Punxsutawney Spirit, 1907-02-16

              PRICE 2 CENTS STATE POIKE ACT IS IN LITTLE DANGER, SATS S. TAYLOR NORTH PUNXSUTAWNEY, PA.. SATURDAY EVENING, FEBRUARY 16, 1907 I VOL 1. ANTI-CONSOLIDATION ARGUMENTS LACK WEIGHT AND ARE FOR MOST PART MERE MISREPRESENTATIONS No. 130. IS SPECIAL COUNSEL FOR COMMERCE COMMISSION Faction Distributes Circulars Claiming No Good Reason Has Been Advanced Showing Why Punxsutawney and Lindsey Should Be One—Some of These Statements Have Been Answered Before; Others Are Answered Herewith. IAN INSANITY COMMISSION Mill Growing Daily. Assemblyman from This District Says Sentiment Is "In fact, it would be no great surprise' to me if something were done, giving them added powers and increasing the scope of their usefulness."been reported out of committee negatively. It. therefore, seems unlikely to me that anything will be done by the Legislature which will impair the usefulness or lessen the present powers of the Pennsylvania State Police. SPEAKS OF THE GOOD WORK Says Recent Troubles in the State Demonstrate Necessity for the Troops. Thaw Case Likely to Be Halted on Monday Pending Discussion. ERIE FRANCHISE FINALLY SOLD EVELYN CALLED BY DELMAS UP TO ELECTORS ON TUESDAY I y Publishers' Press. BANK STOCK FOR SA1.E Crackers Celery. Rolls Tea Evident That the Case Has Today Taken an Important Turn. Champion Team Will Now Be Members of the 0. & P. League. proportion to the efforts put forth by the people who compose them to develop the natural resources of thy communities in which they are located, and that this being true the more people you have working for the common good of any locality the greater the results. in commercial importance in exact We submit as a truism, the force of which should be patent to every fairminded adult person in Punxsutawney and Lindsey, that towns increase Lindsey are the center, will prosper as a whole Just In proportion to the capacity of consumption dependent upon labor conditions in this section of the Mahoning valley. munity of which Punxsutawney and boroughs. It is a proposition that affects vitally every citizen of the two , towns and the stirroundlng trade territory, becauee the industrial com- Tuesday the electoral of Punxsu- tawney and Lindsey will be called upon to decide, by their ballots the , proposition to consolidate the two The Spirit has always been in favor of consolidation, for this specific reason, and no other, regarding all arguments to the contrary as vastly Inferior In importance to this one world-wide, accepted fact, which has been demonstrated by the experience \nl every -*tiu*tling town and city in iTO United States or any other coun- "In fart., it appears to me that sentiment is growing; daily In favor of the Constabulary and that the half lozen or ■ which were Introduced earlier in the session seeking repeal or modification of tin- Aet ire d< stined to be reported negatively, or at least ''ail of passage in one >r both branches of the Legislature. "I understand that one or two of those repealing bills have already "Not that 1 believe anything move s needed to demonstrate the worlh ind necessity of such a body than the vork already accomplished, it is altogether likely that the recent excellent. work of membern our own Troop 1), who so abl£ assisted the Cambria County authorities only tw > or three days ago In breaking up a bad gang and that of the troop locate ! it YVllkos-Barre, which on Thursday performed an even more dangero umission, is bound to have its effect with the State Legislators. Assemblyman S. Taylor North returned from Harrlsburg yesterday, the State Legislature having adjourned in order that the lawmakers might return to their respective homes in time to east their votes at the various municipal eleeions next Tuesday. "From what I have been able to anther from various sources within the past few days," said Mr. North. "1 am firmly convinced that the Act •nating the State Police is in little danger of being repealed at this session.Frank B. Kellogg rank P. Kellogg, who is now representing as special counsel the Interstate Commerce Commission, lives at St. Paul. Minn. Mr. Kellog made a his legal reputation on railroad matters while he was acting as the General Counsel for the Duluth and Iron Range Railroad. He made a strong impression on the Administration while representing the Attorney General of the I'nited States Department during the recent prosecution of the Standard oil • Company. Mr. Kellogg has associated with him in tin- present Investigation of the Harriman combination of railroads Mr. C. A. Severance, an attorney of St. Paul. During the meeting of the Universal Congress of Lawyers and Purists at St. Louis in 1904 Mr. Kellogg attended the convention as a Government Delegate. His present work is being doneundcr the provision of the new Hat o law. FORTY ARRESTS BY THE STATE POLICE GOOD EVENTS FOR 8R00KVILLE FAIR i LOCAL MAN INVENTS CANAL GATE VALVE That's the Number Up to Date in Connection With the Barnesboro Murder. Circulars Are Sent Out Giving Dates and Naming the Events. There is considerable speculation as to what town will be selected to till the vacancy made by the withdrawal of Erie. The towns most talked of are Brookville and Warren. A re- cent proposition which looks good to the fans in this section comes from Brookville, where the proposition of the county seat fans Is being considered to Join forces with Reynoldsvllle, half of the games to bo played in Brookville, and the other half in Reynoldsville. Kane and Rldgway have formed such a combination and it is believed thrtt the Brookville and Reynoldsville union would be equally as strong. Indiana is also looked upon as a good proposition. The matter will be taken up at the league meeting next Friday when Erie will pay over the 2,500 simoleons. Frank Baumelster, of Erie will then bo asked to resign I In* presidency oi' league, and I »r. Fry, the Oil City lvalue director. will in all probability be chosen to fill the vacancy. With Krle as the disturbing element eliminated, tin* magnates should have n> trouble now in completing final arrangements for the season of i;>07. It is understood that Charles Mlchler, of Sandusky, Ohio, put up $1,500 and Erie contributed $1,000 to the fund. Sandusky was ambitious to break into the O. & P. League, but magnates refused to deal with that town unless Erie should come in so as to make a ten-club league. In addition to Erie and Sandusky, the <). al- P. is now composed of Youngstown, Akron, Newark, Mansfield and Marion, Ohio and New Castle and Sharon. Pa. The Erie baseball franchise yesterday was sold to the O. & P. League for $2,600 and according to a resolution passed at the last meeting of the magnates of the Interstate League, will be released from the latter at a meeting which will be convened at Bradford next Friday. tending' physicians refuse to give an opinion In the case. They say, however, that he has a fighting chance The hurry call and mandatory order which caused Evelyn Nesbit Thaw to hasten from the Tombs to the office of Delmas was that Delmas wanted to know just how she figured In the divorce case of George Lederer, the theatrical manager. Evelyn has always maintained thai her name was dragged into the casewithout warrant. It has developed today that a new lino of evidence tending to show justification of the shooting of Stanford White, under the "unwritten law," will bo introduced by the Thaw defense ni xt week, when it is probable that a number of men and officers of the Society for the Prevention of Vice and the American Institute for Social Service, as Wj'll as police officers, will testify as to the efforts made by Thaw to secure the punishment of Stanford White others that arc numbered among the millionaire degenerates. Whose wild and revolting orgies in New York's gilded "Bohemia" have recently come to light. Further reasons for the supposition that some new and specially important move is contemplated on the part of the defense were given by th\' sudden summoning of Mrs. Evelyn Nesbit Thaw to Attorney Delmas's office for a conference. Mrs. Thaw had just presented he! credentials at the First Clate of the Tombs, when a messenger from Delmas whispered something to her. "Oh, I have to see Harry first; then I'll come," was the reply, and she passed Inside. .Just as she was passing through the second gate the mesenger again whispered to her. She hesitated a moment and said: "Well, 1 will go then," and with the messenger she stepped into the carriage, and drove to Delmas's ofllce, sending word to her husband that she would return shortly. While there are not very many tangible resaons on which to base such a statement, the general opinion is that the defense at last has things coming its way. The defense will ask for no commission and any such move on the part of the State will be fought to the last ditch. MOW YORK. Feb. 16.—Prospects of the Tiia.w trial being halted Monday while a tight is being made over the subject of introducing an insanity commission into the case looms up larger than ever today. AND THEY TAGGED ALL DAY YESTERDAY There was no trouble, however, except that a few lap robes and whips were hidden and one set of harness was badly cut to pieces. No arrests were made. Fearing that there might be trouble at a pie social which was held last nlg.it at the school house In CSeorgeville, Indiana County, on aecount of some of the guests having imbibed a little too freely before attending the function, Privates Nevius, Mullen and Hilton, of Troop l>, departed for the scene at 5:30 last evening.Y. M. C. A. Workers Keep At the Work of Booming the Carnival. I have thirty shares of Farmers' National Hank stock for sale. W. B. Adams, attorney. Farmers' National Bank Building.—7tf In the meantime the would-be assassin's victim lies at the Memorial Hospital In Johnstown in a precarious condition and although the bullet has been removed from his body the at- The Troop 1) men at Barnesboro have also been successful in obtaining the name of the foreigner who did the shooting and lis description and also that ho has relatives near f'unxsutawney and that he Is now supposed to be in this vicinity. Immediately following Sergeant Marsh's report Sergeant Hoddy and two other men of the troop left the barracks to hunt for one Giovanni Occhlone, aged twenty-three, slender, weight 140 pounds, height, five feet, *lx Inches. When last Keen the foreigner wore a dark suit, and a slouch hat. His complexion is dark and his face smooth. Word was received from Sergeant Marsh, who has charge of the nine nen from Troop 1>. conducting the earch for the foreigner who shot and seriously wounded Henry Newnan at Barnesboro early this week, today. Sergeant Marsh stated that ap to the present time forty arrests had been made on suspicion, while two of the foreigners are still held ■it Ebensburg pending an investigation.Circulars arc out for the Rrookville Fair announcing the dates, September 3, 4, 5 and (J, and the races and terms of entry. The racing events this year promise to surpass anything ever given In Brookville, and many fast steppers are expected to participate. Following is a list of events with the purses offered: Tuesday. September 3—No. 1, 2:35 ! Pace, purse, $300. No. 2, Koad race j for horses owned in the county. No I entrance fee, purse $50.00. No. 3, Colt race, two-year-olds, trot, purse $100. Wednesday, September 4—No. 4, i 2:40 trot, purse, $300. No. 5, Farm- I ere* race. No entrance fee. purse, ! $50. No. f>, 2:13 pace, or 2:10 trot, (purse, $300. No. 7, 3-year-olds, and • under, trot purse, $200. Thursday, September 5. No. 8, 2:15 pace, or 2:12 trot, purse, $300. No. 9, 2:30 trot, purse, $300. N*>. 10, 2:25 pace, purse, $300. Friday, September 6—No. 11, 2:20 pace, or 2:15 trot, purse $300. No. I 12, free-for-all trot or pace, purs°, j $300. No. 13, 2:23 trot, purse $300. Mr. Nordstrom has confidence In his invention and feels certain that when it is brought to the attention of the proper authorities they will see the advantages to be gained by its Will Endeavor To Have The De- vice Applied to The Isthmian Ditch.. < >. if. Nordstronw Punxsutawney's prominent brick Manufacturer, has invented a revohffig,, ball bearing anti-friction gateJR'alve to be applied to the filling mfh emptying of canal locks. A patent was granted to Mr. Nordstrom December 12, 1905 and he has sent a description of the invention to Representative W. O. Smith at Washington, D. C., who will put it before the proper authorities with the idea of introducing it in the locks to be built on the Panama Canal. The ball bearings are adjusted so as to slightly raise the valves or inner bearings while the gate valve is being revolved to be opened and relieves the friction and causes the gate valve to open or close with remarkably slight resistance. All the gate valves can be opened or closed simultaneously. FIRST OPEN MEETING OF GUN CLUB IS SUCCESS STEUBEN VILLE, O.—Anger over a lawsuit instituted against him, It is alleged, led George Mackinan, keeper of a resort here, to walk into the wholesale liquor store of Joshua Lowe arid Sons and without a.word to lire three shots at fcx-Couneilman Frank E. Lowe. Two bullets wounded Lowe serlQUsly. happened. Mr. Nordstrom claims that had two or three of the valves been attached to the South Fork dam, the Johnstown flood of 1889 would nev.er have Speeches at Jefferson Theatre Last Night Were Very Interesting. AND THEN THEY BANQUET of age. Another subject discussed, was the attitude of tho farmers toward the hunters' license. it Is thought that when the time comes they will fall in lint' and help the good work along, as nine-tenths of the money to be used for the preservation of game comes from the men living in the cities. After the discussion at the theater the members of the Gun Club, tho speakers, and a few invited guests seated themselves to a sumptuous banquet at the National Hotel, where the talks were continued during the discussion of the following menu: Fruit Cocktail Oyster Soup -MMitatlve audlenco it for the first pub- rhe Punxsutawney ft the J»'fTrrson Thethem was a largo ts from the surround- Olives Baked Turkey Chicken Salad Cold Slaw Boiled Ham Mashed Potatoes French Peas Pickles Cranberry Sauce The game will last until supper time tonight and they expect to havev the town pretty well tagged by that lme and judging from appearances and from the numbers who squint to see whether your are labeled or not, the town is pretty well tagged now. Get on a tag Instead of a jag And boost the Y. M. (\ A. You can have lots of fun. While the carnival is on And not have a big head the next day. The tags for the Y. M. (\ A. tag carnival arrived a little late to begin the work of tagging as early as the teams would have liked to, but when they did come they lost no time. If you don't have a tag in sight it is an impossibility to walk a block without being tagged by at least ten boys and as many girls, and they are getting anything from a nickel to a live dollar bill for their merchandise. Along with the tagging process and to help the thing along they are presenting Y. M. C. A .valentines which read like this: There will be at least twenty bills introduced before the Legislature on the subject of amendment to the game laws, among which will be one prohibiting foreigners to carry firearms and another also prohibiting the use of firearms by boys under sixteen years A largo and repr< turned out last nij He meeting of Ideal Gun Club it it, and am «»i] number of fari lng districts. The speech®? were more than entertaining, the sfpeakers holding the undivided attention of the audience from beginning to end. (Continued on Second Page) MONONOAHELA, Pa. — Mrs. James S. Plates is in a Critical condition from burns sustained when her clothing ignited at an open grate. Mints Salted Peanuts Pineapple Ice Cream Assorted Cake Bread Coffee lars.". After perusing that statement, and inspecting the figures whieh follow, can you "cipher out," gentle reader, what system of mathematical calculations was employed to unload $45,000 of Punxsutawney's debt on Lindsey. Why did not the committee's statistician unload Punxsutawney's entire indebtedness on Lindsey and have done with it? One reading and accepting this committee's statement is led to believe that In the event of consolidation Punxsutawney will be relieved entirely of the joy of paying taxes. The following is a remarkable Computation: "Olayville is in debt from all sources $12,950; add to this amount $7,000 for paving North Main Street and you have a total debt of $19,950. Deduct from this amount $3,250 six hundred and fifty is sinking fund to lift a bond of $500 June 4, 1907, or pay the interest on street debt; the bal- Is not a borough fn Pennsylvania that Is in a better condition. A.—This quotation begins with "you will see by the following figures that our share of Punxsutawney's debt will be forty or forty-five thousand dol- i "We are told that If we do not consolidate we will have to go heavier Into debt, to make some necessary improvements. We might as well go into debt ourselves and make our improvements as tb Join Punxsutawney and Increase our debt. But. we read In the above-mentioned paper that when North Main Street Is paved we will have the same per cent of Indebtedness as Punxsutawney. This is wrong. We have added $7,000 for paving North Main Street. On the most conservative view, Punxsutawney's debt Is 1190,000, and their last assessed valuation was $1,917.98; this will make their percentage of indebtedness about 10 per cent, while Clayvllle's Is 4 per cent, a difference of 6 per cent, in favor of Lindsey. Q. No. 1.—"Many of our people had expected to see a statement of the two boroughs on the financial standing of each, and whether each town Is to pay its own debt, or whether the debts are to be paid Jointly and Lindsey is to pay its share of Punx'y's debt. Up to the present nothing has been published to enlighten the people In this master, so we have concluded to publish a statement of the actual facts In the case." A—January 1*4 after the cqunclls or both towns had decided to submit the proposition to a vote The Spirit printed tho following statement:The Act of Assembly which provides for the consolidation of towns specifies that l» Is optional with the towns affected whether each borough shall liquidate its indebtedness incurred previous to consolidation or whether the encumbrances shall be assumed by the new muncipallty. These propositions were discussed at length by the members of both councils, after which It was decided that the proposition which provides that the new municipality should assume the Indebtedness of both towns was the better one. This conclusion was arrived at as the result <rf the experience of other towns which have been consolidated. In every instance it has been proven beyond the shadow of a doubt that the advantage of one set of officers administering the affairs of a community instead of two has reduced the cost . of government and consequently the tax rate. This payer in numerous article* on In what follows let "Q" represent the quotations from the document purporting to have been compiled by committee, and "A" the answer, or facts in the ease: That tnis Is true we expect to prove to every candid citizen of Punxsutawney and Lindsey. The statement, which occupies a printed space that would be equivalent to about three columns in a newspaper, is a tissue of misrepresentation, miscalculation, and abomination as regards consolidation, and a brazen, bungling attempt to belittle the commercial and industrial importance of Punxsutawney and Lindsey. As an instance of the latter class of people we need only to call the attention of the voters of the two boroughs to a statement that was printed this week and distributed, for the most part, in Lindsey. The statement, which was signed "committee," is said by its anonymous authors, or author, to be based upon "the best information from the different officers." Officers of what, the authors do not indicate, but from the contents of the document we are inclined to believe that they are the officers of the committee. Some, however, have not taken the same view of the matter and have advanced various reasons for opposing consolidatipn. Many of these doubtless have convinced themselves that consolidation would not be for their best interests, while others, we believe, are opposing the proposition by methods that are entirely unfair and for reasons that are purely selfish. try. A.—(See Answer to Q. No. 1.) Q. No. 3.—"About two years ago when this question was brought before the two councils, a committee was appointed from each one to lay out the wards and give the boundaries into which the new borough was to be divided and they agreed on four wards Two at east end of Punxsutawwey and the third from Balr's corner to the street at Qulnllsk Hotel, ' the fourth in the west end Clayvllle. This laying out of the wards would have made It more difficult to have kept the debts of two towns separate, as the third ward took in part or Lindsey and part of Punxsutawney and this seemed to be a fair laying out of wards for the new borough. But Punxsutawney though they did not have power enough in the ward offices and when Lindsey would not agree to any more wards at that time they layed the whole proceedings on the table and then set to work with a* committee and laid out Punxsutawney into four wards. A.—The "committee" bungled matters hero and gave one of the reasons why the proposition of two years ago was a bad one, as follows: "This laying out-of the wards would have made it more difficult to have kept the debts of the two towns separate." The. latter part of this quotation is an unqualified misstatement. No committee of the council or committee authorized by the council was ever set to work to lay out the borough of Punxsutawney into wards as it was finally separated. That work was instigated, planned and consummated by William Jenks, Esq., of Punxsutawney, to \frhom the reader is respectfully referred for the reasons: Q. No. 4.—-"As soon as the court confirmed that report, the same week one of the Punxsutawney newspapers came out in a local saying: 'Why don't Lindsey and Punxsutawney consolidate' under the first act above mentioned?" the subject of consolidation has frequently referred to the method of consolidation. The opponents of consolidation, whose organ is printed in Punxsutawney, but whose proprietor resides in Lindsey should have called upon their champion to furnish them with the information desired. Also why did their champion not furnish them with figures on the financial standing of the two boroughs? Q. No. 2.—"We interviewed some members of our council to ascertain from them why they did not make an agreement with the Punxsutawney council to consolidate under the above amendment. They replied that the Punxsutawney council would not agree to consolidation only under the section lirst referred to, by which we would have to share In their debt. "If the towns will receive the benefitflt that they tell us, both in person and by certain newspapers, why did they refuse to consolidate under the above section and arrange to pay their own debt, when it could have been done so?" A.—(See answer to Q. No. 1, last stanza.) Q. No. 5—"How much did the council of Clayvllle have to do with fixing the wards of the new borough? A joint council mej and the Clayvllle council was informed that they could have two wards in Lindsey. 'You can come in under our rules or stay out. We have the wards arranged so we can control everything and we will not take you In with us unless you help pay our debt.' " A.—The answer to the first proposition reflects ci*edit upon the sagacity of the Ciayvtlle council. The quoted part of the quotation is speculative, egotistical and absurd. Q. No. 6.—-"You will Nee by the following figures that our share of Punxsutawney's debt will be about forty or forty-five thousund dollars, although a Punxsutawney paper has, on several occasions, told us that as sofrn as Clayvllle would pay their share of the paving of North Main Street our debt percentage, according to .both assessed valuations of the boroughs, would be the same, to-wlt, about 4 per cent. What will the debt from all sources, $12,950; add to this amount 17,000 for paving North Main Street and you have a total debt, when this street Is paved, of $19,950. Deduct.from this amount $3,250, six hundred and fifty Is sinking fund to lift a street bond of $500, June 4, 1907, or pay the interest on street debt; the balance Is borough funds; total debt Is $lt,9E0. Deduct cash In treasury, borough sinking and borough fund* $<.$511 and you have a total debt of IIMS4. This includes all our indebtedness. All orders are paid .to the month of Jan. 1907. Out assessed valuation is $438,$38. There fm PS a s v