Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 8, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 23 May 1908 — Page 1

Jasper County Democrat.

SI.OO Per Year.

KILLED BY CARS

John Roche, a Brakeman, fleets Terrible Death.

IS LITERALY GROUND TO PIECES.

Accident Occurs While Switching Cars at Monon Depot.—Young Man Resided at Reynolds.

The. most horrible of a long list of fatal accidents occurred at the Monon depot Tuesday at about 1:30 p. m., when John Roche, a brakeman, was run over and cut to fragments. Both the north and south locals were at work at the same time, and the south-bound was followed by "No. 73, a through freight. This .train passed the locals and proceeded on its way. A part of the south-bound local was on the north siding and was hauling a cut of 20 or 25 cars east to the main track, when Roche, the rear brakeman, who was on the south side, climbed on to the front of a 50 ton steel loaded coal car, and from which Chester Zea had just driven away to allow the cut of cars to be hauled out. The ends of the car had platforms some 18 inches wide in the center and these narrowed to nothing at the outside. Roche was not seen until he was falling under the north side of the car, but it seems he attempted to cross over from the south to the north side on the front platform and missed his footing. He hung to the hand-rail an Instant, then his foot was caught under the wheel and he was dragged between the cars. Six cars, two loaded with coal and one with hominy meal and three empties passed over him, cutting off both legs and mangling his arms ahd the lower part of his body in a horrible manner. He lived only a few minutes after Able Grant and Ferd Warne got to him. He asked whether there was any hope for him. When told there was not, he asked that the Parish Priest be called, which was done. Father Meyer hurried to the scene and administered the sacrament of Extreme Unction, while he was still alive but In an unconscious condition, He died soon after and the remains were 'picked up and taken to Wright’s undertaking establishment to be prepared for burial. The body was taken to Reynolds on the 10:55 train Wednesday. A younger brother was a brakeman on through freight No. and saw his brother a few minutes before he met his death; In fact the train was not out of sight until his brother lay in a pile between "the rails literally cut to pieces. He knew nothing of the accident until he reached Monon. He and two other friends returned on the 6:36 p. m. train to this city. “Johnnie” Roche was an exceptional railroad man, having no bad habits, and contributed regularly to the support of his aged parents, worthy old people though poor, with whom he lived at Reynolds. He was unmarried and about 30 years of age. Re met his death just opposite the scene of Ira Cripp’s suicide some years ago and but a few hundred feet from the scene of Mrs. Norris’ death, west of the Babcock elevator, and a double killing on the crossing on the east corporation line.

STILL ANOTHER OPINION.

A. J. Law Meets the Requirements for State Senator. A. J. Law of Washington township was handed the nomination for State Senator on the Democratic ticket at a convention held at Monon last week. The Enterprise suggests that Mr. Law will hand out his money to the campaign fund for the “Empty Honor” thrust upon him. It would not surprise ns to any degree if the honor was not so "empty” as the Enterprise would try to lead us to believe. When the Republican party puts up such material as they have this spring and ask the voters who have followed their flag through thick and thin for many years to swallow the whole dose, it will not be such a wonderful surprise If they should rebel, and vote for the man as they ought to do regardless of party affiliations. Personally Mr. Law is a straightforward, honest and energetic gentleman and J,-*-’' I Vu' K, ' ~ r ■

unless the Republican candidate can meet these qualifications he may find himself wanting on election day. Hold him up to the light and see if he can stand the test.—■ Morocco Courier.

A White County paper has the following to say of Mr. Law: “He is one of the most substantial men in Newton county and is reported to be a man of superior mental attainment ahd excellent judgment. Those who know him best regard him as an ideal man to send to the legislature.

GARY GOES DRY.

Hammond, Ind., May 20.—After a contest of three weeks before the Board of County Commissioners at Crownpoint, in which fifteen lawyers participated, the remonstrants who filed petitions against the granting of licenses to 110 saloons in Gary were successful. The County Commissioners knocked out the saloons, but the question will be taken to tjie Supreme Court. The remonstrance covered Calumet township. The Indiana League’s campaign in Lake county, regarded as a saloon stronghold, is the entering wedge, they declare, which will make Indiana go dry. The League has been backed financially in the Gary fight by two Chicago millionaires who own property at Gary. The league will carry the fight into Hammond, where there are more than 200 saloons, and is confident of knocking them out.

KIGHT AND GARRIOTT NAMED

For Trustee and Assessor By Union Tp. Democrats. The democratic convention in Union tp. Saturday, held at Fair Oaks, resulted in Isaac Kight, the well known Fair Oaks merchant, being nominated for trustee, and Charles U. Garriott of Parr receiving the nomination for assessor. The convention was quite largely attended and it was quite a lively meeting. Felix Ervin, another Fair Oaks merchant, was Mr. Kight’s opponent ill the race and received 67 votes to Kight’s 72. There is some dissatisfaction in both parties in Union over the nominations for trustee, and present indications are that there will be considerable scratching done on both sides.

GOT THE TEAM BACK ANYWAY.

John Beezey of Monon came to Mt. Ayr last Friday and hired a team of James Dunlap, the liveryman, to go to the Halstead farm, paying in advance of the use of the team. On returning he wanted to hire the team to go to Rensselaer, and being somewhat suspicious of him the barn attendant offered to drive him over. On the way they met Mr. Dunlap and the attendant returned with him to Mt. Ayr. -"Beezey not returning, Dunlap went in search of him, and found him in Rensselaer. This allayed his suspicions and he went home. Beezey did not show up, and Dunlap went in search of him the second time. Finding he had gone in the direction of Pleasant Ridge Dunlap started east. He soon found the buggy, the team and tongue were gone. These were recovered two miles north of Pleasant Ridge. ; *

DITCHES COME HIGH.

Here are a few ditch allowances made by the circuit court at its last term: In the Nickoli Rasmussen ditch' M. B. Price was allowed $43.16; D. W. Waymire, $33.16; N. Rasmussen, $2.25; C. R. Peregrine, $16.60; L. Rasmussen, $2.25; H. Rasmussen, $2.25; T. F. Maloney, $6; T. F. Morlan, $.5; A. Halleck, atty., $80; John Finn, 75c; D. Collins, 75c; R. Hall, 75c. T. F. Maloney appointed supt. In the Michael Rlngesen ditch M. B. Price was allowed $36; D. W. Waymire, $27; A. Halleck, atty., $185; Nettie Price, $9; Starke County Republican, $2; Waymire & Price, $12.50; Phillips, S2B; Randle, $3; RlngesOn, $7.50; J. P. Gwin, $4.50. In the James E. namson ditch M. B. Price was allowed $44; D. W. Waymire, $33; P. S. Waymire, $10; A. C. Scott, $21.50; J. E. Lamson, $6; Ed Jenkins, $6; Nettle Price, $6; Geo. Williams, atty., $223. D. W. Waymire appointed supt. In the Wm. H. Tyler ditch M. B. Price was allowed $56; J). W. Waymire, $75; Chas. Gilmore. $9.75; James Irwin, $9.75; Geo. Terpstra, $1.50; Dan Fairchild, $1.50. /

Rbnssblabr, Jasper County. Indiana, Saturday, May 23, 1908.

THE COURT HOUSE

Itms Pickd Up Ab out the County Capitol.

Only two marriage licenses have been issued this month, and the month more than two-thirds gone, too.

Bert Vandercar, the popular democratic assessor of Kankakee tp., was down last Friday filing his report with the county auditor.

Sheriff O’Connor’s “boarding house” is again without any star boarders, and John will not object if this condition continues until his term ends.

Judge Hanley has appointed F. M. Welsh of Jordan and Austin J. Rathfon of Gillam as the appointee members of the county board of review, who will meet the first Monday in June and continue in session twenty days.

Referring to the Dr. Hartsell omitted taxes, the hysterical editor of the Republican—after The Democrat had made the matter public—gleefully shouts: “A Republican Assessor Did It.” To be sure. And a democrat editor put him “next” to the proposition, and as a result S6OO in good old hard dollars go into the treasury of Jasper county, though a small part no doubt of what ought to have gone there long ago had the doctor been the sort of man he was generally believed to have been. -——

One of the most hotly contested cases of the last term of court was that relating to the remonstrance against the Grover Smith ditch, which is located east of Wheatfield. Several parties objected to the assessments levied for this improvement and to have them reduced caused the fight. It is charged by some of these resident land owners that the Northern ''lndiana Land Co., a corporation that absorbed and now own the old Nelson Morris tract, is trying to get out of paying its share of the cost of this improvement. The following parties, residents of Wheatfield and vicinity, were down Monday and Tuesday at the hearing: L. C. Asher, —— Shepherd, C D Shook, Supt, N. I. L._Co.: C. J. Hobbs, engineer C. & W. V. Ry.; Frazier Antrim, J. A. Hixon, Ed Mutchler, E. W. Allen, Everett Finney, J. V. Myers, J. E. Meyers, W. D. Meyers, S. D. Clark, Wm. Dittman, Geo. Morr, Jas. L. Smith, Fred Karsh, trustee Walker tp.; Geo. O. Stembel, Frank W. Fisher, R. A. Mannon, John Biggs, Wm. B. McNeil, John H. Tilton, Grover Smith, Henry Misch, Thos. F. Maloney, Martin Knapp, Everett Huber, Wm. McNeil of Lacrosse, S. A. Austin, F. W. Austin. The cause was heard Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, and May 23 set for hearing argument.

GETTING USED TO RIVER NAVIGATION.

The Indiana Republican Editorial Association held its regular summer meeting at Indianapolis last week, and among the pleasures of the occasion was a trip to Jeffersonville and Louisville, thence a boat ride up the Ohio to Cincinnati and return. It is generally believed by their democratic brethren that the editors took the boat trip to rather accustom themselves to the water, for it is practically a foregone conclusion that they are headed for another river trip this fall, and the name of the river contains the same number of letters as the Ohio.

A PAINFUL DISPLAY OF IGNORANCE.

The Republican Is much distressed over The Democrat’s mention of the fact that the Dr. Hartsell estate has been put on the tax duplicate of Jasper county for $17,400 for the years 1906 and 1907, which the doctor had “forgotten” to list when giving In his property to the assessor for those years. It is a safe proposition that no hint of this omission or of the county assessor’s action in placing it on the duplicate would ever have appeared In the Republican, which again demonstrates that if the taxpayers want to know what is going on they should read The Democrat. In commenting on the matter the Republican editor says:

“We recall an exposure that followed the McCoy bank failure that showed that a certain good citizen who had always voted the democrat ticket straight had failed to list money and lots of it that he had in the McCoy bank. So the failure to do this is by no means associated solely with men who vote the reand to everyone who has the price? publican ticket straight.” Now The Democrat does not contend nor never has that such things are confined wholly to republicans. We have no doubt at all but there are some who claim to be democrats who “forget” to list all their property especially money and notes—for taxation, but we do not recollect that any democrat’s name was placed on the duplicate for omitted property which was brought out by the McCoy bank failure. We do know, however, of a few republicans who were “caught” for several thousand dollars as a result of the money they had on deposit in the McCoy bank and which they had "forgotten” all about when the assessor had made his rounds that year. One of these men was closely related to the present official head of the republican machine in Jasper county, if we remember correctly. If the lone democrat the Republican refers to had alos “forgotten,” he too should have been made to toe the mark, and the county assessor was very remiss in his duty if he was not made to do so. “

Regarding The Democrat man’s having been a tax-dodger for several years, the Republican editor shows a woeful ignorance of the facts. A republican official whom The Democrat had exposed as having mutilated some public records in his possession, out of revenge placed several hundred dollars on the tax duplicate in 1898 —for one year only—which he held we should be assessed with. It was unjust, but a republican county treasurer refused to indicate on the tax receipt when we went to pay it “paid under protest,” so that we could recover it back as erroneous tax. As a part of the, persecution to which this paper and its editor has been subjected to, a job press was levied on and the case was tried in the circuit court.

A republican jury brought in a special finding of facts precisely as we contended, but a general verdict against us. A republican judge, because of the outrageous verdict and no doubt fearing the result of a new trial, set aside the verdict and held that only a small part ofthis "should have been assessed against us. Then, as a matter of economy, this was paid, but the court left his record so that the balance still remained on the duplicate against us, whether intentionally or not we are not prepared to say. However, a change was later made in the county treasurer’s office and the amount was paid, the republican treasurer endorsing the receipt “paid under protest.” Then the claim was filed with the county commissioners and after its being continued for a term or two at Mr. Halleck’s behest, and we had threatened to sue the county unless it was paid, one member of the board of commissioners publicly stated that he “was convinced that it was a valid claim and that the county could not get out of paying it, and so far as he was concerned there would never be any lawsuit about it” Halleck wanted to continue it again, but the member referred to with the other commissioner allowed the claim and we got our money back, 114.10 (See Commissioners’ Record 12, Pages 118, 132, 134.) Now, if we had honestly owed this tax the republican commissioners did wrong in refunding the money to us, and if we did not owe it the republican official who put it on the tax duplicate—knowing we would have trouble and expense to get it off —showed the motives which actuated him in placing it there over our protests and in spite of the, same testimony that was presented to the commissioners who ordered it paid back. This is one of the painful Waterloos that the gang has suffered which it would seem the Republican editor would want to avoid mentioning, and we can only account for his having raked the matter up because of his extreme ignorance of the facts. He was not here at the time this occurred, and has no doubt drawn his “inspiration” from a source where party zeal was more in evidence than a desire to be truthful. The Democrat man’s reputation for truth and veracity, his credit or moral standing will not suffer a

ANNOUNCEMENT. The Democrat To Be Issued Twice-a-Week Beginning June 1, When Subscription Will Be Raised to $1.50 Per . Year, But — All New Subscriptions and Renewals Prior To That Date Will Be Received at Old Price off SI.OO Per Year. Commencing with June i The Democrat will be issued twice-a-week, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The Wednesday issue will be printed either Tuesday morning or Tuesday afternoon, while the Saturday issue will be printed Friday afternoon the same as at present. The paper will therefore reach all postoffices in the county Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning, and Friday evening or Saturday morning. The Wednesday issue will, for the present, consist of four pages of six columns each, 24 columns, and the Saturday issue of eight pages, 4$ columns, the same as now. Each issue will be all home print and in addition to city and county news, country correspondence, etc., will contain up-to-date telegraphic news from all over the country, state news, markets, etc., and will make The Democrat nearly twice as good as it is at present—and it now enjoys the distinction of being one of the best county papers published in this section of the state. This move has been contemplated for some time, and now that we have a new Standard Linotype and other equipment sufficient to get out a daily of no mean pretensions should the field at any time justify it, we feel that it is time to put the long contemplated move into operation, By this change we will be able to get the local and county news to our readers in a little fresher state and the addition of telegraphic news, markets, etc., will give our farmer readers almost as good a general news service as though it were a daily—in fact all the news will be there, and boiled down for the busy reader. This move will mean an extra expense of about SIOO per month, and to meet this the subscription price will be raised to $1.50 per year, while advertising rates will be advanced where the advertising goes in both issues. _ '' . We want to add at least 500 new subscribers to our already big list by the time we begin the twice-a-week, and in order to get them quickly we make the following extraordinary offer: All new subscriptions or renewals (for one year only) received prior to June i will be taken at $1 per year! Think of it, 104 papers for $1.00! Less than one cent a copy! All subscriptions now paid in advance will be carried out with the twice-a-week paper, but after june I, 1908, NO RENEWALS WILL BE RECEIVED NOR NEW SUBSCRIPTIONS TAKEN FOR LESS THAN $1.50 PER YEAR. Act quickly if you want to “get in” on this remarkable offer. Send or bring in your subscription or renewal and get the first year’s issue of 104 papers for only $1.00! This offer lasts but one week, remember, and now is the time to “nail it.” We expect to make the new paper “worth while” and we want all our old subscribers who may be in arrears or whose subscription soon expires to come in and renew and tell their neighbor who doesn’t take the paper about this great offer. Only $1.35-'will get the twice-a-week issue and the handsome and useful Wall Chart we have been telling you about, until June 1, or as long as the supply of charts now on hand lasts. .

particle when compared with that of either of the syndicate owners of' editors of the Republican, and an investigation of the tax records of Jasper county will show that he has listed his property at a more equitable figure than either of the active members of said syndicate, and that they have always been paid promptly and not allowed to’ go delinquent. The Republican’s attempt at presonal abuse because this paper made public the fact that the estate of one tax-dodger of the former’s political faith had been caught, will have little consideration from the public—it is too plain a case. If the Republican desires to carry the discussion of republican

Vol. XI. No. 8

tax-dodging further, we might add that one of the present owners and partners in the Republican plant bought a Junior Linotype a couple of years ago, for which he paid or was to pay—sl,soo. He paid $250 down and gave notes for $1,250, yet when the assessor came ’round—and the assessor knew nothing about the value of such machinery—he gave it in for assessment at only $100! And he still owed $1,250 on it, too. We have a number of other Instances of republican forgetfulness, also, that we might refer. to but refrain at . present, still all the tax-dodgers are not republicans—though most of the tax-dodgers in Jasper county happen to be such.