Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 35, Number 80, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 June 1903 — RECORD Of THE WEEK [ARTICLE]

RECORD Of THE WEEK

INDIANA INCIDENTS TERBELY TOLD. Anrora Man Held for Two Brutal Murders—Hessville Maa Kills Himself on Wife’s Grave—Broken Shaft Causes Train Wreck. Harry Wheeler jyas indicted at L,awrenceburg for iv double murder at Aurora on March 18. Wheeler was arrested at Indianapolis. It is charged that on March 18 Wheeler poured coal oil on Mrs. M. Schmidt of Aurora, then ignited her clothing with a match and announced that she -burned to death accidentally; The same night the home of Thomas Johnson was burned and two weeks later the body of Johnson was found in the Ohi* river with such marks as to show he had been murdered. Three Hurt in Wreck. A broken driving shaft on the engine of a through freight, running at the rate of thirty-five miles an hour, resulted in the wreck of the engine at Shelbyville and the injury of the engineer, Earl Nicholson, Fireman William Hupp and Brnkeman Thomas King, whose condition is critical. The shaft pierced the cab and struck the brakeman in the back. The fireman jumped and was thrown fifty feet, breaking an arm and otherwise injuring him. The engineer escaped with a few bruises.

Simple Lends His Moner. On information of John Simple, aged and feeble, Mrs. Mattie Johnson, a boarding home keeper, was arrested at Kokomo on the charge of bunko steering. Simple, whose home is in Chicago, was a lodger at the Johnson house. The woman is charged with obtaining various sums from Simple, at one time S2OO with which to obtain a divorce from an alleged cruel husband. An effort was made to secure $2,000 Simple had in a local bank. ffboots Self on Wife’s Grave, Despondent over his wife’s death, which occurred lust. June, ex-Mayor George Slateman of Hessviiie visited her burial place and tired a bullet into his brain. His body was found lying upon his wife’s grave. Slateman, who was a prosperous farmer, attributed much of his success to his wife. Since Hie day of her death, however, he was a changed mau. His temperament, once happy and contented, became morose. He appeared to have lost all interest in life. No children are left. Indiana to Grow a Forest. Indiana has purchased 2,000 acres in. Clark County for a State forestry reserve. The clearing of the grounds of underbrush and dead trees will be taken up at once. About 200 acres will be devoted to a nursery and trees of every variety known to the State will be grown from seeds. These trees are to be trahspianted later at different parts of the State where their growth can be watehed. Ceath Follows Graduation. A Logansport girl, who graduated from high school the other day, is dying and her faHier, James Morrisos, is already dead as the result of a collision between their buggy and a street car. Both were thrown out of the buggy by the shock and the car mangled their bodies. State Items of Intereot, is the owner of the Casino at French Lick. He is worth SIOO,OOO. A college for the Mennonite-people of the United Canada is to be located at Goshen. Alexander Short, a lineman, was electrocuted by a live wire at Kokomo. He leaves a widow and twelve children. Mrs. Samuel Van Cleave of Kansas City was killed at Crawfordsville by jumping- from a carriage -when sho thought the horses were going to run away. At Valparaiso'Truman Beam entered a plea of not "guilty to the charge- of murdering Martha Lawrence. The defense secured a continuance until the September term. Because he could net find a suitable housekeeper to care for his nine children, recently made motherless, Peter Kansfieid went to ffTs wife’s grave at Hessviiie cemetery and shot out his brains. " George ATHbrher.'lTyoung man living near Pleasant Mills, while swimming with a brother and another companion, suddenly threw up his hands and sank in eight feet of water. The coroner., returned a verdict of accidental drowning. Farmets in • Dearborn and adjoining counties are making a determined war upon negroes as n result of the murder of Miss Anna Kaiser. Many families have been ordered to leave, and negroes employed by farmers are being discharged. - Indiana was storm swept the other (lay. Four lives were lost and over sl,090,000 damage was done. The worst destruction was in the gas belt. Six factories at Kokomo were partly wrecked, scores of buildings were blown from their foundations and partly destroyed and the cab from a passenger engine was blown away while the train was at full speed. The loss in and about Kokomo is estimated at $200,000. Willie Black, aged 10, waa killed at Converse and Langford Btephenson, a farmer at Logansport, I>f lightning. In the northern part of the State there was heavy wind and hail. At South Bend, Columbia City and Cherubnsco damage was done to wires, buildings and trees. Indianapolis suffered damage to shade trees. Heavy bail fell. Evansville and other southern Indiana cities were visited by high winds with damage to treea and light buildinga. Ira Dixon, a Wabash section hand, took refuge under a tree near Hamilton. . The tree waa blown down and it crushed him ‘to death. Blot started at Crawfordarilie by Northwestern Traction Company’s attempt to lay street car tracks, in defiance of city officials; workmen attacked with fire hose; several persona injured. Storm victims in Indiana are William C. G*i«y, killed at Alexander; Manford Stevenson, killed by lightning at Walton, and Edward Brennan, an engineer, who died from shock at Hammond, fcufldings were wrecked and wires crippled at Frankfort, Tborutown, Decatur, Windfall, Camden and Geneva. Tha property loss in Howard County alone in estimated at SIOO,OOO.