Hammond Times, Volume 6, Number 225, Hammond, Lake County, 13 March 1912 — Page 8

THE TIMES.

Wednesday, March 1P. 1912.

GARY L1AII HAS HARROW ESCAPE Pioneer Gary Man's Ma

chine Is Hit by Pennsylvania Flyer.

Blend ing Beauties of Art and Nature at Flower SKow.

A. R. Hoover. 633 Washington street, a. pioneer .Gary resident, had a narrow escape from death at supper time last night when an east-bound Pennsylvania train hit and completely wrecked his forty-horsepower 'Flanders" car at Tolleston. Mr. Hoover was uninjured and bystanders say that during the few seconds elapsing between the time the train hit the oar. shoved it to one side and then ground the fore part to pltces that ho never lost his presence of mini Mr. Hoover was driving north ' in Main street, and as he approached the

Pennsylvania crossing he noticed the !

Kates wcrr ;p. He drove toward the crossing, and when In the middle of it, he noticed switchmen swinging lights and in the nct instant he saw the train sts-oieht ahead. i He at once applied the brakes and startrd to reverse the machine when the collision occurred. After swinging the car about the front part was frround to pieces. As soon as the train passed by Mr. Hoover got out of the maehir.. The car is a complete wreck. Beyond asking thai hli auto, which is valued at J1.00i, be replaced Mr. Hoover will ak no further damages from the company.

GAVIT FRANCHISE NOW IN EAST CHICAGO Three Branch Lines Are Sought There by Gary & Interurban.

The Gavit franchise was presented to the Kart Chicago hoard of public works yesterday; and is now being considered by that body. The franchise provides for the laying of a network of tracks comprising a number of branches. The tracks, according to tht franchise, are to begin at Forsyth avenue and to run east in Chicago avenue- to Parish. This would make a third track In Chicago avenue, the South Shore line already having two tracks In this "thoroughfare as far as Euclid -avenue, where, the Harbor cars turn north. On Parish the tracks would extend as far as 14 5th street and run thence to Aider, to Guthrie, to Watling. to the Lake Shore depot. Another line would run on 115th street from Alder to Cline and thence run south to uth avenue, Gary, extended. A third line would provide tracks in

Kennedy avenue starting at Chicago avenue and -running thence south to the Hammond limits, where connection

would be had with the

":"':1va: ; .-MV4:tWS5j:i' v: f .sv ' '-

to clean out the dives. . ; viser of Block!, Is the third but passive The dlvekeepers used every effort defendant U the suit, to defeat Prechtel ana succeeded, but; Deposition Take I Hammond, he will remain an Influence In his ward A few days ago the plaintiffs' atjust the same. Stanley Lukowski in ' torneys took the deposition of Wood, the second ward had too many candi-: who soon is to leave Chicago for the dates to contend with, and by the time , west. His testimony was taken at each one had picked up Us little fol-i Herman Granger's office in Hammond.

lowing, Lukowski was counted out. The city .election will be held on the

Attorneys Bomberger of Hammond and Cochrane of Chicago were present and

third Tuesday of April, and within the I cross-examined Wood. A voluminous

next week it is expected that new candidates or some of the old ones will announce themselves on an Independent ticket.

BLOCKI CASE UP AT VALPO

(Continued from Pag 1.)

branch. A petition was presented to

board by residents and property owners in East Chicago, protesting against th granting of any franchise that does not provide for the operation of its lines through Kast Chicago, west of the canal.

GRIFFITH. Truant Officer Tattee of Iwell visited our schools yesterday. ... .. Mr. and Mrs. Matt Reeder visited at the home of their son John yesterday. Mrs. Edsil Dutton of Ross, who has been visiting relative here for a few days, returned home yesterday. A. M. Johnson of Valparaiso was a pleasant caller here yesterday. John Arnold of Chicago was a business visitor here today.

ed . an alleged quitclaim deed to the steel

trust his heirs will endeavor to gain possesion of the valuable land. The fight. It is said, will be made upon the basis that a big corporation took advantage of the aged man's condition and Induced him to sign papers the significance of which he had no knowledge. It appears that Block Beveral months previous had executed a quit claim deed for the property to H. M.

Wood of Chicago for business reason

and that later when Weed could" find

no trace of title that he believed that the old man. was mistaken and that conceding . that the steel trust, upon the representations of its attorneys.

had prior rights and himself being

ignorant of the law, he signed a quitclaim deed in conjunction with Blocki Lived On Land Since 1K.H3.

Block came upon the land in 1883 as caretaker of the old Calumet Gun

club. At the time the property was

valued at but a few dollars an acre

and by agreement. It is said, 160 acres of land, now east of the Gary harbor

Blip and north of the coke ovens and

surounded by the mills was given to

him. He never paid taxes.

In 1906 when Gary was founded the

steel corporation secured a deed to the land from other claimants.

He Never Was Molested. However, Blocki continued to live

upon the land, defending his claim. He

never was molested and was free to i go from and come into the mills all will. In order to reach his home. Tha company never built upon the 160

acres and even to this day his hut stands surounded by the mills. The household ' effects are In the hut as they were on the day of Blockl's death, late In 1910.

An estimate of the value of the land

may be gleaned from the fact that a couple of, years ago the steel corpora

tion purchased 'from th State of Indiana seven and a fraction acres of shore line for which 138,625 was paid. This is recorded In D. R. 154, p 318, at Crown Point. Take A Change of Venue. Recently, the defendant companies took a change of venue from Lake to Porter county. Knapp, Campbell and Cochrane , of Chicago, general western counsel for the steel trust, represent

the defendants, and E. G. Balard of Gary and W. J. Lotz of Hammond are counsel for the heirs. H. M. Wood, a

Chicago contractor, a friends and ad

amount of testimony was taken and

this was filed with the Porter court

clerk.

It Is said that Wood's evidence dis

closes that he was a friend of the

Blocki family and that he was a visitor at the aged trapper's- home lnsldo the Gary steel mill gates. About two

years ago Blocki transferred to him by quitclaim deed his 160 acres. Wood, not being a lawyer, concluded that

Blocki had no title to the property.

About this time the steel trust was

changing the course of the Grand Calumet river, an operation which

which caused the stream to overflow

onto Blockl's premises and which he claimed eventually produced an Illness

that caused him to take to his bed. Demands And Get Dimign. Wod then tells that at the suggestion of Mrs. Carrlo Davis of Austin

111., a daughter of Blocki that he visit

ed W. V. Gleason, general superintend

ent of the Gary steel mills and asked

that Blocki be given $1,000 because o

the damage done to his property,

Gleason, he says, then gave him a let

ter to Kemper K. Knapp, the steel

trust counsel In Chicago.

The latter, it is said investigated the

claim, and put the proposition up to the board of directors and later when Wood called he says. It is stated, was

informed that the company admitted

er of the land. Knapp, he says, made more "explanations, ' etc., and being thoroughly .convinced by his arguments he handed over the documents and received therefor a check. It instated that the check which the steel company claims was given in payment for the Gary Land company's

aea was an Indiana Steel Company check and that the voucher end of it stated that it- was for the company's

river operations."

Accuse Trnst of Fraud. This, the plaintiffs lawyers claim.

wil knock out any standing aa to th payment of consideration for the quit claim deed.

Wood maintains In his deposition

that no part of the $400 was actually paid In consideration for the land in suit.

It will be the endeavor of the plain

tiffs' lawyers to show that ths defend

ant secured the quit claim by fraudulent means.

According to a-ttorneys the chancel

of the plaintiffs are further advanced

by reason of the fact that the Indiana

laws prohibit both the heirs and the other parties to the suit testifying tt

any transaction that occurred prior M Blockl's death. Testimony of Wood In

the form of a deposition, It appears, can be admitted Into the case.

TROLLEY CAR

HITS FREIGHT

Southern Traction Interur

ban Car in Smashup.

Passengers on & Chicago and South

ern Traction Interurban car were bad-

the Justness of Blocki's damage claim J ly shaken up and cut with flying glass.

but that only $400 would be allowed to him. Knapp, he says, informed him that the $400 would not be recognised

as an acknowledgement from the com

pany as to Blockl's claim to the land

but merely as a payment for damages. Wood was then told, he says, to go to

Gary and have Blocki sign the voucher

and necessary papers. Claim Agent On Scene.

His story follows that the company

! sent Steve Orlich of Its Gary claim de

i partment to Blockl's hut and tha

! Blocki, who was 111, Jils daughterM rs.

Davis and himself were present and

wnen ine car iasi mgni ran into a freight train on the Grand Trunk rail

road, about a mile south of Blue Island. The motorman on the interurban car tried to stop when he saw the

freight train, but the brakes failed to

work and the car ran into the freight

full force, breaking the train In two.

The force of the Impact caused the

Interurban car to rebound and It hit one of the passengers who had jumped off, knocking him down and crushing

his leg. Daniel Curran of Homewood, III., who was in the smoking compartment of the interurban, was badly cut

that the old man upon the advice of and the motorman also suffered severe

his daughter signed the document. As I injuries.

Wood was signing the papers he notiC'

ed for the first time that the Gary Land company, the real estate holding

company of the steel corporation, had been sandwiched into the affair, ard

that the document he was signing was a quitclaim deed to the land company

and a receipt for $400. Why The Gary Land Company f

Before receiving the $400 check In

behalf of Blocki it Is stated that Wood went to Knapp and demanded to know how the Gary Land company got mix

ed into the affair. He says that Knapp in a casual way said that the land company was merely a holding affair.

etc.. etc.

Wood says he made a previous In

vestigatlon Into Blockl's claims and

found no traces that he had title and he says that he was convinced that

the stel corporation was the Teal own-

APPLY FOR

RECEIVER JN WHITING Straus, Britz & Co., wholesale liquor dealers, have made application for a receiver for A. Goldsmith of the Whiting Wholesale Liquor company. It is alleged in the complaint that Solomon Goldsmith sold out the business to A. Goldsmith when the plaintiff has a bill against Solomon Goldsmith for $584.93. ard that his act in so doing was not in compliance with the bulk sales law. Attorney Willis E. "Roe filed the complaint.

USED THINGS THAT TOD BON" WANT CAN BE SOLD IF TOtJ ADVERTISE! IN THIS TIMXS

FATHER LAUER IS IMPROVING Father Lauer of East Chicago, who

-i was removed to St. Margaret's hospital

last week owing to an attack of typhoid fever, is reported to be Improving nice-

Hammond' ly. , '

REFORM TRIUMPHANT IN WEST HAMMOND (Continued from Page L)

Links Home and Of fice THERE are no lone, lonesome days for the housewife who has a telephone in her home. .v.':.. If it is a family matter, she may talk to her husband at the office; if it is a social duty, she may call her friends and acquaintances. And more than this, her husband and her friends may call her whenever they wish.

The service costs but a few cents per day. Every Bell Telephone is . a Long Distance Station CHICAGO TELEPHONE COMPANY

cinct In which polling place Is, whereas In the case of yesterday, Finneran a first ward resident forced himself on the fourth ward voters. His brother-in-law A. M. Lletzan was a candidate for alderman In . the fourth ward. Hllger and Lleber had been appointed on the night before election at a regular meeting, to act as watchers. This meeting was presided over by James Adelsberger, as president and Henry Lleber,' jr., as secretary. The judges in the fourth ward yesterday, appointed at the same meeting, were Krnest Ruhl, Jacob Hilderbrandt, and t Otto WUdermuth. They had accepted the credentials of Hilger and Lleber, and should . have demanded Finneran's credentials. It was said this morning that Finneran's object in his proceedure was to make the election Irregular, so as to open the way for another con

test in the court. In hope that the

present city administration may hold over for another year. In fact members of the present administration who are in the ring, have made the boast

that if Goyke is not elected that they

will hold over for another year. CREDIT TO MISS -BROOKS. But the people of West Hammond.

as shown Dy their vote yesteraay are

determined to have a house cleaning

The agitation and reform work of Mss

Virginia Brooks has not been in vain

It "is generally admitted by the win

ning forces of yesterday that the lion's

share of the credit should go to her,

although she remained more or less In

the back ground In the present campaign, so that, the argument of

Woczszyhski's enemies would fall flat, their argument being that she would

rule Wt Hammond.

While Miss, Brooks was the creator of a new spirit In West Hammond, her work would have been in effective, had not men like Woczszynskl, Mankowski. Kamradt, Wunschel, Spafford and some others thrown themselves into the campaign' to materallze, the Ideas for reform that were growing among the people. ' ELECTION IX APRIL. It Is. generally conceeded that the voters overlooked three good candidates In Fred H. Prechtel, P. A. Push, and Stanley Lukowski. Pugh did not campaign as hard as he might, saying even yesterday noon that he did not

care for the election as long as some!

-man .would -be -elected wh would vote

The

Land

u ( Co,

CONTROLS EVERY UNIMPROVED LOT IN THE HEART OF THE CITY OF GARY. This Company will pave every street in the First Subdivision. Sewers and water mains are now in every alley in the First Subdivision. The prices of lots in the First Subdivision include the cost of paved streets.

For Years to Com

the properties of the Gary Land Company, situated directly south of the Steel Plant and other subsidiary companies of the Corporation, will be the home of the merchant, banker, clerk and workmen. Compare the . price of our Improved Lots with those south of the Company's properties. A clear title to every lot.

Is this not. Reason Enough?

Why you should purchase property for residential purposes in the First Subdivision? Beautifully situated, high and dry, accessible to plants of the Steel Company, to schools and churches and the business center of the city. A few unsold lots in the First Subdivision ranging in price from $450 up.

The

airy Land Co,