DEPARTMENT OF GOOD
GOVERNMENT.
Under the Control of the Good Government Club of
Cortland.
THE WORK DONE.
Agreeable to our promise we present below a statement of the work already
accomplished through the efforts of the Good Government club in this community. We do not mean to say that this is, by any
means, all that has been done. There are incidental results that cannot be
estimated nor accurately determined. For instance, no one who is in a condition
to observe can doubt that very much less liquor is now sold for drink in this
village than there was when this effort began. Those who are in position to
judge tell us that not more than half as much is sold. In close times like these
this means a great deal to many families who could ill spare the money that
went for drink. There has also been created a public sentiment which is of vast
importance to this community in the effort to protect itself against the saloon
and all forms of vice and disregard for law. That the law can be enforced and
flagrant immorality suppressed, has been demonstrated. That the business men of
this village are willing to furnish the means necessary for this work is also abundantly
evident. The financial committee have met with but one man who declined to
give, and several hundreds of dollars have been contributed. We believe that so
excellent have been the results of this work, as all good citizens can see,
that no set of village officers can be elected for some time to come who shall
not be definitely pledged to favor
CONTINUANCE OF THIS REFORM.
No
political party would dare to put in nomination any man for the next village election
known to be in favor with the whiskey vote.
We
are well aware that the work done is only the commencement of what must yet be
done, but the experience gained, the information gathered and the friends secured
will hereafter be of great advantage to us.
Whatever
new legislation will come, still the Good Government club will have an important
work to do. If local option in any form is continued, the people may be
depended upon to vote against the saloon, as they have now done for years, and
make it unlawful to sell liquor for drink in this village. If local option is
not granted and liquor selling is again made lawful, the law permitting this
will hedge this dangerous business with many restrictions in order to limit the
evil done. It will be the part of Good Government people to see that these
restrictions are observed. The class of men who have persistently violated the
law will not observe any wholesome legal restriction, unless compelled to do
so. In examining the following statement it should be kept in mind that there
are two legal processes for the conviction of those who sell liquor in this
village.
FIRST, CRIMINAL ACTION,
Brought
under the state law, the punishment being a fine of not more than $50.00, or
imprisonment for not more than six months, or both. It is the rule adopted by
Justice Bull not to give sentence of imprisonment on first offense.
In
some of the late cases the defendant pleaded guilty and was required to pay
only $85 or less. Some plead guilty and sentence was suspended on condition that
they would close up their drinking places and go out of the business.
SECOND, CIVIL ACTION,
Brought
under the village ordinance, the fine on conviction being not more than $100.
In most cases where settlement has been made without trial it has been on
payment of $50.
It
must be evident to any unprejudiced man that those who have had in charge these
prosecutions have been most lenient. But it has been their policy to give all
possible chance for those who have any disposition to cease violating the law
to do so. Time has perhaps come for severe measures. There might seem to be an
unfair discrimination among the following cases, but there have been reasons
for these differences which only those who know the peculiarities of the cases
can understand.
STATEMENT.
John
Drake, Railroad-st., costs in civil action, $7.95, closed his saloon.
Chas
H. Warren, 3 Main-st., costs in civil action, $9.65.
C. M.
Smith, Owego-st., settlement in civil action $15, promised not to sell again.
T.
Noonan, 105 Main-st., settlement in civil action, $40.
T.
Noonan, 105 Main-st., settlement in civil action, $50.
A.
D. Wallace 61 Main-st., settlement in civil action, $30.
Nix
& Lowell, 110 Elm-st., settlement in civil action, $30.
Nix
& Lowell, 110 Elm-st., settlement in civil action, $30.
Wallace
& McKeen, 10 Court-St., settlement in civil action, $30.
Wallace & McKean, settlement in civil action, $50.
John
Dowd, 88 Railroad-st.,
settlement in civil action, $50.
John
F. Dowd, Main-st., settlement in civil action, $50.
E. Stevens,
Main-st., settlement in civil action, $50.
A.
J. Goddard, 81 Railroad-st., settlement in civil action, $50.
Chas.
H. Warren, 3 Main-st., judgment, $100.
J. H.
Howard, Port Watson-st., judgment, $100.
W.
J. Nash, 114 Elm-st., judgment, $102.20.
A. J.
& M. McSweeney, 18 Main-st., $109.55.
Anna
Bates, 86 Church-st., judgment, $109.45.
R.
B. Linderman, 18 N. Main-st., fined in criminal action $50.
J.
H. Howard, Port Watson-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
John
Andrews, 86 Court-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
W.
T. Nix, 38 Owego-st., plead guilty in criminal action $20.
C.
M. Smith, Owego-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
E.
Haskell, 18 Main-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
Will
Donnegan, Main-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
Michael McSweeney, Main-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
Michael Nix, 110 Elm-st., plead guilty in criminal action $35.
Chas
E. Rowe, 179 Homer-ave., fined on conviction in criminal action $50. His case
appealed, to be tried in January.
M. H.
Ray, Railroad-ave., in criminal action, case pending.
Hugh
Corcoran, 5 Railroad-st., in civil action, case pending.
Jas.
Riley, 9 Orchard-st., in civil action, case pending,
James Nash, 114 Elm-st., criminal sentence suspended.
Dennis Cronin, Port Watson-st., criminal sentence suspended.
Wm.
Donnegan, Elm-st., criminal sentence suspended.
Grove
Stevens, Main-st., criminal sentence suspended.
Jas.
Meehan, Elm-st., criminal sentence suspended.
John
Greeley, 26 Court-st., criminal sentence suspended.
Frank
Bates sentenced 60 days in penitentiary.
Twenty-three
gamblers arrested, fines paid by them $115.
John
Andrews, sentenced by the county court to pay $75 or imprisonment for seventy-five
days in penitentiary for having a gambling room in his hotel, and W. H.
Olmstead sentenced the same for conducting the gambling room.
The
almost two thousand dollars which have been paid into the village treasury, or
will be in a few days, as the result of this movement, is no small
consideration. The extra expense which this work has cost the village
government will not amount to $50 beyond attorney expense.
AS OTHERS SEE IT.
Ithaca Journal Compliments the Presentation of
"Mikado.''
The
assistant editor of the Ithaca Journal was in Cortland Wednesday night and
attended the "Mikado" at the Opera House, and the Journal of last night
said: The Ithaca people, who went to Cortland last night to witness an amateur
production of the "Mikado" under the skillful direction of Mr. and
Mrs. Dixie, were very much pleased with the entertainment
The
Cortland people gave a very meritorious performance and have a number of soloists
of marked ability and who have considerable skill as actors. The part of
"Mikado" was taken by T. H. Dowd, a graduate of the Cornell Law
School. Mr. Dowd was admirable in voice and carriage. There never was finer
amateur acting than that of P. T. Carpenter as Ko Ko. He sang well, introduced
some very good topical verses and did a large amount of talking
"business." James Walsh as Nanki-Poo was excellent. Miss Katherine R.
Colvin as Yum Yum sang sweetly and acted well and was a success. Miss Elizabeth
G. McGraw as "Pitti-Sing" was captivating and successful. She
possesses a nice voice and has a very graceful stage bearing. Pitti Sing could not be improved upon in any
particular. (Amen, says the STANDARD.) The chorus work was good and the
business well done. A particularly catching interpolation was a children's drill
and dance.
The
performance went smoothly and the whole production was a success financially, musically
and dramatically as is every production that Mr. and Mrs. Dixie have anything
to do with.
The
orchestra was augmented by five members of the Ithaca Lyceum orchestra. During the intermission Mr. Conway played a
cornet solo by request, and was enthusiastically received.
PAGE TWO—EDITORIALS.
The Paving Bill.
The
proposed paving bill, published in yesterday's STANDARD, deserves the careful
study and thought of every property holder and taxpayer. It embodies a well
digested and well prepared method for securing the much needed paving of our
village streets, and represents an honest and painstaking effort on the part of
our village board to prepare a bill which shall be just to all the taxpayers
and individual property owners alike, and shall also produce some results.
It is generally admitted that it is
impossible to secure any paving under the village charter as it now stands. A
law is needed, therefore, under which,
1st. Property owners will want to have
paving done.
2nd. Paving can be done and paid for.
3d. The cost can be equitably distributed.
It will be seen that under the provisions of
the proposed bill, unless the owners of half the property, measured in feet front,
on any street, petition to have paving done, no move can be made in this direction.
It is therefore necessary, first of all, to have a law under which property
owners will see that it is for their interest to have pavements along their
property, and will take the steps preliminary thereto.
They
must see that it will be worth what it costs, and paying for it must be made as
easy as possible by distributing it over such a period that the annual installments
can be met without being a burden. Unless the proposed bill does this it is
useless and will be a dead letter. The property owners must be made to
desire paving and be willing to meet their share of the expense, or our streets
will remain mud.
The bill as first drawn provided for the
payment of the property owners' share of the expense in three years, but this
was afterwards changed to five, as it now appears. Our own judgment is that the
time within which payment mast be made ought not to be less than ten years, and
that should the bill become a law in its present form the village would be
almost as far from paving as it is now. People will not put a short mortgage on
their property for the sake of an improvement of this kind, and cramp
themselves to meet it, whereas if they can see that the improvement involves
only such a small payment every year that it will not be felt, they will be
ready to venture. With ten years to pay in, we believe that petitions would go
in to pave half the streets in the village. Better make the time too long
than too short—the burden too easy than too heavy. To see the people tumbling
over each other in their anxiety to secure pavements, would be a much more
satisfactory condition of affairs than to have the village board unable to find
with a search warrant half the property owners on a single street who would
sign a paving petition. The village can borrow money at 4 per cent or less, and
it owes it to its citizens not to burden them by requiring big and quick
payments for improvements.
That paving can be done and paid for under the
proposed bill, if the people want it, there is no question. The provisions, so
far as these points are concerned, cannot easily be bettered.
As to the distribution of expenses, the
raising of one-third by general tax and the assessing of two-thirds on the property
along the street, one-third on each side, according to feet frontage, is as
equitable a plan as can be devised. There would be inequalities in any plan,
but if the time of payment is extended over ten years, whatever inequalities
there may be in the plan, [will cut a small figure].
It may be a question whether the proposed
bill it not open to the objection of being "special legislation," and
therefore liable to meet with a veto from the governor if passed by the legislature,
even if it should not be unfavorably reported from the committee to which it
was referred. This should be carefully examined into, and it may seem best to propose
the bill as an amendment to the charter, which would certainly do away with the
objection suggested.
Cortland needs pavements sadly. Our village
board are doing their best to make pavements possible. Their wish in reference
to the proposed bill is to provide some means which will be acceptable to the
people by which the desired end can be reached. They are open to any suggestions
as to how the bill can be improved, and they invite the co-operation of all our
citizens in making the measure as nearly perfect a possible and securing its
enactment into law. They are entitled to this aid and support and we hope they
will have it.
SCORCHED A BARN.
Slight Fire on Blodgett-st. Thursday Afternoon.
Shortly
after 5 o'clock yesterday afternoon an alarm of fire was rung in from box 422
at The H. M. Whitney Co. The fire proved to be in the second story of a barn
owned by C. H. Stone at 6 Blodgett-st. and the origin is a mystery. Mr. Stone
is a teamster and had been away with his team all the afternoon. He returned
home a little before 5 o'clock accompanied by his son Willis. They put out
their horses and went into the house. Everything was all right then at the barn
so far as they know. Both the men told a STANDARD reporter that neither of them
went upstairs in the barn for any thing after returning. Mr. Stone, Sr., does
not smoke and his son says he never enters the barn while smoking. No lantern
or other light was used in taking care of the horses.
They
had been in the house about ten minutes when Mrs. C. L. Whiting who lives next
door noticed a light in the loft of the barn shining out through a window. Her
first thought was that it was a lantern, A second glance showed that the barn
was on fire. She shouted "fire," and her husband turned in the alarm.
Mr. Stone caught up a water pail and ran up stairs to extinguish the flames, but
they had already gained too much headway, and attention was devoted to saving
the property down stairs. Two horses, a cow, a calf, wagons, harnesses and
farming implements were taken out and almost everything down stairs was saved.
There was only about a half ton of hay up stairs.
The
department responded promptly. Hitchcock hose arrived first and attached to the
hydrant at the corner of Port Watson and Pendleton-sts., thinking that this was
the nearest. Water Witch took the other plug at this hydrant, but when they unreeled
neither hose would reach. Water Witch then pieced out Hitchcock hose and was
able to reach the fire. Meanwhile Orris and Emerald had run down past the other
two and attached each a line to the hydrant at the corner of Pendleton and Blodgett-sts. The three streams soon extinguished
the flames.
The
barn was an old one that had probably been built fifty years [ago]. Mr. Stone
bought it of Hiram C. Blodgett twelve years ago and moved it over to its present location. The frame
was massive and of hard wood and was not badly injured. A new roof and partial re-siding
will be required. The loss will not exceed a few hundred dollars. There was no
insurance.
FIRE BUG CAPTURED.
Has Started Eight Fires in Cazenovia in the Last
Two Years.
For
the past two years Cazenovia has suffered from a large number of incendiary fires.
Efforts have been made to find the party who started them, but to no purpose
until Wednesday night. For several months suspicion has rested upon Frank Arnold,
a young man twenty-three years old, and he has been constantly shadowed.
Wednesday night he was seen to start another fire and was arrested in the act.
He confessed to having started seven other fires before this one. He said that
every fire had been started while he was under the influence of liquor and that
while in that condition he was possessed of a desire to start a fire.
Arnold
has a bad record. He has already served a term in the reformatory at Rochester
for loosening brakes on standing freight cars on an E., C. & N. siding and
causing a smash-up about ten years ago.
BREVITIES.
—Tomorrow
is the shortest day.
—Are
we approaching Christmas or is it Easter?
—The
supervisors of Broome county have voted to appropriate $50,000 for a new jail,
.
—The
cast in "The Mikado" were photographed in a group yesterday afternoon
by Butler.
—The
Alpha C. L. S. C. meets at Mrs. Augusta Graves', 85 Madison-st., Monday evening,
Dec. 28.
—The
funeral of George W. Galpin will be held from his late home at 1 o'clock P. M.
Sunday. Burial in Cortland Rural cemetery,
—Christmas
exercises for the primary department of the Sunday-school of the First M. E. church are in progress at the church
parlors this afternoon.
—Several
copies of the music of the "Mikado" have not yet been returned. Those
possessing them are requested to leave them to-night at the store of A. M. Jewett.
—Mrs.
Frank Pierce died at her home, 14 Park-st., at 6 o'clock yesterday afternoon
aged 54 years. The funeral will take place from the family residence at 3:30
o'clock Sunday afternoon.
—George
W. Culver, and inmate at the county alms house died yesterday, aged 77 years.
The remains will be taken to Cuyler at 10 o'clock on the E., C. & N.
to-morrow morning for burial.
—Dr.
William J. Milne, president of the Normal college at Albany, has resigned the
presidency of the State Teachers' association owing to a lack of time to
discharge his duties. Prof. C. E. White of Syracuse, vice-president of the
association, will succeed him.
—The
Cornell Glee club are to take a Southern and Western trip combined during the
Holiday vacation, going as far south as Lexington, Ky., and west to St. Louis.
The club will start next Monday, giving their first concert at Binghamton.—Ithaca
Democrat.
—
Joseph Jefferson, who appears at Ithaca on Saturday evening, Dec. 28, in "Rip Van Winkle," will also give a matinee
Saturday afternoon, playing "Cricket on the Hearth" and "Lend Me
Five Shillings." The prices are the same as at the evening's
entertainment.
—Richard
Mansfield and company passed through Cortland this morning from Ithaca to
Syracuse, where they play at the Bastable to night. They travel in two special
cars which were transferred from the E., C. & N, and attached to the 10 o'clock train north this
morning on the D., L. & W.
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