Rensselaer Journal, Volume 12, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 January 1903 — INDIANA STATE NEWS [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

INDIANA STATE NEWS

ROLL&R CRUSHES SNOWDRIFTS Madison County Farmers Use Novel Method to Clear Roads. Farmers in the western part of Madison county are using a monster steam roller to clear roadways of large drifts of snow. When they undertook to shovel or scrape back the snow they found it so fine and lose that they could not handle It. It was decided to bring out a bib machine used for rolling the roads. With a full head of steam it was turned into several large drifts of snow that were fairly crushed. The snow was packed so hard that horses and wagons that followed made but slight impression on the surface. Some good stretches for sleighing were left in this condition, but where drifts were the most troublesome the snow that was rolled down was then picked up in huge cakes and tossed to the side of the road, or stacked up like so much timber. FLESH IS BURNED TO A CRISP Liniment Catches Fire After Being Applied to Rheumatic's Back. Samuel Hammer of South Kokomo is thought to be fatally burned by liniment, applied to his back to relieve rheumatism, taking fire. He sat before a gas fire while Mrs. Hammer applied the liniment. He leaned near the blaze, there was a flash, and the man’s body was enveloped in flame. Water and wet cloths were placed on his back, which tended to aggravate the burns. The flesh from Hammer’s hips to his neck was burned to a crisp.

Fatal Slip. James Lynch, a farmer north of Kokomo, slipped on his doorstep and crushed his skull, dying instantly. He went to the door to welcome some guests to a dinner party. Blood Poison From Corn. Jbhn Riley, a retired attorney of Bedford, several weeks ago pared a corn too closely and blood poison was the result. He is now in a serious condition. Wells Spread Typhoid. Dr. A. W. Bitling, retiring meat and milk inspector of Lafayette, advises that all city wells be abolished, claiming they are the cause of typhoid fever that has prevailed this winter. Hear From Runaway. Monroe M. Bertsch, 19 years old, who disappeared from East Germantown on December 4, has sent word from St. Francis, Florida, where he i 3 employed on a fishing vessel. Oil Leases. Eight or nine thousand acres of land in Waltz township have been leased for Oil at from $1 to $2 an acre a year. Drilling rigs are being put in and tests will be made at once. New Oil Company. The Madison Oil and Gas company has been organized with a capital stock of SIO,OOO. Richard Johnson is president. The company will at once drill for oil or gas. Coasting Accident. While watching coasters at Aurora, Henry Riese was struck by a sled and his leg was broken. Edward Kelley had his nose broken in a similar mishap. Boy Coaster Is Killed. Clem Bordan, 10 years old, son of Ira Bordan, at Leavenworth, was run into by another sled, while coasting down a hill and died in a few hours. Protection for Horses. Newcastle farmers are taking steps to indict farmers who allow their horses to stand out in the cold instead of putting them in a livery. Glass Factory Resumes. The Gaston glass factory at Muncie, that has been shut down for several months, has resumed operations. The factory will run all summer. Schoolhouse Burns. The brick schoolhouse in Harrison township burned, together with the books of pupils and all equipment. Loss, $2,600; insurance, SSOO. Fire at Montpelier. At Montpelier fire destroyed a saloon, the National Supply company and a newsstand, causing a loss of $15,000, covered by insurance. Dies From Exposure. Fannie Mackin, 19 years old, died from the effects of exposure to cold weather. She and her family lived in a hut at Logansport. Injury to Woodsman. While felling a tree Christian Thiel of Mishawaka was struck in the head with a limb and the bones of his face were mashed. Death Is Timely. Death saved Samuel Stein of Ft. Wayne, who was killed near Ada, O;, recently, from being brought to trial for obtaining money under false pretenses. He was charged with spiling fraudulent whisky bonds to Muncie saloon men. Sees Fortune Ahead. Perry Ray, a Dunkirk glass worker, has invented a device which he says will separate water from gas, and by the use of it a number of abandoned gas wells may be reopened.

GETB FORTUNE IN HER OLD AGE Sister Leaves SBO,OOO to Mrs. Shea of Jeffersonville. Mrs. Harriet Shea of Jeffersonville, who Is heir to SBO,OOO, left by her sister, Mrs. Susan McGrew, of Frankfort, Ky., is now in that city looking after her Interests. Mrs. Shea is 65 years old and has never known luxury. She is a native of Kentucky and was married when fifteen years old. Her husband is a brickmason, but for ten years poor health has kept him from work. Mrs. Shea is the mother of a large family, one of the sons, George Shea, lives at Indianapolis. Mrs. Shea has been too independent to accept aid from relatives. She nursed her sister in her last illness and received the bulk of the fortune. “The money will make little change in me,” Mrs. Shea said: “I have always lived in Jeffersonville and I suppose I will spend the rest of my days there.” OPENED LIBRARY TO CARNEGIE Indiana Man Planted Love of Books in Millionaire’s Heart. It is to an Indiana man that Andrew Carnegie owes the idea of giving public libraries to many cities of Indiana, as well as those of other states. It was John Byars Anderson who opened his library of 400 volumes to Andrew Carnegie, when the multi-millionaire was a young railroad telegrapher. Mr. Anderson spent twenty years—from 1838 to 1854—teaching at New Albany.

In the sixties Mr. Anderson, who occupied a prominent position with a railroad at Allegheny, opened his library every Saturday to Carnegie and other young men. In his book, “The Gospel of Wealth,” the steel king extols the “precious generosity of Col. Anderson of Allegheny.” Mr. Anderson was Indiana’s first grandmaster of Odd Fellows, and his portrait is always shown at the annual conclaves of that order. Since Mr. Anderson’s death, in 1897, at the age of 80 years, in Manhattan Kas., Andrew Carnegie gave Manhattan a $50,000 library building as a memorial of the friend of his youth. Mr. Carnegie also gave $50,000 for an endowment fund for the library. Brave Hello Girls. Fire threatened to destroy Castle hall at Lebanon. It originated in the headquarters of the New Telephone company, and though the smoke filled the room, the young women operators remained at their posts and continued to answer calls. Reward for Murderers. A reward of SI,OOO has been offered by the police for the arrest and conviction of the murderers of John M. Koonsman, a grocer, who was killed in his store at South Bend while driving off three men who attempted to him. To Make Artificial Gas. The architect of the Pittsburg Plate Glass Company is making plans for the artificial gas plant to be erected at Kokomo. It is stated that $200,000 will be spent on the two factories at Kokomo and Elwood. News of the Dead. Mrs. Rufus Way Smith of Marion received word that her husband, for whom she has been searching for two years, died two years ago in California, where he went for the benefit of his health. Young Woman Takes Poison. Katie Schneider, 22 years old, daughter of Anton Schneider, a shoe merchant of Lawrenceburg, took a dose of corrosive sublimate. It is said that disappointment in love was the cause of the act. Muncie Is Growing. So rapidly has Muncie and its suburbs grown in the last two years that it has been found necessary to erect two new school buildings, one in Whitely and the other in Normal City. Prayer Is Effective. Mrs. John Hoover of Anderson an active member of the Methodist church, has prayed five times a day for a year that her husband would quit the saloon business. He has closed the doors and intends to burn all the fixtures and property in the house. Babe Is Smothered. The 8-months-old child of James Vant, east of Richmond, was wrapped too closely in bhd-clcthing and was smothered.

JOHN BYARS ANDERSON