Hammond Times, Volume 3, Number 250, Hammond, Lake County, 10 April 1909 — Page 1

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LAKE

COUMTY

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TIMES

Fair tonight; Sunday fair, followed by Increasing rloadlnema. EDITION VOL- III., NO. 250. HAMMOND, INDIANA, SATURDAY, APRIL 10, 1 909. ONE CENT PER COPT. 1t si A$

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Gary and Interurban Might Carry Dynamite or Dead Horses Through The Streets of Hammond

SOME JOKERS POINTED QUI

Hammond Business Men Call Attention to Weakness of Franchise. If the franchise which the Gary and Interurban Electric Railway company is Reeking In Hammond is granted, the pople of this city may not be surprised to see carloads of coal, trainloads of dynamite, carloads of castings, carloads of poultry In crates, and in fact every kind of freight, except live stock, carried through the residence and business sections of the city. This is the discovery that was made by a group of business men who took the trouble to secure one of the franchises, which the board of public works Is now said to approve, and to make a study of Its provisions. v- One of them said this morning: "It Vould be nothing short of an outrage 6 pass such a franchise. It Is full of knotholes and Jokers and would give the people of Hammond as much trouble as this same company has caused the people of Gary." DlMcrlnUnate la Cltiea. Even the Gary and Interurban's Gary franchise, as loosely drawn as It was, did not presume to contain a provision that would make the line an electric freight road. The provision to which the Hammond business men take exception is as follows: "Section lffc The grantee Is hereby granted the right to carry passengers, mail, express packages, fowl in crate or basket, and such other property as can be conveniently loaded and handled on its cars, excluding live horses, (It is not prohibited from carrying dead ones to some rendering plant) cattie. and swine or any other character of live stock, or fertilizers of any kind." This la the joker that the Hammond business men who have Investigated the matter think would make It possible for the Gary and Interurban company to make a freight road of the streets of Hammond. But that is not the only "Joker" that has been discovered. The franchise pretends to make a provision by which all other interurban lines which desire to enter the city and pass through may do so. This Is the way that provision ' reads: Opposed to Open Door. Jin me event that any railroad, operated by electricity (The j - uu iiiirruriuin jine tioen not limit Iturlf electricity. Us f ranch Uc read elertrlHiy with an overhead system, or any lneflutnlral or electrical motive power other than what In known as a third rail system, or nlrnm generated by coal, nnd not operated In competition for lutemrbau traffic with said erantee'), desires the right to enter within the central poiat within said city over the line of said grantee, the grantee shall, by agreement, etc., allow the said other railroad to use the grantee's tracks for such purposes for a fare of not to exceed 2 cents per passenger." Who is to determine what lines are competitors of the grantee? The investigators of this franchise point out how ridiculous la this pro vision, no one Knows where the central point within said city is and there is no provision whatever for a road that might want to run through the city of Hammond over the lines of the Gary and Interurban. Operate; That Is All. One of the weakest provisions of the franchise, according to these business men, is that providing for the UO.OOO bond which is to liquidate damages in the event the road does not fulfill the provisions of its franchise. As the franchise states. "Said bond to be conditioned that the grantee will have Its line in operation in the city of Hammond within six month. f. the date of the approval by the mayori etc. All the company has to do is just what it did in Gary; get the line in operation. It can leave the street unpaved in the middle of its tracks, just as Broadway is today, or it can ignore any of the provisions of the franchise, just so the road is in operation. For months, after taking advantage of extensions of time, the Gary and Interurban line in Gary was in operation, but that was about all that could be said of it. The people raved and stormed and demanded that Broadway, their beautiful street, should b paved, but the Gary and Interurban officials only smiled and let them rave until they tired of their opposition. Rails Too Light. Several other defects, such as permission to use rails 70 pounds to the yard when 90 pounds is the approved weight, the weight that was used by the Hammond, Whltlnx and Eaat Chl-

cago line to rehabilitate its road. If the Gary and Interurban line falls to keep Its tracks In repair, or falls to pave its portion of the tracks, there is no provision that the city may do bo and assess the cost to the railroad, and If the railroad should happru to be bankrupt tu elty would hare to pay the rot anyway. That is a sample of the franchise that the Gary and Interurban line tried to get the Hammond city officials to accept, according to the business men, who are willing to come out into the open. If necessary .and to which ttiv

register their strenuous objections. AflDEBSON TO FIGHT M' Columbia Athletic Club Will Put on Card of Boxin Bouts. The Columbia Athletic clnh nf w Hammond is planning to give another athletic entertainment next Thursday which will be the equal of any of the ruga class athletic carnivals that have been held In the past. Anderson and McGoorty will be the card of the show. Carl Andprsnn is well known hert and since he has heen around considerably and Is said to have Improved wonderfully, the local fans are anxious to see him. McGoorty Is one of the best hovers In the country. He Is sure to be Anderson's equal, and If the Hammond man is able to defeat him It will be a big feather in his cap. Bobbie Burns and Con O'Keefe of Irondale will go on in the semi-wlndup and are sure to make a good bout. Burns' showing with Tony Capon! In Hammond was great and marks him as a "comer" In the fistic arena. Reece Powel! and Kid Lavln will go on In the first preliminary and will both pat up a good fight. The fight has been largely advertised in St. Joe and Benton Harbor, and a large crowd is expected to attend. BULL FIDDLE WRECKERS FINED DrUnkS WllO Collided With Wabash Glee Club Get It Hard. The two young fellows that were instrumental in breaking the big bass viol, belonging to the Wabash Glee club, on the train between Montlceilo and Wolcott a short time ago, were taken into a justice court at Reynolds one day last week by Marshal Hobbins, and assessed heavy fines and costs ! for drunkenness. It cost each of them about J25 and no action has been commenced against them yet for the damI ages to the big liddle. That Is liable ! to cost them another $50. This is the bull fiddle which figured in The Times' story last week. PHYSICIANSlTlNVITEO Dr. S. E. Hunt of Indianapolis to Lecture Before Lake Co. Dentists. Dr. S. E. Hunt of IndianaDolis has i . , - prom sed to come to Hammond on April j 29th to lecture before the Lake rnnniv Dental society. Lr. Hunt, who stands high in the profession throughout the state, will lecture on "Dental Diagnosis." and because this subject has been chosen, and as It is one that interests the entire medical profession, the dentist will send out an invitation to the Lake County Medical society to attend the meeting. Smith Case Still On. The case of Smith vs. the National Fire Proofing company, which has been occupying the attention of the Lake superior court for the past week, was not finished yesterday. It will have to be taken up again next week. Only one case was filed in the clerk s office this morning. Louise Soholts has brought an action atrainst An.t co vltskl in the foreclosure of a contract.

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. , AI1 t lue inaiana oieei company's big plant at Garv The hn?A furnaces produce 150 tons of ore to each cast, making four casts in twenty-four hours. The furnace Is located between the ore bins and the power house. ce 13 10Cuea De"

GOORTY WEST HAMMOND

III! !!l BIG TURMOIL Villagers Object to TwentyYear Franchise Given No. Indiana Gas Co. VILLAGE BOARD IS CRITICIZED Taxpayers Say They Could Have Saved $32 Per Arc Light By Other Means. West Hammond !s in a turmoil over a franchise which the village board last Tuesday granted to the Northern Indiana Gas and Electric company, formerly the South Shore Gas and Electric company. That corporation secured a twenty-year franchise to provide the village with house illumination and at a postponed meeting, to be held next Monday evening, it will consider giv ing the same corporation a franchise for street lighting. Hoard Is Criticised. In many quarters the action of the board is severely criticised, while the friends of the administration and the village officials themselves say it was the best thing they could do under the circumstances. The objectors say that if the board had taken the proper action that the village could have secured house and street illumination from the drainage board, because West Hammond is in the district, and they maintain that the cost would not have been over J40 for an arc light, while of the Indiana corporation gets it they will have to pay $72. 'Men who are opposed to the franchise have irone to Chicum and conferred with the management of the drainage district lighting department, and claim they have been told that the company is building into Harvey and Dolton and when they have reached this places that they could come into West Hammond at a cost not to exceed $40 an arc light. The Hoard's Attitude. IV. Al. OSZPVnSkl. On nf Iho lage trustees, today, when asked about the truth of the above statements, said: "I believe that when we granted that franchise, last Tuesday evening, we did the Lest we could under the circumstances. We have been without light all winter because we cannot make our plant a paying proposition. Even if we could run we have learned that we could not do it cheaper than the corporation agrees to give us light. As to the light from the drainage district, we have investigated that and have found that we would possibly have to wait two years, and the cost to get their system would not be much cheaper than that of the Northern Indiana Gas and Electric Light company. But we can't afford to wait two years. We must have lipht from somewhere. Before giving this twenty-year franchise we were willing to make only a tenyear contract with the corporation, and i-uiiLiiiit wim tne corpoi there was objpctlon t0 tnat. I would nave preferred a contract to a franchise, but we were opposed by our own people in this by an Injunction." MILLER A MECCA Wets Are Jubilant, Cars Are Busy. Now that Gary Is without any place licensed for the sale of Intoxicating liquors, Miller, its'little suburb, promises to become a Mecca for the thirsty. It did not take the wets long to figure out how they could extricate themselves from the dry surroundings, and last night hundreds of them went to Miller station. The South Shore line furnished a nice schedule from 7 o'clock until 9, thus giving tbe thirsty ones ample accommodation to brine home a load.

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t t t,i . EXPLAINS HIS ACTION ON THEJjOMMITTEE Edward Schottler Tells of Smoker at Which 4 'Altogether" Was Danced. DEEPLY REGRETS THE AFFAIR Member of Commitee Says Same Dance Was Given at Towle's Opera House. The Times is in receipt of the following communication this afternoon: Editor Lake County Times, City: "Dear Sir After carefully reading your article In last night's issue of The Times in regard to the Wednesday night's smoker, I wish to say that the remarks credited to me in an interview were based solely upon the facts as I knew them. I do not want to be responsible for the whole story. "While I was not actually inside the hall during any part of the performance, but was compelled by the duties which were assigned to me, as a committee member, to remain in the anteroom, north of the hall, the stage being just inside the door and to the east, I was unable to see the performance, at the same time I had splendid opportunity to observe the actions of the audience, the door being open. I do not believe the audience was properly considered hy the people from whom you derived he information on Tvhlcli your last night's article in based. I desire to say for them that with a verv few exceptions the crowd acted splendidly. A large number of them I am personally acquainted with and for this reason I feel safe in saying that they were an entirely different class of men then your last night's article would lead one to believe. "As far as the performance itself was concerned, the sparring matches were both well received, and I do not think anybody would care to say that they were not decently conducted. The mov- j ing pictures, which were shown, were selected from such as are shown every day in the various 5-cent shows, which are open to men, women and children. "The talent from Chicago was supposed to consist of three women, but it so happened that one of them was unable to come. These women had been recommended to the committee by one of the local theatrical men, as proper persons to engage for a matter of this kind. They came, accompanied by their manager, and everything was perfectly proper as far as the committee had any intimation. One of the women, a singer, had a splendid voice and sang two songs which were very well received by the audience. "The other person then danced what is known as the Salome dance. If there was anything improper in this at a smoker, and the committee and the audience are to be censured for permitting this dance to go on. I think it only fair to state that the parties who witnessed both, performances say that (Continued on Page Seven.) Summers Now MovedAfter two days of strenuous acticity, in which the entire stock of their drug store was carried across the street to the new store. Summers & Son are now finally located in their fine new apothecary shop. Although the fixtures are not new the store will be one of the finest In the city. Mr. Summers has considerably more room in his new location than he had in the old. and the arrangement is more convenient. Today he is welcoming his patrons at the new stand, and the change has been made without the interruption of business.

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P: jr ... INDECENT BILLBOARD ADVERTISING COVERED Chief of Police Austgen Will Not Stand for Suggestive Advertising. MOVE COMMENDED BY PEOPLE "Girl Prom Hectors" Advertsied By Chicago Theater Not Wanted in Hammond. Another step in the moral crusade which is being carried on by the police was taken this morning when Chief of Police Peter Austgen ordered the Hammond bill posters to cover up certain posters, which are said to be indecent. Chief Austgen said this morning: "If the Chicago police will not tolerate the posting of some of the "Girl from Rector's' bills I do not see why the people of Hammond should stand for it." The posters advertising "The Indian Maidens." the burlesque that failed to come here, were thought by many to have been very indecent, but they were not removed. Howver, Chief Austge nthinks some of the "Girl from Rector's" posters were actually suggestive, and he ordered them covered up this morning. Move Is Commended. A Hammond business man said this morning: "Chief Austgen's move is in the right director. The erection of enormous billboards In the residence districts is in itself offensive to people who have any desire to see Hammond made a city beautiful, but when it comes to posting suggestive pictures on them for our wives and children to see. it is time to call a halt." "The billboard nuisance has become a nuisance to the city," said another business man. "and discounts all we have been trying to do for years to make the city more attractive. "We spend our money to nut our lawns in condition," he continued, "and to make our residences attractive, and then comes along a billboard man and rents a lot for a measly $10 a year and destroys the appearance of the whole section of the city. In addition to that, the pictures they put on the boards are a daily insult to our families." FOR HOSPITAL BENEFIT New Passion Play at the Colonial Next Week for Four Days. Beginning next Monday and lasting until next Thursday evening, inclusive, the Colonial theater will put on a new Passion Play, which has never been exhibited before. The scenes are said to have been taken from the actual ground over which the Savior traveled and are more original than any others that have yet been shown. A big percentage of the proceeds goes to St. Margaret's hospital as a benefit from the patrons of the theater. The action is dignified, the settings are grandiose, and the development of the divine tragedy goes forward to its climax with simplicity and truth to the heights of sublimity. In adidtion to this part of the program. Miss Elanore Carlton of Chicago will appear as a vocalist. Mrs. C. R. Sherrard and baby of Douglas street, went to Lowell " this morning to visit Mrs. Sherrad's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Atwood, far a few days

mPERILL

Two Departments Risk Lives in righting Flames This Morning in A. C. Torebrt Car Works No One Injured. IRE IN DANGER OF GASOLENE EXPLOSI Fire in Paint Department Thought to Have Been Due to Spontaneous Combustion Flames Eagerly Lick Their Way Among Barrels Seeking an Opening to Get at Explosives. The lives of twenty firemen were endangered this morning when fire broke out of the A. C. Torbert Car works in the old G. H. Hammond plant. The fire Is thought to have been due to spontaneous combustion, and broke out In the paint department, where a score of barrels of paint, oil and gasoline were stored. The fire seemed to be everywhere at once in the rather small room and the air was thick with smoke. Eagerly the flames licked their way around the barrels, attemptin to eat their way in whenever possible. One small opening into any of the oil or gasoline casks would have caused a terrific explosion, which would undoubtedwly have killed every fireman in the room. j Firemen Don't ILrr-ri Danger. But the fourteen men from the Central station and the four from station 3 did not stop to think of any danger. With all possible speed they attached the hose and began to throw water at first blindly and then to where the fire was raginir most vio lently. In ten minutes thev Via it ri der control, and in another twenty It was completely extinguished. Whatever the loss will be it will be fully covered by insurance, but the damage had not yet been fully estimated this afternoon. At the fire station the firemen gave little thought to the danger that they had been In. "I presume," aid one of the firemen as he busied himself during clean up hour, "that If there had been an explosion there would be quite a number of firemen angels In heaven today." I m LODGERS APPLY Nearly Two Thousand 'Bos Are Furnished Quarters At Hotel Austgen. That the condition of labor over the country has not materially improved. In spite of the fact that time are supposed to be better, is shown by the fact that there were 1.197 lodgers taken in at the police station during the three months of January, February and March. The number is also found to be increasing instead of diminishing. Last night there were twenty-four lodgers taken in and the night before thirtyeight asked for and found lodging at the station. Many of the men say they are from the east where conditions are very bad, and are on they way west where they understand the panic is not felt to any great extent. They seem to be a little more than the ordinary bum, and the fact that they come to the station at night Indicates that they are not of the criminal type. BATTLIIiGJTH DEATH Friends of Louis Scherer Anxious About His Critical Condition. Reports from the bedside of Louis Scherer, 442 I'lummor avenue, continue to be encouraging, although the crisis of the typhoid-pneumonia fever, with which he is battling for life, is not yet passed. No safe prediction can be made within the next twenty-four hours. The pationt enjoyed an hour sleep this morning, the first that he has had in three days, but his temperature continued to rise. Louis Scherer is employed !n the liquor and cigar department of the Lion store, and has scores 0f friends, who express their sympathy for him.

Thornton Township Election Said to Be in Worse Turmoil Than Ever, and Recount May Be Taken Into the Court. FRANK GREEN CLAiSHIS ELECTION Eerwanger, of West Hammond, and Patton Are In the Same Boat With Finneran and Green Election Depends Entirely on Result In Sixteenth Precinct. Alleged discrenancies in tv .i- .u precinct of Thornton township, i,. Oook county, where an election for township officers was held last Tuesday, have B.uueu to me turmoil which has resulted on account of the elos vntin. .u. two leading tickets, for the offices of justice of the peace and rnnki. Frank Green of West Hammonri r-ioi. to be elected for justice of the peace by seven votes, while James .T of Burnham claims the office on the citizens ticket by a plurality of three votes, on the ground that tnpntv..iv votes in the sixteenth precinct should ba inrown out. Question Constabulary Election. Michael Berwancer nf WPt u9m. mond and Johnny Patton of Burnham. on me citizens and republican tickets, respectively, for constahie r ul same boat with Finneran and Green. K Si ! t"i' . v ; ",; I . - FRANK GREEK. Their election depends on what will ! done witli the sixteenth precinct. Tim election commissioners wil Hake up the matter of the sixteenth precinct next Monday afternoon at 3 o'clock, but no matter which way they rule a contest seems imminent. In the meantime charges are flying back and forth, the "ins" saying that they are all right and the "outs" saying they are all wrong. The "dope" given out this mornir? was to the effect that if the sixteenth precinct is thrown out Green will be elected hy seven votes, while If it remains Finenran will be elected by three votes. The sixteenth precinct is located near the settlement of Schrumvilie, and tiie discrepancies charged are those of an oversight rather than those in voluntarily doing crook-d work. The tsiiy sheets are said to have been improperly made outDEATH OF AGED LADY Mrs. Julia Post, Octogenarian, Passes Away Near Crown Point. (Special to Tub Time?, i Crown Point, Ir:d.. April 10. Mrs. Julia Post, an aged resident of Southeast Grove, the mother of George Post of Hammond and Harrison and Schuyler Poet of this place, died at her home yesterday morning from a long con tinned illnes of dropsy, at the advanced age of 83 years. Two other son besides those given above are living. She was a widow lady, her husband dying several years ago. The funeral will take place Sunday afternoon, the remains to be Interred in the Southeast Grove cemetery. Mrs. Post was one of the oldest residents in that section of the country and was well-known and loved by a large circle of friends. Get in the push! Have you seen our line of Go-Carts and Carriages? The prices ar less at SPIEGEL'S, South Chlcago'a leading Furniture atore. t