The Boys "Cleaned Up" Over lere tet's ''Clean Up"" Over Here! Finish Your Job!
The Alliance Herald
Section
One
"THE MINT ff tW( 1 I WITHOUT ADVERTISING; NO ONE ELSE CAN." Printer ' Ink.
VOLUME XXVI.
AU ; ;.Jri, BOX BUTTE COUNTY, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, APRIL 17, 1019
NUMBER 2
Sixteen
Pages
V
UVJ
WALTER REISENWEAVER, SEVENTEEN YEARS OLD, SAYS
t HE COMMITTED FOUL MURDER OF CHARLES F.
JOHNSON ON NIQHT OF APRIL 8th.
STORY IS TOLD WITH VERY CLEAR VOICE
Circumstantial Evidence and Developments from Car Robberies En
able the Officer 'to Secure Complete Confession Held
f to District Court, Without Bail, for Trial '"
Walter Reisenwever, sevente. ?
years of age, Saturday afternoon
confessed having committed the
i gruesome murder of Charles F.
' Johnson, at the stockyards in Alli
ance on the night of Tuesday, Xpril
8th, and Tuesday morning of this
week entered a plea of guilty to a
; charge "of first degree murder in the
county cour.t of Box Butte county.
He will be held for trial hi the dis
trict court and from which court
sentence will be passed. Until such
trial he is held, without bail, on the
order of County Judge Ira E. Tash.
During the several days prior to
the confession and through a long,
hard examination this young mur
derer at no time showed any signs
of emotion, nor has he since admit
ting his guilt appeared frightened or
even disturbed. Ills . statement,
, though brief, was plain and a com
plete confession, even to the extent
of his moves both before and after
the killing. At the outset, after
confessing the murder, he steadfast
ly denied having robbed his victim,
but later admitted taking the dead
man's pocketbook and finally reveal
ed the disposition he made of the
same.
At the time of the discovery of the
: murder and the Identification of the
body, suspicions were had that Rel
. i senwever had knewlei?e of the as--.
untiAn hnt not htnr more than
circumstantial evidence could be ob-
tained Ua.JuuL.been seen, ly..Jtlie.
employees, at the commissary eariy
in the evening, but had disappeared:
several hours . before it became
known that Johnson's life- had been
taken; and was not seen by the of
ficers until the time of his arrest,
the morning following, on another
charge. He had been quite inti
mate with the slain man and from
the very apparent fact that the mur
der had been committed by some
one who knew Johnson's habits and
' come one who knew that be often
i carried considerable money on his
person when he left the place of
business at night, the officers derived
their first clue. For some weeks
cars standing in the yards were bro
ken into and robbed and while in
pursuit of evidence that would lead
to the conviction of the robber, Bur
lington Officer Smith found' that
Reisenwever had sold a pocket-knife
that answered the description of one
taken from the way car of Conductor
McKenile. This together with the
fact that the same tool which had
been used to open the cars was em
ployed to break the lock at the com
missary, convinced Smith that Rei
aenwever knew more of the murder
than he was telling. It also proved
. to be the force which finally wrought
from Reisenwever the story, of the
- worst crime ever committed in this
section of Nebraska.
In relating the story of the murder
the youthful murderer said that he
' had taken supper at the Grler board
ing house, after having finished his
day's work, and had pone to bis
room at the Nebraska House and
changed his clothes, putting on a
suit of blue serge; then he went to
the library where he intended to re
turn a book he had borrowed, but
upon finding the library closed he
returned to his room with the book.
He next went to the commissary and
shortly thereafter Johnson left in
the direction of the west commis
sary. Looking after Johnson he no
ticed, he said, a colored man follow
ing Johnson and the idea of striking
him on the head entered his mind.
After looking for some sort of wea
pon he walked to the stockyards and
,oHrf tha rptiirn of his victim and
when he saw Johnson approach be
.hid behind the large gates ana maae
tnr th hlnw that killed John
son. As he was going through the
dead man's pockets and in which he
first declared he found but a hand
kerchief he again saw the colored
fellow ,who It appeared had follow
ed Johnson the entire course of his
walk, and again went to the com
missary, which he this time broke
into and robbed. From the commis
sary be claims to have gone east
along a string of cars until he came
to the viaduct, where he hid the
money and discarded the pocketbook
by throwing It into a coal car stand
ing near, where It was later found
by the officers. He then proceeded
toward the Nebraska House, across
'tracks, and after a thorough wash
'that eliminated every particle of pos
sible evidence retired for the night.
When asked If his rest was disturbed
by the thoughta of what he had
done, be aald that he slept well, and
teemed astonished that such a ques
tion should be asked. The follow
lnf morning he appeared for work
at the stockyards as usual, and it
was here that he was picked up Dy
the officers. What became of the
money, taken from the pocket of
Johnson and which Reisenwever
claims to have hidden at the viaduct,
ni'iv npvpr he known, at least the of
ficers were unable to locate H after i
a thorough search. . '
The theory that Reisenwever had
an accomplice in the horrible deed
was shattered when he told the of
ficers thnt he was unaided and add
ed that he needed no assistance.
The young man's preliminary
hearing was held Tuesday in Judge
Ira E. Tash'B court and upon bis
plea of "guilty" was bound over,
without bail, to the District court.
He gave his home as Sheridan. Wy
nminir mul sntd Cat he had but a
short time ago been discharged from
the services of Uncle bam.
The Sheridan Post, of Tuesday,
this week, has the following to say:
"Following a confession to author
ities in Alliance., Nebr., to the mur
dering or Charles F. Johnson, man
ager of the Grler Commissary at
that place. Walter eRisenwever, age
17, son of John Reisenwever, a boil
er maker residing at 1155 North
Custer street, this city, was placed
i m await trial for his grue
some deed. Mr. and Mrs.
John eRisenwever are very well
known in this city and are held in
high esteem by all who know-.tbeuu
Both are respected members of fra
tornni Arm ii tzutlona in this city, and
Mrr Reisenwever has been a, trusted
employee or me uurunKioii iur iuuj
years. Young Reisenwever, when a
young lad, never revealed any of the
desperate characteristics which have
now landed him in Jail, and it is be
lieved that he fell Into disrepute
while shifting for himself since be
left home."
THE PAVING ENGINEER
TAKES UP HIS WORK
City Council Hold Stet'ial .Meeting
Tliat Work. May He
Kk)dited
Engineer William Grant, of the
firm of Grant & FuKon, Lincoln, ar
rived in Alliance Wednesday morn
ing and .has already begun his oper
ations as consulting engineer and
inspector for the city in the paving
work that is soon to be done.
Last evening Major A. D. Rodgers
called a special meeting of the city
council for the purpose of going ov
er matters preliminary to the rav
ing and at this meeting Mr. Grant
was present and made a few sugges
tions. One of the first things done
was the appointment of a paving
i committee, composed of Councllnien
Harris, Highland and Johnson, by
the mayor. This committee is to
have charge of the preliminary work
and will make such suggestions to
the council as it deems advisable.
The width of the proposed pavement
was next taken up and after much
consideration and discussion, the
suggestions of Mr. Grant were adopt
ed. The engineer suggested a 60
foot pavement and 20-foot walks on
streets of one hundred feet width,
00-foot pavement and 15-foot walks
on 80-foot streets, and 40-foot pave
ment and 10-foot walks on 60-foot
streets. On First street, which is
really but one-half a street in width,
the paving will be 22 feet in
width with seven and one-half feet,
on the one side, for walks. It was
the sense of the meeting that the
above specifications would provide
ample width for the handling of all
traffic that is now or ever will be
necessary over the pavements and
that the additional width of the side
walks will prove very beneficial. It
will also lessen the cost to the prop
erty holders in that, the cost of lay
ing sidewalk Is less than that of the
pavement. The white-way system
will necessarily be changed by the
action and the clusters placed six
feet toward the center of the streets.
The city attorney was instructed
to draw an ordinance creating a
drainage district comprising that
section of the cKy which is to be
paved. Storm sewers will without ji
doubt be provided also.
The actual work on the paving
now promises to commence within a
very short time. Bids for the vari
ous kinds of pavements will at once
be asked for and upon the expiration
of the time specified by law for the
designation of the pavement to be
used and the privilege of filing ob
jection to any certain kind, the
council will at once proceed to let
the contract.
THE
M
MHS. K. W. HELL PASSED
AWAY THVUSDAY NIGHT
Mrs. E. W. Bell, for twenty-six
years a resident of Alliance, passed
away at the home at 710 Laramie
avenue, last Thursday night, follow
ing an attack of uremic poisoning.
On Thursday afternoon Mrs. Bell
went to the dental office of Dr. J. M.
Kennedy and it was while waiting In
the reception room of the offices that
the attack was first apparent and al
though medical aid was at once sum
moned and she was taken to her
home, she succumbed to the attack,
at about nine o'clock that evening.
The deceased was a native of Scot
land, having been born at Ellens-
burg in 1867, but coming to Amer
ica at a very early age. In 1885
she was married to E. W. Bell, who
survives her. One daughter Is also
left to mourn the loss of an always
kind and loving mother. ' She Is
Mrs. Bernard Phelan. Two brothers
and a sister also survive.
The funeral services were held at
the home at 9:30 Saturday morning
and the remains were Bhlpped to
Friend. Nebr., for burial.
WOULD CONTINUE ALL
STATE HOME GUARDS
Adjutant General II. J. 1'aul Notifies
(oiiiMiiy Commander that (ov- ,
crnor Det-irea Organizations
Roy C. Strong, captain of the
Boy. Butte Home Guards, has receiv
ed the following communication rel
ative to the state Home Guard or
ganizutlons, from 11. J. Paul, adju
tant general of the state of Nebras
ka: .
HavinK been Informed that a let
ter had been sent out prior to my
having taken over this office request
ing that Home Guard companies con
tlnue in service until further ordejes.
hut receiving numerous inquiries as
to the desires of t' e governor on this"
ubJeeJL.the following .for your lnfor
matlon'is deemed necessary.
It is Governor McKelvle's wish
that all Home tJuard companies con
tlnue to be a live and active organ
Izatlon. subject to call, up to the re-
or conization and acceptance of the
National Guard, after which time the
governor looks with favor upon the
continuance of the organization as a
social and semi-military organlza
tlon, but without military authority,
and believes that much benent anu
eood wll come from such continu
ance.
This office has secured a quantity
of blank discharges that will be fur
nished upon application of company
commanders, which will give to each
member leaving the service some
thtnir to show for valued - services
rendered.
Upon completion of the reorgan
ization of the National uuara eacu
iioinw Guard comnany will be noti
fied of same and they can then elect
to continue as suggested in para
graph two or disband, and in case
disbandinent Is chosen a specific date
should be set and same should be ac
complished with some ceremony In
which this office will be glad to ren
der every assistance possible.
It is requested that this circular
letter be read to all members at the
next regular meeting after Its re
ceipt. ALLIANCE TEAGAERS
ARE EMPLOYED AGAIN
School Hoard Arranges for Instruc
tors in School for Com-
log Year
The scarcity of school teachers Is
already felt in the schools of Alli
ance, that is, the demand has al
ready been apparent. This week,
the board entered into contracts with
those of the present staff who bad
not already signed up and the corps
for next year promises to be an ex
ceptionally efficient one. The fol
lowing teachers are those re-employed:
High School Mr. Prince, Miss
Bargey, Miss Keith, Miss Elliott,
Miss Beal.
Central school Miss Johnson,
Miss Crocker, Miss Lockman, Miss
McColllster, Miss Williams, Mrs.
Kase, Mrs. Emerick.
Emerson school Miss Gannon,
Miss Soper, Mies Jennings, Miss
Hledik, Miss Reals, Miss McIIugh.
From the Omaha Bee: Louis Kul
akofsky of the Central Market was
calling on Miss Helen Levy in the
Adelaide apartments at Forty-ninth
and Dodge streets, when the storm
hit this section, carrying off the
front portion of the apartment house
and wrecking Kulakofeky's automo
bile which stood in front of the
building. The former home of Miss
Levy's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Saul
Levy, In the Bemis park aection, was
demolished In the tornado six years
ago.
F. H. Bronkhorst, in charge of the
supply affairs for the Elks fair, left
Tuesday for Denver, where he pur
chased a line of Article for the fair.
(0)
NEW ELEVATORS FOR
FOR BOXlBUTTE COUNTY
Western Grain (Vunpany Planning to
Install lrge Grain Elevator
for Handling Crop
Alliance and Hemingford. with
probably Berea, are to be the sites
Of large grain elevators which will
be- meted during the summer and
begin caring for the enormous grain
crop of the county to be harvested
this coming fall, according' to a
promise made to The Herald repre
sentative by a prominent western
grain operator when interviewed on
Monday of this week. On learning
mat his company expects to bund a
large number of elevators this sum
mer. The Herald called hls-attentlon
to Box Butte county, with the result
that- an investigation was made
which resulted favorably to the es
tanllshment of the elevators here.
The company plans to erect an el
evator at Hemingford and perhaps
Berea with a capacity of 20,000
bushels of grain and an elevator at
Alliance with acapaelty of 50,000
bushels. -Alliance will be made the
cleanlngLstatlon for a string of ele
vators from Billings east on the
Burlington, the grain collected at
these elevators to be shipped here
unloaded and cleaned. It will then
be re-loaded and shipped to the Om
aha market.
The company now has several Wy
online elevators in operation. It
plans to eventually have not less
than 150 of them in southern Mon
tana, northeastern Wyoming, south
western South Dakota and north
western Nebraska, with a seat on the
Omaha Grain Exchange, covering
territory approximately 300 miles
square.
The ' company now does a large
business in alfalfa and prairie bay
buytna: for large Omaha consumers
and -distributors. ; They will proba
bly erect in Alliance,-m connection
with the grain elevator, a large hay
warehouse.
Rufus Jones, secretary of the Al
liance Community Club, Is tsking an
active Interest In the proposition of
securing the elevator enterprise, and
is preparlnprfigures and other Inter
esting facts which will be rurnisnea
to the company In . making tnei
idans for the erection of the eleva
tor.
GRIFFITH OIL COMPANY
MAKES RAPID GROWTH
Now Has Four Producing Wells In
Kansas and 1 Adding to Wy
oming Oil HoldingM
The Griffith Oil Company, in which
many Herald readers hold stock, re
ports rapid progress being made
the development of its oil holdings
in Kansas" and the adding of receir
valuable holdings In Wyoming. Wy
omlng oil stocks have all been Jump
ing to high level the last few days
due. to the increasing activity there
and to the bringing In of new gush
ers. A gusher in the new Lance
Creek field, located twenty miles
north of Lusk, northwest .of Alii
ance. which was brought in last
Friday, is estimated to be spoutin
20,000 barrels every twenty-four
hours. It Is reported to be still out
of control and shooting oil for moi
than 100 feet above the oil derrick
James A. Armour, former Alii
ance man. now secretary of the Grif
nth Oil Company, announces that the
annual meeting or the stockholders
of the Griffith Oil Company will be
held at the office of the corporation
in the city of Deadwood, on the 25th
day of April, at 2:20 o'cloca p. m
for the purpose of electing directors
hearing the report of the board of
directors and for the transaction of
mirh other business as may be
broueht before said meeting.
The following statement regard
ing the affairs of the company - ac
comDanles the notice of the meet
ing:
"The company has recently com
pleted a well on the DeMott lease In
Montgomery county, Kansas, and
now baa four producing wells on this
tract making an Income sufficient to
carry the normal expense of the com
pany. This fulfills our drilling obli
gations on this lease and makes our
title perpetual.
"Our 890-acre tract in Wilson and
Montgomery counties, referred to In
a former letter. Is attracting much
attention as a prospective gas field,
there being a large production of gas
brought in Just recently not far dis
tant, and It is our Intention to drill
our next well In this location. We
count this one of the best specula
tive chances we have ever had and
should we be able to develop a large
fiow of gas it will place the company
nl a very enviable position.
"In addition to the above we have
recently acqalred 110 acrea of land
In the Wyoming fields, 40 of which
Immediately adjoins the Carter com
pany's holdings in the Boltoa Creek
dome southwest of aCsper where
they are preparing to begin opera
tlbns Itooh. their Tig most of the
HADN'T MKT SECRETARY
An Alliance business man the
other day expressed a little sur
prise In his not having yet met
the new secretary of the Com
munity Club. "Why, he hasn't
been to rail upon me and I am
very busy," was the reply when
asked to what he attributed the
condition. True It Is he Is a
very busy man, but what
about Rufas Jones? - Well, at
least, he is busy, too. Coming
to Alliance and the Community
Club but very recently, Mr.
Jones has been able to find am
ple occupation and in getting
the office details arranged to
comply with hla desires and the
unfinished business cared tor he
has found no 'line to do the
"get acquainted" stunt to any
great proportions. However,
should it occur to you that he
Is the stranger within the gates
and that it is entirely proper
that you should call upon him,
Mr. Jones will be found glad to
welcome you and to give you
such time as your mission will
require.
Call on him get acquainted
you may like him.
TWO HUNDRED'.YANKS
HOME FROM GERMANY
Troop Train Hearing Heroes of Ar-
goiui Forest Pmnmcu Through
the City lt Night
Two hundred U. S. soldiers, Just
returned from the battlefields and
Coblenz, Germany, where they were
stationed as a part of the army of oe
pupation, passed through Alliance
last night bound for Camp Lewis,
near Seattle, Washington. The de
tachment was made up of boys front
Oregon and Washington and was be
Ing sent to Camp Lewis for dls
charge. It was a part. of the 347th
Field Artillery and the Slat Division.
More fortunate than some of their
rouirades who were sent overseas
these lads saw seven days actual
fighting in the Argonue woods sec
tor and they were united in the ex
presslou of tbejtorrors of the now
famous battle. After the signing of
the armistice they were sent to
Ensch. about midway between Co
blenz und Treves, and as an Indica
tlon of the hardships which they en
duied, one of tem told of the trip
to Brest from Ensch. In Europe
railway cars, as many know, are"
much smaller than those with which
we are familiar. In each of the
small stock cars, which were used
for the transportation troops' be
cause of the Inability to get others
rnrlv.lwn mn thf'lr ratifina. fllt-l for
five days, two stoves for hea-.lng pur -
... 1 a
noHs and all nacas ana souvciiir.i
carried by the men were crowded.
Sleeping was done in relays wln.t
was done at all and upon the nr-
rival of the detachment at Brest ilenles empnatlcauy me cnurge mi. -some
of the men were forced to en-, lie flashed $.100 for the bond of t i
ter the hospital for treatment. accused man on Sunday night, -1ut
Private E. L. Friszell,.one of tlio-e ' admits having told the officers tli.it
who missed throuEh Alliance lunt "they" corild get It and would if the
night, told of splendid treatment at
the hands of the German people af
ter the cessation of hostilities and
said that he can not imagine what is
meant by the claim of a food short
age In Germany, if his experiences
are a criterion. He said the cellars
were filled with wines and liquors,
the storehouses with meats, flour
and such other edibles, and that no
where did he find evidences of a
shortage. In telling ttt the treat
ment accorded them he said that
they were made to feel entirely "at
home" and that in his case when he
would return from the city, after a
few hours leave, during the evening
hours the lady of the house would
Invariably prepare something for
him to eat.
For a time the American soldiers
were not allowed to converse with
the Germans, after the armistice was
signed, and the troops occupied the
towns and at all times gatherings in
public places were forbid because of
the danger of riots and fights. One
American, in the detachment, enter
ed a German business house and
when he found the likeness of Kai
ser Wilhelm hanging in a very con
spicuous place he tore It from the
wall and completely destroyed It.
The boys arrived In New York,
from Brest, France, March 30th.
They were held In New York a ou
ple of weeks waiting upon discharge
orders. They are Indeed glad to get
home again, but express themselves
as willing to do again what they
have done should the need arise.
-
A plain drunk paid a fine of $25
and costs, $30 in all, in police court
Monday morning. Another fellow
arrested for .being intoxicated gave a
cash bond and vrent his way.
equipment being on the ground now.
640 acres Is In the Greary dome
northwest of the Big Muddy field and
a well is being drilled wHhln one
mile of our holdings and Is down
more than 2,000 feet It this comes
In a producer It will place considera
ble value on our acreage. We have
eastern patties negotiating for a
contract to di 111 this tract aul may
be able to get work started in the
early spring.
"There promises to be much ac
tivity in the Wj omlng fields this
year and we are exceptionally well
located In the two places as above."
PHILLIPS ADMITS
SALE OF BOOZE
WHENJRESIED
OWN NTOItY CONVICTS IIIM O.V
AT LEANT TEN SEPAR
ATE COUNTS
Denies Any Knowledge of Operation
i ruier Mned One Thou,
saml Dollars and Cost
C. E. Phllllna. BronrUtor nf ik.
Dew Drop Inn. formerly the Red Dia
mond pool hall, was arrested Sun
day night by Policemen Reld uad
Taylor and Special Officer Smith, of
trie Burlington, after a search of tit
Dodge touring car belonging to Phil
lips which revealed three plats of
wnisKcy. Throughout the entire
day the officers had been watching
the operations of their man, and
when he returned to his place of
business about midnight, after a
short drive, . they instituted the
search that procured the necessary
evidence. lie was taken to the coun
ty Jail and on Monday morning wan
given a hearing before County Attor
ney Loe Basye. In this hearing
Phillips pleaded guilty to having li
quor Illegally in his possession and
to having sold at least eight plnta
and on as many different occasions.
When asked where he obtained the
whiskey he said he had purchased it
from a fellow, whose name he did
not know, from Edgemont. In thin
the officers were unable to shake the
defendant and in all other questions
wherein they attempted to obtain a
clue as to the operations of other
dealers In contraband liquor, he wan
very rigid and nothing of value wis
pained.
The whiskey has been buried in
the ground at a place about a mile
and a half from the city according
to the story told by Phillips, who
said that he had paid $40 for a quan
tity of two gallons. His first sale
was made during the latter part of
February, he aald, and that siiu-a
that time he had Sold at least eight
pints, the exact number he did not
recall, but that the three pints found
when he was arrested was a part of
the original two gallons. In th
ear atrthertlaf-of .the arrest ..w ;....
Marlln pump gun, twelve guage, vi
a 32-20 Smith Wesson revolver.
When the trial was hud in county
court Phillips entered a plea 'f
"guilty" in accordance with t
statement made to the county attor
ney and Judge Ira E. Tash assessi I
a fine or $1,000 and costs, amount
ing in all to $1014.40. This w
$100 each for ten counts and tho
costs in the case. He has, as vrt.
been unable to pay the fine an 1 is
1 still In Jail, but had raised a pi-ri of
Al... ....... n....uUMi fit UMfl ftlntl.lu llf
, iih" niuomit m-, ti , -"-
wlll bn able to get It all.
John Weaver, who It seems w x
Interesteit In the behalf of Phil" !.
bond was arrsng'ed.
Khpriff Miller, his deputy C. A.
Lalng; Chief of Police Oscar It VI
and his assistants and Special Ot!
er Smith are firm In their declara' ' i
that the bootlegging must cease nil
seem to be pursuing the proi.or
course to bring about the desired re
sults.
CITY PHYSICIANOMAKES
TESTS CITY'SiWELLS
Dr. George J. Hand 'lakes KaniU-
of Water for AiialyMi
to be Made
City Physician Dr. Hand yesterday
Inspected the four wells in the Bu."
Untfun yards and the city's wills
and took samples of the water con
tained, therein for the purpose i f
having analysis made and the true
contents of the water ascertain!.
While it is not thought that the wells
inspected are unsafe. It is deenud
advisable to have the analysis m.itle
that any unhealthy condition, which
might possibly exist, may be correct
ed. In making the inspections and pre
paring for the analysis Dr. Hand has
done something that has probably
not been done for several years. At
least, it Is thought that the water
has not been scientifically tested for
a number of years.
Harold S. Thomas, located at Co
blenz, Germany, haa forwarded to
The Herald an interesting war sou
venir a genuine German Iron
Crors, of the second class. He is al
so forwarding other interesting war
souvenirs. Tu Herald has received
from him some pictures which show
him on the streets of Coblens. In
one of the pictures he is shown lean
ing against a "barrel" of beer. The
"barrel" stands twelve feet high and
contains 22,800 pounds of beer.
"AI1..0H enough." he says "to last
a German Of Coblens for a whole
week."
The special election held In. Scott s
Bluff county on Tuesday decided the
court bouse bond issue fight, which
was oltterly fought by those inter
ested,' In favor of the bonds, and a
new court house to cost f 20Q.000
will now be erected at Gering, the
county vest.