Jasper County Democrat, Volume 11, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1909 — Page 1

Jasper County Democrat

81.50 Per Year.

ICE AND SNOW

Has Northern Indiana In \ Its Grip. WORST SLEET KNOWN SINCE 1883 Light, Telephone and Telegraph Wires Down and Rensselaer Was In Darkness Sunday Night—Damage Will Reach Thousands of Dollars Here. One of the worst storms of its kind that has visited this section of the country for more than a quarter of a century came Saturday night, when the rain that started in about midnight with lightning and thunder, turned to ice by a drop in the temperature and froze in solid masses to everything it encountered. Shade and fruit trees, light, telegraph and telephone poles and wires were broken down under their load of ice, and Sunday was about as desolate a day as one ever saw here. While some fruit trees have been broken badly, the damage to them is not so general as might be supposed. Shade trees, especially the soft maple, which is the most in evidence in Rensselaer, suffered considerably, and yards, sidewalks and streets were littered with broken branches. At A. H. Hopkins residence, a large branch of a soft maple broke out an entire window on the south side of the house. "x Quite a number of telephone and light poles were broken down in Rensselaer, and in the country the telephone lines were reported in very bad shape, lots of poles being broken down and the wires broken and twisted so badly that it will be several days before the damage can be fully repaired. Monday the long distance and toll lines were all out of commission, and even bur city people living west of the river were cut off from the outside world, the lines being all down. No lights were turned on at all Sunday night owing to the condition of the wires being such that it was not thought safe to do so. Monday was much colder and the frozen ice clung closely to everything it had attached itself to, but Monday night the light service was resumed, after a careful survey of the lines to see that no damage could result unless more branches of trees fell across the wires. This was a great convenience to the business, houses, although, as may be supposed, business was not rushing in many lines Monday, most people staying inside, who could, the streets and sidewalks being a glare of ice and the day far from pleasant. The big storm recalls to mind of old settlers “the big sleet of 1883,” which also came in February, Friday night, Feb. 2, and was the most destructive storm of its kind ever known here. Those Who remember that storm say it was much worse than this; that ice froze £n inch thick around the telegraph wires, branches of trees and everything exposed to the storm, and that entire apple, peach and cherry orchards wer destroyed, while the damage to shade trees and standing timber was far greater than that done by the present storm which is the worst ever seen here since that time.

Of course at that time we had no electric light or telephone wires in Rensselaer, and there were no telephone lines through the country. There was more standing timber, however, and judging from the best Information The Democrat can get the damage to the latter was far greater than now.

A LITTLE CHILD BURNED TO DEATH.

Four-Year-Old Daughter of Samuel Brofleld of Roselawn Meets a Terrible Death., The four-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Samuel Brofield of Roselawn, while playing with fire in a stove, got its dress on fire last Friday afternoon, while its. mother was away to a neighbor’s and the father was away to work, and ran out in the street with its chothing all aflame. Before the flames could be extinguished the child was burned so fearfully that it died some three or four hours later. Only by the timely arrival of neighbors ■ was the house, In which two younger children were, one a babe a year old, saved from being burned down. The family are very poor people 'and have a hard time to get along. Farmers, see Maines & Hamilton and get their prices before you buy your Discs, Spaders, Endgate Seeders, Sulky or Gang Plows, Walking Plows, Harrows, Rock Island Seeders or Wagons.

WHAT WILL YOU DO WHEN A BIG RAIN COMES?

The Iroquois river is considerable higher* at the present time than It has been at any time since last spring. It has backed out over the low lands to a considerable depth.—Brook Reporter. 1 Up here, brother, where the Iroquois has been dredged, it has not gotten out of the channel cut by the dredge, until now, this winter, and perhaps if the river were dredged down in your locality there would not be so much trouble with high water. If the little showers of last week caused the river to get out of its banks with you, just wait until we have a genuine big rain and see what the deluge of water that the dredged Iroquois will pour down upon you will do. Better anchor down the Reporter office, Bro? Stonehill, to be on the safe side.

A SURPRISE IN GILLAM.

Last Sunday being James Culp’s 40th birthday anniversary, his neighbors and friends gathered at his home about the noon hour with well filled baskets and gave him an agreeable surprise. After the visitors had done ample justice to the delicious dinner the most of them left to attend the services at the Gillam church. Among those present were Messrs, and Mesdames C. P. Hermanson and son, F. M. Waggoner, Geo. Logan and daughter, Thomas Logan and three children, Edward Rockwell and three childray. Chas. Odom and two sons, James Stevens and two children, Bart Reed, Algie Coffman and two sons and Mrs. Laura Bisher.—Francesville Tribune.

HAMMOND MAN KILLED BY MILK TRAIN.

Morris M. Langman, 47 years old, a bookbinder, employed in the Conkey plant at Hammond, was struck by a Monon train, north of Conkey avenue, while on his way to attend the Christain Science services in the Hammond building Sunday forenoon. He left home to walk toward the Hammond building, and walked in the track on the left hand of him, evidently thinking that he would see all trains coming in his direction. However, the southbound train due in Hammond at 9:19, was late and as it came toward Langman he stepped out of its way into the track to his right, failing to notice the northbound passenger, due in Hammond at 9:36. The pilot of the engine struck him in the back and killed him instantly. The train was brought to a stop and the body taken to Hammond where it was given into the charge of an undertaker.

PROHIBITION MEETING.

The Rev. J. H. Hector (the “Black Knight") of York, Pa., and Prof. F. W. Lough of Indianapolis, will speak at the Jasper County Prohibition Convention, to be held in Rensselaer, Feb. 23, at 10:30 a. m., 1:30 p. m., and 7:30 p. m., in the east court room. The purpose of this county meeting will be to select delegates to a District Convention and elect county officers for two years.

Prof. Lough, Prohibition State Chairman, will speak in the morning and Rev. Hector in the afternoon. Mr. Hector Is a rull-blooded negro, the grandson of a Zulu chief, was a soldier in the Civil War, is an ex-G. A. R. Commander, and for more than twenty years has been on the platform in behalf of the Prohibition cause. He comes highly recommended, having the endorsement of the leaders of the temperance reform in not only the United,States, but Canada and England as well. The public is cordially invited to hear'this remarkable man. E. S. THORNTON, County Chairman.

MORE PARTICULARS OF MRS. PENWRIGHT’S DEATH.

More full particulars have reached The Democrat of the terrible accident which befell Mrs. Lois Penwright of near Sharon on Monday of last week, which resulted in her death. She did not start the fire herself, we are told, it having been started by unknown parties, and she went out with a broom and attempted to put it out. The broom, burned from the handle, was found near one of the hay stacks that burned. When Mr. Gates and Arthur Kuchler—the latter first saw the fire—got to her she had another broom in her hand and was still fighting the fire, close to a stack of hay that was saved. The woman’s clothing was practically all burned off when they got to her, but she walked to her house about ten rods away, and she was then wrapped in a blanket and taken to Mrs. Gish’s where she died. She did not want to leave the fire until assured that the men would put it out. She was conscious to the last. Her age was 7 4 years, Instead of 79 as had been reported to us.

The Democrat for good work.

THE TWICE-A-WEEK

RENSSELAER, JASPER COUNTY. INDIANA. WEDNESDAY. FEBRUARY 17,1009

HABEAS CORPUS

7_ Proceedings Commenced To Free Tom McCoy. SUIT FILED AT LAPORTE SATURDAY And the Question At Issue Between Attorney General Bingham and Warden Reid Will Be Tested— Comes Up Before Judge Tuthill Saturday.

Laporte, Ind., February, 18—Attorneys representing Thomas .J. McCoy, the Rensselaer banker and former prominent Indiana politician, who is serving a term in the state prison for wrecking his bank by using funds in speculation, to-day brought suit before Judge Tuthill, in the Laporte Superior Court, against Warden James B. Reid for the release of McCoy through habeas corpus proceedings. McCoy was convicted in June 1906, and sentenced to an ifi|erminate term of from one to three years. . • I It is the custom if the prisoner .has been a model convict, and it is recommended to parole him soon after ths minimum term has expired, but all of McCoy’s applications for pardon have been refused by the board, although he has been a model [prisoner. His maximum sentence, i will expire in June, and so the contention of his attorneys is that i since he was not paroled following ■the expiration of the minimum term, he is entitled to time for good behavior.

| Attorney-General Bingham gave it as his opinion to Governor Marshall that this was correct, and ‘the Governor instructed Warden Reid to release McCoy, but this the Warden refused to do, in consequence of which a habeas corpus proceeding was commenced 40-day. An unusual feature is that under .the law the—Attorney-General is :the Warden’s attorney. Judge Tuthill ordered Warden Reid to make answer to the writ on Saturday, Feb. 20.

HALLECK DREDGE BILL KILLED.

Measure That Would Have Forced County and Township Dredges Onto the People Dies In Committee. The Halleck county and township dredge bill was killed in committee in the state senate last Friday. The committee decided it would place too much power in the hands of the board of commissioners, and that the commissioners should not have the power to spend so much money. The decision to kill the bill was a wise one, The Democrat believes. The bill proposed that each county and township having a certain acreage of w’et lands should buy a dredge; that the county dredge should be in charge of a county superintendent appointed by the county commissioners, with sub-superinten-dents for the townships. Undbr its provisions every township in Jasper county with the possible exception of Carpenter would have had to have township dredges—for they would have been forced onto the people—and an elegant new political machine could have been built up, something the powers that be no doubt felt that they need in order to continue their grip on the throats of the taxpayers of this county.

Of the four counties, in this senatorial district, all of which would have been loaded up with had this measure become a law, The Democrat has not seen a single newspaper endorsement of the scheme nor any individual that endorsed it. We have heard it condemned on every hand, however, and it would seem that the people who would have had to foot the bills did not want it.

U. B. KELLOGG PAROLED.

Man Whb Victimized Many Rensselaer People In Canadian Land ' Swindle Is Freed. Ulysses B. who figured in' one of the most celebrated land swindles ever known in Indiana, and who was sentenced from Lafayette two years ago to serve a term of one to fourteen years in the Michigan City penitentiary for grand larceny, has been paroled and is now at his former home in Brookston.— Monticello Journal.

BIRTH ANNOUNCEMENTS, y Feb. 11, to Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Anderson of Alx, a daughter. Blanchard, a daughter. Nj'eb. 13, to Mr. and Mrs. Estel Markin, a son. XFeb. 15, to Mr. and Mrs. Tom (fain of Rensselaer, a son.

A WRATHY SYNDICATE.

Both the military editor and the alleged soiled dove editor of the syndiate organ down the street seem terribly wrought up over the mild calling The Democrat gave them for attempting to make a little political oapltal out of the attorney-gener-al’s ruling in the Tom McCoy case. Of course this sweet-scented combination would never have told their readers that the attorney-general was a republican, and If the from Laporte which appears elsewhere is correct he Is made by law the prison warden’s legal advisor, presuming on the ignorance of these same readers —who they have been playing for a lot of fools and blockheads—from knowing the facts. For genuine scurviness and lowdown, mean and contemptible methods this bunch certainly takes the bun. We are not surprised that Dr. Washburn wants to shake such an outfit as that.

PUBLIC SALES. The Democrat has printed bills for the following public sales: Thursday, Feb. 18, L. M. Miller, on the John Bislosky farm, 4 miles west and % mile south of Rensselaer. General sale of horses, cattle, hogs, farm tools, etc. Thursday, Feb. 18, Henry Huffman, 3 miles east and 2% miles north of Goodland, 4 miles west and 2% miles north of Remington, 9% miles south and 4 miles west of Rensselaer, general sale of horses, cattle, ‘ hogs, farm tools, etc. Thursday, Feb. 25, Thomas Caln, administrator of the estate of the late James Rodgers, at the late residence of said decedent south of town. General sale of horses, cattle, farm Implements, etc. Friday, Feb. - 26, Mrs. F. Phillipi, 4 miles north and 3 miles west of Remington. General sale of horses, cattle, farm implements, household and kitchen furniture, etc.

THE COURT HOUSE

Items Picked Up About the County Capitol. Judge Saunderson of Fowler was in town on court business yesterday, the Isch-Tribby case. The Benton Kelly, et al highway case from Newton tp., this county, recently reversed by the appellate court, is set for re-trial in the White circuit court for Feb. 24. There will be little doing in the circuit court this week. The jury was called for yesterday, but the Isch-Tribby cage, which was set for trial, was to be continued, therefore the jurymen were notified not to come in until next Monday. —o — State Tax Commissioner McCardle of Indianapolis has notified County Asessor Lewis that he will be here Saturday Feb. 27, to meet with the township assessors, who will be here on that day to get their supplies. He requests that the business men and others come out to the meeting.

New suits filed: No. 7407. Dickinson Trust Co., vs. Helen McManus and Terence B. McManus; suit in foreclosure. Demand $1,200. No. 7408. Ditch petition by John Wv Humes; appeal from commissioners’ court.

No. 7409. Petition of George Stalker for adoption of Miss Pearl Burrows Templeton, step-daughter of said petitioner.

Marriage licenses issued: Feb. 12, Harry Jacobs of Monticello, aged 38, occupation traveling salesman, to Elsie Barnes of Peoria, 111., aged 32, occupation clerk. First marriage for male, second for female, first having been dissolved by divorce in 1907. X.Feb. 13,; Daniel M. Chupp, son for Moses Chupp, resident of Rensselaer, aged 24, occupation farmer, to Murriel Ellis, daughter of Joseph Ellis of Rensselaer, aged 17, occupation housekeeper. yC Feb. 13, Amos Ervin Spenard of fJasper county, aged 24, occupation farmer, to Margaret Ehia Jordan, also of Jasper county, aged 26, occupation housekeeper. First marriage for each. The Fertilizer that brings results is sold by Maines & Hamilton.

ENAMELED WARE SPECIAL SALE At the 99 Cent Racket Store on next Friday and Saturday. All large pieces, your choice for only 29 cents each. Good Timothy Hay at the Hartsell hay barn, 37.50 per ton. MAINES & HAMILTON. Buy the best Wagon on the market, the Weber, at $73 of Maines & Hamilton.

300 PERISH BY FLAMES IN THEATER

Disaster In a Mexican Playhouse. AMERICANS LOSE LIVES Started When Film of Picture Machine Catches Fire. MANY ARE CRUSHED IN PANIC Performance Given In Honor of Governor of Guerrero.

Mexico City, Feb. 16.—Three hundred persons were burned -to death when the Teatro Flores of the city of Acapulco was destroyed, several Americans being among the victims. The telegraph office was burned and there was much confusion. For these reasons the news of the disaster was kept from getting out of the city until early this morning. The Flores Theater was a wooden structure and over one thousand crowded into it to witness a special performance given in honor of Governor Damian Flores of the State of Guerrero. One of the numbers of the program consisted of a series of moving pictures. While the operator was exhibiting these, a film caught fire and a blaze was quickly communicated to some bunting which had been used for decorative purposes. Only Three Narrow Exits.

In an incredibly short time the flames spread to all parts of the structure. There were but three narrow exits and the panic-stricken audience rushed to them, many persons falling to be crushed to death, their bodies choking the way to escape for others. The screams of those Imprisoned were terrifying. Owing to the rapidity with which the Are spread and its intense heat it was impossible to attempt rescue work and those imprisoned were literally roasted alive, as the fire burnei.with little smoke and few were suffochted. The efforts of the fire department were confined to attempting to save the adjoining buildings arid the firemen succeeded so well that the property loss was small. The custom hopse and the postoffice were damaged slightly. Pitiful Scenes On Street. Today pitiful scenes of grief are witnessed on the streets of the city. Men, women and children are wandering from place to place hunting for relatives or friends. Many of the dead are from the first families of the\state, the affair at the theater being a social event of considerable importance and calling out the wealthiest and oldest families for miles around. In some instances whole families were wiped out of existence. The municipal authorities today caused large trenches to be dug and into these the bodies of the dead were laid. Identification of the dead has been Impossible, the bodies having been burned in most cases to a crisp. Telegrams sent to the American consul at Acapulco asking for the names of the American dead have not been answered. Acapulco, on the west coast of the State of Guerrero is one of the three important ports of the Pacific coast of Mexico. Nearly all of the steamer lines make it a port of call and the harbor is accounted the best in Mexico.

ALBERT TWINING MISSING

Banker Sentenced to Six Years in Prison Not To Be Fcund. Taos, N. M„ Feb. 16.—Albert Twining, former bank president of Asbury Park, N. J., sentenced' to six years lw prison for speculating with the bank’s funds in mining properties in Taos county, is reported to nave disappeared. His bondsmen are liable for 150,000. The case has been in the courts five years. The supreme court ordered Twining to commence serving his sentence. .

THE WEATHER.

Following is the official weather forecast: Illinois—Partly cloudy. Indiana—Snow. Lower Michigan—Partly cloudy with snow in southeast portion. Wisconsin Partly x cloudy; rising temperature in west portion. lowa —Generally fair; rising temperature. .

VETERAN DIPLOMAT QUITS

Retires, He Says In Letter, to Clear Way For Younger Men. Paris, Feb. 16.—Henry Vignaud, secretary of the American embassy at Paris, has resigned, the resignation to take effect on March 31. In a letter to President Roosevelt Vignaud assigns as the reason for his decision his advanced age and his desire not to block the path of promotion “to younger men.” . Vignaud is seventy-nine years of age. As he is without a private fortune, a group of prominent Americans, have raised a fund of $20,000 to provide for his remaining years. Among these are Levi P. Morton, Whitelaw Reid, J. Gordon Bennett, Ferdinand Blumenthal, Andrew Carnegie, John Harjes, T. J. Coolidge,- Henry White and J. P. Morgan.

STIRLING CASE CLOSED

Decision Reserved In Action Involving American and English Beauties. Edinburgh, Feb. 16.—The Stirling divorce case has come to a close. The concluding address was that of Coun-

MRS. JOHN ALEX. STIRLING.

selor Morrison in behalf of Lord Northland, who was named by John Alexander Stirling. Lord Guthrie, presiding, has reserved judgment. Morrison based his appeal on the ground that an adverse judgment

MRS MABEL LOUISE ATHERTON.

would wreck Northland's career. Morrison’s pictures of Northland made little less than a paragon of virtue of him. Mrs Stirling formerly was an American chorus girl. In her crossbill she named Mrs. Mabel Louise Atherton, a notorious rather than a famous English beauty.

CONFESSES HE STOLE MESSENGER’S $3,800

Man Just Out of Joliet Jailed For Milwaukee Robbery. Racine, Wis., Feb. 16.—Jimmy Morgan, well known bank thief, just out of Joliet, is a prisoner here, charged with having taken $3,800 from a Milwaukee store messenger in the First National bank of that city. Morgan confessed to the police that he had four accomplices, but they escaped. About S6OO was recovered. The Sure-Drop Corn Planter is sold by Maines & Hamilton. A good new Rock Island Corn Planter for S3O at Maines & Hamilton’s. *— Buffalo Gluten Feed: at $1.60 per hundred, and Daisy Dairy Ifeed at $1.50 per hundred at Maines & Hamilton’s.

Vol. XI. No. 74.