A Batch of Fires.
Between 2 and 3 o'clock last Saturday
afternoon box No. 313, corner of Hubbard-st. and Clinton-ave., sent in an alarm
and the fire department was almost immediately in motion. The fire was in the
dwelling owned by Homer O. Smith and occupied on the first floor and a portion
of the second floor by L. H. Barber. A three-year-old and a baby were asleep in
one of the rooms on the second floor until a few minutes before the fire, when
Mrs. Barber brought the baby down stairs, and soon after the other child came
down. Five or ten minutes later Mrs. Barber heard a noise up stairs and on
going up found the room ablaze. Neighbors came to the rescue and the fire was
put out before the firemen came. It is thought that the oldest child had been
playing with matches and accidentally set the bed clothes on fire. The bedstead
and clothing together with the window curtains were entirely destroyed, but two
smaller beds in the room were scarcely injured.
TWO BARNS BURNED.
At 4 o'clock the same day box No. 333, corner
of No. Main St. and Homer-ave., sent in an alarm and the department again turned
out. This time the fire was discovered in R. M. Hillsinger's barn at 130 No. Main-st.
The barn together with that of Riley Lang adjoining was quickly burned to the
ground. The rear of Mr. Hillsinger's house was considerably scorched and it was
thought for a time that it with other buildings would surely go, but the department
did excellent work and confined the fire to the two buildings that were
on fire when they arrived. Mr. Hillsinger's household goods were removed by the
Protective Police and afterwards carried back into the house.
Mr. Hillsinger had gone to his farm in Virgil
after a load of hay. Mr. Geo. O. Gilbert, the truckman, says he sat by the barn
door reading when he heard a cracking sound above and on going into the loft
found it all on fire. He gave the alarm and at once proceeded to take the horses
from the barn. They belonged to Edward D. Arnold, who loses several tons of
hay, his harnesses and a box of feed. No insurance.
The men who were at work on the Electric
road near by, fought the fire until the arrival of the firemen. The origin of
the fire is not known. The barn owned by Hillsinger was valued at $700, and was
insured for $400. The house was damaged at least $100 and is insured for considerable
more than that amount. Lang estimates his loss at $300, with an insurance of
$200.
While running to the fire one of the axles
of the new Hook and Ladder truck was badly sprung.
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| D. L. & W. Engine No. 6. |
Killed by the
Cars.
At about 4 o'clock last Tuesday morning as
coal train No. 37, on the Syracuse and Binghamton road, had reached a point about
midway between Preble and Tully, the trainmen heard someone crying for help and
on investigating found Dewitt Lewis of Binghamton lying between the double tracks
with his right leg badly crushed. He was picked up and taken to the Empire House
in Tully where Drs. W. H. Dwinelle and W. Y. Bliss attended him. When passenger
train No. 12, that reaches this place at 8:52 A. M. came along, he was put on board
and Dr. Dwinelle accompanied him to his home in Binghamton, where his leg was
amputated just above the knee by Dr. Moore of that city assisted by Dr. Dwinelle.
Lewis is a son of Isaac Lewis formerly of
Virgil, but who lived in this place for several years up to about two years
ago, when the family moved to Binghamton. The boy said he was walking on the
track when struck by the train, but the trainmen say he was stealing a ride and
a sudden lurch of the cars threw him under the wheels. He is only eighteen
years of age and had been away from home about two weeks, a part of that time
being spent in Cortland. He was seen here the night previous considerably under
the influence of liquor. He is also said to have been an inveterate cigarette
smoker. He died on Tuesday afternoon.
A Slick Rascal.
A week ago last Saturday one James Riley
came to town and engaged board with Mr. F. M. Wickwire at 21 No. Main st.
During the week following he worked on the Electric road and Saturday night
received his pay and settled for his week's board. Sunday night he retired
about 8 o'clock and Monday morning his room was vacant.
Mr. Wickwire got up at 5:30 A. M. and found
the kitchen door wide open. The following articles are missing: A silver watch
belonging to Mrs. Wickwire and which was in a cupboard, a few cents in change
which was in the same place, two fine shirts belonging to Mr. Wickwire and
several colored shirts, a tin box containing some deeds, notes, and other
papers and a few other articles of but little value. The box was found open
under the steps with the papers intact. He had evidently tried on a pair of Mr.
Wickwire's pants, but as they were not a perfect fit he left them behind.
Riley was about six feet tall, walked a little
lame and wore a short grey mustache. His teeth were gone and he was apparently
about 55 years of age. He had on a dark coat, gray trousers and brown shirt and
spoke with an Irish accent.
Off for Oswego.
The Hitchcock and Emerald Hose companies
left yesterday morning for Oswego, where they will attend and take part in the proceedings
of the State Firemen's Convention. The first named company have entered for the
fancy drill prize and expect to bring it home with them. These two companies
have engaged the services of Penn & Lee's band of Syracuse.
The Orris Hose company did not intend to
attend the Convention but at a special meeting of the company held Tuesday evening
last, they decided to go in a body. They engaged the Cortland City band to
accompany them and left on the 6 o'clock train this morning. The Orris boys
will have one of the very best bands in the state to march in front of them in
the parade which occurs to-day.
Struck Oil, Sure
Enough.
BUFFALO, Aug. 18.—For eighteen months C. C.
Hatch of Bradford has been securing oil leases in the northern part of Chautauqua
county. He has been drilling an occasional well. Yesterday it was discovered that
a hundred barrel well was struck on Tuesday on the farm Ezra Scott, six miles
from Dunkirk. As a consequence all that section of the county is excited and farm
leases have taken on additional value.
Evidently Shot
Himself.
ITHACA, Aug. 20.—The body of R. K. Kramfield,
of Scranton, Pa., was recovered from the water here to-day. It is evident he
stood up in a row boat, sent a bullet into his brain and fell over into the
water. He had been missing since last Friday.
Seven monuments in the DeRuyter cemetery
have been defaced by using strong acid on them.
The State of New York is credited by the
Internal Revenue Department with 48,466 retail liquor
dealers.
The total production of whiskey in the State
of Kentucky for the twelve months ending June 30 has been 20,123,803 gallons.
Mrs. Charles H. Frear, of Binghamton, while
insane, jumped from a fourth story window, and died of her injuries.
The other day some boys caught a trout in
Beaverkill at Fish's Eddy, Delaware county, that measured 32 inches in length
and weighed 8 3/4 pounds.
Nicholas Barr, 20, was caught in a threshing
machine on a farm near Richfield the other day and had one arm torn off and
both legs broken. His recovery is doubtful.
A large barn belonging to Daniel Marshman of
South Oxford was struck by lightning on Sunday evening and together with its contents
was burned to the ground.
Kattellville, Broome Co., sportsmen have
been out gunning for a strange animal for several nights of late. It is pronounced
to be a lynx and is making sad havoc among the hen roosts in that vicinity.
Ordinary woolen shawls, such as are worn by
workingmen's wives, are taxed 150 per cent under the McKinley law; under the
new tariff law they are taxed only 35 per cent.
John I. Blair is dangerously ill at
Blairstown, N. J. He is now past 90, and until his present illness it has
always been his boast that he had never been sick a day in his life. He began
life without a dollar, and is now worth not less than $50, 000,000.
There will be in the city of Washington for
a week, commencing Tuesday August 28, something over 200,000 members and
friends of the order of Knights of Pythias, of which 20,000 will be members of
the uniform rank, who will be quartered in one of the most picturesque military
camps that ever graced the broad grounds about the foot of the Washington
Monument.
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| Jacob S. Fassett. |
◘
The Cortland Standard gives Charles
T. Saxton of Wayne County over a column on his candidacy for Governor. Good bye,
Saxton. You may consider yourself out of the race.
◘
The Syracuse Standard don't want Fassett.
The Standard has heretofore been able
to secure more things it did not want than any paper published in
the state.
◘ Jacob Sloat Fassett is out for the republican
nomination for Governor. The Convention held in
Chemung County where he resides, last Thursday, elected delegates and passed
resolutions in his favor.
◘
The nomination of William A. Beach, Esq., of
Syracuse, to be collector of Internal Revenue for this district, has been
confirmed. He will probably take possession on the first day of September next.
◘
Belden is pretending that he don't want the
Congressional nomination from the Onondaga—Madison district this fall.
Undoubtedly quite a large majority of the republicans in the district would be
glad to take him at his word, but they won't have the chance. Belden's heelers
are very busy and declare that he must accept and he will.
◘
Republican Journals announce that Tom Reed
never wears a silk hat. The ponderosity of this news is almost overwhelming. Evidently
there must have been a sneaking notion among the common people that Thomas had
occasionally indulged in this frivolous habit, or it would not have been thought
necessary to publish the fact. The dear people will breathe again.
◘
A very large crowd of people attended the
tariff debate between Hon. R. G. Horr and Hon. M. D. Harter at Tully last
Friday. The attendance was made up mostly of republicans, women and children,
and Horr was heartily cheered. Horr was funny and imaginative. Harter was
logical and truthful. The average republican is always pleased and satisfied
with Munchausen stories but the democrat must have something solid. The
Cortland Standard says that Harter "wasn't in it,'' while the Syracuse
Courier gives a very full synopsis of both speeches and claims that
Harter talked sense while Horr talked most everything else. It looks very much as
if the Courier was correct.
 |
| A. P. Smith photographed at Gettysburg. |
(From the Cortland Standard Aug. 17.)
In view of the very active canvass which ex-Judge
A. P. Smith is making for the Republican nomination for member of assembly, and
in view of the attitude which the Standard has heretofore maintained towards
him, we feel it to be our duty to say that we cannot, under any circumstances, support him for
election to that office, and that we regard his nomination as unwise and
unsafe. We do not desire to indulge in personal attack upon Judge Smith, and
whether we shall feel it our duty to give our reasons why we cannot support him,
and why he should not be nominated or elected, will depend upon future
developments. We believe that these reasons are already understood by many of
the Republican voters of the county.
[William Clark of the Standard and A. P. Smith, both Republicans, battled for control of
the party for over a decade. Mr. Clark was the apparent victor—CC editor.]
 |
| Tramp walking railroad track. |
Sheep killing dogs are troubling the farmers
in the town of Virgil.
Burgess, the clothier, has a new
advertisement on our eight page.
If you haven’t paid your city taxes you can
pay 4 per cent extra now.
Truxton people, by a vote of 25 to 8, have
decided to have a Union Free School.
Mr. G. M. Hopkins has sold his stock of
groceries in the Masonic block to Mr. E. W. Bates who has taken possession.
Tramps in great numbers are stealing rides
on the coal trains of the D. L. & W. road every day. It is a poor day when
from six to twelve fail to alight at the Cortland station.
The Cortland Omnibus & Cab Company have
taken the contract to build four new cars for the Cortland & Homer Traction
Co. Four of the cars now in use will be remodeled into electric cars.
A caravan consisting of eleven wagon loads of
gypsies arrived in town about 1 o'clock Wednesday afternoon. They came from the
direction of McLean and after passing up Main-st. turned up Clinton-ave. and
headed for Truxton. They had some very good horses and were ready for a dicker.
One or two trades were made before they got out of town.
Soon after 12 o'clock last Thursday night
the Gilkerson machine shops just this side of Homer were discovered to be on
fire. Alarm was given but the flames had such a start that the engine room
was destroyed and the shop badly damaged before the fire department arrived on
the scene. The building was 20 x 75 feet and one and one-half stories high.
Reynolds Bros. of this place who had manufacturing looms in the building lost
all of their patterns which were valued at $500. Mr. Gilkerson estimates his
loss at $5,000. Ten mechanics were employed and several of them lost their
tools. The fire started in the boiler room and is thought to have been of incendiary
origin.
A match game of base ball between the
Cortland nine and the Tully nine was played at the park at Tully Wednesday
afternoon. Cortland was defeated by a score of 17 to 11. Six hundred people
witnessed the game.
Last week Thursday afternoon the Homer and
Cortland Traction Company purchased the entire plant of the Electric Light
Company and will furnish electric lights in Homer and in Cortland in connection
with the Electric railroad. President Harrison Wells of the old company will
have charge of the plant until the new company are ready to move it to their
new location which has not yet been selected. It is understood that four new
150 horse power boilers will be added to the plant.
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