Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 July 1885 — How the Fourth was Celebrated. [ARTICLE]

How the Fourth was Celebrated.

Prof. Peters, of Lafayette, .Las sued White county for $l,lOO as his fees for making' a chemical analysis of the stomachs of Mr. and Mrs. Spencer supiiosed to have been poisoned. A number of the most eminent chemists of the county make affidavit that the charge is none too high. The second trial of the Loucks - Louthain libel suit, has resulted as inconclusively as the former. This time the jury were unable to agree, and were discharged. It is stated that the Republican members of the jury were all for the plaintiff while the Democratic members wanted to give a verdict for the defendant. she Hon. Joseph C. Mackin, the eminent democratic boss and “fine worker” of Chicago, got out of the frying the*fire, with a vengeance, when his abl e counsel cajoled Judge Gresham to make the idiotic and hair splitting decision, in regard to the former conviction. His sentence at that time, for conspiracy to falsify the election returns, was two years in the Having escaped'a deserved penalty in that case, by a quibble of the law, he was tried again for ■perjury’, in swearing before a Grand Jury that he did not order the printing of the bogus tickets found in the ballot box from the third precinct of the 18th Ward. Last week they found him guilty, and the presiding judge gave him five years in the penitentiary.

If the size of the crowd is the 'criterion by which a Fourth of July is to be judged, that, at Rensselaer this year was abundantly successful; as the number present, was surprisingly large. Tn other respects than attendance the celebration was fairly successful, although deficient in some of its advertised features. The exercises of the forenoon included the inevitable Declamation, a song or two, and a brief but excellent and thoughtful address, by the President of the Day, Judge E. P. Hammond. In the afternoon there was some music and a number of short addresses. The chief feature of the afternoon was a sort of three cornered discussion on the Woman’s Suffrage question, between Mrs. Fannie Dwiggins, W. B. Austin, Esq., and Dr. James Richey. Mrs. Dwiggins and the Doctor were in favor of the rights of women, while Mr. Austin was opposed. Not as we believe, he really believes as he spoke but merely from a lawyer’s love for discussion. His arguments, and we may also add, liis sneers though as good as that side of the question would admit of, were of the stock kind, ‘•were pretty thoroughly disposed and by Mrs. Dwiggins and tbe venerable doctor. One of the chief difficulties in getting up a celebration in Rensselaer is, to find anyone willing to attend to the work of getting it up, although there are always plenty to sit around on store boxes and cuss .something cr somebody, they don’t know just who or what, because . tiie woik is not done.