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| Bishop Henry C. Potter. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Saturday, November 17, 1900.
CRUSADE AGAINST VICE.
Three Potent Forces Working Toward One End.
BISHOP POTTER'S STRONG LETTER.
Tells Mayor Van Wyck of the Conditions Which Exist and Elicits a Response to the Effect That Every Effort Will Be Used to Aid in Reform.
NEW YORK, Nov. 17.—Bishop Henry C. Potter of the Episcopalian diocese of New York yesterday sent a letter to Mayor Van Wyck in reference to vice in this city, and especially on the east side. This letter is the one promised some weeks ago when the bishop publicly announced that one of his rectors had been grossly insulted by the commanding officials of a certain police station and that he proposed to take up the matter in a manner which the heads of the police force should feel.
At the present writing there are three movements directed against vice, as it is displayed on the great east side. These are: A quietly conducted investigation by District Attorney Gardiner in connection with Anthony Comstock's society for the suppression of vice; Tammany's appointment of a committee to investigate present conditions and Bishop Potter's crusade.
Bishop Potter, in his letter to Mayor Van Wyck, calls attention to the fact that "when a minister of religion and a resident in a particular neighborhood whose calling and character, experience and truthfulness are alike widely and abundantly recognized, goes to the headquarters of the police in his district, to appeal to them for the protection of the young, the innocent and the defenseless against the leprous harpies who are hired as runners and touters for the lowest and most infamous dens of vice, he is met not only with contempt and derision, but with the coarsest contumely and obloquy."
Bishop Potter then goes on to tell how, when two clergymen called at the police station of the precinct to complain of the notorious condition of affairs, one of them was told by the police captain that he lied; and that when, disheartened by such an experience, the clergyman carried his complaint to a higher authority he was met in insolent derision.
The bishop goes on to say: "I am not, I beg to say, unmindful of the fact that the existence of vice in a great city is, practically, an inevitable condition of the life of such a community. I am not demanding that vice shall be 'stamped out' by the police or any other civil authority. This is a task which would demand for its achievement a race of angels and not of men. But I approach you, sir, to protest with all my power against a condition of things in which vice is not only tolerated, but encouraged by those whose sworn duty it is to repress and discourage it, and, in the name of unsullied youth and innocence, of young girls and their mothers, who, though living under conditions often of privation and the hard struggle for a livelihood have in them every instinct of virtue and purity that are the ornaments of any so-called gentlewoman in the land, and before God and in the face of the citizens of New York I protest, as my people have charged me to do, against the habitual insult, the persistent menace, the unutterably defiling contacts, to which day by day, because of the base complicity of the police of New York with the lowest forms of vice and crime, they are subject."
Mayor Van Wyck at once replied to the bishop by letter in which he said he had passed the bishop's communication to the district attorney and then says: "I wish here to assure you that I will exert every power which the law has given to right the wrongs and to do away with the conditions of which you complain and to secure a hearty and efficient cooperation by the police department with all who are working to do away with public violation of law and decency.
"I stand ready at all times to assist and co-operate with you in this matter."
Mayor Van Wyck's letter to the district attorney requests him to co-operate with Bishop Potter and the police department in the movement. In a letter to the board of police commissioners the mayor encloses a copy of the bishop's letter and directs the commissioners "to at once conduct a searching investigation into the conduct of the two police officials whom the bishop says insulted the clergyman. He also directs them to at once do away with the conditions complained of on the east side. The mayor's closing speech is: "I wish it distinctly understood that to this end I shall use to the utmost limit all the power vested in me, and that I shall hold to personal responsibility those who fail to exert themselves in like manner."
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| Richard Croker. |
TAMMANY'S AGENTS.
Croker's Committee Holds First Meeting. City Will Be Closed Tight.
NEW YORK, Nov. 17.—The committee of five appointed by Mr. Croker to suppress vice held its first meeting in Tammany hall yesterday. John Kellar, one of the committee, invited every citizen of New York to lay before them any evidence that will help suppress the dives or prove public officials guilty of connivance with criminal vice.
"Spare no one," was Croker's order to the committee.
Chief of Police Devery has men out to close the dives. He declares the town will be closed tight.
Fire Commissioner John J. Scanlon, who was appointed as one of the members of the committee, declined to act for the reason that his duties as fire commissioner are so numerous and pressing as to preclude his service on the committee which, he said, requires the time of the best men.
President York of the police board, in speaking of Tammany Hall's crusade against vice, said he would go to any length in co-operating with the Tammany committee, or any other committee, to better conditions now existing. He knew of the charges that the police profited by winking at vice and placed the whole responsibility on the captains of some precincts, and added that while a person might be morally sure that such profit was going to the police, it was hard to prove it in court.
HORRIBLE VENGEANCE.
Negro Lad Burned at the Stake Near Limon, Col.
VICTIM'S FATHER STARTED FIRE.
Preston Porter Taken From Sheriff by Determined Mob, Chained to Railroad Rail and Pyre of Ties and Burned on Scene of His Crime.
LIMON, Col., Nov. 17.—Chained to a railroad rail, set firmly in the ground on the exact spot where his fiendish crime was committed, Preston Porter, Jr., or, as he was familiarly known, John Porter, yesterday evening paid a terrible penalty for his deed. It was 6:23 o'clock when the father of the murdered girl touched the match to the fuel which had been piled around the stake and 20 minutes later a last convulsive shudder told that life was extinct. What agony the doomed boy suffered while the flames shriveled up his flesh could only be guessed from the terrible contortions of his face and the cries he gave from time to time.
The executioners, who numbered about 300 citizens of Lincoln county, had not the least semblance of the ordinary mob. Their every act was deliberate and during all the preparation as well as throughout the sufferings of the negro, hardly an unnecessary word was spoken. Grimly they stood in a circle about the fire until the body was entirely consumed and then quietly they took their way back to Limon, from which place they departed for their homes shortly afterwards.
Preston Porter did not seem to realize the awful punishment he was destined to undergo. As he had exhibited indifference to the enormity of his crime, so he seemed to lack all understanding of its terrible consequences. For more than an hour, while preparations for his execution were in progress, he stood, mute and sullen among the avengers. When everything was ready he walked to the stake with a firm step, pausing as he reached the circle of broken boards to kneel in prayer. He was allowed to take his time. He arose and placed his back to the iron stake and half a dozen men wound chains about his body and limbs. Kerosene oil was applied to the wood and, after a brief pause, Richard W. Frost, the father of little Louise Frost, whose cruelly mutilated body was found one week ago on that very spot, applied a match, for a moment but a little flickering flame arose, then the oil blazed up, sparks flew into the air and the wood began to crackle.
Almost instantly the negro's trousers caught fire. Even though the flesh must have scorched he did not utter a sound. The flames crept slowly upward on his clothing, and the sparks flew up in a cloud of pale smoke. Porter turned his head and a frightful expression changed his face. With a sudden convulsive tugging he stretched his head as far from the rapidly increasing flames as possible and uttered a cry of pain: "Ob, my God, let me go, men. I've got something more to tell you. Please let me go. Oh, my God, my God."
In terrible screeches these words, the first he had uttered aloud, came from the negro. A terrible tugging at the chains, a succession of awful groans and screams, the negro's agony was at last breaking down his sullen composure.
Not an oath escaped him, but he begged and pleaded to be shot. Suddenly the rope holding his hands burned through. Then arms, head and shoulders slipped through the chains. For an instant the body stood erect, the arms were raised in supplication, while burning pieces of clothing dropped from them. The body then fell away from the fire, the head lower than the feet, still fastened to the rail. This was not expected and for a few minutes these stolid men were disconcerted. They feared the only remaining chain would give way. If this had occurred the partly burned human being would have dashed among them in his blazing garments. And not many would have cared to capture him again.
But the chain held fast. The body was then in such a position that only the legs were in the fire. The cries of the wretch were redoubled and he again begged to be shot. Some wanted to throw him over into the fire; others tried to dash oil upon him. Boards were carried and a large pile made over the prostrate body. They soon were ignited and the terrible heat and lack of air quickly rendered the victim unconscious, bringing death a few moments later.
This terrible ceremony, out upon the rolling prairie, concluded the second tragedy upon that spot—the avenging of the first. Through the entire affair but little was said. As they had calmly prepared for the avenging, so the people of the eastern part of the state carried out their plan coolly and deliberately. There was not a hitch in the entire proceeding. Not a weapon was drawn. There was no angry discussion. After the fire had burned low they told each other good night and then went home. They did not stop to discuss the affair.
The train bearing the negro in custody of Sheriff Freeman and his deputies arrived at Limon at 3:45 p. m. The cars were crowded with newspaper reporters and people who were curious to see the negro executed. R. W. Frost, the murdered girl's father, was one of the passengers.
When the train stopped 16 men, who had been selected by the vigilance committee, entered the train and demanded the prisoner from the sheriff. Their every action was marked by calmness and determination. The officer protested in the name of the law and asked the men to allow him to take his prisoner to the county jail at Hugo, but his protests were discarded. One man carried a rope, of which had been formed a hangman's noose. This was slipped over the negro's neck,
It was at first announced that the negro was to be executed by hanging. Many, including the father of the negro's victim, protested that such a death would be too easy and it was finally decided to leave the method of death to the outraged father. He decided upon burning at the stake. The train was then allowed to proceed, and at Lake station, about three miles from Limon, and near the scene of the negro's crime, the party left the train and began preparations for the deed of vengeance. Suggestions of mutilation before burning were made, but Mr. Frost declared against it.
Wagons were dispatched for wood and upon their return a score of men assisted in preparing it for the fire. When at last preparations were completed, a further delay was made because it was known many were on their way from Hugo and other parts of the county to take part in the affair. It had been announced that 5:30 should be the hour for starting the fire, but it was nearly a hour later when the word was finally given.
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIALS.
Expansion of Postal Service.
The announcement that the postoffice department would this year ask for a special appropriation for the establishment of 4,500 new rural free delivery routes at an expenditure of $3,500,000 and that steps were being taken to investigate the cost of free delivery to every one in the whole country calls attention to the wonderful expansion of the postal service especially during the last half century. The population of the United States in 1790 was 4,000,000; in 1900 it is perhaps 76,000,000. The wealth of the people, in real and personal property, probably aggregated $2,000,000,000 in 1790 and it is estimated at $80,000,000,000 in 1900. The number of postoffices was seventy-five in 1760, and is 76,091 in 1900. The postal revenues were $37,975 in 1790 and $102,334,579.29 in 1900. Therefore, while the population of the country has increased 19 to 1 in 110 years, and the wealth of the people 40 to 1, the number of postoffices has increased 1,000 to 1 and the revenues of the service 2,700 to 1.
Meantime the rates of postage have been reduced to a fractional part of those originally prevailing; the speed of transmitting mails has been greatly accelerated; safety and accuracy have been greatly increased and innumerable features have been added to the service of which the officials and patrons of the earlier days lacked even the capacity to imagine.
A prominent official in the general postoffice says: "The growth of the postal service is much more than an index of the nation's advance in population and wealth. It is a measure of the marvelous development of intellectual activity. The service is a colossal, tireless, ramifying, educational institute, quickening the mind, broadening the culture, energizing the spirit of our entire people."
It is only about half a century ago (1847) that postage stamps were introduced; stamped envelopes in 1852, registered letters, 1855; free delivery and postal cars 1863: money orders, 1864; postal cards, 1873; stamped newspaper wrappers and return envelopes, 1870; postal notes, 1888; special delivery, 1885; and rural free delivery, 1898. The universal postal union was established in 1873, by which the international postal system has been organized and the service cheapened. Although the far greater extent of territory traversed is in this country, the number of postoffices in the United States is larger, and the people served by the offices average 1,003, while in Great Britain it is 2,105.
◘ Prince Tuan need not despair. A postoffice in Virginia has been named after him.
COUNTY LAWMAKERS
Held a Short Session This Morning and Adjourned Till Monday.
Fourth Day, Friday, Nov. 16.
The board convened at 9 A. M., and roll call showed all members present but Supervisors Rowe and Surdam.
Two bills of the Onondaga county orphan asylum for the board of children at that institution, amounting to $106.86 and [$144] respectively, were read by the clerk and were referred to the committee on settling with superintendent of the poor and finally to the committee on appropriations.
The following resolution was offered by Mr. O'Donnell:
Resolved, That the chairman appoint a committee of three to contract with and employ a physician for the inmates of the Cortland county almshouse and that such physician be required to furnish all medicine for said inmates at his own expense.
The following amendment was offered by Mr. Hunt:
Resolved, That such committee have in charge the appointment of a jail physician.
The amendment was carried and ayes and nays being called for upon the original motion as amended, thirteen voted for and seven against the resolution.
The chairman appointed as such committee Messrs. O'Donnell, Allen and Surdam.
On motion of Mr. Ingersoll:
Resolved, That the sheriff's compensation for the board of prisoners for the ensuing year be fixed at thirty-five cents per day, three meals and one lodging, shall constitute a day's board.
On motion of Mr. Patrick:
Resolved, That the chairman appoint a committee of two to ascertain the expense to the county of the Truck murder trial and that the items of expense be classified and a summary of the same be published in the journal of the board.
Messrs. Patrick and Webb were appointed as such committee.
Mr. H. M. Kellogg of Cortland appeared before the board in reference to the expenses of burial of honorably discharged and indigent soldiers which is a county charge under the poor law. Mr. Kellogg stated that Grover Post, G. A. R., had purchased a large lot in the Cortland cemetery for the burial of such soldiers, and had ordered a monument for the same at a cost of $300. The post asked that the board approve the design and material of such monument and when an indigent soldier was buried in such plot the expense allowed by the statute should be paid by the county to Grover Post to assist in the maintenance and care of such burial plot.
On motion of Mr. Crosley:
Resolved, That before any bill is audited for an amount less than claimed, the supervisor of the town or ward from which such claim comes shall be notified and conferred with.
At 11:15 the board, on motion of Mr. Ingersoll adjourned to sign the certificates of canvass at the county clerk's office.
The board met this morning [Saturday] and transacted business at a rapid rate for a short time and then adjourned till Monday [expenses paid per diem—CC editor].
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| Brewer House Restored. |
Cortland People in Florida.
Mr. and Mrs. E. H. Brewer and two sons expect to leave on Monday night for their winter home at Winter Park, Fla., whither the remainder of their family went some weeks ago. Mrs. J. J. Murray of Homer and Miss Kellogg of Cortland also expect to spend the winter in the same place. Mrs. Murray and Miss Kellogg have each sent a horse down there and Mr. Brewer has sent a variety of things. These were all shipped in a single car this week which was in charge of Mr. H. V. Beckwith and his son Mr. W. M. Beckwith, who upon their arrival at Winter Park will begin upon an extensive job of painting upon Mr. Brewer's property there. It requires Cortland men to do a really good job anywhere. Mr. Brewer understood this when he took D. G. Crowin down there to build his house and stables and is confident of it [now] when he sends the Beckwiths, father and son, to paint them.
Fell Down Stairs.
Mrs. Bostwick, 82 years old, for some years an inmate of the Old Ladies' Home at Homer, fell down stairs at noon today while responding to the call to dinner. One hip was broken. Dr. Whitney was called and expected to have her removed at once to the Cortland hospital for treatment. An application for her admission was made by telephone, but up to 3:30 o'clock she had not yet arrived there.
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| Aaron Sager. |
The Science Club.
The Cortland Science club will meet at the Hatch library building this evening at 8 o'clock. The speaker will be Major A. Sager and his subject "Economic Mollusca." Mr. Smith's paper on "Mushrooms" presented two weeks ago will be reviewed by Mr. N. H. Gillette.
Appellate Court Decision.
The appellate court at Albany has just handed down its decision in the case of Wellington Eister against Miles D. Goodyear, John J. Viele, and Charles L. Viele, appellants. The action was brought against the defendants to recover for services performed by plaintiff in the erection of the Peck Memorial building in the village of Marathon, N. Y., in the years 1894-5. The defense was that, although the defendants executed the written contract for building the block, the real party in interest was Lewis G. Viele, the father of defendants, John and Charles, and a well-known contractor formerly of this city.
The case was first tried before J. H. Kelley, Esq., justice, who rendered verdict for plaintiff against two defendants. Defendants appealed to the county court and the judgment was there corrected and affirmed with costs. An appeal was then taken to the appellate court which reverses the justice and county courts with costs in all courts. Opinion by Hon. Walter Lloyd Smith, all the other judges concurring.
Defendants John and Charles Viele resided in New York City and Defendant Miles D. Goodyear, their brother-in-law, is a prominent physician of Groton, Tompkins county, N.Y. Messes Bouton & Champlin attorneys for respondent. William D. Tuttle, attorney for appellants.
MEDICAL ASSOCIATION
Of Cortland County—Monthly Meeting at Dr. Neary's Last Night.
The Cortland County Medical association held a regular monthly meeting last night at the office of Dr. Neary. Dr. Higgins read a very interesting and instructive paper on "Blood," with special reference to the microscopical [sic] examination of the blood in diseases affecting the corpuscles, the examination of blood with the microscope being of great value in differentiating many of the common diseases. The thought of the paper was illustrated by apparatus for examining blood. An interesting discussion followed the paper.
Cemetery Election.
The trustees of the Cortland Cemetery association held an adjourned meeting at the parlors of the Savings bank this afternoon and elected the following officers for the coming year:
President—S. E. Welch.
Vice-President—Judge J. E. Eggleston.
Secretary—E. A. Fish.
Treasurer—C. P. Walard.
Superintendent—B. B. Moorehouse.
Finger in an Elevator.
C. A. Lowell, proprietor of the welding compound factory on Crawford-st., caught his left hand in an elevator at the plant at about 4 o'clock yesterday afternoon. The third finger was badly smashed and two other fingers less seriously so. Dr. Reese dressed the wounds and hopes to save all the fingers.
Truxton Blacksmith Killed.
John T. Corbin of Truxton, N. Y., a blacksmith, 28 years old, was found unconscious Thursday morning near the Delaware & Hudson railroad tracks in Binghamton. His skull was fractured and he was otherwise injured. It is supposed he was struck by a train. He died in the hospital Friday morning.
MARATHON'S LECTURE COURSE.
Twelve Entertainments During the Winter at a Low Price.
Marathon is to have an entertainment course this winter and it will consist of twelve lectures. The price of a single ticket for the whole course is fixed at the marvelously low price of 50 cents, or about four cents each. The intention is to make the course as nearly free as possible, but to realize enough to pay expenses. All the lecturers with one exception contribute their services free of cost.
The first lecture was given last night by Rev. J. H. F. Blue, D. D., pastor of the Presbyterian church of Marathon. His theme was "The Crusades." Library hall was well filled and all were profited as well as entertained by the lecture. The other lectures are as follows:
Nov. 23. Arland D. Weeks, Cornell university, subject, "Is the World Growing Better?"
Dec. 14. Henry E. Wilson, Esq., Marathon, N. Y., subject, "China and the Powers."
Dec. 31. Edwin Dufley, Esq., Cortland, N. Y., subject, "Views of Europe," illustrated by stereopticon.
Jan. 5. The Hon. James H. Tripp, Marathon, N. Y., subject, "The Responsibilities of American Citizenship."
Jan. 18. Concert, under direction of Mrs. George W. Swift and Miss Augusta D. Adams, Marathon, N. Y.
Feb. 1. Herbert M. Lovell, Esq , Elmira, N. Y., subject, "The Saxon and the Slav."
Feb. 8. Dan'l B. Tripp, Marathon. N. Y., subject, "England's Supremacy and the Reasons Therefor."
Feb. 15. Ed L. Adams, editor, Independent, Marathon, N. Y., subject, "Liars."
March 1. Principal W. A. Coon, union school and academy, Marathon, N. Y., subject, "Causes of the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire."
March 15. The Rev. E. D. Hammond, Marathon, N. Y., subject, "The Pioneers."
March 29. The Rev. Chas. N. Sims, D. D., LL. D., ex-chancellor of Syracuse university, and pastor of First M. E. church, Syracuse, N. Y., subject, "A Fortune for Everybody."
BREVITIES.
—Rev. Robert Clements will conduct the Y. M. C. A. meeting at 4 o'clock to-morrow afternoon.
—The Cortland Whist club met last evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Call, 46 Tompkins-st.
—A regular meeting of Grover Relief Corps, No. 96, will occur Tuesday, Nov. 20, at 2:30 o'clock sharp.
—New display advertisements to-day are—F. Daehler, Gloves, page 7: J. W. Cudworth, Optical talks, page 5.
—Skaneateles lake is 879 feet above the level of the sea, 154 feet higher than Owasco lake and 505 feet higher than Cayuga lake.
—The receipts of the rummage sale yesterday amounted to more than $70. The sale will be continued as long as the goods hold out.
—The clown in a donkey cart advertising the Orris Hose company's fair Nov. 20 to Dec. 1, proved a cause of great excitement to the small boys upon the streets at about 3 o'clock this afternoon.
—Mrs. Helen Edwards entertained a party of friends at her rooms, 22 Homer-ave., last evening. Progressive whist and music were the order of the evening, after which light refreshments were served.
—The evidence in the case of Elizabeth I. Woodward vs. Thos. Kiley, before Justice Harrington was closed yesterday afternoon. The case will be summed up and submitted to the court Wednesday morning, Nov. 21.
—Three good shows in succession are booked for the Opera House in the near future: "Two Little Vagrants," Friday night, Nov. 30; Hal Caine's "The Christian" on Saturday night, Dec. 1; and "Quo Vadis" on Monday night, Dec. 3.
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