Hammond Times, Volume 3, Number 40, Hammond, Lake County, 4 August 1908 — Page 1

EVENING EDITION

mi' Generally fair and not so warm today; probably fair Wednesday. vol. ni. no. 40. HAMMOND, INDIANA, TUESDAY, AUGUST, 4, 1908. ONE CENT PER COPT.-

THE

AKE

COUNTY

IMES

HUNT FOR FIRE FIENDS Big Fire at Gary Yesterday Afternoon Believed to be the Work of Two Men Who Were Seen Running Out of Burning Building. PROPERTY OWNERS EMPL0Y1TC1EN Theory Is Circulated That Some One Is Waging War on Disreputable Women, as Some of the Buildings Burned Housed Females of That Character. Are two Are fiends responsible for the four conflagrations In Gary that have startled the entire region f The circumstances which surrounded the disastrous tire yesterdny afternoon which destroyed the two-story building owned by Z.Iitnian Fleishman ot HcBrewisch and occupied by A. K. JarkKon, saloon, and John Ilelkla, proprietor of the Hotel Finland, tends to justify the suspicion that has been aroused. The fire yesterday afternoon, like those preceding; it, left the frame structurne burned clean to tbe ground. The loss on the building was $4,200 nnd was covered to the extent of $3,000 In a Arm represented by Homer Ansley. Property Owners Aroused. Owners of property in the south end have been wrought to a state of consternation by the series of fires, the origin of .which no one has the slightest conception.-As a result many prop' erty owners throughout the city have employed special watchmen to prevent the destruction of their property by what ' is supposed to be a firebug' of the most rabid character. The city is almost in a state of chaos. No one knows whose building will be the next". So intently are the people of Gary watching the south end that every cloud of smoke surging across Broadway starts another cry of fire. People in the south end who have no insurance find it Impossible to get any and manj of them are terror-stricken. War on Disreputables? Another theory in regard to the ori gin of the blazes is that it is the work of some one attempting to rid j the city of disreputable saloons. It is a well-known fact that women of disreputable character were inmates of the Broadway hotel where one fire started. Mike Dansch at Twelfth and Washington, kept a number of questionable women, and the reputation of the Hotel Finland was no better than the others. Although they were not operated, as open resorts, immorality was rampant in all of the three places. The fire yesterday afternoon started in a clothes closet in the rear of the building. A strange story is told by the proprietor of the F.aloon, A. E. Jackson, of an incident preceding the fire which might tend to prove the theory of incendiarism. Two men, both strangers, were seen to enter the place shortly before the fire started. Two of the boarders of the place, suspecting that all was not right, followed them upstairs soon after and met them as they were coming down. As it did not seem likely that they had robbed the rooms they were not stopped, and the men soon disappeared down the street. Woman Gives the Alarm. Five minutes later Mrs. Julie Jackson, while passing through the hallway upstairs, saw the smoke and spread the alarm. The fire made small headway for the first half hour and it seemed as if they would surely be able to extinguish the flames. Water, however, was too much of a scarcity and the efforts were directed to getting the furniture out rather than to save the building. The helplessness of the fire fighters was appalling. With any kind of a chemical apparatus there would have been no difficulty in extinguishing the flames. For some time the fire made but slow progress, but as soon as the flames gripped j either side of the house the remainder of the structure was at once transformed into a roaring, seething furnace. As in the fires of the previous day the efforts to save the buildings in the vicinity was a picture of desperation itself. Experience had taught them that the method to prevent the spread of the flames was with wet blankets, and these were used with complete success. With one exception none of . the buildings were charred to any great extent. Saved By Desperate KfTorts. The flames became so hot at one time, however, that a building 300 feet away was saved" only by desperate methods. Those across the street were covered with blankets from top to hnt(.Continued oa pace 5.),

BULL CALF CASE DECIDED HI LAST Hosford Park Fanners Are Acquitted of Charges Brought by Widow.

DIDN'T TEACH CALF TO SMOKE Defendants Swear They Did Not Teach Calf Any Bad Habits At All. After an all-day trial In Judge William W. McMnhon's city court a Jury of twelve of the peers of Jack Arnold and Louis Blnckmare decided that they were not guilty of stealing the bull owned by Mrs. Mary PfafT of Hosford park, and that they were guilty of feeding the calf chewing tobacco and making It smoke a pipe. The "teenth" justice case in which the contending parties in the village feud sought to hand each other large doses of retributive justice, ended in a verdict in favor of Arnold and Blackmare and against Mary Pfaft. . Say They Didn't Torture It. Arnold and Blackmare are alleged to have cut the rope with which Mrs. Pfaff's calf was tied to a stake in her front yard, and after taking it to a barn owned by one of them, they are accused of torturing it. The defendants claim they found the calf running loose on their premises and simply took it up and notified Mrs Pfaff that she could have it if she paid them 50 cents for feeding the animal The rope with which the calf was tied was brought into court and several strands were shown to the jury as evidence that the calf had been stolenin the manner described in the complaint. This exhibit which was introduced by Attorney Joseph Conroy, representing the plaintiffs, proved their undoing for Attorney Milo Bruce,, representing the defendants, showed by the ends of the rope that it had been cut in two by a single blow of an ax or hatchet instead of being hacked in two by a knife as the witnesses for Mrs. Pfaff claimed. Knew Rope When They Saw One. It is understood that there were several men on the Jury who knew a thing or two about rope, and they were convinced that Mrs. Pfaff's witnesses were not telling the truth when they testified that they had seen Arnold and Blackmare come into the yard, deliberately cut the rop and take the calf away with them. The condition of the ends of the rope showed that the strands had been cleanly severed with one blow of some sharp instrument and not cut with a knife. The jury also thought that it was extremely improbable that Arnold and Blackmare would come into the yard in broad daylight and steal a bull calf. Ten of them are said to have voted for acquital on the first ballot. The case was Intensely interesting all the way through because of the feeling which has been aroused in the matter as a result of the feud. The courtroom was crowded all day with not only the feudists in Hosfords park, but with a great many Hammond people. Looking for Next Out-Break. It Is not known in just what form the next out-break will appear, but everybody is looking for more trouble, and it is likely Hosford park will be in the limelight for some time to come. It was a matter of considerable surprise that the people who are mixed up in this peculiar feud should be such intelligent looking and apparently refined people. It is hard to believe that people of average intelligence in this day should become involved in pettyquarrels which bring them into the courts so frequently. LONG HGHTWITH FIRE Company of Hammond Fire Fighters Return Exhausted From Their Labors. Fire department No. 4, Billy Kill's game lads, returned this morning at 10 o'clock from Globe station where they had been fighting the fire in the National Rendering plant for twenty-four-hours. Outside of the packinghouse fire, where the men staid out five day3 with short rests between, this has been the record for duration at one fire. Owing to the heat and the stench from the carcasses, which were decaying and smouldering in the fire, the men are almost exhausted, and it Is safe to say that there is nobody at No. 4 today who is indulging in any violent exercise. As soon as the department cleared out this morning seventy-five men, who worked in the plant, were put to work to clean, as the company will rebuild immediately. The remains of James McKreag, the night watchman of the plan who was killed in the fire, will be taken to Chicago this evening for burial, a relative having claimed the remains. GOES KA ST OX VISIT. Mrs. W. S. Fricke of Michigan avenue will leave on the Michigan Central this evening for a visit with relatives and friends in the east. She will visit in New Haven, Hartsford and BrldgeIport, Conn.

NO DEPRESSION THERE Specialty Muslin Underwear Plant at High Water Mark For Prosperity. -

One of the thriving industries of Hammond which has been very little affected by the recent financial flurry is the Specialty Underwear company, located at 133 and 135 Condit street. This concern is owned by Kaufman & Wolf, bhe enterprising Hammond re tail merchants and at the present time there are 100 girls and several men employed in the plant. The proprietors have ordered ome new and improved machinery for future use in anticipation of an increased demand for the goods in the fall and as soon as this machinery is installed tbe number of employes of the plant will be Increased to 130 to 150. The fact is not generally recognized that the Specialty Muslin Underwear company is one of the largest of the small industries in the city and promises to become one of the important of the larger manufacturies. Mr. Kauffman and Mr. Wolf look forward to a prosperous fall and winter in the underwear business and are well pleased with the prospects. TRAIL POTATO THIEVES Hammond Police Get Into Standard After Hungarians Today. The Hammond police yesterday got onto the trail of some potato thieves who live in the Standard district and have been making raids on the farms of the truck farmers south of the city. Yesterday William G. Fredericks, who lives on the Ridge road near Columbia avenue, reported to the police that he had seen two Hungarians with sack On their shoulders which he believed contained stolen potatoes. The police located the- men, bnt they dropped their bags and made their getaway. Officer Eisner reported having caught a man and his wife with sacks of potatoes on their shoulders. The woman was allowed to go her way upon giving her address, but the man was taken to the police station. There he gave his name as Matef Sova and said that the woman was not his wife.'"'""'7"""":.r "7 The police then went to the boarding house of Barbara Kubecker where the woman was staying and after searching through her rooms they failed to find anything to eat, but a half bushel of potatoes. The woman had a little baby and was in destitute circumstances. The police did not arrest the woman, but her case will be called to the attention of the proper authorities and it is expected that they will give her assistance. ASSISTS IN OPERATION. Dr. Bacon, formerly president of St. Margaret's medical staff antl chief of the Englewood Union hospital staff, was 'in Hammond today to assist Dr. J. T. Clark in an operation upon Mrs. Mansfield of Hegewisch. Mrs. Mansfield is at St. Margaret's hospital, the operation being necessary for appendicitis. MAN OVERCOME BY HEAT AT STARCH FACTORY E. Dacter, an employe of the HirschSteen starch works. West Hammond, was overcome by the heat this afternoon for a period of three or four hours. He recovered after medical treatment, however, and was able to go about his duties again. INTENSE HEAT HASTENS CHILD'S DEATH YESTERDAY. Four-Year-Old Bessie Brora Dies at Her Home on Dearborn Street. Bessie Brom, the 4-year-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Brom, 842 Dearborn street, on the north side, died after a short illness. Added to the child's suffering was the intense heat of yesterday and today which hastened the end. The funeral has been arranged for Thursday morning when funeral services will be held at the Polish Catholic church on the north side. Interment will take place at Holy Cross cemetery. LAWYERS OF THE OLD DOMINION. Hot Springs, Va., Aug. 4. There was a large attendance of leaders of the Virginia bench and bar at the opening here today of the annual meeting "of the State Bar association. John Garland Pollard of Richmond called the gathering to order in the assembly room of the Homestead hotel this morning and President Wyndham H. Meredith delivered his annual address, taking as his subject "Federal Control of Intra-State Commerce." The feature of the evening session is to be an address on "The Legal Foundations of Socialism," by Armistead C. Gordon of Staunton. Former Senator William Lindsay of Kentucky is to deliver the annual address before tht- association tomorrow. POPILAR WITH THE PAIIMER. THE BUSINESS MAX, THE PROFESSIONAL .MAN AND THE MAXUFACTI'UEIt THE TIMES.

STATE ST,

GETS THEATRE Contracts and Agreements Signed Up Yesterday in Battle Creek Mich. For $40,000 Structure to be Put Up in Hammond. DBT. E. BELLG1NGHES A NEiyPLAY HOUSE Bijou Theatrical Enterprise Circuit Will Break Ground for Handsome New Vaudeville Theater on Sept. 1st To Be Completed January, 1909. Special to The Times). Battle Creek, Mich., Aug. 4. Contracts and agreements have been signed between Dr. T. Ednln Hell, of Hammond, and W. S. Hutterfleld, of the Bijou Theatrical Enterprise company, operatingvaudeville theatres with headquarters at Ilattle Creek, for the erection of a new vaudeville theater In Hammond, Iuu., to eost $40,000. The plans have been drawn and all the details have been worked out. The Bijon Theatrical Enterprise company will break ground on or about Sept. 1, and arrangements are being- made to Ket the building: under roof before the cold weather sets In. The building will be ready for the first performance about Jan. 1, 1909. Dr. T. Edwin Bell will not only be interested in the property, but will be personally Interested in the lease and management of the theater. lu n Good Circuit. The EIJou Theatrical Enterprise company, with which Mr. Bell Is connected, has now established a chain of successful vaudeville tneatres in the (Continued on page 2.) VOTING MACHINES WILL6ET 11 TEST At Important Meeting of County Commissioners . Yesterday. FOUR CITIES WILL GET ONE Expectation oViced That When Installed Machines Will Pay for Themselves in One Elecetion. Crown Point, Ind., Auk. 4. (Special.) That I.nke county voters will have a chance to fry one or more of the new voting machines, was made a surety yesterday when the County Commit sioners met at the court house and practically decided to Install three or four of the machines in various places throughout the county, for use during the coming election, where they will receive a "try-out" and If they prove satisfactory, as said before, another election comes round that the whole county will be re-districted Into precincts, so as to meet the full capacity of the machines, which register 600 votes apiece. M ill Pay In One Election. The machines. It is said, will pay for themselves practically In one election, besides being absolutely accurate, with no chances for mistakes on the part of ignorant voters, cannot be tampered witli in any shape or manner and the vote is registered and counted as soon as the last vote is polled, doing away with the unnecessary delay and uncertainty so common when votes are counted in the old way. Each Large City Gets a Machine. It Is probable that the largest cities In the county will each get a machine for trial at the coming election and If they prove satisfactory, they will be Installed throughout the entire county In future elections. The commissioners yesterday did not decide definitely as to the number to be bought at present, but decided beyond a doubt that one or more machines would be bought and tried at the coming election. Will Meet Today. Other minor matters came before the board, and the usual number of bills were allowed and ordered paid. The conrmissioners will meet again tomorrow and the matter of gravel roads and Inspection of bridges around East Chicago will occupy their time. The gravel roads being built In town will come under their supervision and the. question of ther acceptance be decided. . - - ......

H

AFTER JUDGE TUTHILL Reported That Genial Judge Well Known Here Will Have His Hands Full.

According to the political gossip which is going the rounds Judge Harry B. Tuthill will have a fight to secure his re-election to the office of Judge of the Laporte and Porter superior court. He is opposed by by M. C. Collins, who is making an aggressive fight and whom the democrats believe will be elected. Judge Harry B. Tuthill is one of the most popular judges who ever sat in a Hammond court and consequently the Hammond lawyers regardless of their political affiliations are Interested in the hard fight which he seems to have on his hands. The way the situation is doped out m Laporte county is as follows: Laporte county is normally republican by a majority of such infinitesimal sire that It would not take more than a political zephyr to blow it over to the democratic side. This time Judge Tuthill is opposed b a man who is more active than any candidate which has opposed him in a number of years. Collins seems to have a great many friends and it is possible that he may turn the trick and beat Tuthill. BOHLIHGERJESIGNS Business College Professor is Succeeded by Rev. F. M. Elliott. Prof. George Bohllnger, who has been managing the Chicago Business College of Hammond for tiearly three years, has retired from the local school to take a position with the St. Louis Business College. He will leave Aug. 12 for Danville, 111., to visit friends, Mr. Bohllnger has been prominently connected with "the school in its vary ing stages of prosperity. Rev. F. M. Elliott, who has been connected with the college for the past two years as Its registrar, has been appointed by President Virden, to the position of local business manager of the school. Mr. Elliott is not a novice in the managerial position to which he lias been assigned, neither is this his first contact with school work. From 1883 to 188S he served the Guthrie County Iowa high school and Normal school and the Dexter Normal school as principal and teacher. From 1893 to 1903 he was superintendent of the Indiana Children's Home society. As a clergyman he is known to the citizens of Hammond and Lake county. Mr. Elliott will give ' the position his very best energies. BOAT BUILDER TO LOCATE IN OKLAHOMA. William Henry to Take I p His Rest, decce In Western City and May Buy Farm There? William Henry of Sheffield avenue, one of Hammond's best boat builders, left today for Oklahoma City- where he will prospect with the intention of lo cating there. Mr. Henry is desireous of living on a farm and as soon as he finds u suitable place will move his family there. DATE FOR RACE Vanderbilt Cup and Other Events May Interfere With Lake Co. Race, Chairman Joseph F. Gunther and his associates of the Chicago Automobile club racing board, In their desire to conduct a race over a projected Indiana course of twenty miles, near Crown Point, are having some difficulty to arrange dates which will not conflict with cither the Vanderbilt cup race or the Thompson stock chassis race, both of which seem to have precedence in the minds of the A. A. A. officials. In fact, the Vanderbilt already is dated for Oct. 21, and the Thompson Is making strenuous efforts to secure booking for an autumn date. This would make It practically Impossible for the Indiana race to take place before next spring, and the Chicago club members are loath to wait that long. Conrse Is Ideal. The Indiana circuit discovered by Chicago club members extends from the southern limits of Crown Point thrrtna-h Tvwpl! 'An ti nlone- the pnstorn ! shores of Cedar Lake, giving a total of slightly over twenty miles. The course Is ideal, according to several experts who have examined it closely, and residents of the district are enthusiastic for the contest. A petition Is being prepared for presentation to Governor Hanly of the Hoosier state, urging sanction for the militia to picket, the coursed uring the race, as was done at Savannah last spring. The collision with the Vanderbilt seems imperative, but a suggestion is made that the Thompson, whtch will be run over the same Long island course as the Vanderbilt, be put off until next spring in honor of the western ambi-tion. Under the rulings of the A. A. A. racing board the Indiana contest must be purely western, and the sport in this section demands the contest.- - -' - - - - -

THWARTS

DOS

GOT HIS DIPLOMA BY HID MEANS Dr. Valdimir Jindra Comes to Amerjpa and Lands in Heap of Trouble.

NET IS TIGHT AROUND QUACK Says It Is Easy to Come Into Indiana and Put One Over the i Legitimate Physician. The startling fact that Dr. Vladimir Jindra, who recently practiced medicine in Hammond, had secured his diploma and his right to practice in this country by fraud was brought out by Acting Lleutennant James Scully of the Lawndale police station in Chicago, yesterday. The experience of Jindra in this state showes that in spite of which are intended to exclude quacks they can find ways to evade them and practice unmolested. Telia Hla Story. Jindra's own admission shows how easy it is for a faker to come into Indiana and put one over on the legitimate physician. Jindra's confession had to be told several times before its numerous complications were unraveled. 'T studied medicine from my boyhood," he said. "When I grew up a doctor in Prague sold me a diploma. I do not know where he go,t it. I brought it to America and got a certificate to practice in New York on the strength of it. Then I took my New Tork certificate back to Prague and obtained a true certificate there because of my American papers. One of the serious offenses with which the two Hammond doctors will be charged will be that of selling surgical instruments which they had purchased on credit. Found In Jindra's Rooms. The Instruments were found in Jindra's rooms at TrumtTUll avenue and Thirteenth street, and Jindra admitted he bought them from Sharp & Smith, surgical instrument dealers, on thirty days' time. This, he says, he did at French's direction. French, Jindra asserted, had a hypnotic Influence over him. Jindra also explained the history of a leather case full of medical certificates made out to him and told the police French had sold other "Andrew Carnegie" diplomas to persons whose names Jindra says he does not know. A first examination, made when Jindra and French were together, brought small results because Jindra looked at French before answering, and would stop talking In the midst of a sentence If French scowled at him. French was taken to the West Thirteenth street police station. One of the schemes which Dr. French worked to get the confidence of his Ignorant patients was to secure member ship to as many orders as he could get j into. He was admitted to the Masonic order at Brook, Ind., George Ade's town, he became a Knight of Pythias in some town or another and he became an Elk in Hammond. He would point to his membership in these orders as evidences of his standing. Asked about two certificates, in which his name was forged and which were issued to some one in Oaklahoma, Jindra said French gave them to him. "He told me they would impress the Bohemians," explained Jindra. "He never would explain things to me, but once he paid me some money which he said he got from selling a diploma. I bought ar. operating table, also from Sharp & Smith, which was to cost $51, and he took charge of that. I do not know where It Is." Scully Calls Jindra Dupe. "We have Information that French and Jindra between them obtained and sold a physician's microscope in this neighborhood for $50," said Lieut. Scully. "It is listed by Sharp & Smith, from whom they got it. at $1.20. The investigation, apparently, is only Just beginning. I believe Jindra has been duped by several persons successively, and h.; admits he is easily Influenced." French refused to talk to the police. "I will do my talking in court," he said. The case will be heard In the Maxwell street branch of the Municipal court this morning. KANSAS STATE PRIMARY. Topeka, Kas.. Aug. 4. The campaign for the republican gubernatorial nomination between W. R. Stubbs of Cyrus Leland closed last night In a whirlwind finish and today the primary is being held throughout the state. The campaign has been one of the most partisan In the history of the commonwealth and has attracted wide attention. Mr. Leland 'claims that he will carry the state by a large majority, while Mr. Stubbs is equally confident. The choice of a successor to Chester I. Long in the United States senate is also involved In the result of the primary and fully as much interest is manfested in this contest as In the fight for the nomination for governor. Senator Long Is a candidate for reelected and Is opposed by Joseph L. Bristow, who was formerly fourth assistant postmaster general. Candidates for minor places on the state ticket and for county officers are also to be selected at the primary. Advices from various parts of the state received early in the day indicate that an unusually large vop will ba polled.

DISTILLERS

COMPLAIN

OF SYSTEM Hammond Distillery Objects to Calling Spirits Alcohol and Files Bill of Complaint in the Federal Court Asking Injunction. OTHER CONCERNS JI1F0RSUIT Six Bills Similar in Contents Are Started With Elam H. Neal, Collector of Internal Revenue, as the Defendant Along Some Lines as Suits Brought In Illinois and Ohio, Bills of complaint asking; for Injunctions have been filed in the federal court by the six distilling companies, with distilleries in Indiana, against officials of the internal revenue depart' in en t In this state, in regard to the matter of "spirits" and 'alcohol." The six bills are similar in contents and are practically along the same lines as those that have been filed in Illinois and Ohio by distilleries of those states. Hammond Concern. One of Six. One of the bills is by tbe Hammond Distilling company, with a distillery In Hammond, against Elam H. Neal, collector of internal revenue for the sixth district of Indiana, and various of his gaugers. Another is by the Greendale Distilling company of lawrenceburg, against Mr. Neal and various of his gaugers, and a third against Mr. Neal and various of his deputies is by Nicholas J. "Walsh and Peter O'Shaughnessy, doing business as the Rossville Distilling company of Lawrenceburg. John R. Bonnell, collector of Internal revenue for the seventh district of Indiana, and various of his gaugers are named as defendants In bills filed by the Murphy Distilling company of Vincennes; the Merchants' Distilling company of Terre Hjute, and the Commercial Distilling company of Terre Haute. rolnts of Petition. It is asked In the bills that the defendants be enjoined from marking or branding on casks or packages into which are drawn the distilled spirits known by the name of "spirits," produced by the complainants, the word "alcohol," and from refusing or neglecting to mark such casks or packages with the word "spirits." Argument on the plea for a temporary injunction has been set for August 4 before Judge Francis E. Baker at Goshen. It is explained in the complaints that the complainants manufacture, among other products, distilled spirits known to the trade by the name of "spirits," and, it is alleged, that undre section 328" of the revised statutes of the United States, relating to internal revenues, it is the duty of gaugers to mark with the word "spirits" the casks or packages filled from the cisterns or containers, at the distilleries, of the distilled spirits that are known to the trade as "spirits.' It is alleged that these distilled spirits have been known to the trade as "spirits" for a great many years and the packages and casks have so been marked by the gaugers. In May, 1906, It Is alleged, the commissioner of Internal revenue ordered that from and after July 1, 1908, everything which had heretofore been branded as "spirits" should thereafter be branded "alcohol," and that which had been heretofore branded "alcohol" should be branded "commercial alcohol," and that nothing thereafter should be branded as "spirits." The defendant gaugers, it is alleged, notified the complainants to this effect, and have, since July 1, refused to brand the packages or casks of the distilled spirits known to the trade by the name of "spirits" with the word "spirits. It is alleged that the order of the commissioner is repugnant to section 3287 and not a lawful order, and if the order is persisted In will work Irreparable injury to the complainants. It is explained that the word "alcohol" has been applied by the trade to distilled spirits of inferior quality and value, not suitable to such uses as that for which "spiirts" have been used. ROSA ROBERTS SUES TOR A DIVORCE. Charges That Her Husband Abandoned Her and Mnkes Other Alienation. A divorce case was filed in the Lake superior court this morning in which Rosa M. Roberts seek separation from her husband, William I. Roberts on a charge of abandonment. The complaint charges other things against the defendant, which if proven, will be ample grounds for divorce! The case will come up in the next term of the superior court. Attorney Brandenberg is tbe lawer for Mrs. Roberts.'