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About The Plattsmouth journal. (Plattsmouth, Nebraska) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1909)
m' iat0i 3 be natal. SEMI-WEEKLY EDITION EIGHT PAGES VOLUME XX VIII PLATTSMOUTH, NEBRASKA, MONDA Y MO tfEMHEK 1, liOSt NO 81 Y ESTROYES B 11 THIS WIG House Was Valued at $1,200 and Insured for $400 Tenant Loses Household Goods At 5:45 this morning fire destroy-, ed a farm bouse south of the city which belonged to Jacob Heinrich. The building was occupied by Charles Petersen as a tenant and he lost all his household goods except one rock ing chair which he saved. Petersen had just gotton up from bed and built a fire in the stove, going from the house to the barn after lightning the fire. After doing a few chores about the barn he returned to the house discovered the roof to be on fire. He procured a ladder and attempted to put the fire out, but it bad gotten too much headway and within a very short time the building and contents were reduced to ashes. The building was a frame struc ture 16x46 feet in size and had re cently been overhauled by Mr. Hein rich, being newly papered and paint ed and plastered. The presumption ia that after the fire was built in the stove the damper was left down aid the draught carried the sparks up the chimney and onto the roof which was very dry and which quick ly ignited. Mr. Heinrich states that he had the chimney replastered and repaired not a great 'while ago by Charles Truman and he is satisfied it was not on account of a defective flue that the fire originated. The building was valued at about $1,200 ANSWERS THE LAST BILL GALL Thomas Bryan, a Veteran of the Civil War Passes Away at St. Joseph's Hospital Death early this morning came to Thomas Bryan, the aged soldier' who was removed to St. Joseph's hospital la Omaha about a week ago. His 111 ess, which had extended over a long period of time and which had been pronounced incurable by the attend ing physicians, was seen last evening to be drawing to a close and his rela tives were notified. Deceased had lived in this city and vicinity for many years and was a well known character in this locality. He was a veteran of the civil war, having served throughout that great struggle with distinction as a brave soldier and having been rewarded for his fidelity to the cause by a pension from the government. During his later years he had lived alone in this oity, his children, who were all girls, having been married and moving away long since. He is survived by four children, of whom Mrs. Lydia McKlnney, Mrs. 141na McKlnney end Mrs. Cora Brice live at Burlington, la., end Mrs. Retta Miller, resides at Pilger, Neb. The funeral takes place tomorrow (Sunday) afternoon at 2 o'clock from the undertaking roms of M. lllld, in terment being had at Horning ceme tery, south of the city. In his life time Mr. Bryan was an excellent citizen and an upright and worthy man. In their loss his daugh ters have the sympathy of the entire public. Arrangements for the funeral of the late Thomas Bryan were com pleted by local old soldiers, who had known their comrade for so many years. The services will be conducted by Canon H. B. Burgess of the Epls eopal church, and the pallbearers will be Messrs. Thrasher, Renner, Smith, McKlnney, Hlckson and Tartsch, all old soldiers. The services will be conducted from the undertaking rooms of M. Hild, on South Sixth street. The Burllntogn freight shop force was temporarily reduced yesterday for a period of ten days by the trans fer of eleven men from tho lucal shop to Edgemont, S. D., where some nec essary repairs are to be made at once. Among those who were sent out to that place were Gua and Fred Rezner, Frank Schuldice, John Grebe, Otto Finder, Anton Hrasky and Ed. Svoboda. OF II and Mr. Heinrich carried insurance to the amount of $400. Petersen lost all his household goods valued at several hundred dollars on which he had no insurance whatever. Petersen has been having very hard luck for several years past. He was formerly employed in the bridge gang of the Burlington but several years ago he quit the company em ploy and started farming. Last year he farmed near La Platte and the high water of early spring drove him out, causing him to lose all his crop. This year .the protracted drouth re sulted in a large part of his crop be ing lost and now comes the fire with the heavy attendant loss. He is well known in this city where he bears the reputation of being a thrifty and steady citizen. His many friends in this community sympathize with him in his loss and hope that the ill for tune which has followed him bo long will change for the better. Mr. Heinrich will probably rebuild at once as a house is necessary for the conduct of his farm. The fire was seen by a threshing crew working in that vicinity and the tooting of the engine whistle was heard by many in this city. No one was able, however, to get to the scene of the disaster in time to render Mr. Petersen any aid in lighting the flames. Laid to Final Host. The funtral of the late Mrs. Curtis Moore took place this afternoon from her late residence in the west end of the Second ward. The services were conducted by Dr. J. T. Baird of the Presbyterian church, who spoke elo quently of the many virtues this good woman and drew many lessons from the noble life which she had led and the splendid Christian character which had so distinguished her. For many years this able divine had been the spiritual adviser of the deceased, and his long and intimate knowledge of the many beautiful traits which had characterized her in her life time, stood him In good stead when he came to recall those attributes. The services were also marked by the rendition of many of the songs which Mrs. Moore had so well loved In her lifetime. Interment took place at Oak Hill, the remains being es corted to their last resting place by a long cortege of sorrowing friends. Mrs. Moore was born in Logan county, Ohio, on June 17, 1832, and at the time of her death, which oc curred Friday morning, she had reached the ripe age of 77 years 4 months and 12 days. She had been a resident of this city for many years, her husband, Curtis Moore, being era ployed In the Burlington shops for years. In his deep sorrow at the loss of his beloved helpmate, Mr. Moore has the profound sympathy of a great circle of friends. She was all that a good woman could be kind, gentle and loving to a degree one whom to know was to respect and love as the best of friends. Don't h It. Don't write a chock for less than $1 after January 1, 1910, unless you want to pay a fine of $500, or spend six months in prison, for, under sec tion 178 of the penal law which was approved March 4, last, this is forbid den. Merchants all over the country are aroused over this law, but the ones who may be the hardest hit are the mall order houses of Chicago and the east, and, on that account, the wrath of the small retailer is Jess than it would ordinarily have been. So much are the mall order houses worried that they have appealed to the members of congress to get a rul ing on this law so that they will know what this section means. If it is de cided that the law is constitutional and stands, it is said that a bill to re peal it will be introduced at the next session of congress. Section 178 says that no person shall make, Issue, cir culate or pay out any note, check or memorandum, token or other obliga tion for a less sum than $1 intended to circulate as money or to be receiv ed or used in llnu of lawful money of the United States. Hundreds of pro tests against this section are being received dally by the treasury deport ment, most of them being from cata logue houRea. Interstate Grocer. QUESTION OF Motion to Have Blish Damage ' Suit Sent to State Courts The $25,000 law suit of Earl M. Blish against the Burlington rail road, which attracted so much at tention in this vicinity several months ago, is still pending In the federal district court, where it was removed by the railroad company from the state court here. It is ex pected in connection with this mat ter that a motion of the attorney for the plaintiff, Matthew Gering, to re mand the case to the state courts for) trial will be decided very shortly. Mr. Gering has filed a number of affidav its with the clerk of the federal court setting forth that Blish, who has been stopping in this city since the time of his injury last July, is a resi dent of the state of Pennsylvania, and not of this state, and his suit was filed in the state courts here because of that fact. The question of jurisdiction is one which the several courts are very Jealous of, and they are extremely cautious in taking jurisdiction un less the law is compiled with to the letter. If it should be shown con clusively to the federal court that Blish was a resident of Pennsyl vania, it is more than probable his case will be remanded to the state court for trial, as that tribunal will have jurisdiction over the matter. On the other hand, if his residence is technically in Nebraska, then the federal court would assume jurisdic tion. Both Attorney Byron Clark of this city, who represents the railroad company, and Mr. Gering, who is the attorney for Blish, have devoted a great deal of attention to this case, and have given It careful study. The new statute which Judge Jesse L. Root, formerly of this city, was so in strumental in passing while he was a member of the state senate, which passes upon the fellow servant ques tion, is brought Into question, and its constitutionality is a matter which is raised. It has been asserted that the statute had been nustained by the United States court of appeals, but this is denied by counsel for the rail road, and they intend to present the constitutional question Involved In the Blish case. In the showing which Mr. Gering has made and which the federal court has under cosideration, a num ber of affidavits of an interesting na ture have been filed. The motion sets forth also several things which are of interest to the general public, including the statement that shortly after filing the case In the district court here, a notice was served on the railroad that the deposition of certain witnesses for the plaintiff would be taken within a few days. Before he could get around to tak ing them he found that the case had been removed to the federal court by the railroad company, and he assigns as a reason for this action the fact that he wanted to take the deposi tions in question. The appearance which was entered for Blish was in the nature of a spe cial appearance, so as to not waive any of the rights which he might have In tho case, and it asserts that the residence of Blish Is In Sayre, Pa. To support this allegation a number of affidavits from that town are on file which assert that Blish has lived there all his life, and that his mother is now a resident of that city. In addition, it Is asserted, he has been unfailing in remitting the funds necessary to pay her personal and other taxes and dues, and that he has never at any time voted else where. One of the affidavits which dis closes tho motives which prompted Blish in so studiously keeping up his connection with the old home, and one which lends a romantic air to his life, Is that of Ellen Burns, a young woman of Sayre. Miss Burns dis closes In her affidavit the story of a heart's love and of personal sacrifice which Blish was making that he might wed her. When he left the town nestling in the hills of Pennsyl vania, last spring, Miss Burns asserts that he did so in order to procure a stake with which to set up house keeping. He was to go out into the golden west that romantic land of oppor tunity and there enter into work and live and save until he should come back In the rich, ripe autumn time and plight his troth to her. Never did the fond lovers imagine that he would stay away longer than the month of harvest the fruitful season of the year. When he had taken up his residence in this section they had exchanged letters, and each one had breathed the fervent hope that they would soon be united. All this Miss Burns sets forth In her af fidavit. She declares Blish never did intend to live in this state. This is the substance of her affidavit, which she hopes will let the man of her heart free to have his case heard in the state courts. In addition there appears the af fidavit of the tax collector at Sayre, who sets forth that Blish was pretty punctual in paying his taxes and also the amount he had paid. Blish himself corroborates Miss Burns. and asserts that she has all his' affections carefully locked up and stored away in her Pennsylvania heart, and that all he ever sought to do was to earn an honest llvllhood, in this city and state. He came to Fort Omaha last March as an em-, ploye of the government, and that later he entered the services of the , Burlington at Gibson, being sent to j this city as a fireman in July. He had not been at work but a few days' when he lost his foot in a collision in the yards here a circumstance with which the Plattsmouth public is quite ; familiar. He never did feol that this ' was to be his home permanently and always maintained that he was a res ident of Sayre. Since the time of his injury Blish has been living at the Hotel Perkins In this city, and during the recent ab sence of Charles F. Guthman, one of the proprietors of the place, he ex ercised quite a bit of general super vision over the house, acting largely in Mr. Guthman's place. According to many, Blish is quite a ladies man and has been the recipient of many delicate attentions accorded by them to a stranger in a strange land. So far as can be learned, however, none of the fair ladles of this city have been able to take the place of the fair Ellen back - in the east, or at least none have yet filed affidavits setting forth any promises from him to locate here. The case has excited a great deal of interest here and the outcome of it Is awaited with conslderabl curios ity. Blish Is personally a pleasant, affable man, and has made many friends during the time he has been here. Ills case with the railroad company, however, is largely a ques tion of law and may result one way or another. Sympathy for the loss of his foot in the community is quite large, as Is a natural consequence of a young man losing any of his members. Odell and His Certificate. It is not the Journal's intention to do any candidate any harm by a mis statement, and we therefore give the following facts in the Odell certificate case: Mr. Odell, previous to last September, held a second grade cer tificate, issued from the Peru State normal. In that month Mr. Odell went to Nebraska City and was ex amined by Prof. King, superintend ent of schools for Otoe county, for a first-class certificate. After going out of-the county to bo examined, he brought the grades to Miss Foster and sho filed them in her office. This examination by Prof. King occurred since he became a candidate for county superintendent. Miinied at tho Court House. Judge M. Archer this morning was called to the county judge's office to unite In marriage Charles C. Ladd, aged 26 of Bellevue and MisS Mabel Huntley, aged 19 of La Platte. The young folks came over this morning from La Platte on No. 4 and intend ed to have the ceremony performed by Judge Beeson but he was out of tho city and Judge Archer, his op ponent for county judge was called on. Mr. and Mrs. Ladd are two very popular young people of eastern Sarpy county with many friends who will be delighted to hear of their mar riage and who will unite in wishing them a long and happy wedded life. Mrs. Ladd has been a frequent visi tor in this city and baa quite a num ber of frlenda living here. Mrs. Nelson Jones this morning had a letter from her husband, at the hospital in Omaha stating that he was feeling fine and getting along nicely. He la gratified at the words of en couragement which he receives from the attending physicians and hopes to be home and at work within a very few days. HEW BRIDGE TO BE Olher Towns and Cities are En thusiastic Over the Prospects Plattsmouth is to have a brand new wagon bridge between this city and LaPlatte and Sarpy county. This is now positively assured. It Is to be a wagon and automobile bridge, and will afford a splendid highway from this city and the South Platte coun try to Omaha and the north. , Two plans are now under consid eration by the promoters of the pro ject. One comprises the purchase of the present Missouri Pacific bridge at Oreapolis from that company and Its conversion into a wagon bridge by planking it over. Such a scheme could be carried out with small ex pense, and it would give a bridge capable of sustaining the heaviest loads. Tha maturity of these plans depends upon the action of the Mis souri Pacific officials in determining the location of their new bridge. Should they decide to use their pres ent roadway and bridge site this will end all chance of the use of their present structure for a wagon bridge. The general superintendent of tho company is at present In communica tion with T. H. Pollock, who Is one of the chief promoters of tho bridge project, and within a few days it is expected a definite arrangement can be made. Mr. Pollock is prepared if the pro jected use of the M. P. bridge fulls through to put through a new bridge, lie Is In receipt of plans for the structure nnd they can bo seen at his oface In the riattsmouth Telephone company's building. The plans Indi cate a fine structure. It la to have two truss spands each 128 feet in length, the trusses resting on con crete piers which are to be built on pue iouiiuaiions. i nis assures a strong structure and one capable of carrying great weight over the cur rent of the stream. Tho approach from this side is to be over a panel next to the south bank with a pile trestle. On the north there will be five panels of pile bents consisting of three piles strongly braced. These panels are forty feet In length. The roadway on the bridge proper Is to be ten feet In width and tho turnouts are to be sixteen feet wide. This will afford all desirable space for wagons and autos and Insures a bridge of ample capacity for the ex pected heavy travel. The total length of the bridge Is to 1,768 feet. Mr. Pollock, who has been bo ac tive In promoting the bridge, states that there have been sufficient funds pledged to insure the erection of the bridge. Much of the money which will go toward building the bridge will be from Nebraska City, a num ber of the business men of that place being eager to enter into the matter. There is every prospect that tho bridge, which will be a toll one, will more than pay for itself In a very short time. There is an ImnieUBO amount of travel from the South Platte country into Omaha and at present this travel has to go either by Louisville or Fremont. The new bridge will chango tills by giving travelers from Lincoln and other South Platte points a splendid level road. From Lincoln the O street road, which runs straight east from that city to Union, is a smooth, level stretch admirably adapted to the use of wagons and autos. From Union to the Platte river into Omaha the high hills of the north bank are avoided and the road lies through a level country of superb roads. Great speed can be made over these roads and the elimination of the heavy grades will cut time remarkably. The roads from Union south to Nebraska City and the southeast cor ner of the state are also excellent, and a big travel is assured over the bridge from that section. Ralph Duff, the Nebraska City automobile man, Is an enthusiast over the pro ject, and is said to be heavily inter ested. From all the above it can be seen that real action is in the air and another big enterprlsco is fairly on the way to launching. Misses Mattle Larson and Carrie Balrd departed this morning for Seward, where they will act as dele gates at the state meeting of the So ciety of Christian Endeavor, which meets in that city tomorrow, Satur day and Sunday. Valuable Hogs. Ed. P. Tritsch and P. H. Meislnger of this county were two of the pur chasers at the big Duroc Jersey hog sale, held yesterday at Sutton, Neb., by Gilbert Van ratten & Sons, prom inent hog raisers of that place. They secured two exceptionally fine ani mals In fierce competition with breeders from all sections of the country. Mr. Tritsch bid $47.50 for an animal and Mr. Meislnger bid $36 for another, both fancy prices, but the animals are well worth It. They will make a valuable addition to the high grade animals now being raised in this county. The M. E. Smith Company Will Be Ready for Business Just as Soon as the Building is Completed. Secretary Wescott of the Commer cial club today held a long talk over the phone with Messrs. Smith and Burgess of the M. E. Smith company at Omaha, and told them of the pro gress which Is being made hi re in getting ready for their enterprising firm to open their new factory here. He was gratified to have them tell him of their intense anxiety to have the building quickly changed and al tered so they might open up. They stated that If they could they would open on Monday next and would em ploy all the girls and women he could secure for them. At first they fig ured on opening with some fifty em ployes; now they will open with three times that number if they can be obtained. Mr. Wescott has a largo list waiting them, but It Is not nearly closed. lie wants every one who enn to enroll and promises them good, profitable employment. The Smith people are surfeited with orders and want to get the new factory In run ning order quickly. Their machines are now on the way pnd will be in stalled as quickly as Mr. Jackson gives them the room. There ban been considerable dclny on this ac count, as it is Mr. Jackson's busy season and ho has ont be able to get out as soon as ho exported. The Commercial club Is highly pleas ed at his aid to them in the matter, however, and appreciate IiIb activity and work In trying to get moved. lie has been untiring In working and cleaning up and movlng.but even with all this, It will be several dayB be fore ho can release the building. He is certainly a man of much public spirit and enterprise, and descrveH the commendation of the publlo for his efforts to help build up the city. He is one of the right kind of men for a town, energetic and public spir ited, and always ready to do his share for the public wchI. It Is likely the new factory will be In operation before many weeks have past, and that there will be a hand some addition to the city pay rolls before many days have passed. Im provements nt the Burlington shops, a new wagon bridge over the Platto and the Smith factory moke a gKid trio of starters for 1910. Two More Lucky Ones. Two more Cans county men have druwn farms In the Standing Rock and Cheyenne Indian reservations In Dakota, their names coming out yes terday in the drawing at Aberdeen, S. D. They are Carter Albln of Union, who drew No. 8014 ond A. J. Klepser of Weeping Water, who secured No. 9200. . As there are only 10,000 farms altogether, they were near the end. However, they will probably land much farther up the line, as they will get the benefit of others dropping out and failing to take thtlr claims, which will amount to a'grent deal and will put them much fartb toward the top of the list. It is said that most of the farms In this agency are well orth having and doubtless both Messrs. Albln and Klepwer will secure pieces of property worth their taking. The drawing Is now over and four places went to the county, Messrs. LnRue of Union and Rosnow of Murdock securing the other two places well up toward the top. A party of four from Nebraska City were visitors in the city over night, stopping at the Hotel Perkins. They Included Misses Pearl ond Nelllo Loveless and Messrs. A. J. and J. C. Loveless. BUS TO GET Donnms