Rensselaer Republican, Volume 25, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 March 1893 — The Boom That Still Is [ARTICLE]

The Boom That Still Is

Work on the foundry building began yesterday, with seven men ’lt will go up with a rush. The talk of a cannery has assumed a more tangible and more promising form. The surrounding farmers have been convinced of their great advantage and are anxious to do their part. Several energetic citizens are taking the matter up, and it is likely that a stock company will soon be organized and the enterprise become a reality. The M. E. church people will build a parsonage if they can secure a suitable location. Frank Foltz will build a neat residence in the grove, east of S. p. Thompson’s place. W. T. Perkins will build a residence north of his present place, for his own use, and turn the older building into a double tenant house. B. Harris will surely build a good residence on the old school house site, this season; A Leopold has let the contract for the business building between Burns’ livery stable and Collins’ implement store, to R. C. Dowler. —W. Pr-HopfciflSj the deaf mute, is putting up a large addition to his house on Weston street.

Frank Osborne left for Fort Wayne last evening to purchase the machinery for his planing mill. He has got the engine and boiler for it already upon the grounds. The planing mill will be upon a good sized scale, in all respects.

A notable event in the growth of Rensselaer is the laying out and putting upon the market, of a large additon to the town. The addition will consist of a 20 acre tract lying just south of the railroad and east of Weston’s addition and north of Leopold’s addition. The surveying of the tract will begin this week. It will be the property of the “Columbia, Improvement Company, of Rensselaer, Indiana-” This company has been duly incorporated and’ is composed of the following named gentlemen; C. E. Mills, C. C. Siger, H. B. Murray, J. J. Hunt, E. L. Hollingsworth, Geo. Goff and Joseph Harris. The tract will make about 120 lots, mostly large residence lots, but the first tier along tha railroad will be smaller, and reserved for business or factory purposes. As soon as the weather will permit, the lots will be improving by planting shade trees around every block, and other means. The name of the new plat will be the Columbia Addition.

R. M. Isherwood, editor of the Delphi Times, has been named by Congressman Hammond, as the man for the Delphi post-office. County Clerk Coover received a telegram yesterday announcing the death ot Mrs. Dr. Landon, at Remington. She was an aunt of Mrs. Coover. A law for which nothing good can be said, has been passed by the State Legislature extending the terms of all city officers for two years. It does not affect .incorporated towns, like Relnsselaer. Rev.; J. P. Robinson, lately pastor of the Christian Church, at Remington, has changed his denominational relations ’by joining the Baptists. He joined that church at Logansport a few days ago.

The j Democrats have agreed on a legislative gerrymander, to replace the one knocked out by the Supreme court. It gives the Democrats nearly two thirds of the members of both, houses. The bill leaves Jasper and Newton together for a representative; and Jasper, Newton and Benton together for a senator. The beautiful singer and harpist, Geo. Timmons in the great Irish Drama, the “Fairies Well,” with elaborate splendid scenery and a first class company including the famous Silver Bell Quartette in their new songs, new dances, new music. Opera House, March 3rd. One Night Only. *

Nowels <fc Son are making alterations in their elevator preparatory to connecting their proposed new mill to it. Work on the mill itself will be pushed as fait as the weather will permit. The meetings continue at the Christian Church • Subjects for next Sunday, morning, “The Door Opened and Christ Within”. Evening, “The Five Brethren”. All are cordially invited.

Opera House, Friday, March 3rd, George H. Timmons in the Spectacular Irish Comedy Drama, the Fairies Well, with one of the strongest companies that has ever visited our city and also their own special scenery, making it one of the best entertainments of the season. Th e school entertainnlient at the M. E. church, lastFrsday night, drew an immense audience, the building being packed far beyond its seating capacity. The merits of the entertainment were fuily commensurate to the liberality of its patronage. Its net financial returns werie the very comfortable sum of $75.25.

Peter Giver left town one day last week and is reported to have “skipped.” He left his family in bad circumstances; and according to some reports, it is a caie of desertion. According^to others, Peter is thought to have been offered a job on a railroad in California, and is likely to send for his family when located . Many creditors mourn Giver’s untimely taking (himself) off, it is said. Giver left a good job here as pumper for the railroad water tank. The noted stallion Sidney was sold, at auction, Tuesday, at New York for $27,000. A prize of a fine bike sulkey was offered by the Mortem. an for the closest guess, at the price he would bring. Our local horsey men sent in guesses; T. T. McCoy $48,000 C. Roberts $55,000; C. C. Starr $43,000, Delos Thompson $30,000, Mel Larue $75,000. Twenty thousand guesses were made, and their average was $75,000.

Mr. Albert L. Sayers and Miss Minnie B. Bierley were married last Sunday in the parlors of the Makeever house, Rev. B. F. Ferguson performing the ceremony. The groom is the son of Ephriam Sayers, .of Kniman. The work of rebuilding the Rensselaer Mill is now in progress; a good start having been made on the foundations. The building will occupy the same ground as the former mill, but will be square with the street and extend 14feet farther south.

The World’s Fair will arrive in two months more, if it keeps on schedule time, and people who want to see the greatest show ever yet given on this earth, should begin to lay their plans now. It cannot be seen at all in less than a week’s time, and very inadequately in less than two weeks. To stay in Chicago two weeks or even one, at regular hotel or boarding house rates, will be a greater expense than most families will be willing to meet A good plan it seems to us, will be to form clubs of from six to 15 or 20 families each, and for the club then to rent a house or flat in Chicago, or some suburb convenient to the fair, and for each family to occupy the house in turn, for one, two or more weeks, as their leasure or amount of spare cash might dictate. A house of 4 or 6 rooms would accommodate two families as most of their waking hours would be spent in the fair ground and they could afford to put up with crowded accommodations. By the adoption of this plan we believe that people could see the fair at comparatively small expense. We suggest that people talk this matter up at once. We believe that a number of such clubs can be organized in Rensselaer, Remington, and at least one in every township in the oounty. If any persons take hold of this matter, in any part of the county, The Republican will do all in its power to help them, free of charge.

We heard not long ago, of an intelligent young man who had come from the country and engaged in business in town. After he had had plenty of opportunity to learn from personal experience and close observation just how fast merchants and professional men were not getting rich, nor wasting such a vast amount of substance in riotous living, he admitted that he had come into town full of a widely prevalent belief among our country brethren, that the business men of the town were making money too fast, and receiving altogether too great profits on their goods, but that actual practical knowledge of what they really are making, had changed his views very materially.. The fact is there has been a vast amount of misinformation spread among the farming people regarding the profits of business men. It will be "known, for instance that some firm is doing a very large business. Selling goods enough, perhaps, to leave a profit of twenty dollars per day. Now twenty dollars per day makes over 16,000 per year, and that is a good deal of money. But when the other side of the ledger is counted up; such as the expense of living, clerk hire, losses on unsaleable goods, rents, insurance, taxes <fcc_, it will soon be found that mighty little is left of the $6,000 for the merchant to get rich on. The fact is that very few retail business men ever get rich, outside of the large cities. Let any man whose memory reaches back 25 or 30 years or more, try to recall the names of the business men he has known to become wealthy, or even comfortably well off, and he will find the number is surprisingly small; while he will have no trouble at all in calling to mind many who have made Scarcely more than a mere living in their business, and many more who have broken down and failed entirely. The man who follows the vocation of farming with energy, intelligence and perseverance has a much better prospect for acquiring a competence than doeeQhis neighbor, the town merchant.