The
Cortland Democrat, Friday,
April 10, 1896.
A DISASTROUS FIRE.
The
Cortland Forging Company's Works
Burned to the Ground.
LOSS $80,000, INSURANCE $41,000.
About One Hundred and Twenty Men
Thrown out of Employment—The Works will Undoubtedly be Rebuilt—The Company was
Doing a Thriving Business.
At 6:15
o'clock last Tuesday afternoon a telephone call came to Firemen's Hall
announcing that the Cortland Forging Co.'s shops were on fire. Janitor Bickford rang a
general alarm and the firemen and hose companies were soon on the way. The shops
were located on the east side of the Lehigh Valley [R. R.] tracks, a few rods
north of Elm-st. and nearly a mile from Main-st. By the time the department
arrived on the scene the buildings were one mass of flames and with the
exception of the japan [lacquer] building, were burned to the ground in spite
of the efforts of the firemen.
The origin
of the fire is a sort of mystery. It was discovered in the drop forging
room by nightwatch Jay Brown soon after the shops closed for the night and he
telephoned to Firemen's Hall.
There were
two hydrants which the hose companies connected with but they were handicapped
by the light pressure and all but one of the companies found their nozzles
filled with gravel stone several times. It is not known how these came in the
pipes but it is believed that they were put in by mischievous urchins last
summer when the sewers were put down. An immense crowd of people witnessed the
fire. A large amount of oil and other inflammable material is used about the
premises in forging their goods, width consist of harness and carriage
hardware, all welded by electricity. About 125 men are employed.
Several
valuable machines and dies were in the works and it is hoped that some of them
are not ruined, but the patterns were mostly destroyed. The works have been run
continuously since they were started, and much of the time day and night forces
were employed. It was one of the most prosperous institutions in Cortland. The
officers of the company were: D. F.
Wallace, president, C. L. Kinney, secretary and J. Hub. Wallace, treasurer.
The contents
of the office were saved and several barrels of benzine were taken from the
buildings. Some of the workmen lost valuable tools.
Mr. D. F.
Wallace estimates the loss at $80,000 with an insurance of $42,000. Of this
last amount $1,080 was on the japan building and contents and as this building
was saved, it leaves only $41,000 available to pay the loss. Mr. Wallace
could not say positively whether the works would be rebuilt or not, but it is
quite probable that they will be as soon as the loss is properly adjusted.
 |
| New York State Sen. John Raines. |
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
THE RAlNES BILL.
An Outline of the Provisions to
Regulate the Liquor Traffic.
Among the
most important provisions of the new Raines law are these:
The word
liquors shall mean all distilled or rectified spirits, wines, malt and
fermented liquors.
Abolition
of all excise boards on April 30, next.
Termination
of all excise licenses June 30, next.
Creation of
excise commissioner at salary of $6,000; deputy at $4,000; three special
inspectors at $4,000, $3,000, and $2,000; 60 inspectors at large at $1,200, and
expenses for all.
A state
commissioner appointed by the governor will assume complete control of the
liquor traffic.
Gives
one-third of the net revenues collected to the state and two-thirds to the
counties.
A bond
double the amount of the tax must be furnished, which is liable for every
violation of the liquor tax law.
The tax
certificate must be posted in a window facing the street on the ground floor,
if the entrance is on that floor.
The consent
of two-thirds of the owners of dwelling houses within 200 feet of a place must
be secured before a certificate will be granted.
Prohibits
saloons within 200 feet of a church or school.
Prohibits
all night licenses and the sale of liquor on Sunday, except in hotels, with
meals, or in rooms occupied by guests. This prohibition extends to clubs, where
liquor may be sold only at meals.
Allows
local option in towns only, and not in cities.
Compels
posting of liquor licenses in windows of saloons.
No liquor
can be sold anywhere on Sunday or between the hours of 1 and 5 A. M. on week
days, except in hotels with meals or in rooms.
No free
lunch can be given.
No liquor
can be sold in any building belonging to the public.
No dry
goods, grocery, provision or drug store keeper can sell liquors to be drunk on
the premises unless in some place entirely distinct from the regular place of
business.
Only
citizens of the United States and of New York can secure tax certificates.
Hotels must
have at least ten rooms for accommodation of guests to be rated as hotels.
Every
deputy commissioner, special agent, county treasurer, sheriff, police officer
or constable shall, under $500 penalty for neglect, report to the district
attorney all violations of the act.
Anyone
violating the provisions of this act shall be fined not more than $500 or
imprisonment for one year and forfeit the year's
certificate. Two convictions will bar for five years the securing of a new
certificate.
The Excise Autocrat.
(New York World.)
The man who
secures it will be an autocrat. He will have under his absolute control every
saloon-keeper in the State, and will exert a powerful influence over
pharmacists, hotel-keepers, clubs and every person and association that deals in
liquor in any shape.
Having once
secured the place, he will be fastened to it. Nobody can remove him. [He can]
levy blackmail, persecute honest tradesmen for political purposes, bully
thousands of men in the State, and be as big a blackguard and rascal as
his disposition will permit or as his own individual advantage or the advantage
of the Republican machine may suggest.
That Senator Raines and his fellow-conspirators deliberately planned that this power
should be possessed by the appointee to the place is beyond doubt. They evidently
feared the incoming of a Democratic Governor and the prompt removal of the head
of the excise department.
To avoid this
they have arranged it so that he will be supreme. There is now no way of
attacking him except by new legislation, and this cannot be had so long as one
branch of the Legislature is Republican. The Republican Senate lasts two years
longer, and for this period at least the control of the excise machinery of the
State is certain to be under the direction of the Republican bosses.
◘ If the editor of the Standard will carry out his threat and resign
as a member of the local board of the Normal school, the citizens of this place
will shed no tears, but will rejoice and be exceeding glad.
◘ The Cortland Standard has taken
a long nap, but on Wednesday it produced an article wherein it directly calls
in question the truthfulness of certain other members of the local board and in
particular the one who was interviewed by a reporter of the DEMOCRAT. Of course
the editor of the DEMOCRAT was not present at the meeting of the local board
held on the 17 ult., and all he knows about it was told in the interview with
one of the members of the board published in the DEMOCRAT of March 27th. As the
matter now stands there would seem to be a question of veracity to be settled
between the editor of the Standard and certain other members of the
local board.
HERE AND THERE.
Perkins, of
the City drug store, has a new advertisement this week.
Burgess,
the clothier, has something to say about hats on our last page.
Hereafter
Sunday evening services in all the churches in this village will commence at
7:30 o'clock.
A carload
of fine horses from Indiana will be sold at the Cortland House barn on
Wednesday, April 15.
McGrawville
saloons have been closed and most of the saloons and hotels in Cortland have
closed their bars.
Mr. C.
Brandenstein is building a shoe shop for his own use near his residence, corner
of Homer and Lincoln-aves.
Chas L.
Brown, for the past five or six years a resilient of Geneva, will return to
Homer and resume the manufacture of cigars in that place.
Several
thousand ties have been distributed along the tracks of the D. L. & W. in
this village. They will be used to replace some of the old ones.
The boxing
contest held in the opera house last Saturday evening did not draw a very large
crowd although it is said to have been a first rate entertainment.
Deputy
Edwards visited Freetown the other day and found more cases of cruelty to
animals. He admonished the parties to take better care of their stock if they
would avoid trouble.
The Loyal
Circle of Kings' Daughters will meet with Mrs. S. Rindge, 57 North Main-st.,
Friday, April 10th, 1896, at 2:30 P. M.
All of the Cortland factories that are not
in the hands of receivers are said to be doing a rushing business. In fact many
of them say that they are experiencing the heaviest trade in many years.
Hon. Ella S. Yovicheff, the Bulgarian statesman,
refugee and lecturer, will deliver a lecture in Library hall, Marathon, Monday
evening, April 13. Admission, 15 cents. Children, 10 cents.
The station
formerly Spencer on the old E. C. &
N. railroad will hereafter on the Lehigh Valley road be known as
East Spencer to distinguish it from Spencer on the other branch of the Lehigh.
President
Rollin H. Wilbur and a party of Lehigh officers made a tour of inspection of
this branch of the road one day last week. It is understood they are looking
for a feasible route to get to Syracuse.
There is a
photograph war in Cortland. Photographers are taking pictures for almost
nothing and many people in this vicinity are availing themselves of the
opportunity to obtain pictures for a song.
The date of
holding the Charity Ball [hospital fund] has been changed from April 10th to
Friday evening. April 17th. The change was made from the fact that several
other entertainments are to take place on the 10th.
David Carr
of East Homer, who was arrested recently on the charge of cruelty to animals,
was brought before Justice T. H. Dowd last Thursday afternoon and pleaded
guilty to the charge. The justice fined him $10 which was paid.
Mrs. Julia
E. Hyatt has offered to endow a free bed at the Cortland hospital as a memorial
of her late husband, Dr. Frank O. Hyatt, who took a great interest in the
welfare of the institution. The offer has been accepted.
Last
Saturday evening while Mrs. Eliza W. Benedict of 21 Tompkins-st. was lifting a
shade from a lamp, it caught fire. Mrs. J. R. Hathway, who was present, seized
the shade and threw it out of the house. Her hands were quite severely burned.
J. W.
Daniels will give his first annual ball in Taylor hall, Thursday evening, April 23. His own orchestra of nine men will furnish
music. Caterer Bosworth will serve refreshments in the hall. Dance, 50 cents.
Several
Dagoes and Huns engaged in a scrap at the corner of Elm and Crandall-sts. last
Sunday afternoon. Two of the Italians were quite badly bruised about the head
and face, but as usual the officers could not find out who done the bruising
and no arrests were made.
The annual
meeting of the stockholders of the Cortland Co. Agricultural society was called
for last Wednesday afternoon in Firemen's hall in this village. The meeting was
adjourned to Saturday, April 25, at 1 o'clock at the same place for the reason
that a majority of the stock was not represented. It is to be hoped that every
stockholder will be present on that occasion.
Mr. R. G.
Lewis, who has sold flour, feed, etc., in the Squires building for more than twelve
years past, has discontinued the retail part of the business and will only sell
goods in large quantities at his home, No. 9 Prospect-st., where he will also
sell all kinds of agricultural implements. For the past three or four years he
has sold to farmers in this section, a large share of their implements and is
ready now to supply them with anything they may need in this line.
The board
of trustees at their meeting held last Monday night re-elected S. S. Stearns
street commissioner and Fred Hatch village clerk. The latter's salary was fixed
at $350 per annum. Geo. C. Hubbard resigned from the board of health and Edwin
Duffey was appointed to fill the vacancy. Mr. Glann was appointed a committee
to procure new hats for the police force and with Mr. Webb was appointed to
ascertain how much, if any, new hose would be required by the fire department.
Police Justice Mellon asked to have his present law office designated as the
police justice's office and asked that a telephone be placed in the office. He
desired the change for the reason that "sitters" occupied the office
in Firemen's hall and filled the room full of tobacco smoke.
The Young
Peoples Christian Union and the Ladies Aid Society of the Universalist church
are preparing for a novel entertainment to be held next Wednesday evening in
the church parlors. A Gypsy encampment will be held. There will be various
booths for the sale of articles, presided over by beautiful young gypsy
maidens, a wedding, drills, marches, songs, a fortune teller will tell the
past, present and future and there will be many other novelties. Admittance at
the door, ten cents. A cordial welcome to all who would like to spend an
evening with the gypsies.
MARATHON.
A. E.
Brianard was home over Sunday.
Walter Ford
of Whitney Point was in town last week.
Miss E. M. Davern visited her sister at Cortland
recently.
Miss Anna
Shanley spent Wednesday with friends in Whitney Point.
Mrs. P. H.
Lusk of Center Lisle, visited Mrs. O. F. Pinckney last week.
Mrs. E. Stevens
of Center Lisle is the guest of her daughter, Mrs. Will Esmay.
Rev. L. W.
Jackson of Locke was the guest of Rev. O. L. Warren a day or two last week.
C. B.
Johnson left on Tuesday evening for Pennsylvania to begin his season's work for
the Climax Road Machine Co.
Mrs. G. E.
Tarbell and daughter of New York, who have been visiting at G. L. Swifts,
returned home the first of the week.
Mrs. F. K. McFall of Corning, who has been
spending a few weeks with relatives in Marathon and Cortland, returned home
this morning accompanied by her mother,
Mrs. A. J. Lyman.
On Monday
afternoon, about a dozen ladies met by invitation of Mrs. Mary Ball, at the
home of her mother, Mrs. Dexter Brown, on West Main-st., to celebrate the eighty-third
anniversary of the birthday of the latter. A very pleasant afternoon was
passed, and a pretty willow-sewing chair and one or two lesser gifts were
presented to the venerable lady as mementoes of the occasion.
A quiet
wedding took place at the home of B. E. Willson on Academy-st., Sunday evening,
when O. L. Warren, in the presence of a few of the nearest relatives of the parties, performed the ceremony that united
the lives of B. E. Willson sad Miss Ida Holcomb. Mr. and Mrs. Willson went at
once to housekeeping in his house which they will occupy until the completion
of the new one which he is preparing to build.
For the
next few days there should be no lack of entertainment for the people of our
town judging from the number of attractions billed. On Wednesday evening of
this week a warm sugar social was held at Eugene Watson's by the I. O. G. T. On
Friday evening the Iroquois club gave a hop in Library Hall and the ladies of the
Presbyterian church a maple sugar social in the church parlors, and on Saturday
evening the Franklin company will present "Ten Nights in a Bar-room,"
at Liberty Hall. Monday evening, April 13, the celebrated Bulgarian lecturer
will deliver a lecture under the auspices of the Kings Daughters. Tuesday
evening, April 14, the annual "Men's Mite" will be held in the parlors
of the M. E. church, and on Wednesday evening, Apr. 15, the ladies of the
Baptist church held a sugar social. By that time every one ought to be
thoroughly entertained and sweetened.
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