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About The frontier. (O'Neill City, Holt County, Neb.) 1880-1965 | View Entire Issue (May 5, 1932)
The Frontier VOL. UL O’NEILL, NEBRASKA, THURSDAY, MAY 5, 1932. No. 50 “HABIT IS A CABLE; WE WEAVE A THREAD OF IT EACH DAY, AND IT BECOMES SO STRONG WE CAN NOT BREAK IT.” THE HOLT COUNTY SPELLING Contestants ARE AMONG BEST IN THE STATE © County Superintendent, Luella A. Parker, left Thursday morning with Joy Custer, 8th grade student of the Stuart Public School, Mildred Taylor, seventh grade student of rural school District No. 122, near Opportunity, and Francis Soukup, 8th grade student of St. Mary’s Academy, O’Neill, to attend the Inter-State Spelling Con test and the World-Herald Spelling Bee. The Inter-State Spelling Contest was held in Sioux City on Friday with 132 contestants entered from Minne sota, South Dakota, Iowa, Kansas and Nebraska. Joy Custer and Mildred Taylor were Holt county’s representa tives. They both spelled very well and stayed in the contest until after 100 of the contestants had gone down. They both went down in the same round. There was a very large aud ience and a great deal of interest was shown. It was pronounced the biggest and best contest held. The winner of first place in the oral division was Fern Steuteville, age 14, of the South Sioux City Junior High School and the winner of first place in the written division was Barbara Luff, age 13, eighth grade student of Cen tral City Junior High School. After the Interstate Contest Mrs. Parker drove on to Omaha where Francis Soukup, 13, 8th grade student of St. Mary’s Academy entered the World Herald Contest on Saturday in competition against 57 other County Champions and the Omaha and Lincoln City school champion — the largest state bee the World-Herald has yet sponsored. At the start of the match Saturday morning there were 19 boys and 42 girls. The boys gave the girls the stiffest battle they have yet put up in a state tournament. By 2:30 in the afternoon it was three boys against three girls who fought until the final 10 minutes then Francis stumbled on the word “sardonyx” and went down giving him sixth place. We think that this is a very fine record since it was a very tiring, long, hard struggle. The World-Herald in their report of the contest says, “Time after time during the match, the audience ap plauded enthusiastically as boys or girls appealed victoriously to the dic tionary after they had been ruled out. This support came most dramatically to Francis Soukup, O’Neill, Holt county Champion. He was one of the final three male survivors. “ ‘Stupifies’, he spelled as the judges choroused ‘Wrong’. Out he went but up to the referees instead of to a back seat. They found that Webster al lowed his spelling. Back he went and the crowd cheered. He was just ir time to catch, ‘putrefaction’. He put ‘i’ for ‘e’. Again he had the crowd with him as he strode to the diction ary. The referees found putrifieatior was listed in the big book. A beaming boy fairly shouted to Mr. Eaton ir his triumph as the crowd went wild.’ Francis made a fine showing foi Holt County. This was his second year to be representative in the World Herald Contest. Last year he took ninth place in the World-Herald Spell ing Bee. The winner of first place went tc Barbara Luff of Central City wher she spelled “peristalsis” aftern Ferr Steuteville, South Sioux City, spellec it “peristolcis.” Barbara and Ferr were both winners the day before ir ' the Inter-State Contest at Sioux City Barbara will represent Nebraska a1 the National Spelling Contest to bt held in Washington, D. C. Prizes given by the World-Herald to the ranking spellers were: Bar bara, gold state championship medal in addition to the Washington trip: $15.00 to Fern, $10.00 toJohn Finney, .Jr.. Parks; $5.00 each to Dollie Nelson Loomis; Charles Skogsol, Crete; Fran cis Soukup, O’Neill; Helen Andrews Trumbull; Wilma Daniels, Valentine: Edna Buckholz, Falls City; Dorothy Beck, Pilger; Edith Sic, North Bend; Mary Hall, Lawrence; Betty Joe Koeh ler, Stering; and Louise Marty, Col umbus. A tired but happy group returned to O’Neill on Sunday evening, report ing a very fine trip and although they did not win first place in either con test, Holt County may well be proud of the fine showing her contestants made in both contests. Sentence Two More Joe Juracek was sentenced on Mon '• day by Judge Dickson to sixty days ! in jail and costs, no fine. Harry Kopp was sentenced to foui months in jail, $100 fine and costs Both men are to begin serving th« sentences on June 2. Juracek fur nished a $500 bond for his temporary freedom. Both men reside in the Stuart neigh borhood and were convicted in district court last January of attempting tc bribe jurors serving on the first Flan nigan case. The serving of sentence is deferred in the case of Juracek because of it being planting time on the farm and the judge desired to give him oppor tunity to put in the crops. In the case of Kopp, a rancher, the court set the date for June 2 because during the next month cattle need special atten teion on the ranch. The sentencing of these two dis poses of the last of the bribery cases. MOTHERS DAY made ah our8 $tor»e fof® /Aoh^Cf®^’ J)ay, /lay Bh^, Will benefit by reduced pr»ice$ Mrs. Susie Horiskey Jl'DGE DICKSON IS CALLED TO Supreme Court LANDIS IS TO TRY FLANNIGAN The week beginning May 16, Judge Dickson will be at ^incoln to sit with the supreme court for the ensuing four days. Judge Harry D. Landis of Seward, one of the judges in the Fifth district, has been selected by the supreme court to try the case against John M. Flannigan and will be in O’Neill May 16 to commence the trial. This plan has been arrived at thru correspondence between Judge Dick son and Judge Goss, chief justice of the supreme court. Flannigan had | asked that another judge be brought j here to try his case. Judge Landis was the presiding judge in the case in Saunders county wherein Wencel H. Kirchman, cashier of a state bank at Wahoo, was con victed of a $7,500 fraud. He was sentenced to 10 years in the peniten tiary and fined $2,600. The case was appealed to the supreme court but on February 25 the conviction was up held and the judgment of the district court affirmed. In presenting the matter of having a judge from another district try this next Flannigan case Judge Dickson went into it in detail in a letter to the chief justice. His letter follows: O’Neill, Neb., April 22, 1932—Hon. Charles A. Goss, Lincoln, Neb.—Dear Judge: There is pending in this court the case of The State of Nebraska versus John M. Flannigan. He and his brother, James C. Flannigan, were charged jointly with receiving depos its in the Citizens Bank of Stuart, knowing the bank to be insolvent. Last fall they were tried together and the jury disagreed. Later James C. Flannigan was tried alone; he having applied for a separate trial. The Jury convicted him on all counts of the information, nine in number; motion for newr trial was overruled and I sentenced him to the penitentiary or each count five to ten years, sentence to run on each count concurrently. A few days ago the defendant, John M. Flannigan, filed a motion asking that I call in some other judge to try the case on account of my bias and pre judice; he also filed a motion for a continuance to a date not earlier than May 15th. I overruled the motion and showing on account of the alleged bias and prejudice of myself, and granted him a continuance until Mon day, May 16th, at ten o’clock A. M. There are a number of other crim inal cases pending against the defend ant, John M. Flannigan, and his broth er James C. Flannigan growing out of the failure of their bank at Stuart. Their brother, A. E. Flannigan, was tried in Rock county on a charge of violating the banking law, growing out of the failure of the Bassett State Bank; he was convicted; a motion for new trial was filed, overruled, and 1 sentenced him to the penitentiary for from one to ten years. He has served notice of an appeal and is out on bond. J The co-defendant of John Flannigan, James C. Flannigan, has served no tice of an appeal of his case to the Supreme Court. A number of civil suits were brouaht by the receiver, seeking to set aside a number of transfers of notes and mortgages to depositors; the receiver alleging that; the parties receiving the notes and mortgages were given a preference over the other depositors. These cases I tried, and I found for the receiver in all of the cases except I think one. After the jury disagreed in the first trial of John and James Flannigan, a number of complaints were filed chargingcertain parties with contempt of court on account of their attempt to bribe certain jurors in the trial of the first case. The result of the investi gation was that I adjudged five dif ferent persons in contempt of court by reason of their attempt to inter-; fere with the jury. Two are in jail,! one is out on bond pending an appeal to the Supreme Court, and the other ; two are to be sentenced May 2nd. I Counsel for the defendant, John Flan nigan, and I are not able to agree ! upon the law. Many new questions. are presented in these cases. I am conscious of neither bias or prejudice as against the defendant, John Flan nigan, in this case or in any other case that is pending against him. I tried to be fair and impartial in the A. E. Flannigan case and the Jame F'lannigan case. My endeavor hn» <en to admit such testimony as i believed admissable on the par* of the State and the defendant; and to in MOTHER A thought for you on Sunday next— What could be more beautiful Than every one at early dawn To bow their head in humble prayer— As mother deserves respect from you As her thoughts turn to baby’s shoes? What more beautiful could this picture be As time goes on for you and me? P. J. McMANUS. struct the jury as to the law as I be lieved it to be In all the cases tried. However, regardless of my feelings in the matter, and my belief that I could give John M. Flannigan a fair and impartial trial, not only in this case but in any other case that he might have in court; yet, in view of the number of cases tried by me, and the number pending and to be tried, the feeling and criticizm that nec essarily follows the trials of such cases; the difference of opinion as to the law in these cases, and the many other things that enter into the trial of such cases; I feel that I should ask the Supreme Court to designate and appoint a judge from some sec tion of the state remote from this locality to try this case. The Supreme Court is authorized to do so under sec tion 12 of Article 5 of our Constitu tion. For your further information as to the time that will be required to try this case, will say that I think it will take about two weeks. I am basing this on the time it took tc try the cases before. Will you kindly acknowledge re eeipt of this letter, and make the nec essary arrangements to the end that a judge be sent here to try the case. Yours truly, R. R. Dickson. Judge Goss replied to the foregoing. Several letters were exchanged. The final arrangements were made by the members of the supreme court and communicated to Judge Dickson in j the following letter to which he j agrees: Lincoln, April 30, 1932.—Hon. Rob j ert R. Dickson, District Judge, O’Neill, I Neb.—Dear Judge: The members of I our court met this morning and made an order, under article 12 section 5 j j of the Constitution, directing Harry D. Landis, district judge, Seward, Ne braska, to try the case of State of i Nebraska v. John M. Flunnigan, in , the district court of Holt county, Ne braska. beginning Monday, May 16th, 1932. They also requested that you sit with us on the supreme court be-, i ginning that same date and ending jon Thursday, May 19th. I put up to. , them your objections but we have had ■ a very difficult and serious time for several months on account of the in-' linen/.a and Its effect on two or three member* of our court, and we do not find it very easy to get district judges (to help us because of the condition of the dockets in several of the districts. Besides, it has been a long time since you have sat with the court. We hope you will be able to accommodate your self to the situation and be with us for the four days named. Yours very truly, Charles A. Goss, Chief Justice. Services At the First Presbyterian Church Sunday School 10:00—Mr. Geo. C. Robertson, Supt. Morning Worship 11:00—Mother’s Day Service. Young People’s C. E. Meeting 7:15. Evening Service 8:00—“Value of Prayer.’’ The young people will assist in the evening service by giving short tulks on the subject of prayer. You will want to make Sunday a Go-to-Church Sundny by attending our service*. Bring your company. H. D. Johnson, Pastor. A shower last night and one the previous night with good growing con dition! prevailing give promise of • fruitful harvest in this section of the footstool.