 and $2,000 per year, respectively, and the other, No. 339, is to authorize a special issue of school bonds for the city of Rensselaer. Land owners of Newton County have appeared with a bill asking the state to appropriate $75,000 for the straightening of the Kankakee River from Shelby, Lake county, to the Illinois state line, and they report that a bill is pending in the Illinois Legislature, approprating $125,000 for straightening the same river from the Illinois line to Momence. —Indianapolis Sentinel. The Gard fee and salary bill which has passed to engrossment and will probably become a law, increases the salary of county officers from S2OO to %1,000 per year. It provides that county officers shall be paid the following: Clerks, $l2O per thousand for the first 10,000 population and S9O for every additional 1,000; sheriffs, $l2O on the first 10,000 and $75 per additional 1,000, together with all foreign and jail fees; auditors, $l2O on the first .10,000 and SIOO per additional 1,000 together with 10 per cent, of interest on school fund loans collected and S6OO additional; recorders, $l2O on first 10,000 and SSO per additional 1,000, and 50 per cent, of the excess of the receipts of their office over their salaries; treasurers, $l2O for the first 10,000 and S6O per additional 1.000 and 10 per cent, of delinquent taxes collected. 1 Our Fair Oaks correspondent igiVes about all the new developments in the smallpox situation near that town. No other cases are reported at‘ this writing—Friday—and Moffitt’s is the only severe case of the three now afflicted, the other two being very mild. The revival meetings at the Christian church still continue with increasing interest. Some thirty additions have already been made to the church and the attendance each night is beyond the capacity of the house. .The revivalist is said to have stated that he was going to stay here until everyone in Rensselaer was converted. If he is correctly quoted we expect to see Bros. Marshall and Clark scurrying out of town “on business” in the near future—fleeing from the wrath to come. The cow-puncher is said to already be re-studying the Bth commandment, and is* beginning to think that he had heretofore misinterpreted its language, by omitting a word of three letters.

Frank Wempe, aged about 55 years, who stated that he was traveling for a wholesale whiskey house of Louisville, Ky., was here a few weeks ago and scraped up an acquaintance with George and Tony Strickfnden. whom he used to know in the days of “nuld laug sine,” and George ordered a barrel of fire-water of him aud endorsed a draft on Wempe’s firm for SSO. The draft onme back and George had it to pay. together with protest charges. Wempe was not in the whiskey house’s employ. Wempe was arrested in Huntington, Ind., Saturday and brought here on the early morning train Monday morning, and is now in jail awaiting trial. After his arrival here, Wempe whs allowed to warm himself before being placed in a cell When the sheriff's back was turned for a moment lie made an effort to escape, and ran down the street east from tho jail. Abe took after him and fired a shot at the fleeing man, which, while no* hitting him, brought him to time, ai.d he was lnndeu in u cell