Jasper County Democrat, Volume 18, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 July 1915 — Page 1

Jasper County Democrat.

$1.50 Per Year.

ROUTE OF RAILROAD CANNOT BE CHANGED AT THIS TIME

Frantic Efforts of Promotor to Stay Tide Against Subsidy Proposition Is a Weak Device to Win Votes.

The election in Marion township and Rensselaer on the proposition to vote a gift of $61,000 to the so-called Lafayette & Northwestern Railroad Co., a paper corporation, will be held today. Seeing the overwhelming sentiment that has finally arrayed itself against the proposition, O. L. Brown, who signs himself as “general manager” of the company, comes out in ■« an eleventh hour statement in the Rensselaer Republican and says the route of the road will be changed to overcome much of this opposition. He states that the route will be changed to run nor-thwest from a point southeast of the Indian schopl half section of land, just south of town, to the Range Line road at a point near Mt. Calvary cemetery, and thence north along said road past St. Joseph college and thence on north, thence east and north to the south end of Cullen street, thence north on Cullen and Forest to Vine street, thence due west to the city limits and due west to Mt. Ayr. The petition asking for this elec.tion and made a part thereof is on file in the office of the county auditor. Omiting the immaterial parts of said petition, which have no bearing on this proposition, we copy the first and last paragraphs of the petition word for word below: TO THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS OF JASPER COUNTY. “The undersigned petitioners, who are freeholders of the Township of Marion in the county of Jasper and the state of Indiana, would respectfully represent to your Honorable Body, that: The Lafayette and Northwestern Railroad Company is a corporation duly organized under and pursuant to the laws of the State of Indiana, authorized to construct, build, maintain and operate a railroad from the city of Lafayette, Indiana, to the State line west of Morocco, Indiana, and that said railroad when completed will pass through the said township of Marion and the city of Rensselaer, in said Jasper county, and that the said railroad will be of great benefit to said city and township. * * * * * “And your petitioners further pray that your Honorable Body may' make an order that the polls at the several voting places in the said Marion Township and the City of Rensselaer, be opened as directed by law on a day named in said order, to take the votes of the legal voters of said, Marion Township, including the City of Rensselaer, upon the question of making an appropriation of Sixty Thousand Seven Hundred Sixty-four and 26-100 (S6O, 724.26) dollars by said township and CITY FOR THE PURPOSE OF AIDING THE SAID RAILROAD IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF ITS RAILROAD IN THE MANNER AND UPON THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS HEREIN FULLY STATED AND SET FORTH, WHICH SAID RAILROAD IS TO BE BUILT UPON THE ROUTE OUTLINED ON THE MAP FILED WITH THE CLERK OF THE JASPER CIRCUIT COURT, and your petitioners will ever pray.” At the same time this petition was filed with the county auditor the map and profile above mentioned was filed with J. H. Perkins, clerk of the Jasper circuit court, and attached to and made a part of such filed papers was the following certificate:" j We, the undersigned, being a majority of the directors of the Lafayette & Northwestern Railroad Company, hereby certify that the attached maps and profiles are the original maps and profiles of the route adopted by 4 ,the above named railroad company as its permanent and final "That the line designated by "hito b’ne in said nraps is the median line of a strip of right-of-way 50 feet in width. That the maximum grade is 1.02 per cent and the maximum curve i s 6 per cent. That the termi of said road are Lafayette; Indiana, and Kankakee, Illinois. EZRA G. COLLINS, E. G. PERRIGO, . R. H. BRAINARD, O. A. ROGERS. * The law requires that such map and certificate be filed with such officer, where IT IS OPEN TO THE INSPECTION OF ALL INTERESTED PARTIES, AND THE ROAD MUST BE CONSTRUCTED ABSOLUTELY IN ACCORDANCE WITH SUCH MAP AND PROFILE. Otherwise any taxpayer could successfully enjoin the placing of the

tax on the duplicate and its collection. It doesn’t seem that it would require any superior amount of intelligence to understand this. If they can change the route to any point they choose regardless of this map and profile, they can just as easily go on some other line than that indicated by promotor Brown’s latest manifesto. They could bear off to the north and come through Pleasant Ridge and thence northwest past the “match factory” through Rensselaer and collect the subsidy, should it be voted, just as easily as cn any other route. If the promoters are not bound by the route as set forth in the petition and as certified to by the directors in filing the map and profile with the clerk of the circuit court, why did they mention the line on which they- proposed to build at all? If they can lawfully decide upon another route now, one day before the election, why can they not lawfully, decide upon still another after the, election?

Maps and profiles of the proposed road were filed in other counties, where subsidies have been voted. They show the line to be as previously stated herein: The road, if built at all, must go over the line of the profile filed with the clerk of the Jasper circuit court when asking for the election, and this profile, as previously stated by The Democrat, show’s that it runs in a diagonal direction across the county from Wolcott and cuts up all the lands through which it passes in such a way as to damage them many- times more than any value they would receive by the construction of the road. It runs several hundred feet west of the Indian school; about 14 mile east of St. Joseph college, and passes through Rensselaer nearly a half-mile west of the court house, crossing McCoy avenue near the old A. McCoy homestead, runs on north along the east side of Weston cemetery’, and its nearest point to the Monon railroad is several hundred feet west of the Monon depot. Does it stand to reason that the promotors would jeopardise the more than $100,600 already voted in other counties to save. $61,000 here? Should they not build on the line shown therein any anti-subsidy taxpayer of the townships in such other counties voting a subsidy could enjoin the collection of the tax.

Is this not the reasonable and logical conclusion? Voters of Rensselaer and Marion township, do not be misled by this eleventh hour change in the route of the proposed road. There is nothing to it and your own good common sense should tell you so without any help from the outside. The road will be of no benefit whatever to Rensselaer, if built at all, on the line that it must be built to collect this subsidy. It conects us with not a solitary town in Jasper county. It asks much and gives nothing in return. But iVwill have the effect, should this subsidy be voted, of keeping out for a term of years some real railroad which may want to come through Rensselaer and give us connection with Remington and the north end of the county perhaps. Also, should Mr. Brown’s road be" built—which gives us nothing—• it will be many, many years before we ever get another road here that would give us some conveniences. Make an X in the square at the left of the words “Against the Railroad Appropriation,’’ when you go to the polls today and thereby vote against the worst subsidy proposition ever put up to the people of this city and township.

A slight change in the time of trains on the Monon went into effect Monday. Under the new schedule No. 37, goes south at 11:17 a. m., instead of 11:20; No. 31, at 7:30 instead of 7:31 p. m.; No. 36, northbound, 4:41 Instead of 4:48 a. m.; No. 38, at 2:51 instead of 3:12 p. m.; No. 30, at 6:50 instead of 6:45.

THE TWICE=A-WEEK

RENSSELAER, JASPER COUNTY, INDIANA, WEDNESDAY, JULY 14, 1915

HEAVIEST RAIN FOR YEARS

Visited Rensselaer and Vicinity Saturday Night, Doing Much Damage to Crops. One of the heaviest rains of recent years and perhaps one in which the greatest amount of water fell in a given time that was ever known here, visited Rensselaer and vicinity Saturday night, beginning shortly after 9 o’clock and continuing withcut cessation until 2 o’clock Sunday morning. The government register at St. Joseph college showed a fall of only 2% inches, but the register is surrounded by trees to such an extent that it probably did not catch all the

water, and the college people do not think the amount registered is correct. Open vessels both in town and country showed a rainfall of from four to six inches. Much damage was done to farm crops. The uncut wheat was beaten still closer to the ground, while oats and grass were likewise beaten down more. Corn fields were covered. with several inches of water in many places and gulleys were washed in the fields where the deluge ot water rushed for an outlet.. In some places tile were washed out of the ground. Road grades were damaged in many places, and it will cost considerable money to repair the small washouts, created by the flood, while the crop damage will probably exceed SIOO,OOO in the entire county, perhaps double that amount. The storm was general through this section and Wolcott, Remington, Goodland and Kentland got it almost as bad as here. In fact Wolcott is «aid to have been one vast lake. It was not as hard in the north part of the county and did not reach as far south as Lafayette.

In Rensselaer basements in the central and east part of town were flooded w’lth from three to five feet of water, and in the east part of town the streets and sidewalks were covered in places with a foot or more of water all day Sunday, notably at the junction of Scott and Harrison streets, and the junction of Cedar and Scott streets, near the former Conrad Kellner property now occupied by Carl Duvall, which was entirely surrounded with a foot of water. Many of the dwellings near the Monon railroad in the east bart of town on both sides of the track, but worse on the south side, were completely surounded by water, in some instances it being right up to the floor of the porches, and the occupants could only get out by wading the water. This condition prevailed to some extent until yesterday. Hundreds of chickens were drowned, Jesse Snyder on the Pleasant Ridge road, whose place was almost wholly surrounded by water yet Monday, losing 350 and two 140-egg incubators that were in his basement. The river continued to rise all day Sunday and was the highest ever known here at . this season. It reached up on the siding of the Sharp studio a few inches and I spread out all over the Day pasture at the east side of the cemetery. Burke’s bridge, north of town, lacked about one foot of being covered, the grade at each side being several feet under water, and was impassible Sunday and Monday. The “kids” got lots of enjoyment out of the high water, Wading and swimming about in the streets and yards, and several young men arrayed themselves in bathing suits and amused an admiring and envious crowd all Sunday afternoon in diving off.the extreme top of the Washington street bridge, a distance of perhaps 30 to 25 feet. They repeated the stunts again Monday afternoon.

The water from the recently oiled streets made a nasty mess in the basements and overflowed yards of North Cullen street and other sections of the city, and the cleaningup process is not a pleasant job. The basements of business houses' that were overflowed suffered some in. goods damaged also. .. Hundreds of country people were caught in town by the storm, while the home people who were up town, were also mar6oned by the deluge. Business houses kept open until midnight and after to accommodate those seeking shelter. The Gayety airdome was filled with marooned until about two o'crock Sunday morning. Scores of women who were caught up town had to roll up their stockings and wade through a foot

or more of dirty water to reach their homes. No rain fell Sunday and Monday and yesterday was bright and pleasant. It is indeed hoped we will not get any more heavy rains until the farmers get their wheat and oats harvested and threshed and their hay put up. With corn plowing, wheat harvest, haying and oats harvest all coming right together, it is making the farmer hump his back to keep all the wheels" moving, and the weather man should give us a few weeks rest.

TO REDUCE LIGHT RATES.

Residence Rate to Be Same as the Present Commercial Rate, Eight Cents. A? the regular meeting of the city council Monday night, the following business was transacted: The city attorney was instructed to apply to the public service commission for a reduction in the electric light rates of the city, for residences, to 8c per kilowat, the same as the commercial rate now is. This is a reduction of 2c over the present rate.

L. Strong and others residing along the Makemself ditch, asked for relief from the frequent backing up or incapacity of this sewer to carry off surplus water. The matter was referred to the city engineer and to the #ewer committee. The ordinance heretofore introduced granting a franchise to the Lafayette & Northwestern Railroad Co., through Rensselaer,-was passed to third reading. An ordinance to regulate the management of the water and light plant was introduced and passed to second reading. An ordinance prohibiting the using of fireworks within the city was introduced and passed to second reading. The usual number of claims were allowed.

Chicken Thieves Visit Gangloff Farm

That chicken stealing has not yet been broken up here is evident from the. -act that about 150 chickens were stolen from the Gangloff farm, just east of town, one night last week, and thieves were frightened away again Monday night. It seems that chloroform or something of the sort was used at the Gangloff farm to stupefy the birds, and Monday night after the thieves had been frightened away, when the girls went out to close up the coop at about 10:30 o’clock, lour chickens were found toppled over and many others gaping for breath. Yesterday morning the boys found in the corn crib where three men had evidently been in hiding. They have loaded up their shotguns and will keep a close watch for the next chicken thief that makes his appearance.

To Investigate Alleged Swindle

* Yesterday’s Lafayette Journal * * contained a “scarehead” first- * * page article regarding the alleg- ♦ *ed sale of worthless stocks to ♦ * Mrs. Elizabeth Stockton, 85 years ♦ * of age, a resident of Shelby town- * * ship, Tippecanoe county, by two * * former residents of Benton coun- * * ty, D. Allen and A. J. O’Connor, * * and that the authorities are now * * on the trail of the alleged stock * * swindlers. * * The O'Connor brothers are al- * * leged to have sold Mrs. Stockton * * 110 sares of absolutely worth- * * less stock in the Historical Feat- * * ure Film Co., and. received from * * her SIO,OOO in bank and insur- * * ance stock that was worth 100 * * cents op the dollar. * * “Daniel'O'Connor was associat- ♦ * ed with O. L. Brown in pro- * * motion of Brown’s proposed in- * * terurban line from Lafayette to * * Kankakee and it was Eg and his ’ * brother A. J. O’Connor who sold ♦ * most of the bonds to farmers in * ♦the vicinity of Round GroVe. ♦ * “puring the summer and fall * * Months they worked north from • ♦Montmorenci and made sales of* * the railroad bonds to Herman * * Christopher, John Raymond, ♦ * Jesse C. Stockton and many oth- ♦ * ers. Later they endeavored to ex- ♦ * change stock in the Tippecanoe ♦ * construction company for the • * bonds which they had sold, stat- * * ing that the stock “was worth ♦ * seven to one over the bonds.” It ♦ ♦is said their efforts in this di-* * rection were not crowned with ♦ * success to any appreciable de- ♦ * gree,” says the Journal. * * •• • * * • ««

COUNTY BOARD OF EDUCATION VOTE TO RETAIN SUPT. LAMSON

Charges of the Rensselaer Republican Against Mr. Lamson Are Shown to Have Very Little if any Foundation.

At the meeting of the County Board of Education Monday afternoon to hear any evidence that the Rensselaer Republican might have to support the charges it had made against County Supt. Lamson, the “evidence” produced was of a very flimsy character and was exploded in most every instance by the facts in the case when they were brought to light. The hearing was public, and the county superintendent’s room was filled to suffocation with spectators who listened carefully to the proceedings. Mr. Healey, of the Republican, conducted his own presentation of the case, enthusiastically assisted by 'former county superintendent, L. H. Hamilton, who was twice defeated by Mr. Lamson for the office from which they were both seeking to have Lamson removed. B. D. Comer, former trustee of Union tp., was also quite prominent in the hearing.

Mr. Healey stated that he had first started his fight against Mi. Lamson because of a letter written by Mrs. Frank Schroer of Union tp., after which others had urged him on. Both he and Mr. Hamilton stated that they had long known of the strong opposition there was to Mr. Lamson, but they had said nothing about it until the present. Trustee Porter of Carpenter tp., got up and said he would like to know why it was that Mr. Healey and Mr. Hamilton, knowing the incompetency of Mr. Lamson so long and the opposition to his continuing in office, had waited until now to bring these charges; why had they nor taken it up with the old board of education instead of bringing it before the present board, who were all comparatively new in office and knew very little about any feeling or trouble that might exist? Among the people who were examined by Mr. Healey as to Mr. Lamson’s general unfitness for the office, were former Superintendent Hamilton, B. D. Comer, Mrs. John I. Gwin, J. W. Smith of Union tp., whose son, so the Republican had stated, and was very tearfully repeated by Mr. Comer, as having been driven to his grave because of County Supt. Lamson’s being unable to "pass” him, 0. E. Noland, a former teacher of Lee, John Bill, whose daughter had been employed in Mr. Lamson’s office, and perhaps a few others of minor mention. Mr. Noland made quite a little talk and stated that he had no personal feeling against Mr. Lamson, but he thought the schools of Jasper county were far behind those of White county under Mr. Lamson’s leadership. It developed on cross examination by Mr. Lamson that Mr. Noland had written a couple of letters after he had himself failed in examination before Mr. Lamson in one of which he characterized his failure as a rotten deal by Lamson, and when his papers were sent to the state superintendent, that he wrote Mr. Tillman, a former teacher in the Rensselaer high school, and asked him to use his influence with the editor of the Educators’ Journal and have said editor use his influence with the state superintendent to have his examination go through. In other words, to use personal influence to secure for him a license to which he was not entitled by the grading' of his manuscript. Mr. Noland admitted he had written such letters when they were shown him, Mr. Lamson having them on file. He also admitted that he was given a lower grading by the state superintendent than he had received in his failure before Mr. Lamson. In the case of Jesse Smith, whom it was charged had been sent to his grave because of failure to be granted a license by Mr. Lamson, the young man’s father stated that he did not think that the failure to pass the examination had anything to do with the boy’s death, that he had been in poor health for a year or two prior and it was as well that he did not get a school, that he did not seem to mind the failure very much himself. Mr. Smith was quite

Vol. XVIII, No. 29

strongly anti-Lamson, and this admission had its effecet with the audience. And so it Went on from one case to another and it was shown in some of the instances complained of in the Republican that Mr. Lamson did ndt examine the manuscripts himself in which the failures were made; that he had been assisted by former superintendent of the Rensselaer schools, I. N. Warren, and by the present superintendent. Mr. Dean, and also by Miss Ethel Perkins, a high school teacher and later deputy clerk in her fath-

(Continued on page two.)

Jasper County Looks Good to “Mont” Ritchey.

w. H. Ritchey returned Sunday evening from an extended western trip, and gives The Democrat the following for publication: “From Billings, Mont., where I went, to visit my daughter, Mrs. Edna E. Gray, and daughter, Thelma, I also went to Burlington, via Basin, Wyo., to see John Michaels and George and Frank Nicholson. They are satisfied with their location and are doing well. In Billings I saw Frank Wood, at Hart, Alban Co.’s department store. He is fore, man in basement, has 21 people under him. He is happy and prosper; ous. Overtook Dr. Traugh, formerly of Remington, on way to Burlington via Ford auto route.

“On my trip returning from Lincoln, Neb., to Galesburg, 111., a distance of 450 miles, an Immense rain had fallen. The wheat was about two-thirds cut, mostly in shock, and the rest was down. The oats in most places were almost flat, and the corn from Lincoln, Neb., through all lowa and in the most of Illinois was quite small and some of it weedy. Some corn in lowa had just come up. 1 believe the corn on an average would not be over 14 or 15 inches high. The wheat in Nebraska, Iowa? and Illinois was good. In Nebraska, and mostly in lowa, the, shocks were all standing in perfect order, but were not capped. In the eastern part of lowa they had one bundle and the rest of the way they were double capped. Saw only two men in the fields working. One of them was on a hill.

"The corn in eastern Illinois was fair. Reckon 1 came through the best corn section in the corn belt, on the C. B. & Q. R. R., 4 and I am of the opinion the crop will be less than expected, since coming home I saw the Indian school wheat, and I honestly believe it will yield onefourth more to the acre than any I saw, and their corn Is also exceedingly good. And when I say this I am satisefld there is plenty of fields just as fine, and this is in good old Jasper county, Indiana.”

Former Resident Dies at Chicago Heights.

Peter Minicus, a former resident of Rensselaer, died at the home of his son, George, in Chicago Heights, Hl., Sunday morning at 2 o’clock. The remains were brought here yesterday forenoon and the funeral held at St. Augustine’s Catholic church, burial in Mt. Calvary cemetery south of town. Mr. Minicus was a native of Germany, but had lived the greater part of his life in America, having come to this country 63 years ago. He lived at Lafayette for some time, moving to Jasper county in 1872. He went to Chicago Heights, where two of his sons are located, some 18 years ago. Mr. Minicus was 93 years of age on Feb. 15 last. He leaves six children, Mrs. John Kohler of Rensse* laer; John Minicus of Low Gap, Ark.; Mrs. John Halliday of Dowagiac, Mihc.; Frank and George Minicus of Chicago Heights, and Andrew Minicus of Monon. He visited here last summer with his daughter, Mrs. John Kohler, at the west side of town, in fact spent the summer with her. He was well known to many of the old citizens | of Rensselaer.