Saturday, September 30, 2017

ELECTROCUTION PROBLEM AND SUPERVISORS' PROCEEDINGS



William Kemmler electrocution.

Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, November 14, 1894.

ELECTROCUTION PROBLEM.
It Will Be Referred to the Attorney General of the State.
   NEW YORK, Nov. 14.—A reporter called on Governor Flower at the Windsor hotel and showed him a copy of Dr. P. J. Gibbons' letter requesting permission to attempt the resuscitation of Charles F. Wilson after he is electrocuted in Auburn prison.
   Governor Flower read the letter carefully and said: "I have not received the letter and will not until my return to Albany on Friday or Saturday of this week.
   "The letter will probably be referred to the attorney general for his opinion as to whether such a permit can be granted. I can conceive of no objection to the superintendent of prisons granting such a request except that when a person has been sentenced to be electrocuted, and if a restoration to life and senses is accomplished, it might not be possible to punish him."
   "Would he not be a free man on the ground that his life could not be put in
jeopardy for the same crime more than once?"
   "This is a question which the attorney general will be asked to decide."
   The governor would not say any more in reference to the matter and excused himself from being further questioned.

Eugene V. Debs.
DEBS IS EXCITED.
He Has Only Hard Words to Say of Attorney General Olney.
   TERRE HAUTE, Ind., Nov. 14.—Eugene V. Debs denounces Attorney General Olney for his decision in the case of the Philadelphia and Reading employees. He said: Olney's decision was prepared before the election, but would never have come to light had the Democrats been successful. In addition to being a notorious corporation tool, his opinion stamps him as being a cheap political trickster and hypocrite. He, more than any other unless it be Cleveland, is responsible for the overwhelming and irretrievable route of the Democratic party. Richard Olney has earned an eternity of odium nor will any hypocritical plea of consideration for the rights of the laboring men now retrieve him from universal execration. To have been consistent when the constitutional rights of the Reading employees were struck down by Judge Dallas, Olney should have sanctioned the outrage.

Negro Hanged For Assault.
   BOWLING GREEN, Va., Nov. 14.—Moses Christopher was hanged here today. On Monday, Sept. 10, Moses Christopher, a negro 17 years old, committed an assault on Mosselle Carter, a 7-year-old white girl. The negro was captured, and though an enraged crowd had assembled, the officers were permitted to lodge him in jail. Christopher was indicted, arraigned, put on trial and convicted, the jury imposing the death penalty, and the same night Judge General E. C. Moncure sentenced him to be hanged today.

Positions of Troops at Gettysburg.
   GETTYSBURG, Pa., Nov. 14.—The committee of Louisiana veterans appointed by Governor Foster of that state to co-operate with the United States Gettysburg Battlefield commission in the erection of tablets to mark the positions held by Louisiana troops during the battle arrived this morning. The Southerners will bring their maps, defining their positions during the fight and the positions will be found and marked.

County building, supervisors' rooms on third floor.
SUPERVISORS' PROCEEDINGS.
Second Day, Wednesday, Nov. 14.
   Pursuant to adjournment the board of supervisors met at 9 o'clock on Wednesday morning, Nov. 14, and was called to order by Chairman Crane. A quorum were present.
   On motion of Mr. Holton:
   Resolved, That all bills, petitions and miscellaneous papers read by the clerk be referred by the chair to the proper committees without action by the board.
   On motion of Mr. Gardner:
   Resolved, That all petitions relating to erroneous assessments and refunding of taxes be referred without reading to the committee on erroneous assessment.
   On motion of Mr. Gardner:
   Resolved, That the supervisor of the town of Freetown be authorized to add to the abstract of that town the bill of David R. Mathews, assessor, the sum of $16, the same having been duly verified, but not presented to the board for audit.
   On motion of Mr. Holton:
   Resolved, That all fines imposed by justices of the peace and paid to the county treasurer, the prosecution of which is made at the expense of the town, be credited to the town from which said fines were received and the amount be deducted from their tax.
   On motion of Mr. Holton:
   Resolved, That sealed proposals be received by the clerk of this board for the printing of 3,500 copies of the proceedings of this board in pamphlet form, the same as to quality of paper as the book of 1890. The type used shall not be larger than bourgeois, with six to-pica leads between the lines. All resolutions, communications, petitions, tables, reports of committees and public officers, town and county officers, to be set in nonpareil type solid, slugs used between paragraphs not thicker than nonpareil. Equalized valuation table to be counted not more than six pages, and the official canvass to be counted not more than eight pages, and all other tables to be counted as one page. Said pamphlets to be completed and delivered to the clerk of this board, at the supervisors' rooms in Cortland, on or before the 15th day of January next, and in case the said books are not ready at the time specified, there shall be a discount of 25 per cent made from the contract price. The proposals to be opened by the clerk on Monday morning next, at the close of the regular order of business, and that the clerk notify each of the printing offices in this county of the action of this board. Said books to be distributed among the several towns as follows: Cincinnatus, 175; Cortlandville, 700; Cuyler, 175; Freetown, 130; Harford, 200; Lapeer, 150; Marathon, 275; Preble, 175; Scott, 150; Solon, 150; Taylor, 160; Truxton, 200; Willet, 300; Virgil, 325; Homer, 350.
   On motion of Mr. Bingham:
   Resolved, That the chairman of committees having accounts against the county for audit in favor of parties from the several towns, shall confer with the supervisors from said towns before their accounts are audited at a lees amount than claimed, and when the parties are non-residents of the county they shall be notified by letter or otherwise before their accounts are audited at a less amount than claimed in their bill.
   On motion of Mr. Bingham:
   Resolved, That the salary of the surrogate's clerk be fixed at $400 per year and that all fees received by the surrogate for certified copies of papers be applied in payment of said salary.
   On motion of Mr. Bingham:
   Resolved, That the compensation of the clerk of this board shall be $150 for the annual session, $100 to be paid at the close of the session and $50 to be paid when the proceedings of this board are delivered to the supervisors.
   On motion of Mr. Frisbie:
   Resolved, That all resolutions and reports be reduced to writing before they shall be entertained by the board.
   On motion of Mr. Holton:
   Resolved, That the superintendent of the poor be requested to report to this board, in tabular form, the amount of temporary relief furnished for each town, by order of the overseers of the poor, and also the amount furnished each town on orders for G. A. R. relief.
   On motion of Mr. Gardner:
   Resolved, That the clerk of this board be requested to correspond with the authorities of the Onondaga penitentiary concerning the price of board for prisoners for the ensuing year, and if a satisfactory price can be obtained, that the chairman and clerk of this board be delegated with authority to complete said contract.
   On motion of Mr. Brown:
   Resolved, That the supervisor of the town of Harford be authorized to add to the town abstract of said town the following accounts, the same having been duly certified, but not presented to the town board for audit: Frank H. Osborn $3; Oren Shapley $2; D. H Shapley $3.
   The chairman then read the following list of committees which he had appointed:
   On Footing Assessment Rolls—Messrs. Bingham, Van Hoesen, Frisbie, Brink, Gardner, Surdam, O'Donnell.
   On Erroneous Assessments —Messrs. Brown, Holton, Van Hoesen.
   On Court House and Jail—Messrs. Surdam, Gardner, Greene.
   On Settling with County Treasurer—Messrs. Frisbie, Kinyon, Brink.
   On Settling with County Clerk and Sheriff—Messrs. Brink, Holton, Frisbie.
   On Settling with School and Loan Commissioners—Messrs. Gardner, Bingham, Greene.
   On Settling with County Judge and Justices—Messrs. Van Hoesen, O'Donnell, Brown.
   On Constables' Bills—Messrs. Gardner, Kinyon, Potter.
   On Miscellaneous Bills—Messrs. Smith, Holton, Gardner.
   On Public Printing—Messrs. Brown, Holton, Potter.
   On Settling with Superintendent of the Poor—Messrs. Greene, Potter, Bingham.
   On Coroners' Bills—Messrs. Kinyon, Gardner, Surdam
   On Settling with District Attorney—Messrs. O'Donnell, Smith, Gardner.
   On Equalization—Messrs. Brink, Smith, Kinyon, Bingham, Surdam, Van Hoesen, Gardner.
   On Jurisprudence—Messrs. O'Donnell, Frisbie, Bingham.
   On Appropriation—Messrs. Holton, Smith, Brown.
   On Settling with Supervisors and Clerk—Messrs. Potter, Greene, Frisbie.
   At 11:40 A. M. the board adjourned for the noon recess.

HOMER DEPARTMENT
Gleanings of New From Our Twin Village.
   It is an assured fact that Homer is to have another industry, the manufacture of shirts. Mr. Thurlow Blackman, who has been selling shirts on the road for M. M. Newton & Brother of this town, has rented the store in the Porter block, formerly occupied by the postoffice, and will open a factory soon. He will put in a large number of sewing machines which will give employment to as many women. The power for the machines will be electricity and will be obtained from the Cortland and Homer Traction Co. Mr. Blackman expects to begin operations soon.
   It is understood that Messrs. C. B. Rumsey and E. C. Olney have purchased a strip of land, formerly occupied by the sheds belonging to the Gage, Hitchcock & Co.'s factory, fifty feet wide and running from Fulton-st. to the Railroad. They intend to erect a machine shop on this property. The object of the shop will be the manufacture of Mr. Rumsey's patent friction pulley and other machines of his invention. It is understood that the cost of the building will be about $10,000.
   The wedding of Mr. Ed Kinney and Miss Jessie Blackman, both of this town, occurred at St. Mary's church at Cortland this morning at half past 8 o'clock.
   The funeral services of Miss Eleanor Meade Bunn occurred at Calvary church yesterday at 3 o'clock. Rev. Dr. Wilson of Geneva officiated. The floral offerings were numerous and beautiful. The remains arrived on the 3 o'clock train from Geneva and were taken at once to the church. Interment was made at Glenwood cemetery in the family lot. The pall bearers were Messrs. L. H. Tuthill, L. P. Bennett, C. B. Merrill and F. C. Atwater. Miss Bunn was an estimable young lady and had many friends in this town, where she resided until a few years ago when she moved with her parents to Geneva. Deceased leaves a father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. W. O. Bunn, and one sister, Miss Louise Bunn. Among those who attended the funeral from out of town were Mrs. Mary Green and Mr. and Mrs. Dudley Green of Binghamton, Mrs. Lyman of Syracuse and Mr. Albert Bunn of Waverly.
   Mr. and Mrs. Lu B. Cake, "The Entertainers," will give an entertainment tonight at the opera house for the benefit of the Epworth league of the M. E. church. Mr. Cake is a famous comic songster and character artist. Mrs. Cake was formerly Ella June Meade of the Redpath Lyceum bureau. Her voice is remarkable, having a range of three octaves. These people come highly recommended and should be well patronized by the people of this town. The admission is 25 cents.
   Mr. George A. McChesney, the new proprietor of Hotel Windsor, has been making extensive repairs upon the house since taking possession. The hotel has been thoroughly renovated and put in first-class condition, and the increasing patronage shows that his efforts are being appreciated. Mr. McChesney is alive to the wants of his patrons and guests and all the appointments of his hotel are strictly up to date.

West Homer.
   WEST HOMER, Nov. 12.—Seymour Short of Alton, Wayne Co., spent Sunday with his sister-in-law, Mrs. G. I. Honeywell.
   Mr. Orlando Harrison looks very pleasant over the arrival of a boy baby.
   Fred Morton has purchased of the heirs the property formerly belonging to the Spencer family.
   Albert Hall found one of his heifers in the swamp Election day with her leg broken. She was killed and butchered.
   John Howell, well-known in this vicinity, now a resident of Locke, is confined to his bed. Since his return home from Mr. Hollister's his health has been gradually failing with symptoms which will doubtless prove fatal.
   Charles Howell has returned from Dakota where he has been for several years. He brought several horses with him, which are for sale.
   Mr. Barber Bently is very ill at his brother's, Fred Bently.
   Charles Fox has engaged his services with Henry Walker for an indefinite time.
   Eugene Bowker has made arrangements to move to Moravia next month, where he will exercise his muscles in a storehouse.
   Miss Jennie Williams, whose death was announced a short time ago, was the fifth child Mrs. Williams has buried since she left West Homer three years ago. At that time four girls and four boys were the pictures of health. At this writing only one son and two daughters remain. Mrs. Williams has the sympathy of all who know her in this vicinity in her sorrow and bereavement. But very few can understand or realize the depth or breadth of sorrow which such afflictions bring to the human soul. But amidst all her sorrow Mrs. Williams has an abiding faith and assurance that he who notes the sparrow's fall doeth all things for our eternal good.

A South American Monkey.
   Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Phillips of Brooklyn are spending a few days at the Cottage hotel on Main-st. They have with them a green tail flying monkey fifteen months old which they brought with them from Carthegena, state of Columbia, South America. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips have named the monkey "Eugene" and playfully speak of him as their "baby." The monkey has spent most of the day in swinging upon a rope in the south front window of John O. Reid's meat market, where he attracted a great deal of attention.

BREVITIES.
   —Wickwire Brothers began on Monday to run their wire mill twelve hours a day.
   —The [Cortlandville] town board are in session today in the office of the town clerk, Attorney E. C. Alger.
   —During the past five days the Hitchcock Manufacturing Co. have shipped
twenty-five carloads of cutters to a Boston firm.
   —In the case of The People vs. M. H. Miles, who was arrested for fighting, the jury brought in a verdict of not guilty and the prisoner was discharged.
   —Hon. Sereno E. Payne, elected to congress from the Twenty-eighth district has filed a statement of his election expenses which were as follows: To Yates county committee, $200; Ontario, $250; Wayne, $300; Cayuga, $250; Cortland, $250; total, $1,265, including postage.
   —The case of The People vs. Joe Crollick who was accused of stabbing Raphia Fontanya in the Hungarian-Italian fight Saturday night, was partly tried in police court this afternoon. Justice Bull decided after taking considerable testimony that there was not sufficient evidence to hold Crollick, and the case was dismissed.
  
USS Monterey.
BETSY AND ALICE.
Uncle Sam's Two Biggest Guns and How They Behave Under Fire.
   Betsy and Alice, the two biggest guns now in regular service in our navy, were tried very successfully, it appears, in target practice at Port Angeles the other day. They are 12-inch guns, mounted in the forward turret of the coast defender Monterey.
   Each was loaded with an 825 pound projectile, propelled by 425 pounds of powder. Targets were set up at various points in the bay, and Betsy and Alice were fired four times each, the huge shells ricochetting and glancing along the waters of the straits for miles beyond the targets, to the great delight of the throngs that lined the bluffs to witness the sight.
   Last spring experiments with the Monterey in a rough sea showed that her turrets worked well, even under such conditions. Captain Kempff reported that the greatest sliding motion of the forward turret in running in the trough of the sea for over half a hour was only about seven-sixteenths of an inch, and while rolling from 9 to 14 degrees the turret was kept constantly moving and worked as easily as if the monitor had been at anchor in port.
   In the recent trial of the battery Betsy and Alice were fired simultaneously, but the hydraulic cushions took up the recoil well. Some doors and light glass about the ship were shattered by the shock, and even two wooden boxes 25 feet away on the deck were crushed and splintered. Yet the men in the turret were not troubled, while the ship as a whole stood the firing without strain..
   These four shots each are all that will be allowed to Betsy and Alice for a year under the rules for annual firing. Perhaps the big guns will be silent still longer, for the Monterey is soon to be put out of commission in order that the crew may be used for the Olympia.—New York Sun.
 

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