 |
| Elihu Root. |
Cortland Evening Standard, Wednesday, July 15, 1903.
YOUNG OFFICERS WARNED.
Secretary Root's Memorandum In Announcing Result of a Court Martial.
Washington, July 15.—The president has approved the action of the court martial in the case of Second Lieutenant John F. McCarthy, 19th infantry, recently stationed at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He was convicted of duplicating his pay accounts and sentenced to be dismissed from the army.
In announcing the president's action Secretary Root added the following memorandum:
"The attention of the secretary of war has been drawn to numerous violations of the regulations governing the transfer and assignment of pay accounts, especially by young officers who are not yet fully conversant with the requirement of army regulations in that regard. The law and regulations are alike explicit in respect to this practice and operate to deprive validity [of] all transfers or assignments of claims to pay until the right thereto has fully accrued and the account has become lawfully due and payable.
"Young officers are reminded that the avoidance of debt, a rigorous economy in expenditure, and a scrupulous regard for pecuniary obligations are absolutely essential to good standing in the military service, and departures from the standard of probity in that regard will not be lightly regarded by the war department."
RESCUED A PRISONER.
Sheriff Prevented a Lynching at Coxsackie, N. Y.
SMUGGLED PRISONER TO BOAT.
Took Negro, Charged With Assault on a Little Girl, from the Flimsy Local Lockup to Jail at Catskill—Enraged Farmers Vowing Vengeance For Beastly Assault.
Albany, July 15.—The quick wit of a deputy sheriff at Coxsackie prevented the lynching of James Little, a 19-year-old negro hailing from Summerhurst, N. J., who early yesterday morning near New Baltimore criminally assaulted Emma Cole, aged 11, daughter of Joseph Cole, a farmer living one mile back of New Baltimore. The child, with her 5-year-old sister and Maud Lobdell, aged 12, was picking berries by the roadside in the long woods between New Baltimore and Coxsackie, a mile from home, when Little accosted them, asking them for something to eat.
The Lobdell girl went to her home, but her mother was not there, and returning to her companions she found the negro dragging Emma Cole into the woods. She ran to her aid and the negro pulled out a handful of her hair. She then ran away with the little Cole girl, screaming for help while Little dragged his victim into the woods and assaulted her, then escaping after threatening her with death if she moved.
Her father and neighbors met the child coming home, and at once organized a party to scour the woods.
A description of the negro was sent to nearby towns, and an hour later he was captured on the railroad track, near Coxsackie, by Roy Cutler. He confessed the assault and was locked up.
In the meanwhile news of the capture reached New Baltimore, and a mob of 150 enraged farmers started for Coxsackie, augmented by a large number of striking Coxsackie moulders and river men, all frankly avowing their intention to lynch the negro. It was the strikers' "benefit day" in Coxsackie and the town was crowded. Threats of lynching filled the air, and every train augmented the crowd.
Deputy Sheriff, Sumner Vanloon, realizing that the coming of darkness would mean the breaking of the flimsy local lockup and the violent death of his prisoner, smuggled the negro out and took him down the river on the boat to Catskill, where there is a well-built jail.
The Cole child is seriously injured, but may recover. Her father and the neighboring farmers are in a terrible state of excitement, and but for the deputy's quick action would certainly have lynched the negro.
There is probability of trouble when the negro is taken to New Baltimore for examination. Precautions are being taken to protest the prisoner, but New Baltimore is in a very ugly temper.
MOB PERSUADED TO LEAVE.
Senator Foster of Louisiana Helps to Save a Negro From Being Lynched.
New Orleans, July 15.—After much persuasion from United States Senator Foster, Circuit Judge Allen, District Judge Smith and Sheriff Sanders the mob which went to the St. Mary's parish jail to lynch Esau Lovely, alias Possum, a negro confined there, dispersed and agreed to let the law take its course if the negro was tried promptly.
Lovely is an ex-convict and is regarded as dangerous. On Sunday he attacked Mrs. Rene Hebert, while she was driving to church and robbed her, leaving her in a serious condition from the shock of the attack.
Several hundred neighbors of the Heberts went to the jail to lynch Lovely, but were dispersed by the speeches of Senator Foster and the others. It was announced that a special jury would be impaneled, and, as Lovely had already confessed to the crime and the evidence against him was conclusive, no doubt could be entertained of the administration of justice.
According to agreement, Lovely was brought to trial before the district court in Franklin. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to the penitentiary for 34 years. Immediately after the sentence he was removed to the parish prison for safety. There was no further demonstration against the prisoner.
 |
| Broken dam above Oakford [Trolley] Park. |
PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.
Lesson of Oakford Park Disaster.
The collapse of the dam at Oakford Park, Pa., resulting in a disaster in which more than a score of lives were lost, was reported to have been caused by a cloudburst. This is a convenient hypothesis. It permits those responsible for the calamity to take refuge behind "an act of God" and gives surviving friends and relatives such consolation as may be derived from the conviction that the visitation was something not to be averted by human agency.
The impression seems quite generally to prevail that clouds are constructed somewhat like water bags, which permit their contents to exude harmlessly through their porous envelopes, but if these envelopes are torn or so damaged as to permit them to empty their contents all at once nothing in the way of an engineering structure can stand the dissolving and displacing action of the escaped water. As a matter of fact, there is no such thing as a cloudburst. Normal conditions may and sometimes do produce a sudden precipitation of great volume, and the outpouring may be paroxysmal and suggest the descent of floods from the upper air, but it is only rain after all, and nothing like a cloudburst ever does or ever can occur. The causes producing exceptional precipitation are various and not always recognized; but they are liable to become operative at any moment in the mountain districts, and when they do the gullies are quickly congested, not being large enough at the bottom to carry away a great deal more rain than they ordinarily have to dispose of. Thus dams are swept away.
The reason that Oakford Park dam gave way, as has been the case of many like disasters, can be easily and briefly explained. It was either not built strong enough or it was not kept in repair. For this condition somebody was responsible, and the matter is one for the searching inquiry of a grand jury. There are, no doubt, many such dams throughout the country, and the lesson of this catastrophe applies with particular force to those who are charged with their maintenance. Thorough examination of these structures should be made as a precaution against the recurrence of such disaster as that in Pennsylvania. "Cloudbursts" are likely to be as frequent in the future as in the past, and the older the dams the greater the risk attending the neglect of repairs when needed.
SEND THE NUMBER ONLY
In Making Answers in the Misspelled Words Contest.
Subscribers of The Cortland Standard who wish to submit answers in the misspelled word contest which ends on Friday night of this week, July 17, in both daily and semi-weekly editions, need not send in the clippings from the papers with errors corrected, as previously requested, but are asked to send merely the total number of errors, the figures being plainly written on a sheet of paper, together with the name and address of the sender. Enclose this in an envelope. The exact time of the receipt of each answer will be entered upon the envelope as each one is received at this office, and after all have come in the envelopes will be opened.
SODDING THE BANK.
Grade is so Steep that Water Washes it Badly.
T. N. Hollister is improving the property at 43 Groton-ave., Cortland, by grading and terracing the lawn. The property is situated on the south side of the street and is a part of the high gravelly bank that has been so hard to keep in a presentable condition. A year ago last fall the bank was graded and seeded down, a new cement walk was laid along the entire front of the property and the owner was in hopes that the trouble was at an end. During the severe rain of December, 1901, part of the bank slid down nearly covering the walk. The bank was once more placed in good condition, but with every hard rain much soil and gravel kept working down, keeping it in an unsatisfactory condition.
Yesterday Mr. Hollister put a number of men at work cutting back the lower slope and lowering the bank between two and three feet. The whole front will be sodden over and the bank ought then to remain in a fixed condition.
TO LOWER CAYUGA LAKE.
A Scheme that Promises to Benefit the Health of Ithaca.
Dr. Soper of the state board of health, who is devoting a number of months to the health of Ithaca, advocates taking steps to lower the level of Cayuga lake 3 feet by enlarging the outlet. A number of places along the shore are protesting vehemently. They claim that to do this would leave acres of swampy morasses at the foot of the lake.
Colored Excursion Tomorrow.
A special excursion train with the colored Y. M. C. A. and their friends from Elmira will pass through Cortland tomorrow at 9:30 o'clock bound for Sylvan Beach. The party will also include colored people from Binghamton, Waverly and other points. Tickets will be sold from Cortland for $1.50 for adults and 60 cents for children.
DIGGING FOR GOLD.
Buried Treasure that May Have Been Left by Seneca Indians.
There is a tradition among the Onondaga Indians that after General Sullivan's expedition into the Cherry Valley, the subsequent defeat of the Indians, and the pursuit of various bands by details from Sullivan's command, a party of Seneca Indians came up the Tioughnioga valley and being hard pressed, buried much of their treasure somewhere in the valley, probably near the site of Cortland where several trails centered.
Whether the tradition of the buried treasure is true or not there is no way of knowing, but history relates that a party of Indians did flee up the Tioughnioga valley and that the pursuit was sharp and long continued. Color is being lent to the ''buried treasure" part of the affair by the following:
During the clambake held in Wellington gorge, between Cortland and McGraw, a few weeks ago by the local bartenders, Thomas Crabb tripped over a heavy stone, overturning it. Greatly to his surprise he saw on the ground where the stone had laid what appeared to be pieces of money. Without saying a word to any one he slipped the coins into his pocket and upon reaching home examined them more carefully and found that although badly defaced, they appeared to be old gold coins. He made no mention of his find, but decided to revisit the place, which he did on several subsequent evenings.
Some of his friends, anxious to know the cause of his nocturnal wanderings followed him the other evening and found him busily engaged wielding the pick. The story then became public. Mr. Crabb says he has found several of the coins and is ready to exhibit them at any time.
BREVITIES.
—The Ithaca Electric Light & Power company filed in the secretary of state's office Tuesday a certification of reduction of capital stock from $500,000 to $300,000.
—The new display advertisements today are— Peck Furniture house, Porch chairs, etc., page 5; Warren, Tanner & Co., Walking skirts, laces, etc., page 5.
—In submitting answers upon the number of misspelled words in the advertisements in the educational columns during the recent weeks, please do not send in clippings from the papers with spelling corrected, as first requested, but let each subscriber make his own footing of total errors in all the papers. Write the total upon a sheet of paper with name and address of sender and enclose this in an envelope. Send the envelope to the Standard office.
No comments:
Post a Comment