THE CINDER PATH AND SAMUEL DOUD

Wheelmen on parade at Riverside Drive, New York City.

Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, June 12, 1897.

THE CINDER PATH.

THE LAW WHICH PROTECTS IT IF BUILT FOR WHEELS.

Signboards for the Crossroads in Every Town in the County—How to Arrange for Them at Trifling Expense—Cortland County Behind the Times.

   One thing which seems to be troubling the minds of those to whom the committee upon building the new cinder path to Little York go to for subscriptions is that they fear that if the path is constructed it will be spoiled by being devoted to other uses. There is no ground for that fear, as the last legislature passed a bill which became a law upon April 15, 1897. The text of this law is as follows:

   Subdivision.1, Section 652 of Chapter 267, Laws of 1897: A person who willfully and without authority or necessity drives any team or vehicle, except a bicycle, upon a sidepath or wheelway, constructed by or exclusively for the use of bicyclists, and not constructed in a street of a city, is punishable by a fine of not more than fifty dollars, or imprisonment not exceeding thirty days, or both.

   There is one more matter to which our attention has been called which should be taken in hand by the wheelmen, the accomplishment of which would not only prove of benefit to them, but would also be of great assistance to all the residents of the county not wheelmen who chance to be driving through a town which is not altogether familiar to them. The legislature of 1896 passed a law compelling the commissioner of highways in every town in the state under certain conditions to erect signboards at each crossroad and intersection of roads indicating which road to take to reach the nearest town and the distance to it. The conditions of compulsion are that each commissioner of highways is compelled under penalty of the law to erect these signboards at town expense if served with a written petition for the same signed by five taxpayers of his town, or if served with a written petition for the same signed by twenty-five taxpayers of his county, none of whom need be a resident or taxpayer in his particular town.

   This is a matter in which Cortland county is behind the times. Other counties round about us and all through the state have erected their signboards in accordance with the law. The expense to each town is slight as there are wheel manufacturers who are only too much delighted to furnish free of expense the metallic signboards with letters and figures pressed in the metal so as to be indestructible, and then painted to make the inscription more plain, provided they can be permitted to paint them a particular color which serves as an advertisement for their wheel.

   To the public at large the color of these boards is a matter of indifference, provided the facts are made plain, and if a manufacturer desires to present a town with the guideboards in a particular color there will probably be no one to object unless it be a rival manufacturer who wants to present them in another color.

   As for measuring the distance, this too has been accomplished accurately and free of expense in other counties. There are wheelmen whose machines are equipped with cyclometers who will volunteer to ride from a given point on the principal highways, record the distance and map the locality, so that the total expense for the town will consist solely in providing the posts for the crossroads upon which the signs are to be displayed, and defraying the cost of setting them in the ground.

Postofflce Safe Blown Open.

   ELMIRA, N. Y., June 12.—The doors of the safe in the general store containing the postoffice at Breesport, a hamlet about 13 miles north of here, was blown open, but the burglar-proof interior of the safe foiled the burglars, and they failed in securing any booty. They took a quantity of notions, knives, etc. Entrance was obtained by prying open the front door with a pickax. They then broke open the tool house of the Lehigh Valley railroad and, taking a handcar, rode rapidly to a point near Horseheads, where the car was rolled down an embankment, and the burglars made good their escape.

Capt. General Valeriano Weyler.

ANXIETY FELT IN SPAIN

Concerning What the United States May Do.

RESENT INTERFERENCE BY US.

Madrid Press Shows Much Suppressed Indignation Over Acquittal of Filibustering Vessels by the United States—Weyler to Remain.

   LONDON, June 12.—A Madrid correspondent says:

   The Madrid papers echo the popular anxiety and curiosity concerning the attitude which the United States will adopt in the face of recent events.

   The sensation caused by the reports of a change of attitude increased when it was announced that American tribunals had acquitted filibusters who had been stopped by American men-of-war.

   Much suppressed indignation can be discerned between the lines of press articles, of every shade of opinion, bitterly resenting the idea of American interference in Cuba.

   Everything shows that Spain is again drifting into strained relations with the United States. Indeed, most Spaniards are convinced that the real significance of the issue lies in the fact that the queen regent has given another trial to the Canovas-Weyler policy, chiefly because the premier and the captain general are both considered best able to show a bold front and to act with energy in case President McKinley and Secretary Sherman should decide to intervene upon humanitarian and philanthropic grounds.

   Any suggestion of mediation of any kind shows but little knowledge of the temper and feelings of the Spaniards. Any such step on the part of America would induce all parties, even the Republicans and the Carlists, to rally round the cabinet.

   Although official circles and the press affect to feel confidence in the friendly disposition of America, it is easy to detect unusual anxiety as to the news from Washington.

Antonio Canovas del Castillo.

Denied That Weyler Will Be Recalled.

   LONDON, June 12.—A Madrid correspondent says: It is thought that the cabinet, as at present constituted, will continue only during the summer sojourn of the corte at San Sebastian, and on the queen regent's return to the capital it will be radically changed. Senor Canovas del Castillo denies the report of the retirement of Captain General Weyler; but although for the moment he remains at his post, there is the best reason for believing that his resignation has been received by the premier, to be accepted or not, as the latter deems best according to the circumstances of the moment.

BAND CONCERT AT PARK

At 3:30 o'clock Sunday Afternoon if Weather is Favorable.

   If the weather to-morrow afternoon be propitious the summer series of Sunday afternoon band concerts will be inaugurated and a concert by the Cortland City band will be given at 3:30 o'clock. If the signs appear to-morrow on the ends of the street cars the concert will be given. If the signs are not in evidence the concert will not occur. Cars will run from the Messenger House in the afternoon every twenty minutes.

BREVITIES.

   —New display advertisements to-day are—Wesson, The New Fad, page 6.

   —The East End Yellow Kids defeated the West End Brownies at baseball this morning by a score of 26 to 25.

   —Services at the Cortland hospital to-morrow afternoon at 4 o'clock will be conducted by Rev. A. Chapman, pastor of the First Baptist church.

   —The Knockabouts have just defeated the Prospect-st. ball team in two games. In the first game the score was 29 to 18 and in the second it was 16 to 8.

   —Undertaker R. B. Fletcher was in McLean this afternoon attending the funeral of Mrs. Towsey, who died at Cornwall-on-the-Hudson. Rev. J. A.

Robinson of Cortland officiated.

   —The annual collection for the fresh air fund will be taken in the Presbyterian Sunday-school to-morrow and it is hoped that it may be a liberal one.

   —Rev. W. H. Pound, pastor of the Congregational church, will preach a special sermon to children Sunday morning. All children of the congregation are invited to be present and occupy the front seats.

   —The ladies of the Woman's Home Missionary society of the First M. E. church served supper last night in the church parlors after the regular monthly meeting, and were quite liberally patronized.

   —Mrs. Margaret Norton of Park-st., who was operated on at the hospital

Thursday for appendicitis, died this morning. She was 39 years of age. The funeral arrangements have not yet been completed.

   —The Cortland baseball team appeared yesterday in new suite which are beauties. They are of light gray material with green stockings, belt and cap, and lettered with the name of the place in green across the breast.

McGRAWVILLE.

Crisp Local Happenings at the Corset City.

   Mrs. Eliza Chaffee was given a pleasant and genuine surprise by a few of her friends on her 80th birthday which occurred Friday.

   Mr. and Mrs. G. O. Barnes are visiting at Summit Station for a few days.

   Mrs. Almira Forshee has returned from a two weeks' visit in Cortland.

   K. Moss Walker returned Friday from a few days' visit in Syracuse. While gone he attended the graduating exercises at Syracuse university, where his brother Charles W., formerly of this place, was among the graduates who received the degree of Bachelor of Arts.

   Samuel Doud, whose funeral was held on Tuesday, June 8, was one of the men who will be missed by the community. He was born May 13, 1833, in the house opposite the stone mill west of this village, being one of four children of Reuben Griffin and Betsey McGraw Doud. His brother, Reuben G., and two sisters, Marcia A. Doud and Polly B. Smith (mother of Dr. Geo. H. Smith and Mrs. F. W. Higgins of Cortland) all passed away before him. From the place of his birth his parents moved to what was later known as the old homestead which formerly stood on the ground now occupied by the residence of A. P. McGraw. When 36 years of age he was happily married to Miss Frances Tripp and purchased the residence on the northeast corner of South and Academy-sts., where they lived for fifteen years and where were born two daughters, his only children, Cora M., who died at the age of 4 years and Grace E., wife of H. C. Chaffee. From this home he moved with his family to the farm southeast of the village where they resided for seventeen years when his health failing, he leased the farm and came to the pleasant home on South-st., where he passed the last four years of his life. He was a well known and highly respected citizen and a prominent Odd Fellow. He has held the office of overseer of the poor for the past eighteen years and for several years was one of the board of trustees of our village.