Nebraska Newspapers

    Neb. Stat Historical se.
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SEMI-WEEKLY EDITION EIGHT PAGES
PLATTSMOUTI1, NEBRASKA. THURSDAY MAY 5, 1910
NO :u
VOLUME XXIX
3
A HOI III III 1 OLD
TOWII LAST SATURDAY G
"A Free for All" Fight Barely Averted by the Cool Head of the
Friends of the Belligerents at Special Session of Council
A special meeting of the city coun-1
cil last Saturday night came near
ending In a riot and the mutiliatlon
or injury of some of the members of
the council and others. The meeting
was called by Mayor Sattler to con
sider the remonstrance filed by J.
M. Leyda, Mesdames Kerr, Carter,
Hall et al, against greeting a drug
gists permit to Gering & Co. The
remonstrators were present In full
force, there being some four ladies
present from among the signers to
cpthpr with T. M. Carter. T. W.
Glenn and J. M. Leyda. The firm
of Gering & Co., was represented
by Matthew Gering as counsel while
Henry R. Gering of the firm was
also present. J. M. Leyda repre
sented the remonstrators as coun
sel. All of the members of the council
were present when the mayor called
for order except Councilmen Dovey
and Will. The former was detained
at his store by business while Coun
cilman Will is absent from the city.
The first business was the reading
of the remonstrance which, as print
ed heretofore in the Journal, charged
that the applicant, Gering & Co., had
failed to file with the city clerk on
the first day of July, 1909 and the
first of January, 1910, a report show
ing the names of those purchasing liq
uor of It during the six months prior
to each date, as required by the
statute and the city ordinance.
On motion of Cuncilman Dwyer
the' hearing of evidence was com
menced, the attorney for th re
monstrators calling W. B. Elster, the
city clerk to the stand. He was
sworn by Mayor Sattler after which
Mr. Gering entered a formal objec
tion to any testimony being taken on
the ground that there was no law
under which a remonstrance could
be filed against a druggists permit,
that the remonstrators were not act
ing in good faith but were acting
fraudulently, that only one signer of
the remonstrance had ever investi
gated and knew what the remon
strance contained, that the remon
strators were all non-residents of
the First ward where the permit was
asked for, and a large number of
other grounds which would show the
lack of good faith of the remon
strators. Leyda argued for overruling the
objection and sought to sustain his
position by quoting the statute and
the city ordinance and also contended
it was not necessary for the remon
strators to reside in the ward where
the permit was asked. Mayor Sat
tler overruled the objection.
The testimony of Dr. Elster was
then commenced, counsel for the
several parties indulging in many
bitter remarks and insinuations. His
testimony in effect was that Gering
& Co., had been granted a liquor
permit in 1909, and that they had
never filed a copy of the sales reg
istered with his office as required
by law. Leyda stated to the mayor
and council that he had served a
notice on Gering & Co., to produce
their register by leaving a notice at
their store. Mr. Gering declined to
permit the register to go into Ley
da's possession. Mr. Gering at this
point proceeded to excoriate Leyda
for having filed his remonstrance
against only one druggist when it
was claimed all the other applicants
had failed to file the reports bIbo.
Dr. Elster testified that several
months since Leyda had examined
the city records to ascertain If the
reports had been filed and had ask
ed if Gering & Co., had filed. Mr,
Leyda asserted that even if anyone
piBe nau vioiaiea me Jaw u was no
excuse for another. Mr. Elster teS'
tified that none of tho other signers
of the remonstrance except Leyda
had ever made inquiry about the re
port. It was shown that the remon
strators generally lived in other
wards than the First.
Mr. Gering's cross-examination of
Dr. Elster was provocative of much
rage on the part of Mr. Leyda. Ow
ing to the personal nature of the
questions which Mr. Gering asked
Mr. Leyda was constantly objecting
and created much laughter and
amusement at times by the use of
the word "Irrelative'' in place of
irrelevant. Dr. Elster testified on
cross-examination that so far as his
records were concerned, Mr. Leyda
had never received a permit to sell
liquor nor had he ever reported to
the clerk any sales of liquor by him
in room 27 of the Hotel Riley or at
his office in the Gund building. The
period of time when it was insinu
ated the sales might have occurred
was some thirteen months ago and
on Sunday. Leyda was intensely ex
cited and cried "Frame up, frame
up," repeatedly, accusing Gering of
having made up a job against him.
Gering replied he had framed up
something Leyda would never forget
before be got through with it. Along
at this point T. W. Glenn injected
himself into the proceedings and be
came unruly and noisy in demon
strating his feelings, so much so that
tho mayor and council summarily
sat down on him and threatened
him with arrest and expulsion for
disturbing the proceedings. As soon
as this episode had quieted down in
a measure, Leyda took the floor and
commenced to say something but the
sense of it was lost in a melee which
he precipitated by his opening re
marks.
He said "Your Honor, This vile,
little cur here" and he got no far
ther. Gering was on his feet in an
instant and before spectators could
divine his intention, he swung a right
lead to Leyda's cheek, landing square
ly on the cheek bone. The two men
were seated within a foot or so of
each other and Leyda was consider
ably surprised at the suddenness of
the attack. He Bought to retaliate
and began striking wildly about in
the air but Gering came out of the
fight unharmed. The attack precipi
tated a grand row and in the
twinkling of an eye the council cham
ber was a mass of fighting men. A
number of members of the council
assisted by ye reporter who is a brave
man, dashed into the fray to separ
ate the combatants while the specta
torsVmtslde the rail were engaged In
a free fight among themselves and
several members of the council were
busy in keeping the crowd out. Coun
cilman John W. Bookmeyer of the
Third ward was the principal victim
of the riot. With commendable en
ergy he sought to intercede between
Messrs. Leyda and Gering, and in so
doing he shoved his head between the
wide swath which Leyda's right arm
was cutting with the result that he
got a stinging blow on thd right optic
and cheek bone. This roused the
tiger of the Third ward and he tied
into Leyda in good earnest. In an
instant the two desperate men were
locked in an embrace which Coun
cilman Kurtz, Schulhof, Gravett and
the handsome young reporter of the
Journal found great difficulty in un
loosing. During the excitement
someone hit Leyda several times in
the nose and upon the mouth ap
parently, as his nose was bloody and
his mouth also bleeding. This to
gether with the disclored optic of
Councilman Bookmeyer, the loss of
two small pieces of cuticle by yours
truly and a blow in the neck to T.
M. Carter seems to have constituted
the list of casualitles. Mayor Sat
tler encouraged the racket by the
vigorous use of the gavel pounding
the desk with all his strength in an
effort to get a semblance of order
but without avail until he added his
personal efforts to those of the peace'
makers and separated the raging
elements.
At the height of the unpleasant
nesa the scene was one of the most
ludicrous ever witnessed here. The
hall was full of a struggling, seething
mob of men and arms were in evi
dence in every direction, all waving
frantically about. Carter had a very
large cane which he was waving
aloft while Glenn was excitedly ges
ticulating and saying things which
were lost in the uproar. In fact, the
entire affair looked like a Donny
urooK lair, xne ladles who were
present were thrown into a panic by
the riot and several mado desperate
efforts to get out of the room.
The affair lasted but a few mo
ments, when quiet was restored. Mr
Gering at once apologized to the
council for his part in the trouble
as did Mr. Leyda later, when the
affair was allowed to drop. Mr. Ger
tended to get a gun and if he could
not be protected from Insult he
would protect himself and he want
ed to serve public notice to that
effect. Leyda asked for an adjourn
ment at this time as the excitement
had incapaciated him and he needed
help in handling the case. Mr. Ger
ing objected to a continuance and on
motion of Bookmeyer the remon
strators were directed to proceed.
Dr. Elster's testimony related
largely to the membership of Ger
ing & Co., and he testified he be
lieved he had seen a letter wherein
Henry R. Gering had stated he owned
all the stock in the firm. '
T. M. Carter was called by Leyda
and testified to having made an ex
amination of the liquor register of
Gering & Co., and that In December,
1909, they had made three or more
sales. Carter's examination display
ed an extremely unstable memory
and he could not recall anything
about any sales except three or four
in May and three or four in De-
ably correct. Witnesses of good re
pute who saw the fight insist this is
the case. No complaints have been
filed in police court up to two o'clock
regarding the fisticuffs which took
place but there seems every prob
ability that proceedings may be
taken later by some of the interested
parties. It is intimated that the fil
ling of a complaint against any of
Rhe parties to the affair will result in
the filing of counter complaints and
that there would likely be an un
ceasing stream of litigation before
the matter was ended. The Journal
would regret this very much as it
would tend to disturb the commun
ity and would serve no good end.
The public is heartily sick and tired
of the constant warfare which in
volves the city and it will welcome
a return to sanity and the dropping
of these matters.
ember. His cross examination by
Mr. Gering was severe and went to
show the lack of good faith which he
had in filing this remonstrance, lie
showed by the witness that he haJ
once before examined the register at
he request of County Attorney
Attorney Rawls afterwards this
modified 'to say Glenn in place of
Rawls. Carter's testimony was
largely unimportant and did not
strengthen the position of the remon
strators. During his examination,
Mr. Gering asked that T. W." Glenn'
be excluded from the room, which
was done over Glenn's vehement pro
test.
Glenn was called next but his
testimony was unimportant and did
not strengthen the case of the re
monstrators.
For the applicant Mr. Gering had
Mrs. Kerr, Mrs. T. M. Carter and
Mrs. Glenn railed and each of them
testified that they signed the remon
strance without having investigated
the truth of the charges which it
contained and that they were in
duced to do so by Glenn. They did
not read it and Glenn kindly re
lieved them of that duty. Each of
them testified that they signed it
on account of testimony which had
been disclosed in a case tried last
year in district court. These ladles
seemed to think the remonstrance
against Gering & Co., for selling liq
uor unlawfully, and they frankly ad
mitted they didn't know what the
remonstrance did contain
At the close of the testimony of
the ladies a number of documents
were submitted in evidence by Mr,
Leyda for the remonstrators and
then he offered the statute relating
to liquor traffic and also the city
charter and ordinance
Mr. Gering then moved to dismiss
the remonstrance for a large num
ber of reasons and Councilman
Dwyer suggested the matter be sub
mltted without argument. Leyda in
slsted on reading the statute and
ordinance, after which Mr. Gering
made a few brief remarks. On mo
tion of Councilman Dwyer the re
monstrance was then denied. Mr.
Dwyer made a strong argument for
his motion and contended the re
monstrators had failed absolutely in
their case, and there was nothing on
which the council could act. He was
of the opinion that there was no pro
vision by which a permit could be re
fused under the conditions which
the remonstrators attempts to do.
His argument was a clear exposition
of the legal aspects of the case and
satisfied the council of their right to
issue the permit.
The remonstrance was then refus
ed, the vote being; Aye Dwyer,
Weber, Kurtz, Bookmeyer, Neuman,
Schulhof, Gravett. Nays None.
It is claimed this morning on the
street that Mr. Leyda received sev
eral blows on the back of the head
during the melee spoken of above
and that he has quite a well devel
opend bump on that part of his anat
omy in consequence. It is claimed
Henry R. Gering dealt these blows
during the excitement but the re
porter did not wltnessthls part of
the fracas. General opinion in the
city, while deploring the affair, con
demns more severely the tactics that
brought on the entire matter. There
is particularly strong comment heard
concerning the position which
Messrs. Carter and Glenn have taken
in tho various troubles which have
been disturbing the city for several
years past and the public Is rapidly
tiring of their malevolent and cap
tlous actions.
Careful investigation since the
above was put in type satisfies the
Journal reporter that the state
ment that Mr. Henry R. Gering
AT
ST. L
UKE'S CHURCH
One of the Most Interesting Pro
grams Ever Rendered by
the Choir
THE BALL OAK
LAST FRIDAY
What the Nebraska City Papers
Have to Say About Contest
From Tuesday's Dally.
Just to show that the life of the
umpire is not a bed of roses and
that those of the local team and its
fan supporters are slightly preju
diced in blaming hi mfor the rlotious
game last Friday, the Journal today
reprints what the Nebraska City pa
pers had to say about the game.
Incidentally, the remarks about the
attendance are some well put and
If the team la to remain in the field
and play winning ball, the attend
ance will have to pick up. The Ne
braska City Press says:
Captain Burns warriors journey
ed to Plattsmouth yesterday to play
the team at that pluce and won the
game 18 to 9 without an effort. Fol
lowing was the lineup: Plattsmouth
Heal, Droege, Fitzgerald, McC'au-
ley, Smith, Mason, Perry, Kelly and
Warge. Nebraska City Mayfleld,
lladura, Morarity, Hicklin, Chap
man, Richter, O'Shca, Whitmore and
From Monday's Daily.
The song service at St. Luke's
church last evening given by the
choir, under the direction of Prof.
H. S. Austin, together with a num
ber of excellent solos, was one of the
best, if not the best program ever
given here. There was a large and
appreciative congregation present
and all who attended were well re
paid. The program was one of un.
usual merit and every number on it
was given in splendid manner and
form.
The selections which the icholr
rendered included "Make Haste, O
God," by Rogers, "Angel Voices Ever
Singing," by Nedlinger, and "Lights
Abode." by West. Each of these
numbers were excellent and the choir
did itself proud in rendering them.
A trio, "We Will Sing the Wondrous
Storf,'' by Hart, was charmingly
given by Mrs. H. S. Austin, and Miss
Gretchen Donnelly and Miss Marie
Donnelly. These three singers were
In fins' voice and their execution of
this beautiful trio was, indeed, very
charming and highly appreciated.
Solos were given by Prof. II. S. Aus
tin, Messrs. C. W. Baylor and Glenn
Scott and Mrs. Austin. Prof. Aus
tin's selection was "Far From My
Thought" and he rendered West's
beautiful song with an interpreta
tion most excellent and pleasing.
Jerome's hymn "Shepherd Divine"
was sung by Mr. Scott who sang the
hymn splendidly. Mrs. Austin gave
as her solo "The Lord is My Light"
by Mann and her rendition of the
song was highly pleasing to the large
audience as It always is. That grand
old familiar melody "The Rock of
Ages" was very effectively rendered
by Mr. Baylor, it being one of the
best selections upon a program of
the highest order.
The work of Mrs. Anna Brltt at
the organ was very highly appreciat
ed by the congregation and Mrs
Brltt received great praise for her
artistic work. Her rendition of the
offertory was commented upon by
all as splendid and many words of
praise have been heard since the
program was given, for her excellent
work. All told the program was
highly pleasing and reflects great
credit upon Prof. Austin and the
several participants in it.
llrek ia the Drouth.
From Monday's Zai.
A break in the drouth wntch has
prevailed all this spring over this
section took place early this morn
ing when a light rain fell. This oc
curred between four and five o'clock
and throughout the day, the rain
has been slowly falling. The precipi
tation is not great but it is sufficient
to wet the Surface of the ground and
it will enable spring plowing and
corn planting to proceed. The weath
er Is considerably colder and the
weather bureau predicts much cold
er weather for tonight with slowly
rising temperature tomorrow.
The rains have been general
throughout the state, although light
in all parts and they afford a meas
ure of relief to small grain and puts
the ground in better condition for
planting. There is every indication
that the rains may continue for at
least twenty-four hours over this sec
tion which will be a vast improve
ment. Snow fell this morning at
intervals, there being a few flakes
mingled with the rainfall. Should the
weather grow much colder it is pos
sible under present conditions.
Reports from Wyoming and South
Dakota Bhow snow in both of those
Btates and also some snow In Colo
rado. Kansas reports a cloudburst
at Emnorla which may' have dono
Fletcher. Fletcher pitched a good extcn8lve damage. A heavy wind
game for the locals but his support att.(orm WM raglnK there ,ast evenlnB
times was ragged. The umpire knew
about as much about a ball game as
a pig does about Wall street and his
decisions should have won the game
for Plattsmouth if it was possible
with the umpire with them. The
local crowd kept up their hitting
stunt and knocked the ball until
they were tired. The team and the
rooters accompanying them arrived
home in time for supper. The at
tendance at the game was bum,
fifty-three persons were noted in the
field and three cows grazed peaceful
ly during the game."
The News Bays:
when all wires into tho city went
down and communication was cut
off. The Santa Fe railroad to
gether with the telegraph and tele
phone companies was making extra
ordinary efforts to restore communi
cation with the city and learn tho
extent of the damnge done but up
to a late hour this had not been
done.
ing in his apology stated that he in-struck Leyda during the fart is proh
Disponing of Mortgage Property
Deputy Sheriff Manspeaker last
Saturday evening took into custody
Silas C. Breckcnrldge on the charge
of disposing of mortgaged property.
"The Minks went to riattsmouth The complaint against Breckenrldge
csterday and cleaned up the team was filed with Justice Archer sever-
at that place by a score of 18 to 9. al weeks ago by County Attorney
The game was a tame one and there Ramsey, acting on the instructions
was a very light attendance, not 0f District Judge Travis. The arrest
being over Beventy-flve people on the grows out of the litigation between
grounds, including the crowd that the First National bunk of this city,
went from this city. It would look natt & Son, W. F. Gillespie and
as if the Plattsmouth people did not others which has been heard several
really care much for a ball game nor times in the county and district
were they going to give their team courts. The property in question
hearty support they are entitled to if was some corn which Breckenrldge
they are to be kept in the field dur- had mortgaged to Halt & Son and
ing the coming summer." which he sold to W. F. Gillespie, the
The Journal does not agree with Mynard grain dealer. In the liti-
the Nebraska City papers about the gation which arose over the prop-
Minks winning with ease for they erty the fact of the sale developed
certainly would have lost had the and also the fact that he received
Plattsmouth team played anything the money for the same from Gil
like the ball they are capable of. If lesple. After hearing the case in
Nebraska City hopes to win the Mink district court, Judge Travis called
league pennant with players such as in the county attorney and instruct
their team seems to have, it looks ed him to file the complaint. .
as if their dreams will be Badly Bhat- Breckenrldge had been sought by
tered. The team looks very weak the officers for some time and Sat-
from the exhibition they put up here, urday night was the first time they
The management of the local team were able to get hold of htm. He
Is much discouraged with the attend- tried to get ball but could not se
ance at the games and hopes that cure the same and is still In jail.
next Frldaywhen Green's Indians His hearing will probably take place
Fifteitli Wedding Anniversary.
From Monday's Dally.
Today is the seventy-first appear
ance upon this sphere of William
D. Jones veterinarian, and the aged
veteran was down town and greatly
enjoying himself showing little of
the effects of age and being about
as spry and lively as a man many
years younger. Tomorrow is the
fiftieth anniversary of the marriage
of Mr. and Mrs. Jones and the worthy
couple expect to duly observe the
occasion. This happy combination
of two anniversaries Is something
seldom witnessed and Mr. Jones is
quite proud of the circumstances
Tho many good friends which these
pioneers have in this city and
throughout the county unite in hop
Ing they will have a recurrence of
many more anniversaries, both of
Mr. Jones' birth and the marriage.
play here It will be far better. The
Idea in selecting Friday as one of
the days on which games will be
played was to permit the merchants
and clerks to attend. That they have
not taken advantage of it is disap
pointing in the extreme. The next
opportunity and possibly the last to
see games on Friday will bo when
Green's Nebraska Indians play here
next Friday. This team is one of
the strongest semi-professional teams
in the country and the local team
will be strengthened to meet them.
Plattsmouth can get good adverts
ing out of Its ball team if the mer
chants and towns people will patron
Ize the games in sufficient numbers
to warrant a strong team staying
here. The nucleus of a strong team
is already here and the management
is prepared to strengthen it if the
patronage will permit them to do so
Green's Indians in themselves are
tomorrow.
Delightful Farewell HurpiiHC.
The cozy home of Mr. and Mrs. Ed.
Donat on west Granite street, was
the scene of a little merriment and
frolic yesterday afternoon. The oc
casion was in the nature of a fare
well surprise in honor of Frank and
Eddie Donat. About twenty school
mates and friends had been invited
and they gathered at the Donat resi
dence about 2 o'clock in the after
noon. Upon their arrival at their
uncle's home, Frank and Eddie were
somewhat shocked to see the rooms
filled with their playmates but soon
recovered and joined in the fun. The
usual amusements were had such
as games, music and the like and the
pleasant affair closed with a delight
ful luncheon to which all did ample
justice. It was a late hour in the
afternoon and after expressing their
rpirrfita nt linvlnir to lnsn tlm liova
well worth Beclng for they play ball from thc)r mi(lHt bllt w,HhIng thelll
much happiness in their new home,
which keeps tho fastest of Ahem
guessing. They are real Indians and
many of them have established rep
utatlons as being the best ball play
ers among the redmen
Let everyone who wants to help
the guests departed for their homes.
Engineer J. J. Buttery of Lincoln
spent Saturday night with his broth
er, Mart and family in this city.
Johnny was delighted with his broth
er's farm, and believes he will de
velop Into a great farmer.
Old CiMiiraileH Meet.
A. II. Pratt, an old soldier friend
of J. W. Johnson, who has been
Plattsmouth and who wants a good, making him a brief visit, departed
fast ball team here, turn out Friday tnis mornlnB for Freeport, Maine.
and attend and encourage the boys Tne ftBe(1 gentleman is quite feeblo
to play winning ball. Rnd ttie trlD 19 a very lo"K and tire
some on for him to make athlsagc.
In making the trip to this city from
The only new filing today in the TccuniBeh, he was bo exhausted when
office of Clerk of tho Court Robert- he changed cars at Lincoln that hs
son was a transcript in the caso of I had to be wheeled from one train
Blunt vs. the C. B. & Q. Ry., an ap to the other. Judge Johnson at-
peal case from the county court tended to arranging the details for
where Blunt recovered a Judgment I his trip and made all possible en-
against the Burlington Relief de- deavors to have the trip made as
partment for $315. . 'comfortably as possible.