PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
The Village Election.
The
Democratic nominees for village president, trustees and treasurer were elected
yesterday by Republican voters by majorities ranging from 2 to 99. No better
village ticket was ever placed in the field than the Republican ticket of this
year, and never was one more fairly nominated. So far as it was beaten it was
beaten by Republicans of the following classes:
First. By
those who stayed at home, either through indifference or for fear of getting
their feet wet. How large this class was may be judged by the fact that the
vote for president at the village election this year was only 1,898 as against
2, 147 last year—a falling off of 249. At least nine-tenths of this 249, it is
safe to say, were Republicans. Democrats are rarely indifferent, and wet feet
on election day never count with them.
Second.
Republicans who went to the polls voted, but voted for the Democratic nominees
who were elected. How many of this class there were may be judged from the
Republican majority on inspectors of election, which was 275. These bolting
Republicans were largely sore-heads voicing their grievances. Added to these
were a few who were moved by personal and pecuniary interest, and a still
smaller number who believed the falsehoods so industriously circulated against
the Republican nominees, or who allowed their prejudices to be worked on for
Democratic benefit.
The
Republicans who have elected these Democratic officials have made their own
bed, so far as the village government is concerned, and now they must lie in
it. If they find it thorny, they can thank themselves. And if they should
happen to see the interests of the village and of the taxpayers made
subservient to personal and political ends, and be inclined to kick, they can
kick themselves.
BICKFORD CONFIRMED
AS
SUPERINTENDENT OF THE FIRE ALARM
SYSTEM.
And Janitor at Fireman’s Hall—It Was a Tie
Vote, President Benton Being Compelled to Decide the Matter—Appointed at the
Pleasure of the Board.
There was
only one matter that occupied the attention of the board of village trustees at
their regular meeting Monday night. It was the appointment of a janitor at
Fireman’s hall and superintendent of the fire alarm system. Frank A. Bickford
was appointed to succeed himself at the pleasure of the board.
A full board
was present. Adelbert J. Barber, chief of the fire department, cam before the
board and submitted the following report, which was placed on file.
To the
Honorable Board of Trustees of the Village of Cortland:
GENTLEMEN—In
accordance with your request of the 3rd instant, referring back to
the board of engineers the matter relative to janitor of Fireman’s hall and
superintendent of the fire alarm system for further action, will say, that due
notice having been given through the press for all applicants to appear before
us for examination Saturday evening, March 6 at 7:30 o’clock, only two
applicants appeared, viz., Edward Winslow and F. A. Bickford, all but one
member of the board being present. Forty practical questions relative to fire
alarm system being asked each applicant, we find the percentage as follows:
Edward Winslow, 58 ¾; F. A. Bickford, 91 ½. On the examination relative to the
steamer a few practical questions having been prepared by an experienced
engineer, one of which was, “Are you capable of running the fire steamer?” to
which Mr. Winslow answered, “No.” Mr. Bickford answered on the steamer
correctly.
Now,
gentlemen, the facts before you are such as we have obtained from a practical
examination. The danger of an incompetent man in this position must be clear to
you, and in view of these facts our obligations to the property owners and our
duties as representatives of this fire department are the same.
We again
respectfully ask you to confirm the recommendation of F. A. Bickford for the
above named position.
(Signed)
A. J.
Barber, Chief.
George B.
French, 1st Assistant.
H. P.
Davis, 2nd Ass’t.
M. V.
Lane, Secretary.
J. H.
Phelps, Treasurer.
J.
Chamberlain, Rep. of Co. 1.
W. A.
Wallace, Rep. of Co. 2.
A. G.
Bosworth, Rep. of Co. 3.
Ed
Fitzgerald, Rep. of Co. 4.
S. S.
Horton, Rep. of Co. 6.
Constituting the board of engineers.
The
report was not signed by Mr. A. Sager, representing company No. 5, as he was
not present at the examination.
After
receiving this report several of the trustees asked Chief Barber as to the
character of the questions asked, and he replied that the questions were not
technical but general.
Mr. Glann
moved that the nomination of Mr. Bickford be not confirmed. This did not
receive a second. President Benton urged the confirmation at the pleasure of
the board. At this point the board went into executive session and invited Mr.
Bickford before the board. He was asked several questions pertaining to his
work.
Trustee
Wallace moved Mr. Bickford’s confirmation subject to the board’s pleasure and
resulted in a tie vote, two being in favor of the motion, and two against.
President Benton cast the deciding vote, which was in favor of the motion, and
Mr. Bickford was declared duly elected.
Centennial History of Dryden.
The
centennial committee of the town of Dryden are doing a service to the town, as
well as this immediate section of the state, by the preparation and publication
of the “Centennial History of the Town of Dryden,” now appearing in the Dryden
Herald. From chapter III of the history we quote the following, which will be
of interest to Cortland county readers:
The town
having been surveyed in 1790 and the lots drawn in 1791, the next question was
how to reach these possessions in the wilderness of the Military Tract. The
first settlers had already arrived at Owego and Elmira by way of the
Susquehanna and Chemung rivers, while others had come to Syracuse and Auburn by
way of the Mohawk and Seneca rivers and the lakes, and settlements had been
commenced in and about Ithaca and Lansing by parties who had taken these routes,
but there was no direct practicable way to reach from the east the elevated
watershed lying between the two until a road was cut through the woods from
Oxford on the Chemung river to Ithaca at the head of Cayuga lake, which was
done in the years 1763, 1794 and 1795 by Joseph Chaplin under a contract from
the state.
Mr. Chaplin
was the first settler in the town of Virgil and we quote from Bouton’s history
of that town, pages 9 and 10, concerning him and his work as follows: “To
facilitate the settlement of this section of the country, a road was projected
connecting Oxford with the Cayuga lake, to pass through this town (Virgil).
Joseph Caplin, the first inhabitant, was intrusted [sic] with this work. The
instrument by which he was authorized to engage in it was authenticated on May
5, 1792. He spent that season in exploring and surveying the route; the length
of which is about sixty miles. He came to Lot No. 50 (of Virgil) which he owned
and afterwards settled, erected a house and prosecuted his work, having a woman
to keep the house and cook for workmen. The work of cutting and clearing the
road was done in 1793-4; so that he moved his family from Oxford over it in the
winter of 1794-5, employing six or seven sleighs freighted with family,
furniture, provisions. etc.”
But it
seems that when he had completed the road as far as Virgil he was persuaded by
some settlers from Keeder’s Ferry (near Ludlowville) to continue the road from
Virgil through to that point, as it then contained more inhabitants than
Ithaca.
Having
done so, he presented his bill to the [state] legislature, which rejected it on
the ground that he had not complied with the terms of his contract, which
required the road to be built to Ithaca. He then returned and in the year 1795
cut the road through from Virgil to Ithaca known as the “Bridle Road,” and thus
became entitled to his pay, the first road being now known as the old state road,
extending between the towns of Dryden and Groton and through Lansing to the
lake. We are told that in this work of cutting these roads through the
wilderness, Mr. Chaplin was assisted by his stepson, then a young man, Gideon
Messenger by name, who is the ancestor of the present Messenger family of
Dryden and the uncle of H. J. Messenger of Cortland.
From
Bouton’s history we learn that this same Gideon Messenger was the first town
clerk of Virgil in 1795, afterwards its supervisor, and that he passed over the
state road from State bridge in the eastern part of Virgil to Cayuga lake
before there was a single habitation in the whole distance. (Bouton’s
Supplement, page 39.)
The
publication of the history in The Herald is preliminary to its being finally
printed in book form, and criticisms, corrections and suggested additions are
invited and may be delivered to any member of the committee or mailed to Box 354,
Dryden.
The book
promises to be a very valuable contribution to local history and a credit to
the committee. The articles are being prepared with care, accuracy and more
that ordinary literary ability, and show a large amount of patient labor and research.
It is to be regretted that such a work could not have been done for this county
on a larger scale than the excellent “Pioneer History” prepared by Deacon
Bouton, and with the co-operation of early residents of the county, now passed
away, whose memories were storehouses of interesting historical facts. Much
could be saved even at this late day, if the work were taken up and prosecuted
in the spirit shown by our Dryden neighbors.
PLANS OF
THE LEHIGH.
Its
Purchase by the Morgans and Vanderbilts Largely for Coal Interests.
The control of the Lehigh Valley railroad
has passed to J. P. Morgan & Co., and the property [has] been added to the
combination of anthracite coal producing and carrying concerns composed of J.
Pierpont Morgan, the Vanderbilts, the Astors and the “First National bank
party,” of which President Maxwell of the Central railroad of New Jersey is a
member. The late Judge Asa Packer was the founder of the Lehigh road, and his
estate held a controlling interest in it. That interest has now been secured by
Morgan & Co.
The new company will at once reorganize the
Lehigh, and place it on a sound financial basis. It is proposed to issue 5 per
cent bonds to the extent of $8,000,000, which will be secured by ample
unencumbered assets. Morgan & Co. have already bought $5,000,000 of these
bonds, and the balance may be issued as needed in the next two or three years. The
company reserves the right to increase the amount of the mortgage after 1899 by
$1,000,000 annually for seven years, the extra bonds to be used to acquire new
property, equipments, etc. The $5,000,000 worth of bonds just sold is expected
not only to pay the entire floating debt of the road, but also to leave it a
substantial working capital and provide for all legitimate construction needs.
The anthracite coal combine as now formed is
composed of the Philadelphia and Reading road, controlled by Mr. Morgan and the
Vanderbilts; the Lehigh Valley, controlled by Mr. Morgan; the Delaware,
Lackawanna and Western, controlled by the Vanderbilts, Astors and “First
National bank party;” the Central of New Jersey, controlled by the “First
National bank party;” The Delaware and Hudson, controlled by the Vanderbilts
and Astors; and the Erie, controlled by Mr. Morgan and the Vanderbilts. These
six railroad companies handle 74.8 per cent of the total anthracite coal
production. The output in 1896 was 43,000,000 tons of which the companies now
combined handled 32,164,000 tons. The Lehigh’s percentage of production last
year was 15.65. Its acquisition by the combine is otherwise important because
it handles more coal mined by independent operators than is handled by any
other company.
BREVITIES.
—The
Loyal circle of King's Daughters will meet with Mrs. S. Doyal, 78 Groton-ave.,
Friday, March 12, at 2:30 P. M.
—The
board of village trustees was in session at the office of the village clerk Wednesday
afternoon canvassing the vote at charter election Tuesday.
—Master
Fred Dickinson of 8 Woodruff-st.
has become somewhat of a poultry fancier, and has just sold a pair of fine
bantams to W. J. Greenman for $3.
—D.
W. Northrup has sold his interest in the Cortland Steam Cleaning and Dye works
on Orchard-st. to his partner, R. E. Barned, who will continue the business.
—At
the annual meeting of the First M. E. church society Tuesday afternoon Prosper
Palmer, R. B. Smith and A. L. Cole were elected trustees to succeed themselves.
—A
mail box has just been placed in the Cortland House, which is a great convenience
for the patrons of the house. Collections are made by carriers on the regular
trips.
—Dewitt
Haskins, a car striper employed in the Lehigh Valley carshops, injured his back
by a fall Saturday morning, and is yet confined to his bed. He is attended by
Dr. Sornberger.
—Mrs.
Hallie A. Hall died Monday at her home at Blodgett Mills of consumption, aged 19
years and 8 months. The funeral will be held to-morrow morning at 9 o’clock,
burial at Center Lisle.
—Vesta
lodge, I. O. O. F., will hold a social hop in their rooms Saturday evening. Daniels’ orchestra has been engaged. The committee
in charge consists of Messrs. H. L. deClercq, Frank Hilligus and N. F. Mather.
—A
Clinton young lady has sued one of the Hamilton college professors for $75 damages
for the loss of her pet cat, which the professor dissected in his biological laboratory.
He claims to have purchased the feline in good faith from one of the young lady’s
neighbors.
—Mr.
Jeremiah L. Hayes died Monday at his residence near the railroad crossing
between Cortland and Homer from consumption. He was 39 years of age. The
funeral occurred from St. Mary’s church Wednesday morning at 10 o’clock. Burial
in the catholic cemetery.
COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY
Met at the Cortland House on Thursday
Afternoon, March 11.
The
quarterly meeting of the Cortland County Medical society was held at the
parlors of the Cortland House in Cortland on Thursday, March 11, at 5 o’clock
P. M. The resident members of the society in Cortland asked all members of the
society living outside of Cortland village to be present at that time as their
guests. Supper was served immediately after the meeting. The program was as
follows:
Reading
of Minutes of last meeting.
Reports
of Committees on Resolutions, etc.
Some
Facts of Diagnostic Value Found in the Study of the Urine, Dr. R. J. Perry.
Use of
Ginseng in Stomach Disorders, Dr. H. S. Braman.
Differential Diagnosis Between Typhoid Fever and Cerebro-Spinal
Meningitis, Dr. H. T. Dana.
Miscellaneous Business.
C. B. TRAFFORD,
Pres.
F. H.
GREEN, Sec.
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