Jasper County Democrat, Volume 12, Number 74, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 December 1909 — Page 1

Jasper County Democrat.

•1.50 Per Year.

DON’T ALL SPEAK AT ONCE.

When the Jasper County Telephone Co., advanced the rates 50 cents per month to each of its country subscribers last spring, does anyone recall a word of protest from that great lover (?) of the common people, the Rensselaer Republican? Was it The Democrat, that has always consistently stood by the people, that protested against the outrage, or was it the Republican?

SUDDEN DEATH IN JORDAN.

Mrs. William Pruett Dies From Stroke of Paralysis Saturday Night Mrs. William Pruett of Jordan tp-,' died at 11 p. m., Saturday after only 12 hours sickness from a paralytic stroke. She was stricken while preparing Christmas dinner, we understand, and grew worse gradually until the end. The funeral was held Monday at 11 a. m. f at Mt. Hope church and interment made in a cemetery eight miles northwest of Brook. Deceased was 50 years, eight months and three days old, and leaves a husband and four children. She was a stout, healthy woman who had scarcely ever seen a sick day in her life.

BEASLEY CLARK KILLED IN OKLAHOMA.

Sam Stevens received a telegram from Oklahoma City Sunday stating that Beasley Clark, who was there working with Herman Churchill on an elevator, was killed and to wire what disposition to make of the remains. No particulars were given and nothing is known at this writing about how he got killed. Mr. Stevens went to Sheldon, Ill. v Monday where one or two sisters of deceased reside, and the funeral and burial will likely be made there. Clark was perhaps 35 years of age, and had worked with W. F. Smith ft Co’s, road gang through the summer, going to Oklahoma City to work with Mr. Churchill a little over a month ago.

THE STERNBERGS GET AN OHIO DITCH CONTRACT.

Wiapakoneta, Ohio, December 24. —There were many bidders on the construction work of the Beaver and Wabash Ditch in Mercer County, known as the Wabash Ditch Improvement, Which begins at the Junction of Beaver Creek and Wabash River and extends two miles into Indiana. The first section was awarded by the County Commissioners to R. B. Gordon, of St. Marys, ex-Congressman from this distifct, at his bid of $34,940, and the second section to C. H. Sternberg ft Son, of Indiana, at their bid of $27,900. While this is county work, a petition has been presented asking for state •id in the sum of $35,000, and committees of the Legislature have made a surface survey of the improvement.

HERE FROM THE “SHOW ME” STATE.

Charles G. Weiss of Nyhart, Mo., came to Remington Saturday, and Monday came over to visit his folks near Vlrgie. He will visit relatives and friends here and In Wabash county for about a week before returning home. Mr. Weiss moved from Wabash county to Missouri some two years ago, and now owns a little over a quarter section of land near Nyhart, a good agricultural section where a wheat and is grown extensively, and land is worth $75 to SIOO per acre. Not many oats are grown there. The corn is grown extensevily, and land is good. The seasons are much the same there as here, except that it is almost a month earlier. Mr. Weiss likes the country there and is prospering.

’TWAS AN IDEAL CHRISTMAS.

Snow Friday Night Covered Everything With a Thick Mantle of White. Christmas day 1909 was the most ideal Christmas day we have had in many years. It was just like we see pictured in story books and read about in all the Christmas stories. The snow which started falling Friday afternoon kept steadily at'it all night long, mildly, without a breath of wind to blow tne light flakes from where they had fallen, and Saturday morning everything was covered with a mantle of whit*. The trees, fences,, buildings and everything covered with the pure* light flakes, presented a picture such as is seldom seen in this section of the country on Christmas day, and while tha trains were late and everyone was kept busy for a time in breaking oaths through the nearly one foot of “the beautiful," It was a glad Christmas morning to everyone in Rensselaer. The snow fall of Friday night, fallen, with the few inches • on the ground when that came, makes most excellent sleighing and the heaviest snow we have had for boom years.

KILL FRANCHISE TO TELEPHONE CO.

City nnimnil Dhflvc Dniud of vttj uUUIIuII UUOJo Duttuat vl Old Company. THE GOUNTBY PEOPLE BE-D As Usual, Is Policy Pursued.—Also IDII Movement for Lady Member of School Board By Electing Dictator Thompson To Fill C. W. Coen’s Place—Old Council Retires With An Unenviable Record. At the meeting of the Common Council Monday night all members were present as were also In person or by proxy each of the four or five local stockholders of the Jasper County Telephone Co.—about half of this stock Is owned by two nonresidents of Indiana.Mayor Ellis presented the resignation of C. W. Coen as a member of the Rensselaer school board, which was accepted, and the council proceeded to elect a member in his stead. While It was a well konwn fact that a woman’s movement had been under way for the past month to have a wd|nan appointed in Mr. Coen’s place, and that the matter was to be presented at the first meeting of the incoming council, the old council bosses decided otherwise and balloted for a member to succeed Mr. Coen, thus heading off any “new woman” movement/ Councilman Gerber, democrat, voted all the way through tor J. A. McFarland, democrat, after three ballots Delos Thompson, president of the Jasper County/Telephone Co., and who could not In a regular election get 25 per cent, of the votes of the citizens of Rensselaer to any office, was elected. \ In the' first and, second ballots' Thompson got two votes, G. A. Williams one—Mose Leopold Is slated to succeed Mr. Williams as city attorney—two. and J. A. McFarland one. In the third ballot Thompson got three, Williams one and McFarland one. Thompson was declared elected and the woman movement, while It was favored by a majority of the people, was given a knock-out blow.

The deed to the city from the surviving members, of the Rensselaer Drainage Association for lands alleged to be owned by such association in the bed of the Iroquois river was presented and accepted. The franchise to the Home Telephone Co., was next taken up for Anal passage. Not satisfied with tacking on all the objectionable riders that the active mind of the president of the old company could suggest, this time one more restriction —which, by the way, although something never required from outsiders, to whom the glad hand is ever extended by the council in preference to honest home interests—a rider was attached providing that the new company could never sell out or transfer its property to any other company without the consent by re-' solution of the council —How in contrast with the council’s action in the 75-year franchise recently granted with a whoop to the Chicago bucket-shop promotor of the “Northwestern Indiana Traction Company.” President R. J. Yeoman, VicePresident Frank Welsh and Directors Marlon Adams, Harvey Davisson and F. E. Babcock were in attendance at the meeting and Messrs. Yeoman and Adams clearly stated the position of the new company and rebuked some of the numerous aspersions cast upon it by the Thompson emisaries.

After discussing the matter to some extent the council, by a unanimous vote, killed the franchise. The following claims were allowed: CORPORATION FUND. W S Parks, marshal $30.00 E. M. Thomas, nightwatch. . . 25.00 Chas. Morlan, clerk 25.00 J H S Ellis, mayor 20^83 H L Brown, councilman.... 6.66 J F Irwin, same 6.66 Eli Gerber, same., 6.66 C G Spltler, same e!66 Geo F Meyers, same 6.66 Fire Dept, salary 4th qr. .. . 84.26 Same, disability fund...... 326 Maines ft H, coal c ha 11.... 9.25 J A La rah, mdse fire dept... 11.14 ROAD FtTND. Bert Campbell, labor with tm 25.00 Andrew Wheeler, haul coal 21.00 A 1 Fletcher, cleaning walks. 7.60 Jake Gilmore, same...,. 7.60 Jean Smith, work on sfrftil. 4.00 John M. Knapp, use of \<t#ae 11.00 Firman Rutherford, cement walk, College ave 5.20 LIGHT FUND. C S Chamberlain, salary.... 60.0 g "Mel Abbott, same 20.00

THE TWICE-A-WEEK

RENSSELAER, JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA, WEDNESDAY, DEC. 29, 1909.

Dave Haste, same. J 30.00 Western Electric Co, supplies 52.68 Electric Appliance Co, same 21.72 F Bissell Co, same 31.10 Ed Randle, work on furnace l.bu C W Platt, same 3.00 Tull Malone, work on line. . 8.50 Standard Oil Co, oil 28.42 Shirley Hill Coal Co, coal.. 144.03 J A Larsh, merchandise.... 28.80 Mose Leopold, pay on b0nd.500.00 Same, freight 92.78 WATER FUND. Ed Hopkins, salary. 30.00 Globe Oil Co, packing 7.18 Mose Leopold, in on bonds. .288.72

PUBLIC SALES. The Democrat has printed bills for the following public sales: Friday, Dec. 31, Joseph Willet, 1 % miles north of Lee. General sale of horses, cattle, farm tools, household goods, etc. Tuesday, Jan. 4, Frank Antcliff, 3, miles east and 3% miles north of Goodland, 4 miles west and 3)4 miles north of Remington. General sale, 9 head of horses, mules and colts, milch cows, hogs, chickens, farm implements, etc. Wednesday, Jan. 5, G. M. Wilcox & Son at Surrey. General sale of ten head of horses, cattle, farm tools, household goods, etc. Wednesday, Jan. 12, Thomas M. Callahan at Newland. Big stock sale, 17 head of horses and mules, 18 head of cattle, some farm tools, etc. Friday, Jan. 7, N. E. Sunderland and J. M. Shields, on the old Dr. Alter farm, 1 % miles east of Rensselaer. General sale of horses, cattle, hogs, implements, household goods, etc.

NOT SO WILD AND WOOLLY.

Lari more, No. Dak., Is a Progressive, Up-To-Date Town. A. E. Arnold, who moved to near Larlmore, No. Dak., a couple of years ago, writes us under date of Dec. 23 and sends copies of the Grand Forks Herald, (the best paper we ever saw published in a town of that size) containing an interesting write-up of the Larlmore Farmers’ Institute and Mid-Winter Fair, held at Larlmore last week. Evidently the farmers of that section take a great deal of interest in these institutes, judging from the attendance reported and the subjects discussed. People here, many of them at least, doubtless think that the scores of Jasper county people who have located near Larlmore In the past few years, are in a wild and woolly section, but to read a report of this Institute would certainly dispel their minds of any such idea. For their benefit and that of relatives and friends of former Jasperites now located near Larlmore, we copy one paragraph of the Herald’s three column report of the institute:

“When the afternoon session was completed, the visitors were given the treat of the day, by an invitation to partake of refreshments prepared by the domestic science class of the Larimore high school, under the direction of their instructor, Miss Mabel Hagen. A big storeroom was prepared for the use of the young ladies and everything done to make it bright and attractive. Pretty Christmas decorations were everywhere. Flags and bunting had been arranged under the direction of Jemison Larimore and a number of the ladies. Small tables spread neatly were laden with delicious hot biscuits, doughnuts, ginger cake and hot coffee. The work of serving was done by the little girls in the daintiest and most efficient manner. ‘‘The flour for the biscuits was donated by the Northland Milling company, 3,800 pounds being given the institute for this purpose and to be given away as samples. The Larimore creamery furnished the butter and prominent merchants looked after the rest. This part of the day’s program was offered not only as a treat to the visitors, but to demonstrate the practical work being done by the domestic science department of the high school, which Is another feature of what can be accomplished by enthusiastic farmers’ institutes. The Larimore high school is the only one in the state to have a domestic science course and the instruction is proving of great benefit to the young women.” The Larimore high school also teaches manual training, and the Herald states there was ‘‘a splendid display of work from this school.” At the time of writing Mr. Arnold said they were having fine winter weather and good sleighing.

NOTICE OF ANNUAL MEETING. The regular annual meeting of the Home Telephone Company of Jasper, Newton, Pulaski and White counties, Indiana, will be held at the court house in Renaßelaer. on SATURDAY, JANUARY 15, 1810, at 1 o’clock p. m., to transact such regular busineaa as may come before the meeting. A full atttendance of the stockholders Is desired. * R. j. YEOMAN, Pres. F. B. BABCOCK, Sec.

THE COURT HOUSE

Items Picked Up About the County Capitol. Court Reporter Harry E. Folk was married at Deavertown, Ohio, a few days ago to a young lady of that place. All persons having claims against the county, and which have been allowed, ghonld call and take up the warrants for same before next Saturday, as all unexpended funds revert to the county treasury January 1. and it is necessary for the council •to be called together in special session to re-appropriate before such claims can be paid after said date. Marriage licenses Issued: Dec. 24, John C. Baker of Mt. Ayr, son of Charles S. Baker, aged 31, occupation farmer, to Retta Byrne of Rensselaer, aged 27, occupation housekeeper. First marriage for male, second marriage for female, first husband having died May 10, 1908. Dec. 24, Rayfleld Babb of Montieello, son of Samuel Babb, aged 22, occupation laborer, to Bertha Mae Albin of Rensselaer, daughter of Marion Albin of Tefft, aged 18, occupation housekeeper. First marriage for each. NOTE—In reporting the marriage license of Arthur M. Sands to Myriam R. Culp, In Saturday’s Democrat, it was given as the first marriage for each. It should have read, "first marriage for male, second marriage for female, first husband having died Oct. 1, 1907.”' Dec. 27, Bruce C. Stevens of Morocco, aged 26, occupation clerk, to Eva L. Bowers, of Jordan tp., aged 23, occupation housekeeper. First marriage for each.

JUST A FEW REMINDERS.

In refusing to grant a franchise to the Home Telephone Co., Monday night the city council carried out what the president of the old company said they would do three months ago, when a committee appointed by th© president of the new company waited upon him—at his own invitation—to ascertain what price his company would sell Its plant to the new company for, which shows that he knew his council better than some others did. In refusing the franchise, one member offered the gratutious insult that the new company had no backing and did not have enough stock subscribed to build a mile of lines. And yet this same member paid his Indebtedness to the McCoy bank at some 10 or 15 cents on the dollar, while so far as our knowledge goes there is not a man of the one hundred or more who have already subscribed stock to the new company and who in the aggregate are worth upwards of a million dollars—except John F. Bmner, who merely subscribed for one share for effect —who ever pa'd their honest debts for less than one hundred cents on the dollar. Mercenaries of the old company used every trick and artifice to defeat this franchise, even to going to the extent of circulating the report that a contract had been made and signed up between the new company and the old one whereby the former was to sell its franchise as soon as granted, to the latter—thus taking advantage of the well known antipathy of the public to the old company—in the frantic efforts to defeat the franchise. A few well intentioned people were lead to believe this rot, although President Yeoman of the among rther things, that if the new new company stated to the council, company ha<J sold out it didn’t know anything about it. The most of the members of the committee appointed by the president of the new company to look after this franchise and who attended the meeting when it was first presented, was convinced that Thompson controled the council, and that the franchise could never get through, or if it d*d, so many riders of an objectionable nature would be tacked on 1 that it would be impossible to accept it. Their judgment then was correct, and the well known selfish policy that Rensselaer has always maintained toward the surrounding oountry, on which it* very life and existence depends, has once more manifested itself. The Home Telephone Company is not dead, however, as the mercenaries of the old company would wish, and the action of the council will but strengthen it among the country people, who can do without Rensselaer if Rensselaer can do without them, it can locate its central at Parr or some other more friendly town, as some of the directors have suggested, or can locate Just outside the corporate limits of Rensselaer

and run in a few wires over private property, in spite of the Thompson influence, and transmit the few messages necessary by messenger. It would then be free from city taxes and save much in the cost of line construction and soon have the entire country service cut off from the city subscriber except through Its own central office. What action will be taken in this respect remains to be seen at the annual meeting next month, but that the of the Thompson-influenced council in refusing a franchise is bitterly resented is demonstrated by one prominent farmer who had subscribed for one share of stock declaring that he now had SSOO to put into it if the company would locate its central outside of Rensselaer. The movement for a telephone company in Jasper county organized along mutual lines was started last July by the action of the old company in raising toll rates and the rates in the country 60 per cent and in apparently giving to both town and country patrons just as poor service as it possibly could in revenge for the defeat of its movement to boost rates in the city to a corresponding degree, which was largely due to The Democrat’s exposure of the plan and lIS’ opposition to it. After the Home company was organized the old company became panic-stricken and, using J. F. Bruner as a stool-pigeon, sent him out through the country anti told the farmers who had phones then or had previously had them, but had taken them out rather than submit to the stand-and-dellver policy of the old company, that he (Bruner) had bought all the country lines from the old company and he would restore the old rates. As a result, because of the organization of the new company the country users of phones are each being saved 50 cents per month on the hundreds of phones in use, and the old company has hustled about and greatly Improved the service both in town and country. This, In a measure, has allayed the opposition Of the short-sighted ones, who do not have enough forsight to realize that if the new company could be killed off that old conditions and the exorbitant rates would soon be restored.

As previously stated in these columns, the public was not demanding the installation of any new system that could only be operated at an increase of rates. What it demanded and what the new company proposed to give was good and efficient service and a restoration of old rates, both in country and in toll rates, with the magneto system of full metallic service. The city council at Mr. Thompson’s behest, said that the new company must put in the central energy system in town or none at all, and from the best information the new company could get such a system—which no one was demanding, mind you, and had little advantage over the magneto system—could not be installed and operated for the same rates as the magneto plant. For this reason only, and as a safeguard against loss, It asked that if this system were required that a graduated rate might be charged, if necessary, after 500 phones were in operation In Rensselaer—a greater number than the old company now has or ever did have in the city—and the maximum rates of $1.50 and $2.50 could not possibly apply until there were 700 phones in the city, which would mean that the new company would have to have all the business and the city would have to grow one-third in population. When objections were made Monday night to this rate by the Thompson emisaries, the new company offered to let the old rate of $1 and $2 for the common battery or central energy system be restored and they would further investigate the matter and that if such a system could be operated without loss it would accept the franchise. But new excuses were then advanced by the Thompson council and the franchise was voted down, and in doing so The Democrat believes a great mistake was made which will be realized sooner or later. The only apposition to the granting of the franchise that was shown before-the council waß from emisaries of the old company, but the actual local stockholders of the latter, as previously stated, were there ready to oppose if necessary.

RENSSELAER’S LEADING BUSINESS HOUSES CLOSE EARLY.

Please arrange to do your trading before evening as Rensselaer’s leading business houses close at 6 p. m.. after Jan. 1, 1910, each evening, except Saturday.

3« cent* for butter fmt at the Rensselaer Creamery this week. W. H. MORRISON, Prop. Ressaclaer, Poultry Hhow, Jaaaary it-18, tm old Oarage Wulldlin

URGE FARM FOR INSANE PATIENTS

Plan Proposed hi Indiana For Relief of State Hospitals. OTHER REFORMS TO BE ASKED Secretary of State Board of Charities Will Include In Report a Number of Recommendations to Go to tha Next General Assembly—Law to Prevent the Incarceration of Woman In County Jails and Similar Institutions la to Be Advised. Indianapolis, Dec. 28. —Amos W. Butler, secretary of the board of state charities, will make a number of recommendations to the next general assembly In his annual report which Is being prepared now. These recommendations are: That sonie elastic provision be made for caring for the state’s insane so as to relieve the crowded conditions of the state hospitals. The plan proposed is to purchase a farm, or farms, near a state hospital, and to establish a colony thereon for the care of the milder patients. That the fee system in the county jails be abolished. That district workhouses be provided for the Incarceration of persons found guilty of infraction of the state laws when the offense is not sufficient to call for a prison sentence. That the state establish a central receiving station and school for dependent children, from which disposition of such children can be made. That the juvenile court law, which now applies to boys under sixteen and girls under seventeen, be extended to apply to both boys and girls up to eighteen years. That a law be enacted requiring judges to visit the penal and reformatory institutions. That a law be enacted which will prevent the incarceration of women In county jails and similar county Institutions. That tbe state provide some measure for deporting nonresident paupers.

BIG LUMBER DEAL FOR JASPER.

The following article from the Ligonier Banner tells of a pretty big deal in timber land which will interest residents of the Kankakee region, especially those living in the vicinity of Water Valley: “Straus Bros. & Co., of Ligonier who justly bear the reputation of being the most extensive land dealers in the United States, have recently closed a deal for the timber on the lands they purchased a few years ago from Nelson Morris, lying along the Kankakee river. This is perhaps the largest body of virgin timber in the central stetes. The timber stands on almost 6,000 acres of land bordering along the Kankakee river. The original purchase made six years ago, comprised 24,000 acres of land. They still own unsold about 15,000 acres of land. The sale of this timber refers to the trees only, the land upon which the timber stands has been reserved. This sale was made to one of the largest manufacturing concerns In the city of Chicago, who are at present erecting an extensive saw mill plant at Water Valley, Indiana, with a view of sawing all the timber at that point. We are informed upon good authority that the timber brought in the neighborhood of SIOO,OOO. It is also supposed that the purchasers have made a good purchase, and it Is estimated py people who are in a position to know, that there is almost twenty million feet of saw timber on the tract. This is only one of the many enormous transactions put through by Straus Bros. & Co. We have recorded many extensive land transactions in the past but this is undoubtedly the largest timber deal they have ever made, and probably larger than any other timber transaction made by any concern in the State of Indiana for many years.

EXAMINATION FOR P. M. AT SURREY.

An examination under the civil service rules will be held at Rensselaer Jan. 22, for the position of postmaster at Surrey, this county. The compensation of the postmaster there last year was |137. Applicants can get particulars concerning the requirements from the postmasters at Surrey or Rensselaer.

ARRANGE TO DO YOUR TRADING BEFORE 6 P. M.

After Jan. 1, 1910, Rensselaer’s leading business houses will close at 6 p. m„ each evening except Saturday^,.'"

Rensselaer Pmiltfy Shew, Jaamsry I 11-Id, la eM Oarage Baaidnig.

VoL XII. No. 74.