Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 17, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 December 1889 — INDIANA STATE NEWS. [ARTICLE]

INDIANA STATE NEWS.

Muncie is moving for a new pork. William Zunn, aged 45, of Terre Haute, committed suicide, Monday. The iron sever pipe works at Vincennes were destroyed by fire, Tuesday. Loss, $27,000. Miss Rebecca Ryuerson, near Osgood, a brilliant young lady, has suddenly become insane. Leeper & Reid, brickmakers, of South Bend, are preparing] to use crude petroleum as fuel in "TZT-ZinZ The farmers of Ripley township, Mont gomery county, organized a rabbit hun and killed 400 of the bunnies. The Indianapolis Wheel Works were destroyed by fire, early Thursday morning, causing a loss of $125,000, with very small insurance. George Smith, city meat inspector of Muncie, has resigned because Judge Lotz has declared the law under which he pcrated unconstitutional.Mrs. Anna Ferry, of Floyd county, has been arrested on indictments ‘charging' larceny and false pretenses, by which several merchants in New Albany lost heavily. James H. Wilson’s bam, near Washington, was burned by an incendiary, Tuesday night, together with six horses and several head of cattle and sheep. Loss, $4,500. Mrs. George Maxwell, of New Albany, discovered Wednesday morning that during the night, in her sleep, she had rolled upon her babe, aged two months. The little one died soon after being taken up. The Christian Church Sunday-school at Kokomo is claimed to be the largest of that denomination in the United States. The average attendance for the past six weeks was over six hundred. Affairs are in a bad way at Washington. The Gazette says that ‘ fights are of common Sunday occurrence; rowdyism is ram pant, and drunken toughs boldly parade the streets without attempting to mask their condition.” A covey of white quail has been discovered on ajarm near Hartford City, and whether they are Albinos or the Mediterranean quail imported to this country several years ago from Egypt, is a question that is puzzling sportsmen. Walter K. Freeman, inventor of the incandescent light system in use at Goshen and other points, taking exceptions to something appearing in the Elkhart Sentinel, waited upon the editor of that paper with a club, but was knocked out. John Lenyan, night watchman in Helfrich’s mill, at Independence, laid down in front of a furnace and went to sleep. In some way his clothing caught fire and ho was horribly burned before he awakened, dying in a short time. He succeeded John Donohue in that position, and Donohue was burned to death in a similar manner William Marquis, the eighteen-year-old lad arrested for wrecking the Wabash pas senger train at Kellar’s Station, has made a confession, and it is shown that, while there was a malicious attempt to destroy property, there was no malicious thought of imperiling human lives; nor did the boy realize the gravity of his offense until the doors of the jail closed on him. There was a natural gas explosion at Shelbyville, Wednesday. A. L. Sparks, fruits and confectioner, was preparing to use gas, and the explosion first occurred in his store, and the mischief spread to Cas totter & Thralls, barbers; Peter Tettig, harness maker, and C. W. Cheney, saloon. The building was badly damaged, doors and windows being blown out, and the floors ripped up.Tiietroublewas caused by a leak, and the loss foots up severa hundred dollars.

’Squire H. C. Hammdntrec, of Logansport, is dangerously ill. Thursday night, while his daughter, Lulu, was in attendance at his bedside, a noise outside attracted her, and she raised the window and peered into the darkness. Immediately she was struck two stunning blows in the face, the last one knocking her down, and she was afterward found in an unconscious condition by members of the family, while the blood streamed from her nose and from an ugly cut on her head. Miss Hammontree did not seo her assailant. The appointment of Nicholas Ensley as Pension Agent for the District of Indiana, was announed from Washington Wednesday afternoon. Ensley lives at Auburn, DeKalb county. He is forty five years old, and was commissioned Lieutenant in June,’6s. He served a term as State Senatorin 'BS-87 and is pretty well known among Republican politicians. The office is the second largest in the country, and will soon be the largest. There are already 46,814 pensioners in the District, and up to Saturday last Colonel Zollinger had paid out/in the four years of his service $30,617,525- Since the new quarter opened 277 names have been added to the list of pensioners. Colonel Zollinger’s commismissioned term will expire January 13, but his successor may take the office at

any time. There are sixteen clerks in the office and it is not under civil service rules. The salary of the Agent is $4,000 ’ without foes. Gen. Reub Williams, of Wartaw, was a prominent candidate for the position. Sam B. Sweet, of Fort Wayne, was also a candidate. The Dial well at Terre Haute is dally producing about eighty barrels of oil, wbich is equal to fifteen tons of coal, while the Staunton and Thompson wells have proven failures, as well as the Guarantee. No 1, and, and Phoenix investments The drill in the Guarantee well, No. 2, is still going downward, and it is estimated that it baa two chances of failure to one of suo cess. If it fails, the accepted theory will be that the oil field trends east and west from Terre Haute, and future wells will be drilled on that basis. Terre Haute

capitalists are not discouraged over the failures which have been made, and will continue the search until successful, or else it is demonstrated that the field is entirely embraced iu the territory covered by the Dia. Company. Memories of the Pollard school furfii ture swindle are revived in a suit at Greensburg, in which Freeman Pmlard seeks to recover $2,500 from Elmer Hill and wife. The plaintiff is a son and the defendant a brother-in law of R. B. Pollard, and the former claims that his father sent him from Canada some Government bonds, and that he invested $3,500 with Hill in A farm, placing the deed in the of Mrs. HilL Tho Hills deny

the trust, and allege that the bonds were sent to Hill as commission while he was in business with R. B. Pollard. Col. C. G. Conn of Elkhart, proprietor of the Elkhart horn factory, and Joint representative from Elkhart, Noble and Steuben counties, has been indicted by the grand jury for blackmailing. He is charged with writing a letter to Henry B. Sherwood, his confidential clerk, charging him with having appropriated SIO,OOO in chattels, cash and securities, and threatening prosecution toi the fullest extent of the law if not returned by Nov. 1.1889. The tetter also implicates the wife of Sherwoou in the matter, and states among other things that the money was used for the education of his daughter. A bitterly contested ease will ensue. Evansville was cursed with a gang of gamblers, who plundered right and left and played all sorts of swindles with seeming impunity. Finally the Evansville Journal scored the authorities so roundly that the police were spurred into activity, and the first gambler captured was fined $25 and costs by the Mayor. This alarmed others, and while some hastily left the city, others contented themselves With sending threatening letters to the representatives of the paper in question, only to find themselves still further roasted in print. The course of the paper has worked a wonderful change in. public sentiment, and it illustrates the salutary Influence to be exerted in a community where once a fearless Journalist sets his face in the right direction.