A NEST OF TARANTULAS

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, March 25, 1892.

A Nest of Tarantulas.

   Last week we made mention of a large tarantula that was found in a bunch of bananas at G.F. Beaudry's store. Since the capture of this monster specie of the spider family, each bunch of bananas has been thoroughly inspected believing that another would be found. On Friday of last week, as William Dermody was plucking some of the fruit from a well-filled stem at Mr. Beaudry's store, he discovered a cocoon about the size of a bantam's egg. The cocoon was removed and placed in a box, where it was opened and found to contain many hundred spiders about the size of the head of a pin, and when placed under a magnifying glass the body and legs of a well-developed tarantula were plain to be seen in each. While they had not matured enough to travel any, yet the tiny legs or feelers were almost constantly in motion, showing that they were alive.

   Mr. Beaudry kept the young tarantulas in a box and many of our citizens went in to look at the curiosity. At this date but few of them are alive, the climate not being right for them to live for any great length of time.

An Excellent Appointment.

   Mr. Benton B. Jones, editor of the Cortland Democrat, has been nominated by Governor Flower as one of the trustees of the State Asylum for Idiots at Syracuse, in place of Frederick Hyde, deceased. The appointment is an eminently proper one and a well-deserved honor. While not possessing the medical knowledge for which Dr. Hyde was so widely known, Mr. Jones is an expert of large experience in the political manifestations of idiocy, and has frequently been called upon to meet and prescribe for most serious and seemingly hopeless cases of weak-minded cases among the members of his own party. He has often felt like consigning some of these cases to the asylum, and now that he is to be a trustee of the institution it may be expected that he will make an example of a very few pronounced ones. If he could subject the free silver majority of the present Democratic congress to the kindly care of the asylum until after election, we feel confident that he would do so—but this, we fear, is beyond his power.—Cortland Standard.

   If there ever had been a doubt in the mind of any person in this vicinity, as to the crying need of a resident trustee of the State Asylum for the weak-minded, a perusal of the above ought to remove that lingering doubt at once and forever. Prescriptions heretofore administered by the DEMOCRAT in alopathic doses having failed of a cure, a commitment ought surely to follow.

FROM EVERYWHERE.

   The Groton Bridge Co. has shipped some iron telegraph poles to Mexico.

   A Grange has been organised at Poolville with twenty charter members.

   The Burnett block, Fort Plain, burned Saturday. Loss about $28,000.

   Sunday's storm again blocked the Central between Rome and Oneida.

   Ex-State Senator James Daley, forty-nine, died in New York Sunday. 

   The Standard Oil company has put in the lowest bid for furnishing the world’s fair with petroleum fuel.

   Waterloo and Seneca Falls spent $18,000 entertaining tramps last year, justices of the peace committing them to jail for the sake of fees.

   Complete returns of the enumeration in Buffalo makes the population 278, 822, exclusive of the public institutions, which will bring the total up to 283,000.

   Earl Grey of Delphi, who claims to have been born February 17, 1783, is doubtless the oldest man in the state. A directory of Delaware county, published in 1840, gives his age as 57.

   Wages were reduced 20 per cent in several departments of the Singer Sewing machine factory at Elizabeth, N. J. shortly after the company subscribed $10,000 to the World's Fair. It seems as if the workmen were to pay for the “generosity” of the company.

   Several of the brewery firms of Syracuse have combined and formed a trust, with a capital stock of $850,000, divided into 8,500 shares of $100 each. The combination includes the National Brewing Company, Thomas Ryan, Moore, Quinn & Company and the Greenway Brewing  company.

PAGE FOUR/EDITORIALS.

   The Honorable (?) Isaac H. Maynard, thief of election returns, conspirator against the rights of the people, a Judge so lost to all sense of shame as to exult over his own crimes, is at last being made to feel, in some slight degree at least, the lash of punishment. The castigation which he has received from decent democratic newspapers and the weak defense which even the most hide-bound have made in his behalf have already driven him into print with a letter which only serves to paint his great crime in darker colors and emphasize his lack of all moral sense.—Cortland Standard.

   In the face and eye of the fact that Judge Maynard's appointment to the bench was recommended by Judge Follett and all the republican Judges of the second division of the Court of Appeals, the Cortland Standard characterizes him as a thief. Judge Maynard acted as counsel for the democrats in the recent election cases and simply performed his duty. The republicans agreed to abide by the decision of the Court of Appeals and lost and now they are swearing at the Court and Democratic counsel. Our neighbor sustained the rape of the Presidentcy in 1876-7, the ousting of Democratic Congressmen two years ago, the stealing of the states of Nebraska, New Hampshire and Connecticut in 1890, and now holds up his hands in holy horror because its party was prevented from stealing the Senate and Assembly in this state last fall. Judge Maynard is an honorable man and the editor of the Standard is well aware of the fact. If he had been employed by the republicans and had won their case for them he would have been a saint.

TOWN REPORTS.

TRUXTON.

   F. P. Sanders moved to Cortland Wednesday.

   Capt. James L. Goddard is confined to the house.

   Born, to Mr. and Mrs. Neal Dobbins, March 21st, a girl.

   Will Graham of Raritan, N. J., is visiting his father here.

   Chas. Clark has moved into a part of Con Lansing's house.

   Romanzo Bosworth of Cortland, and Mrs. Nora Stevens of Union Valley have both been visiting in town since the 10th inst.

   James L. Goddard and Mrs. Mary Goddard were joined in wedlock last Thursday. Rev. W. H. Robertson tied the nuptial knot.

   "Storm after storm rises dark over the way," and the "way" is badly blocked, in fact, more so than at any other time in the last fifteen or twenty years.

   Dr. Nelson was called to Delphi, March 9th, to amputate an arm for Isaac Springer of that place. The experience which the Dr. had while a surgeon in the army was a good thing, and since that time, he has ranked among the best of that profession in this part of the country.

   John McGraw left Wednesday night for Baltimore, Md., to play with the base ball club of that place. The Baltimores are to play 150 games this season with clubs from the following cities: Washington, New York, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, Boston, Pittsburg, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Chicago, St. Louis and Louisville. The club will play the first game April 12th.

SCOTT.

   Mr. Joseph Glenny of this town is failing. Heart trouble.

   Mercury down below zero on Monday and Tuesday mornings of this week.

   George J. Green has returned from Ithaca, where he has been upon a visit.

   Mr. Mark Seeley, a middle-aged man in Spafford, dropped down dead a few days since.

   Mrs. Reuben Maxson of this town is dead. Remains placed in the vault for the present.

   The Alvord house was bid off at sheriff's sale by E. W. Childs for Mrs. Leland Griffin. $626.

   Mr. Almeron Barber has a sick horse that is likely to die. He lost a valuable one not very long since. It bled to death at the nose.

   Married in Scott, Tuesday evening, March 7, Mr. Ela Clark and Mrs. Merton Whiting, after the Japanese custom. Performance at the M. E. Church. No cards. [A money raising event for the church—CC editor.]

   Mr. Frank Jenks and Miss Jennie Sweet are in town and will give a concert at the S. D. B. Church on Thursday evening, assisted by Miss Norma Spencer of this town.

   We had the pleasure of meeting our old friend Arthur Norton of Skaneateles, recently. We could hardly recognize him at first. He was not gray-headed when we saw him last.

   We learn there is to be a civil damage case over in Moravia, growing out of the sudden death of a Mr. Smith of that place, after imbibing at a hotel. The proprietor had been forbidden to sell, we are told. He was the youngest brother of Dorr Smith of Sempronius.

   Congratulations to our friend John McMillen of Summer Hill. It may be a little mortifying to the republicans to see their candidate for supervisor beaten by a cranky prohibitionist, but there's nothing like getting used to a thing, which must begin to be the case in that town. May John's shadow never grow less.

   It seems as if drunkenness is becoming popular in this town. And why should it not? The voters have declared in favor of the sale of that which makes people drunk. And any person who will consent to apply for a license to sell the deadly stuff to his neighbors will generally sell all he can get or pay for, unless they are too drunk to get away. It is a miserable business, and most of those who engage in it will privately tell us so, but there is money in it and that is what they are after. We are inclined to think when we shall have gone into the saloon business we shall make it a point to sell all we can, the same as others. Wednesday evening of last week, a middle-aged man from Sempronius was in this town, and in going home his horse got into the snow and tangled itself so as to hold it down, and when found the man and horse were both nearly frozen and the man dead drunk. They were taken, we are told, to the place where he got his last drink, but the proprietor refused to keep him over night, and he had to be taken elsewhere. That same evening and next day, there were several whiskey fights, the drunkest ones usually coming out second best. If so much money is to be paid for liquor why should not every man and woman have an equal privilege to sell? Why make a monopoly of the business by confining it to a few? Let one half sell and the other half drink and all would be rich for the time being at least.

Newspaper printed on wallpaper.

LITTLE YORK.

   Grant Selover moved Tuesday into the house belonging to the ice company.

   John B. Cottrel's teams loaded a car with hay Tuesday for Mr. Gallinger of Summit Station.

   Button & Co. are loading a car with potatoes for which they pay the magnificent price of 25 cents a bushel.

   Will Gutcheous [sic] returned last week from Buffalo, where he had been at work in a wagon shop for some time.

   Solomon Chapman has bought the small house near H. W. Blashfield's. It was a good Investment of his back pension.

   Thomas Leiber has contracted to cut a quantity of maple logs for W. T. Perkins. They are to supply an order from the Novelty Co. of Syracuse.

   Mrs. John Wagoner last week slipped on the ridge in the road and strained the muscles near the hip bone of her leg. She is now able to sit up but cannot walk.

   Caldwell Clark has a Jersey cow twenty-two months old which weighs 449 pounds and gives 15 pounds of milk per day. We hear of things worth their weight in gold, but this cow is worth her weight in milk every month.

   During the prevalence of winds filling up the tracks of the road it is a fine thing to properly plough them out. But a plow should be rigged with extension mould board and padded landside to make it efficient. Frank Alyord on the Cold Brook road set a good pattern.

   A. B. Raymond and B. L. McNamara were yesterday examined before a referee in the suit of H. W. Blashfield against New York parties to whom he shipped cider from six to nine years ago. It has been in court over four years. A. P. Smith appears for the plaintiffs, while Joe Eggleston manages the defense.

   We have been spending the stormy days of the past week in refreshing our memory of the different battles during the late unpleasantness. We used for this purpose Capt. Willard Glazier's Battles for the Union. The descriptions are terse, and interestingly written and each of its forty-six chapters describes a battle. We were led to this course of reading by being shown a copy of the Vicksburg paper printed on the back of common wall paper which our boys found the type still standing. They withdrew a short article and replaced it with the announcement that it was the glorious fourth of July and they were there to celebrate and to stay. A short time after the war a Chicago paper republished an exact copy—even to the tearing off the sheet of wall paper—of this edition and Peter Selover coming into possession of a copy has preserved it. This reading up has strengthened our democratic belief in a "government for the people and by the people."

   ULI SLICK. [ pen name of local correspondent.]

HERE AND THERE.

   The Cortland Forging Co. shops are putting in 13 hours per day.

   There is a case of small pox in Syracuse.

   Dr. Geo. A. Tompkins, of this place, has been granted a trade mark for alluminium [sic] and its alloys.

   The H. M. Whitney Wagon Company are using the milk depot building adjoining them for the manufacture of carriage bodies.

   Mrs. M. H. Yale has purchased the J. A. Calvert house, corner of Prospect and James street, and the two vacant lots adjoining for $5,100.

   The directors of the Cortland and Homer Horse Railway Company have decided to lay new ties and street rails on their road during the coming season.

   The Board of Trustees have renewed the contract with the Cortland Water Works Company for the use of water for hydrants for a term of five years, from April 1st next.

   Last evening about nine o'clock, Frank Bowen, of Cortland, was driving northward on Cayuga street, and ran upon the ash heap in front of Beach's mill, upsetting the cutter and throwing him out. He clung to the reins and the horse ran straight ahead, striking against the mill house, breaking its neck.—Groton Journal, March 16th.

   Assemblyman Tripp has introduced a bill providing that vehicles, except on railroads, passing over a public highway in this State must have tires on the wheels three inches wide when they weigh between two thousand and six thousand pounds, and a tire four inches in width when the weight exceeds six thousand pounds.

   Mr. J. Warren Bostwick, who occupied rooms on the third floor of the Churchill building, was found dead in bed last Thursday morning. A rumor was started that he had committed suicide, and Coroner Moore was notified and a post mortem was held at 10 o'clock by Drs. Hughes and Dana. The examination disclosed the fact that Bostwick died from cystic degeneration of the kidneys. Deceased leaves two daughters and three sons.

   Referee William Nottingham, of Syracuse, has filed his opinion in the case of H. Wilson Blashfield against The Empire State Telephone and Telegraph Company, whereby he finds that the plaintiff is entitled to $750 damages. Since 1884 the defendants have erected telephone poles from Homer to Truxton and from Glen Haven and Preble to Homer. The poles were, as a rule, set at one side of the highways near the fence, and on land that did not belong to them, in some cases the company paid for the right. The plaintiff purchased the claims of several farmers and brought this action to recover damages. The referee holds, as a matter of law, that the casement granted to the public for a highway was for the passage of men and teams, and not for the erection of telephone or telegraph poles, or other obstructions. Of course the decision of a referee does not settle the question, and will have no binding force on the courts, but Mr. Nottingham's opinion is backed up by strong and sensible arguments, and ought to prevail on appeal. We understand the defendants will appeal. Frank Pierce of New York appeared for the plaintiff, and F. E. Stone of Auburn for defendants.

   Last Thursday evening eight locomotives arrived at the E. C. & N. station in this place, from the east. Five were attached to the snow plow, one on the work train, and one on each of the passenger trains that had been in the snow beyond DeRuyter. One of the passenger trains started from Canastota the Saturday previous, and had been in the snow from that time until reaching Cortland.