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About The Alliance herald. (Alliance, Box Butte County, Neb.) 1902-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 21, 1920)
ti ff Official Paper of Box Butte County TWICE A WEEK TUESDAY AND FRIDAY Olllcial Paper of the City of Aliianet VOLUME XXVIII. ALLIANCE, FOX DUTTE COUNTY, NElHiASKA, TUESDAY, DECEMHEli 21, 1920. NO. 7 JURY BRINGS hv SECOND DEGREE MURDER VERDICT THE WEATHER j vierall fair tonight and Wednes- jng northwest winds. EVELYN PRIESS MELHANEY TO GO TO PENITENTIARY SENTENCE TEN YEARS TO LIFE Half the Jury Favors First Degree w Conviction on First Two Bal- V, lots Judge Wentover Will i Pronounce Sentence ' The Jury in the case of Evelyn Priess McElhaney, charged with shooting Earl B. Anderson, Alliance barber, in the alley in the rear of the Joe Smith pool hall early Tuesday morning, December 7, brought in a -verdict of second degree murder. The case was ariven to the jury about 4 p. m. Saturday afternoon, and they were out about three and one-half hours. - ...- r ' The state did not ask the death penalty, but did urge a conviction for rst degree murder. It is reported that on the first two ballots, the jury was evenly divided, six voting for a first degree and six for a second degree conviction. On the third bal lot, the vote stood ten for second and two for first degree. On the fourth ballot, taken just before the jury went out to supper, the vote was unani mous. Airs. McElhaney came into court about 8 o'clock and awaited the read ing of the verdict. All during the trial she had preserved an impassive coun tenance, and she kept her self-control to the last. Even when the result was known, she did not lose her compos ure, but talked with her husband and attorney. Evidently she lost confidence in the rotiiH. nftpr the nlpa of Attorney Prince for the prosecution. Her jailer reported that when she returned to lier cell at the time the jury retired, the broke down and sobbed for a few minutes on her husbands shoulder. Ten Years to Life Penalty The penalty for second degree mur . . . . i - .1 : C T . . .1 . ter is ai me uiscicuuh ui o uuc anvthine from ten years imprison ment to a life term. She is allowed three days in which to file an appeal, and sentence may be passed at any time after three days. Her attorney, "William Mitchell, has announced that an appeal will be taken. District Judge Westover, fol'owing the read ing of the verdict, adjourned court until January 4. It is understood that sentence will not be passed upon her until after the holidays. Justice Speedily Rendered For the first time in the history of Box Butte county, a woman has been convicted of the crime of murder. ' In this case, justice has been most sum mary. Just eleven days from the day Earl Anderson was shot,' a jury of Box Butte county farmers and ranch men answered the appeal of Prose- cutor Prince to "help clean up Alli ance." The verdict in the case seems to have met with popular approval. There has never been a murder trial In which popular interest was so great, especially on the part of the women. It is believed that if women had been chosen for the jury, an even more harsh verdict would have been rendered. Saturday evening, dozens of women called up the various offices in the court house to find the result of the trial, and most of the inquiries came from women, who expressed their approval in no uncertain terms. It is thought that with this convic tion and others which have been made recently, it will be easier for the po lice force to clean up the city and keep it clean. It has been the gen eral belief that an organized "gang" has been operating in Alliance, and that this gang is in a fair way to be broken up. The police are making a strenuous effort to rid Alliance of undesirables of every kind, and while public sentiment has been more or les. lax, the last murder has brought about a distinct change in the the feel ing. Arguments by Attorneys. With the exception of an hour in which the state examined witnesses in rebuttal, Saturday was devoted to argument by the attorneys. County Attorney Lee Basye made the opening statement for the prosecution, review-r-ing in a brief, but forcible manner, the overwhelming evidence that the state had piled up against the defend ant. He paid especial attention to the testimony of A. H. Grulbs of Whit man, the only disinterested eye-witness to the murder. Mr. Basye made a plea for a first degree conviction. Attorney William Mitchell, counsel for the defendant, made an heroic plea in her behalf. For over an nour and a half he wrestled with the jury, ris ing to heights of oratory innumerable times. At several times during his address, one or more relatives of the defendant were overcome with grief and left the court room. A sister fainted and had to be carried from the room. Mr. Mitchell told of the hard living conditions of the defendant's youth. She was born poor, one of eleven chil dren, her father a laborer, and she was compelled to help earn her bread. He dwelt on the amicable relations of Mrs. McElhaney and her husband, and told of Anderson's alleged shameful abuse of her. The attorney dwelt at some length on the testimony of Mr. Grubbs, and claimed there was a discrepancy in his story, inasmuch as the shell was not anywhere near where he stated Mrs. McElhaney was when she fired the fatal shot. He closed with a claim that the de fendant was to become a mother, and that if she were convicted the state would claim two lives instead of one. He referred to the happy Christmas season and pleaded with the jury to give her her freedom. Prince Makes Final Plea. Attorney W. A. Prince of Grand Island, employed by the county com missioners to assist the county attor ney in the prosecution of the case, made the final argument for the state. From 1:30 to 3 o'clock he held the crowded court room spellbound with C, E. HERSHMAN . DIES SUDDENLY FROMAPOPLEXY WELL KNOWN SURGEON PASSED AWAY MONDAY AFTERNOON Was Examining Patient with X-Ray and First .Reports Indicated He Had Been Electrocuted Dr. Ci EY Hershman, thirty-four years of age, one of the most widely known physicians and surgeons in western Nebraska, died suddenly at his offices in the Guardian State bank building at 3:30 o'clock Monday after noon. Dr. Hershman had been ex amining a patient with his X-ray ma chine, and this fact was responsible for rumors that he had been electro cuted, although physic.ns who were called state that this was almost an impossibility, due to the fact that the machine did not carry sufficient cur rent to cause death. Dr. Hershman had been examining a patient, Mr. Ralls of Antioch, with the machine a short time previous to his death. His assistant, Miss Nellie Tyree, was developing an X-ray plate in the dark room adjoining the room occupied by the doctor and his pa tient, and heard the machine fall to the floor. She hurried out, and found Dr. Hershman lying on his back, struggling for breath. The machine was lying nearby on the floor. Dr. Minor Morris who was called his masterly summing up of the case, i arrived on the scene within a few He characterized the theory of the tie- minutes, before death ensued. Lntei fense as flimsy, and proceeded, by one other physicians came, who, after an means and another, to tear it to 'examination of the apparatus, de- pieces. (Continued "on Fage 4) BIG SNOWSTORM HITS ALLIANCE Winter Season Officially Opens After Mildest Fall in Memory of the Old Settlers L. E. AYLSWORTH DISCUSSES CITY MANAGER PLAN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR TALKS TO CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Man Who Drew Up Legislation Ex plains Workings of the System to Alliance Business Men Frof. L. E. Aylsworth of the de partment of political science of the University of Nebraska addressed an audience of fifty or more business men of Alliance at the noon luncheon of the chamber of commerce Monday on the city manager plan of munici pal government. Professor Aylsworth drew up the law covering this form of government in 1916 for Represent ative Adam McMullen of Wymore, and inasmuch as it is right in line with his work in the university, was able to give authoritative informa tion concerning the operation of the plan and the way in which it has worked out in other cities. He stopped over in Alliance on his return to Lin coln from a trip to Sheridan, Wyo., where he addressed an audience of six hundred before the Open Forum of that city last Sunday afternoon. Always interesting, Professor Ayls worth was at his best in the discus sion. He explained at the outset, that the University of Nebraska, while not called upon so often us might be, was always ready to answer calls for pass any desired ordinance, or sub mit it to a special election. Advocntes of the plan claim for it that it comes nearer than any other "orm to uniting popular control with eiTiciency in government It provides a short ballot. Not more than three men are elected at any one time, and it Is possible for every voter to be informed about every man for whom he votes, Lincoln voters, under the old system, at each city election, had to vote for over twenty men, and voters could not know all these suffi ciently well to make intelligent selec tion. Another point in its favor is that it concentrates authority, and makes the city government responsi ble to the whole people. The council is responsible for the general policy, and the city manager responsible for the administration of city affairs. The city council can be recalled in entire ty, if the voters so desire. The city manager cannot be recalled, but he can be discharged at any time by the council, provided the latter does not enter into a contract with him for any specified length of time. If efficient,, there is no reason why he should not have a permanent position. Mostly Small Cities Having Plan. Of the 190 cities which have adopted the city manager plan, Pro fessor Aylsworth said, 125 have less than 10,000 population; and fifty of them are in the class of Alliance, from four to seven thousand popula tion. They are in thirty different states, although Virginia, Michigan, Texas and California have the most. He gave reports by city managers of various cities, showing what had leen accomplished by the plan. In Web ster City, la., the claim is made that ward politics have been eliminated; speakers or for information from the jthat vote getters are no longer prom- clared that it could not have been responsible for the death. This opinion is corroborated by electricians, who declare that the fuses were not.even blown out, which would have been the case had a current stronger than 110 volts passed over the wires. The body was removed to the Dar- jling undertaking parlors, where two severe burns were found on one of the arms. The theory is that Dr. Hershman suffered an apoplectic stroke, and in falling to the floor, his arm came in contact with uncovered wires, which caused the burns. Mr. Unless" all indications fail, as they ! Rails, the patient, declared that ai have done two or three times before tne doctor feli, the room was filled during this exceptional fall, the win-,wjth a bluish light, ter season was officially ushered in i rjr. Hershman came to Alliance nine Monday with a heavy fall of snow, years ago, first as Burlington physi- which began early in the morning ana cian but later establishing himself in cities w thin its territory. Mr. Aylsworth declared that he fa vored newer ideas in government and politics, but that he was not an out-and-out advocate of the city manager plan. In no sense did he consider it a cure-all for the ills of municipal i w'll bring the political millennium. Good government rests responsibility with the citizens, nnd any given city will, in the long run, get about as good government' as it deserves. He regarded the city manager plan as an improvement in the machinery of gov ernment, nnd while machinery is not everything, he believed that some of the newer forms of government tend to grc -greater efficiency. Councilmen Chosen at Large. The city manager law, upon the ised jobs for swinging elections. The councilmen are nil representative business men who never allowed their (Continued on Fage 9) continued, with slight interruptions all during the day and night. The fall of snow was fairly heavy, and was accompanied with lowering tem peratures but very little wind Mon day night or Tuesday morning. The weather forecast called .for brisk winds today. This has been the mildest fall with in the memory of old-time Atnchers and stockmen. Last year the cold weather started in October, and by the end of that month the larger sandhill lakes were frozen over, to remain that way until the spring thaw. This year most of these lakes were still open, up to a week or so ago. There has been no snow yet in any quantity worthy of designation as a storm. This has been a great fall for the amateur gol fists, who have been able to play practically every Sunday. Last Sunday there was perhaps the great est number out of any day since the Country club was organized. Broncho lake was frozen over, and there were a number of skaters, but the golfers got along without overcoats or gloves until pretty late in the afternoon. The stockmen, too, have found the fall pleasant, and profitable as well. Up until now it has not been neces sary to feed any stock, and prices on hay are 'way down. The farmers are greatly cheered by the snowfall, the moisture being needed for the "big crops of fall wheat, thousands of acres having been planted in this part of the state. There was an unusually large acreage of wheat planted this fall in the Goodstreak district, south west of Alliance. According to railroad officials, the storm extends over ntbst of Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota and the state of Nebraska. All passenger trains in anil out of Alliance are running double-headers and the Burlington railroad is taking every precaution to avoid the experience of last spring, when a passenger train was stalled for lorty-seven noirs near Alliance in a snowdrift. private practice. He was an Odd Fel low, Mason anil Shriner, and president of the Guardian State bank. He is survived by his wife, .formerly Miss Dorothy Hoag of this city, and two young sons, "Buddy"' and Bobby. A brother, Fred Hershman, is a mem ber of the Alliance Drag company. A MOONSHINER HAS HARD LUCK Special Agent T. J. Smith Gets Hold of Suitcase With Two Gal Ions of Hooch NORTH PLATTE MAN SELECTED FOR SECRETARY GEO. M. CAREY EMPLOYED BY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE TAKE OFFICE FIRST OF JANUART New Man a Graduate of Cornell, aa4 Has Proven Successful In This Line of Work Strong on Co-operation George M. Carey of North Piatt was elected secretary of the Allianc chamber of commerce at a meeting of the board of directors held in the of fice of J. W. Guthrie Monday evening. A number of applicants were consid ered for the place, but Mr. Carey, wh was present, made a tremendous hit with the directors and was (elected without a dissenting vote. For the oast four months, Mr. Carey has been secretary of the North Piatt chamber of commerce, but his recro tarial experience extends over a period of several years. He has been con nected in the past with the Sioux City, la., organization, where he had charge of certain' activities. Mr. Carey is a live wire sort of a fellow, and seems to be fairly oozing; pep and ginger. He is a young man of the same general style of beauty as Kufus Jones. The new secretary was originally a New Yorker, being a graduate of Cornell university, but he has lived in the west long enough to lemove any particular taint of the ef lete east. He is a footbull enthusiast, having held a place as an official of the western conference. At Cornell he received a letter in football and track, and so can qualify as an athlete. Beginning the first of the year, Mr. Curey will assume the secretaryship here. He has had an opportunity to look over the city, has expressed him self as well pleased with the people and prospects here for a live com mercial organization, and has already formulated a plan and outlined a definite program for the Alliance or ganization, which will be announced Special Agent T. J. Smith of the) later. He has some mighty good ideas Burlington is being courted by the on co-operation, and among the first more courageous of his friends the! tanks he will tackle will be thiit of nflt in-A davs. follow-in the knowl- i getting the neighboring ranchers and r law, Upon the , ., ... v"l.,.j !- v: o ! farmprn in filler tnurh w'th Alli- 1 . . . . . mi a 1(1 mill 1 1 I till J 1 1 iun i j u . i ''! ul . - ' - - - - - --- adoption of which Alliance will vote two KBllonjl of homemade hootch ar.ee' organization and its members-.. January 4, provides for a council of 4, ... ... . ronp tno M, Carev is an KIk aml Phi Kaima five men, nominated and elected 1 at a . ' Smith found them in a Psi. lie is married and will bring sultcnse. wh ch has a more or ess pe-tnis w.ie ana iwo smaii sot.? u mis candidates or more will be nominated. Of these, the five who i highest vote at the gener will be declared elected, lhese coun-1 cilmen are chosen at large not from wards. Every voter will have an op- nommated. ui;ar history m these (lays of i,-0uth. i city as soon as arrangements cm be ieceie the & Wyoming man who came to ( completed for a place to live, lie left ai election Saturday night. He this afternoon for North Platte, where portunity to vote for all five. One of POSTOFFICE L08BY WILL BE ENLARGED This week there is being published a request for bids on alterations in the Alliance postoffice which, when completed, will result in enlarging the lobby to the extent of sixty-four square feet, and permitting the instal lation of over five hundred additional boxes. . The plans, as approved by the su pervising architect, provide for re moving the north tier of boxes, and in its place constructing ' an alcove eight feet square, which will have boxes on all three sides. The altera tions will take the space from the workroom and add it to the lobby. At present there are 1,200 boxes in the lobby, but this number has not been sufficient to supply the demand. There is now a long waiting list. The five hundred additional boxes will take care of the demand in good shape. Bids will be opened the tenth of January, and sixty days will be al lowed for the work after the pro posal is accepted by the supervising architect. The work should be fin ished by the first of April. and was either a bootlegger or a maker of moonshine. He lugged the evils of the ward system, the : 1 -speaker declared, wa sthe tendency to three one-gnnon Jar. of the beverage log-rolling and vote-trading, in order han",nPthe thing as tenderly as a to benefit some particular ward at the motfher handles a ch.Id. But ace,- exoense of the cltv ldents wlU haPPen even to the most expense oi me citj. cautious of bootleggers. In some man- At the present there are some 400'ner one of the glass jnrs became cities in the country which have b,.okpn aB(1 through the stale atmos- milieu me cuy tunimiBMun lonn 01 D ,ere 0f the Rmoker there stole a was en route from Casiier to Alliance, 1 he will close his affairs, and phns to be back in A:i.ance the miai.ie or next week, ready 4o tackle his Job. government, and 190 wliich have the city manager plan. Professor Ayls worth explained the difference be tween the two forms Of government. Unaer the commission form, the com missioners are both administrators wonderfully pleasant odor. Men laid aside their pipes and cigars and lolled NAVY RETURNS TO THE FGUR-YEAil ENUSffiENT According to advices icceived by the local navy reel tilting o fice in the postoffice building, flirt enlistments 1 v - l r . I I win liu lu iti imj ie'.e t.u iui ,fI.U'l except ru nors igars ana lo.iea of iCKS th.,n fUP vt...rf.. bacic in a ureaming son oi way. ; between the ages or seventeen and Sharp-nosed women in the car ahead 1 eighteen, who m'av, as heretolore, be uegan to mn wie a.r up::iuuM y. . nl sted for the per od of minor t v. or , The colored porter began to hang and legislators. Under the city man-( arouml ami pmie frjrratiatingly, ager plan, the council is purely legis- xhe Wyoming man was about the lative, all administrative functions be- ast to discover that an accident had mg in the hands of the manager, 'happened. The odor at last became The plan, under the law, provides so strong that he grew alarmed. He for a council, which will serve for was afraid to open the suitcase, and four-year terms, except at the first i didn't dare to leav the smoker for Miss May Graham, who has been visiting in Alliance, is leaving for Washington, D. C, the last of the month to resume her position in the Loan and Currency department of the United States Treasury. Mr. Buckley, of Newberry Hard ware Co., went to Denver on a busi ness trip last week. URBAN ZEDIKER DRAWS FROM CliE TO SEVEN TEARS L'rban R. Zediker, Alliance man who was convicted in district court last week on a rharpe of grand larceny, the theft of diamonds valued at ?200 from the home of A. G. Isaacson, was sentenced at 4 p. m. Saturday after noon by District Judge W. II. West over to a penitentiary term of from one to seven years, and to pay the costs of the prosecution. Zediker will not be taken to the penitentiary until after the holidays, members of his family requesting that he be held in the county jail here until the first of the year, it is re ported. cicv.biun, niicu inu win uc uiudcii iui four years, and three for two years. The council has authority to levy taxes, issue bonds, pass ordinances, fix the amount of taxes and salaries, and approve all new offices. The city manager is chosen by the city council, preferably for an indefi nite period, during good behavior, as it were. His salary is fixed by the council. He may be selected from anywhere in the United States, the only restriction being that the coun cil may not choose one of its mem bers. The city manager appoints all . . 1 e . l . : . . .1 . budget, carries out the will of the council and the voters. Manager May be Permanent. The council is under popular con trol. If a councilman proves unsat isfactory, he may be recalled, a spe cial election for the purpose of vot ing on any council being mandatory upon the filing of a petition contain ing the names of 25 per cent of the city's voters, at which the councilman will stand for re-election. The law also provides both initia tive and referendum. On petition of 10 per cent of the voters, any ordi nance passed by the council will stand suspended, and on petition of 25 per cent of the voters, the council must fear someone else would. At last, when his fears and suspicions had be come a certainty, he arose and beat a precipitate retreat, and when the train reached Bridgeport, he decamped, leaving at least a hundred dollars' worth of booze. The car conductor took the suitcase in charge temporar ily, and it was turned over to Spe cial Agent Smith on its arrival in Alliance. until they reach twenty-one years of age, with the consent of their parents or guardian. Heretofore, three-year enlistments have been permitted, but the navy has evidently been recruited up to nearly the desired peace time strength. Reinlistments may still be made for periods of two, three and four years, and extensions are author ized as heretofore. The annual meeting of the stock holders of the Alliance Tacking com pany will be held at the armory at 10 a. m.t January 3, 1921, for the pur pose of electing directors and trans acting any other business. It is ex pected thnt among tho things of in terest that will come up at the moot ing will be the question of the re moval of the plant to Scottsbluff. It is known that one of the promoters is in favor of the move and that he has some strong supporters among the stockholders. It i3 problematical whether such a course can be taken, but it Is due to be discussed, anyway, a number of stockholders in Box Butte county having became worried over such a prospect. M!SS!N9 MAIL SACK IS rco AT raiNGFORD A Burlington fireman Sunday dis covered the mail sack which, by its mysterious disappearance a week or two ago, gave rise to rumors that train No. 41 had been held up and robbed. The padlock and other metal parts of the sack, and some eighty burned letters were discovered a hori distance east of the Burlington depot. Advices reaching here do not give details of the findmcr, but appar ently there is no belief that the sack had been stolen, but that it was thrown in an out-of-the-way place, probably near Fome bonfire. There was but one registered package in the sack, and this was of trifling, value. Special ' Agent T. J. Smith and a postoffice inspector went to neming ford Monday and secured the letters. Another summer has worn past for the man who works at nothing and bores himself. Chemists are now exploiting a new liquid fuel. But this one is made from petroleum and lignite and one does not drink It