Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 20, Number 58, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 March 1899 — CITY NEWS. [ARTICLE]

CITY NEWS.

Minor Items Told in a Paragraph. Daily Grist of Local Happen iiurs Classified Under Their Kcspeetive Headings. TUESDAY. Geo. A. S'trick laden is in Hammond today on business. Sheriff Reed made a trip to Monticello this morning. Dr. Hartsell went to Chicago this morning on business. Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Hammond went to DeMotte today to visit relatives. C. P. Wright returned to his mining interests in Alabama this morning. A good second band Rambler bicycle for sale. In A No. 1 order. Apply to J. J. Montgomery. Mr. and Mrs. B. Forsythe went to Chicago this morning to buy a large stock of new spring goods. F. B. Meyers the famous duck hunter, returned to the wilds of the Kankakee this morning, to again indulge in his favorite sport. If he don’t get ducks he can get ducked. Uncle Billy Bussell left for Sullivan, 111., today, on business connected with a large estate of a deceased sister, formerly of Anderson, this state, of which he is one of the principal heirs. H. T. Bott went to Chicago this afternoon to meet his wife and children, who are expected to reach that city tonight on their way home from southern California, •where they have passed the winter. The total mortality in the American army from beginning of our war with Spain on May 1, 1898, to Feb. 28, 1899, was 5,731. There were killed in action, 327; died of wounds, 125; died of diseases, 4,277. The formal order for the return to the United States and the muster out of the 161st. Indiana regiment, was issued by the war department, yesterday. The boys of the regiment all seem to have had enough of soldering in the tropics and are in a hurry to get hornet The law providing a penalty for • the sale or offering for sale of adulterated food or drugs is in force and some dealers who sell cheap ground pepper and ground coffees may find themselves in the toils of the new law. Violators of the law in the sale of adulterated vinegar and bogus maple syrup. may get into the iron hotel and none too soon. The pure food law is the best enactment of the late legislature.—Crawfordsville Star. Two tramps who were looking for a night’s lodging place last night [and who under the recent order of the commissioners could not be given accommodations at the county jail, unless first arwere taken up by Policeiman Childers and placed in the jail, and this morning Squire J Burnham fined them under the [ vagrancy act He suspended the fine and costs, however, on con-

dition that they would get out of town, before three o’clock this afternoon, which they very gladly agreed to do. The special meetings at the Methodist church are starting out very favorably. The congregations on Sunday both morning and evening were very large and a deep interest pervaded them. Last night the attendance was excellent for Monday night and the spirit of the service quite encouraging. The special committees for the several departments of the work were appointed by the official board at an after meeting and they will be' announced tonight. This meeting is desired to be a benefit to alt the churches of the city and they with all others are invited to attend and help. Spring is now here for sure, or else the almanacs are at fault. Monday, Mar. 20th was the vernal equinox, when the sun is vertical over the equator and the days and nights are of equal length all over the earth, and when according to the dicta of the almanacs, spring begins. The exact time of the sun's transit over the equator, or the occurrence of the equinox, was 25 minutes past two o’clock, Monday afternoon. If the old rule that the wind at the time of the equinox is to be the prevailing wind for the next three months, is to be put in force this season, then we will have a cold, backward spring, for the wind was northerly at that time. Editor Swain of the Hammond News went after Editor P. B. Towle, of the Hammond Leader, one day last week, and thumped him good. Towle, who runs a ribald, disreputable sheet has been rubbing it into Swain for years, without notice on Swain’s part, but lately Towle has been attacking Swain’s wife also. Swain, in his account of the subsequent proceedings says that his first blow knocked Towle off the Erie platform and landed him in the dirt. Swain then proceeded with his work of thrashing Towle in a systematic and workmanlike manner, but before the job was completed to his entire satisfaction an officer interfered and stopped proceedings. Towle bellowed like a calf during the thumping, according to Bro. Swain’s statement. Swain was fined and costed to the amount of $9.71, which admiring friends at once paid back by a subscription. The Earl Doty company had a big audience at the opera house last night, at their opening performance, Davy Crockett. If this company keeps the same pace all the week as they set last night, they will prove about as successful a set of entertainers as has visited Rensselaer for a long. The play of last night is a very pleasing composition, and though exciting enough to be interesting is free from excessive sensationalism and also from any distressingly tragical situations. The interest and enjoyableness of this company’s performances are greatly enhanced by their practice of filling in all between scenes times by songs and other specialty performances, including a very fine exhibition of moving pictures. These specialty performances are all good in their line and free from all objectionable features. In short it is a good clean company and it puts up a good clean show. W. J. Miller arrived home today from his sad journey to Litchfield,

Mich., with the remains of his late promising, dutiful and noble minded son, Leo, the particulars whose sad and sudden death in Chicago a week ago tonight, are already familiar to our readers. The funeral at Litchfield was one of the largest ever held there, and to the terribly stricken parents, the friendliness and sympathy shown by old friends and neighbors was a great consolation, as it always is in such times of trial. Among these whospecially showed sympathy were the members of Albion college, of which the unfortunate young man was a recent graduate. The students of the college attended the funeral in a body, and among the vast profusion of floral emblems and mottoes at the occasion, theirs were the most beautiful and touching. Mr. Miller left his wife and daughter in Michigan, but expects them to follow him here, about the last of this week or the first of next. The terrible shock of her son’s death caused Mrs. Miller a serious sickness but from this she is now slowly recovering. WEDNESDAY. John J. Borntrager went to DeMotte today on business. Marsh Warner made a trip to Monticello this afternoon. The Ladies’ Literary Club will meet at the home of Mrs. Addison Parkison, Friday at 2:30 p. m. Senator Albert J. Beveridge and wife left yesterday on a trip to the Phillipines. They will be gone about three months. J. C. Gwin, Bruce Porter and Tom Joyner returned this morning to their stamping grounds near the Kankakee and are well prepared to kill all the ducks in sight, A vessel has been ordered to go after the 160th regiment, at Matanzas, but the 161st, at Havana, although under orders for home and muster out, may have to stay in Cuba several weeks, as Uncle Sam is short of transports. City Marshal McGowan reports that the cement walks in many parts of town are badly cracked as the result of the very hard freezing, the past winter. The marshal says vitrified sidewalk brick is the right material for sidewalks. An effort is being made to encourage the teachers of the public schools to give the children occasional instructions about the value of birds to agriculture, and the desirability of encouraging their increase. It should be done everywhere. The government is going to construct an 18 inch cannon for coast defense and it will be the largest gun ever made. It will be constructed on a new plan and is expected to throw 500 lbs. of gun cotton nine miles and will annihilate any ship that floats. It is reported that the steel range peddler is around again making all sorts of bargains that that generally are detrimental to purchasers .who pay sixty or seventy dollars for a stove that can be duplicated at the hardware store for very much less money. Mrs. H. T. Bott and children arrived this afternoon from Riverside, Calif., where they have spent the winter. They left a land of birds and flowers, of blooming trees and shady bowers, and struck a clime of sleet and snow, and slush and slosh and freeze and blow. A marriage license was issued this morning to George M. Burk, better known as Manly Burk, son of Geo. W. Burk, of north of town, and Miss Effie J. Cowden, daughter of James W. Cowden, just east of town. It is understood that the wedding will take place this evening. E. O. McCormick, who preceded Frank J. Reed as general passenger agent of the Monon route, and who left that place to become general traffic manager of the Big Four, has just accepted a similar place on the Southern Pacific system, a job that pays a salary of $17,000 per year. A large party of Rathbone Sisters went over to Logansport,

this morning to attend a district meeting of the order. The party consisted of Mesdames Chas. Morlan, C. E. Mills, W. C. Babcock, A. S. Laßue, W. H. Beam, L. H. Hamilton, J. N. Leatherman, Abel Grant, Chas. Robinson. W. S. Parks, W. A. Huff and Mrs. Anna Tuteur, who was the delegate from the Rensselaer Temple. The Earl Doty company gave a very attractive play “The Avenger,” last evening, at the opera bouse. Owing to the bad weather the audience was rather small, but those who were there enjoyed the performance greatly. It seemed the general opinion that the company not only maintained the pace set in Monday night’s performance, but exceeded it. Tonight the performance will be the one act farce comedy, “A night at the New Hotel.” It will be superlatively funny, from start to finish. THURSDAY. “Earle Doty Company.” Next week occurs the spring vacation of our public schools. W. A. Rinehart arrived from Buffalo, last evening, for a short stay. Charles Vick, the optician, is back from a two months’ stay in Goodland and Kentland. Charles W. Townsend, of Cedar Rapids. lowa, is here the guest of his sister, Mrs. C. W. Rhoades. Theodore George is at Chicago today, taking the civil service examination for the railway mail service. C. R. Yeoman’s school at Virgie has closed and he is now at home. The other schools in Union township will close next Tuesday. Mr. and Mrs. Milton Roth visited Mr. Roth’s relatives at Dayton and Lafayette, a few days this week, returning home Tuesday evening. Another tramp got -lodging at the jail last night, by the way of a fine for vagrancy, and which was suspended on conditions of his moving on to greener fields, this morning. A string of five fine Jersey cows and heifers, belonging to John Jones, who is moving to Delphi, will be sold at auction Saturday afternoon, at White’s livery barn, by W. N. Jones, auctioneer. W. C. Smalley, of Carpenter Tp., was in town this week. He has rented his farm and is now acting as general agent for the Champion harvester company, a position in which he has heretofore had much experience. Mrs. J. C. Lawrence of Farmer City, Ills., is visiting her sister Miss Eva Grigg of this city, and her parents Mr. and Mrs. James Griggs, of Barkley township, also other relatives and friends of that vicinity. The two literary societies in the Rensselaer high school will combine their forces Friday afternoon, and jointly will render an extended and no doubt very enjoyable musical program. Patrons and friends of the schools are invited to attend. Wm. Augsperger is a new resident of this vicinity, having moved here from the vicinity of Fairbury, HL, last week. He has bought and moved on to a quarter section of land in Barkley Tp.. formerly the Charles Pullins place, but more commonly known as the old Stockton farm. On St. Patrick’s day of blessed memory, up in the center of “Haddock’s Mill Pond,” where less than ten years ago, was an impassable and interminable marsh, B. J. Gifford’s farmers began preparing their onion beds, and in the course of a few days had several large beds ready for the seed. It is understood that the onion raising business in the Gifford district, which was pretty large last year, will this year attain proportions nothing less than enormous.