Jasper County Democrat, Volume 6, Number 21, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 August 1903 — OBSTRUCTIONS DON’T OBSTRUCT. [ARTICLE]

OBSTRUCTIONS DON’T OBSTRUCT.

Last year, during the carnival, an animal show was located almost directly in front of The Democrat office and the grocery department of the Chicago Bargain Store. All the offal and filth from the cages was raked out at the rear end of the tent and the accumulations from day to day lay directly in front of this office, and for at least two days one of the big snakes that had died added to the pile of filth. That the aroma arising therefrom was not of a desirable fragrance goes without saying, to say nothing of the eternal din made by the show. The smell from the refuse and animals was ' simply nauseating, and there were numerous cases of runaways narrowly averted where people drove up or attempted to drive up to the Bargain store grocery, while Mr. Forsythe’s delivery horse refused to be driven up to the door and his clerks were forced to carry groceries some distance to load them into the delivery wagon. This year Mr. Forsythe and the writer decided to try and keep this street clear and not submit to the outrages of last season’s revel. To this end a written notice was served on the city marshal last Saturday morning and the latter promised to keep them out. Tuesday forenoon a show having some animals in view and several boxes or cages said, to contain more, was unloaded just south of The Democrat office. The writer again saw the marshall and mayor and and protested against its being set up there, to no avail, however, and the tent was erected, blocking three-fourths of the street. An affidavit was then filed with Squire Irwin against the manager of the show for obstructing a public street, and the man was arrested. City Attorney Williams, Jesse E. Wilson, Tom McCoy and bull-doz-ers and the sports who are running the “attractions” appeared in court with the defendant and after failing to intimidate the justice, who said that he should decide the case according to the law and the evidence, they ask for a change of venue and the case was sent to Squire Troxell, who is the city mayor’s appointee as police court justice it not being known whether Squire Yeoman was in the city or not.

The case came to trial and the facts as above set forth were proven, and the statutes and supreme court decisions pointed out, but the court acquitted the prisoner of the charge, and the obstruction was allowed to remain. That the writer had no prejudice in the matter or that the prosecution was spite work, as the gang assert, is evidenced by the fact that both Mr. Forsythe and the writer had requested the marshal) to permit no shows in this space because they seriously interferred wit}j our business, and even after it was unloaded we had requested its removal in a gentlemanly manner. Had we wanted to be otherwise than fair in the matter we could as well filed affidavits against all the shows occupying the other streets, while we only filed against the one interfering with our own particular business and street.

The decision of the court in this matter was not unexpected, but it will be remembered that a year or so ago the same court held that an alleged highway in Jordan tp., had been obstructed by a party who claimed that it was not a highway, and the case was reversed in the circuit court because it was shown that it teas not a highway, as we remember it. In this case there was noquestson about Van Rensselaer street being a public highway nor was there any question about the obstruction. The facts are, that the show was placed in this space for spite work and to show that the statutes of Indiana were not worth a d—where this crowd of bull-dozers were concerned. The matter of filing an affidavit in the Circuit Court was contemplated, but this would have put the sbowmam to great expense to come back here to trial, and he was really not to blame in the matter. Like the others, he had been promised protection by this same crowd, who last year promised protection to the gamblers who robbed the country boys and farmers of their hard earned dollars to enrich the ooffers of the gamblers and the E. of P. lodge, so the matter was dropped.