MINERS' CASE CLOSED, CLOSING THE EVIDENCE, NOBLE WOMAN, THE KIEHL CASE, AND CORTLAND SCIENCE CLUB

 

Judge George Gray.

 

Cortland Evening Standard, Tuesday, December 16, 1902.

MINERS' CASE CLOSED.

Judge Gray Says a Business Must Pay Fair Wages.

ONE MORE WITNESS FOR TODAY.

Miners' Counsel Endeavored to Show That Mining Companies Are Controlled by Railroads—Read Reports of Legislative Investigations—Mr. Wolverton Opens For Operators.

   Scranton, Dec. 16.—The mine workers, after occupying 19 days in presenting about 160 witnesses, practically closed their case before the anthracite coal strike commission yesterday afternoon. They will conclude by calling one important witness today.

   The afternoon session was one of the most important sittings the commission has yet held because the question of whether the close relationship of the coal carrying railroads with the mining companies shall figure in the commission's effort to adjust the controversy came squarely before the arbitrators.

   The decision of the commission, if Chairman Gray's remarks can be so called, was briefly this: that the commission, in a general way, is adverse to widening the scope of the investigation beyond the terms of the submissions of the miners and the operators; that in carrying on the investigation it assumes the coal companies can afford to pay fair wages; that if the coal companies, in presenting their side of the case, maintain they can not afford to give an increase in wages, then the commission will hear what the miners have to say on the ability of the companies to do so, and that if a business cannot pay fair wages the employer ought to get out of it.

   These points were brought out during the two hours consumed by the miners' lawyers reading documentary evidence, to the whole of which the coal companies entered specific and general objections.

Railroads Control Coal Companies.

   The mine workers depended a great deal on the evidence they had to present to show that the coal carrying railroads control the coal companies and that the railroads charge exorbitant and discriminating freight rates, thus greatly decreasing the revenues of the mining properties.

   The miners wanted to present this evidence in documentary form, but as objection was made to it and sustained by the commission with the above rulings, the matter was not pressed.

   The early part of the afternoon session was taken up in hearing the testimony of the remaining witnesses who are or have been in the employ of the Philadelphia and Reading Coal and Iron company, after which Mr. Darrow announced the close of his case excepting that he would call one witness today on a matter entirely different from anything that has been offered.

   For the remainder of the afternoon he presented documentary evidence which he said showed the relationship between the railroads and the companies and numerous other matters pertaining to the anthracite coal industry.

   Mr. Lloyd read a syllabus of the documentary evidence the miners' counsel had to present. He said:

   "For the purpose of connecting the present facts with the past, we offer evidence of the causes, character and results of the combination, both of labor and capital, in the anthracite coal industry; the profits of the business both of mining and transportation; the relations of the transportation companies to operators and miners, and the economic, political and social consequences that have resulted. This evidence we obtained from the reports of the various legislative investigations by the states of New York and Pennsylvania and by congress from 1871 to the present time."

Monopoly In Anthracite Industry.

    He read several reports of legislative and congressional investigations of the mining industry, and followed this up by reading from financial and trade journals reports of the roads and mine companies and public announcement of financial institutions to show that a monopoly exists in the anthracite industry. He submitted five points in evidence to prove it as follows:

   1. The ownership by certain railroads of extensive mining properties in the anthracite fields.

   2. That men who are directors in one mining company are members of boards of directors of other railroad and mining companies.

   3. Joint resistance of the coal carrying railroads to the individual operators building an independent railroad to carry their product at reasonable rates

   4. The community of interest of the coal carrying railroads and their mining companies.

   5. Constant acquisition of additional unmined coal by the coal carrying railroads.

   This brought Mr. Lloyd up to the point where he wanted to show the exorbitant freight rates charged by the companies and a specific objection was promptly entered by Mr. Wolverton, counsel for the Reading company.

   At Judge Gray's suggestion Mr. Lloyd began to present evidence relating to the profits of the coal carrying railroads and the mining companies. He was instantly stopped by Mr. Wolverton and then ensued a long colloquy over the question whether the freight rates and the profits of the two classes of companies could be properly heard by the commission.

   Chairman Gray did not think so and former Congressman Brumm, one of the attorneys for the miners, argued that it could; that the coal companies and the railroads were one and the same; that freight rates were much higher for anthracite than for bituminous coal, and that the profits of the coal companies do not show on their books but instead on those of the railroad companies.

   During the discussion Chairman Gray made his announcement that the commission was assuming that the operator could pay a fair wage and that if employers cannot pay fair wages they ought to get out of the business.

   Mr. Lloyd seemed to be satisfied with this view, and said he would go no further; that the principle thus laid down by the commission would be welcomed by the workingmen of the country and set a precedent. "If that principle is carried out, no employer in the country could, when his profits were low, decrease a workman's wages below the standard of fairness,'' he remarked.

   After the witness for the miners testified today Mr. Wolverton will open the operators' side of the case by making an address which contains the views of all the coal companies.

 

CLOSING THE EVIDENCE

For the Miners in the Anthracite Strike Commission.

   Scranton, Pa., Dec. 16.—One more witness will be called by the miners this morning before the anthracite coal strike commission and then former Senator Wolverton will present the side of the respondents in the short address. It is the purpose of the operators to present testimony regarding the independent companies while the commission is sitting here. Justice Gray this morning stated that the commission desired to impress upon the community and the state the testimony of the little silk mill girls yesterday and to see that all laws on the statute books are executed. Justice Gray said the commission had no desire to criticize the laws of the state, but it recommended the passage of laws forbidding the employment of women and children at night. He desired to have the operators present statements of the earnings of the fathers of the silk mill girls. He showed great anger when he learned that the fathers had made anywhere from $900 to nearly $1,100 a year.

   John C. Haddock, an independent operator, an owner of the Plymouth Coal company, was the mysterious witness called by Counsel Darrow this morning. He said he had agreed to submit to any award of the commission.

   Mr. Haddock expressed the opinion that there was no sign of any decrease in the demand of the coal and that the present price at tide water would probably be maintained.

 

Julia Dent Grant.

PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.

A Noble American Woman.

   That type of womanhood which the late Mrs. Grant embodied is not the only useful and noble type, says the New York Mail and Express. But undoubtedly it is the one held in most spontaneous and general admiration. The wife of the great commander of the Union armies won the singularly strong hold she had upon the regard of Americans by what she was rather than by anything she did. The current of her life, save when the career of her husband brought it out into the fierce white noonday of its own extraordinary achievement, ran unobtrusively in the quiet afternoon sunshine of an American home that was happy in an unobtrusive domestic way.

   Mrs. Grant was one of those noble women who prove in their own persons the truth of the saying that he that loseth his life shall find it. She sank her personality in her husband's—and she had a husband so worthy of the sacrifice that it ceased to be a sacrifice. The twain were one, and the gratitude of the nation to the man who on the stern anvil of war welded its broken fragments into a unity it had not known before goes out also to the woman who walked by his side as his strength and shield in those moral battles from which comes mastery for battles of any sort. To the dead wife of the greatest of its generals the republic has many reasons to be thankful.

   In the serenity with which Mrs. Grant accepted the vicissitudes of her husband's lot, her life illustrated the best traditions of American womanhood, as its incidents illustrate its romantic possibilities. The brilliant and wealthy Southern girl who gave her heart to the modest and portionless lieutenant; who offered no complaint when misfortune drove him to the hardships and toil of a small farm, and whose trust was rewarded by the spectacle of her husband as the general directing the march of irresistible armies, as the president ruling with wisdom and energy, as the guest of the world and again as the indomitable soldier fighting his last and best battle on Mount MacGregor--of what a career was she the proud witness and partner and with what dignity and modesty did she do her part!

   There died a good woman and a fine strong woman yesterday. It is well that her ashes shall repose under the same marble temple that rises to the memory of the hero of Vicksburg, Chattanooga and Appomattox.

 

THE KIEHL CASE.

Examination of Witnesses Continued Today in Preble, N. Y.

WAS KIEHL'S BODY EMBALMED?

Today's Evidence May Solve the Question—Facts Concerning William's Death Described by Witnesses—Mrs. Maude Kiehl to be a Witness at Friday's Session.

   After taking the testimony of Mrs. Shearer at the inquest which is being held to determine the cause of death of William Kiehl, the young Preble farmer who died suddenly on Feb. 9 last, the proceedings were adjourned Monday afternoon until today when the inquest was continued at the hotel in Preble.

   The facts surrounding the death of William Kiehl were brought out yesterday, and today the evidence in regard to what happened just after his death will be dealt with.

   It is claimed by George Fenner, a brother of Mrs. Maude Kiehl, that the undertaker who had charge of the body of William Kiehl embalmed the body. The undertaker and other witnesses will be sworn to show that the body was not embalmed.

   After the evidence of seven witnesses is taken in Preble today, an adjournment will be taken until next Friday morning at 10 o'clock at the grand jurors' room of the courthouse. Maude Kiehl is expected to be present at that time as a witness.

   The following is a summary of the evidence as given by witnesses Monday afternoon:

Earl Powers.

   Earl Powers, a resident of Tully said: "I resided in Preble during the winter of 1902. I knew William Kiehl during his life time. At the time of his death he was residing on the Hiscock farm. My brother and I helped to do the chores, Adam having come after us for that purpose. I was in William's room at different times, and waited upon him. He frequently called for something to drink and I gave him water. He vomited after drinking every time. He complained of soreness in the abdomen. His face was flushed and he was very restless. He did not complain of any pain in his lungs. For about an hour before he died he wanted to be fanned and I remained at his side and fanned him. After his death I got the horse ready and took Dr. Braman back to Homer.

   Upon cross-examination witness said: "I remembered Maude Kiehl giving him a drink about 3 o'clock in the afternoon. Also that Maude fanned him about that time. I am unable to describe the comfortable any further than it was wet caused by his vomiting and expectorating. Maude was in the room when he died. She was hysterical and cried. The undertaker did not arrive until the next day. He drove in on the barn floor, and I heard him and went in and helped him. I tied the horse while he covered him with a blanket. 1 did not see him take any bottles with him but I am not willing to swear that he did not. Maude's family were notified [sic] of William's death by telephone. They did not arrive until after the undertaker had taken care of the body. I am positive they did not come until Tuesday.

Albert Powers.

   Albert Powers, a resident of Tully, said: "I resided last winter on the G. W. Wilber farm in Preble. I went to the Kiehl house on Saturday afternoon, Feb. 7, at the request of Adam Kiehl. I found him in the room described by my brother. He was partly bolstered up, and was expectorating freely. His eyes were staring and showed the whites of them plainly. I think Maude took me into the room. There was no conversation between Maude and William aside from Williams calling for a drink of milk or water. He was very restless and said he was sore across the abdomen and could bear no pressure there. He said he was thirsty and his mouth very dry. We then went home. The next morning I went there again. I found Maude there with him. He seemed to be weaker and in more pain. Maude gave him some medicine and he vomited in a few minutes. 1 remained there about twenty minutes. Did not hear any conversation between William and Maude aside from William asking Maude once if it was not time for his medicine. I asked Maude if she did not want me to get some woman to help her, and she said she would rather not have me, as they were all strangers around there. There was a good deal of work to be done, so 1 told Maude I would help her. I was there all the afternoon and assisted Maude in the care of William. He wanted to drink very often, and vomited after every drink. Maude took care of the baby that afternoon and did not go into William's room only as he called for her. I was with him about fifteen of twenty minutes before he died. He was vomiting at the time of his death. Maude came into the room just before he died and seemed extremely nervous. She went out and threw herself on the couch, and the doctor left her some medicine. I could not say whether she took it or not. Fred Shearer was also present at the time of William's death, arriving there about half an hour before his death. He did not see the body after death. He did not see Mrs. Kiehl fanning William before his death while he was sick, but he was fanned by witness' brother. He did not hear any conversation between Mrs. Kiehl and other persons relative to William's death.

Fred Shearer.

   Fred Shearer, a brother-in-law of William Kiehl, a farmer residing in the town of Cortlandville, testified to having gone to the Kiehl residence the day before William died. William, Adam and Maude were there. Adam and Maude met him. They said William was about the same as the day before. He followed them into the sittingroom, then he went into William's room. William said he was very sick and in much pain. He asked him if he did not know that Mrs. Shearer sent him a hot water bottle, and he answered that he did not. William then asked Maude if she would get this, which she did. She did not give any excuse for not using it before. William's face was drawn as if from pain. He constantly moved his hands, and asked for a drink. Witness put hot cloths on him.

   He asked for a drink every fifteen minutes about. Each time he drank he vomited. Maude Kiehl slept on the couch in the sittingroom that night. He went away. but returned Sunday night, half an hour before William died. Maude was holding the little boy when he went in. William was changed. His eyes bulged out, his face was purple and his breathing was hard and labored. He could hardly speak. Witness said, "Will, you are very sick." William attempted to answer. Afterwards witness went back to the bedroom, and William was breathing his last. Maude and witness were alone in the kitchen just before William died, and witness told her that William could live only a little while. She seemed to feel so badly that witness excused himself for breaking the news so suddenly. At his bedside she repeated William's name several times. He led her out of the room. She was moaning and continued this way for fifteen or twenty minutes. Witness thought she was crazy and asked the doctor to leave some medicine for her, which he did. She would not take the medicine. She said it was the baby's medicine. Witness got her to take it by telling her that it would help her. Witness went with the coroner to the Kiehl home, Nov. 16, and examined the bed that William used. He identified the comfortable that Adam Kiehl had carried from witness' home for William to rest upon a day or so before he died. This comfortable was a pieced quilt filled with cotton batting. The comfortable was on top of the mattress, under the sheet. He observed stains on this that were dark colored. This was tied up and sealed by the coroner. Witness had never spoken to Maude Kiehl after William's death about William. Dr. Braman called witness into the room where William was after his death to prove that he died from pneumonia. One of the lungs sounded dull and the other sounded all right. The right lung was the one that sounded dull. He sounded the lungs just below the nipple. Witness was satisfied that he died from pneumonia.

Mrs. Shearer.

   Mrs. Shearer, sister of William Kiehl and wife of Fred Shearer, told of sending a piece of a comfortable that was about 4 feet square to William Kiehl, to be used under him. She next saw it Nov. 17, when it was brought to her sealed for identification. It was the one she gave Adam to take to William. She sealed it again and her sister Frances took it to Dr. Santee.

 

SCIENCE CLUB.

Lecture by Dr. F. J. Cheney on "Memory" Saturday Evening.

   A masterly address on the subject of "Memory" was listened to by a very large number of the active and associate members of the [Cortland] Science club last Saturday evening. The handling of the subject gave evidence of careful preparation, wide knowledge and sound grasp of fundamentals.

   Memory was defined as that faculty by which we retain, reproduce and recognize past experiences. There are two theories as to its nature, viz., the psychical or sub-conscious theory, and the physical or cell theory. Modern psychology is drifting towards the latter theory, which holds that every idea which enters the mind causes activity in a distinct brain cell, and that an idea can return into consciousness only when that particular cell is stimulated with renewed activity.

   Of the two phases of memory, voluntary and involuntary, only the latter was considered. The conditions of memory are attention and association upon one's power of attention and the extent to which this has been cultivated depends, in large measure, [upon] man's usefulness and capacity. The primary laws under which memory works are, first, association by contiguity in time and space; second, correlation. The latter, as involving the thought relations, is the method of the mature and cultivated mind. The secondary laws are repetition, interest, and attention.

   The cultivation of memory is possible only in accordance with these laws, and so-called systems for bringing about wonderful results are for the most part a delusion, effective in so far as they are effective simply because they use these laws.

   Good memory comes from exercise, just as do other well-developed faculties, and from trusting one's memory. Scrupulous accuracy in reproducing our ideas, both to ourselves in our own thinking and in conveying our impressions to others, is an essential feature in cultivating a trustworthy memory.

   The lecture, illustrated by some carefully prepared charts, was enjoyed by all, and was followed by an interesting discussion.

 

BREVITIES.

   —A regular meeting of the N. P. L. will be held this evening at 7:30 o'clock.

   —The election of officers of the fire department will be held tomorrow evening at 8 o'clock at Fireman's hall.

   —The pupils of Miss Carrie D. Halbert will give a recital in her studio in the Wickwire building at 8 o'clock tomorrow evening.

   —The Binghamton board of education has decided to see that the request of the city health officer regarding the vaccinating of children in the public schools is complied with.

   —A letter received this morning by the parents of Miss Lucy Isabelle Marsh, who is in Paris, brings to them the assurance that she is enjoying good health and getting on nicely with her studies.—Ithaca Journal.

   —The new display advertisements today are—A. S. Burgess. Clothing, page 7; A. Mahan, Pianos, etc., page 7; G. H. Wiltsie, Waists, gloves, etc., page 6; Bingham & Miller, Clothing, page 8; M. W. Giles, Christmas goods, page 7; Perkins & Quick Christmas gifts, page 6; M. A. Case, Dry goods, page 8; Opera House, "The Fatal Wedding," page 5; Baker & Angell, "Sorosis shoes," page 7.

MRS. GRANT DIED, THE KIEHL INQUEST, HOLDING SHERIFFS RESPONSIBLE, PREBLE APPEAL, AND TIOUGHNIOGA TEACHERS' COUNCIL

 

Julia Dent Grant.

Cortland Evening Standard, Monday, December 15, 1902.

MRS. U. S. GRANT

Died Sunday Night in Washington.

MRS. SARTORIS AT HER BEDSIDE.

Heart Disease, Aggravated by Bronchitis, the Cause of Death—The End Came at 11:07 o'clock.

   Washington, Dec. 15.—Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant, wife of President Grant, died at her residence in this city at 11:07 o'clock last night.

   Death was due to heart failure, Mrs. Grant having suffered for some years from valvular disease of the heart, which was aggravated by a severe attack of bronchitis. Her age prevented her rallying from the attacks.

   Her daughter, Nellie Grant Sartoris, was the only one of her children with her at the time of her death, her three sons, who had been summoned here, all being out of the city. The maiden name of Mrs. Ulysses S. Grant was Julia Dent, and her birth place was St. Louis, Mo. There is no prettier romance in the history of American life than that of Mrs. Grant and her famous husband. A high strung Southern girl, used to all the luxury and refinement which social life in St. Louis afforded before the war, she gave her heart to the impecunious Union lieutenant; she bore with unfaltering love all the trials which his lack of means entailed during their early married life; she was at his side to counsel and to cheer him during the dark days of the titanic struggle from which he was to emerge with military glory such as has been attained by few men in the world's history; she shared with him his civil triumphs, being the inspiration of a home life which was as beautiful as any the White House has ever known and when, upon Mount MacGregor, he fought his last fight she was by his side to give him that consolation which she alone could give.

   Mrs. Grant was born on Jan. 26, 1826. The home of her parents was located on the old Gravois road, a short distance out from St. Louis. Her father was Frederick Dent. Frederick Dent was the son of Capt. George Dent, who led the forlorn hope at Fort Montgomery when it was stormed by Mad Anthony Wayne. On her mother's side she was descended from John Wrenshall, who came from England to this country to escape religious intolerance, and settled in Philadelphia, Pa.

   At the age of 10 years Miss Dent was sent to a fashionable boarding school in St. Louis conducted by a Miss Moreau. She remained at this school until her graduation, seven years later. It was soon after her return home from boarding school that she met Lieut. Grant, then of the Fourth Infantry, stationed at Jefferson Barracks near St. Louis. It was in the spring of 1844 that she became engaged to him.

   During the civil war Mrs. Grant passed much of the time with Gen. Grant near the scene of action, he sending for her whenever opportunity permitted. She was with him at City Point, in the winter of 1864-5, and accompanied him to Washington when he returned with his victorious army. She saw her husband twice inaugurated president of the United States, and was his companion on his journey around the world.

   Mrs. Grant had four children born to her—three sons—Frederick Dent, Ulysses, Jr., and Jesse, and one daughter, Nellie. Frederick Grant is now a brigadier general in the United States army, Ulysses, Jr., and Jesse are business men in California, and Nellie, who became Mrs. Sartoris, is living in Washington with her children.

   During her later years Mrs. Grant visited around among her children. She was very fond of her grandchildren, and they in turn were devoted to her.

   Most of her time had been spent with her daughter Nellie in Washington. Nellie was always the idol of her mother's and her father's heart, and the misfortune of her marriage was the greatest sorrow of her mother's life, as it was also of her father's. She married Algernon Sartoris, an Englishman, from whom she separated some years before his death, in 1892.

 

THE KIEHL INQUEST

Begun this Morning Before Coroner E. M. Santee.

SEVERAL WITNESSES ON THE STAND.

Mrs. Maude Kiehl Subpoenaed—Drs. Potter and Braman of Homer Testified—Lillian Kiehl, Sister of Adam and William, an Important Witness.

   The inquest in the matter of the death of William Kiehl, brother of Adam Kiehl, was begun this morning at the office of Coroner E. M. Santee, but was later taken to the grand jurors' room at the court house. Maude Kiehl, who was held by Coroner Santee at the close of the inquest into the death of Adam Kiehl, has not yet arrived in Cortland, but she has been subpoenaed to appear at the inquest into the death of her husband, and will come to Cortland later.

Dr. Potter.

   Dr. Leman W. Potter of Homer was first called. He testified that he was called to treat William Kiehl Feb. 7, 1902, two days before he died. His temperature was then 102, and pulse about 115, tongue thickly coated white; face red and congested. He saw him the next day at about noon. His temperature was then 100, and pulse about the same as before, but weaker. He had less of pain and did not vomit as much as upon the previous day. His wife was present, and was eating dinner with Adam Kiehl while he was prescribing for William. He did not see William Kiehl after that. He had been asked to come the next day, but said he could not on account of the condition of the roads. He diagnosed it as a case of grip, with bilious complications. He found the respiration over both lungs free and clear, except on the lower border of the right lung where dullness was found. This was attributed to the enlargement of the liver. Nothing abnormal was found about the heart.

Lillian Kiehl.

   Lillian Kiehl, a sister of William and Adam Kiehl, who lived with William from Dec. 1, 1901, to Jan. 30, 1902, testified that she was present at several differences between William and his wife. On New Year's day Maude brushed her brother Adam's clothes, shined his shoes and cleaned his watch. This so angered William that he refused to reply when his wife spoke to him. William talked to witness and this angered Maude, who went to her room and stayed there. William drove to Preble, and when he returned he went to her room for an hour. When they came out they had evidently made up. She never knew Maude to clean William's clothes or shoes. She was at the Hiscock farm Nov. 16, 1902, and saw the coroner take an old comfortable that was on the mattress of the bed, that had been identified as having been on the bed when William died.

Dr. H. S. Braman.

   Dr. H. S. Braman, a physician and resident of Homer, was sworn and said: I knew William Kiehl in his lifetime. I was called to treat him professionally on the day of his death, on Sunday, Feb. 9, 1902. I arrived at his home that night about an hour before his death. I found him lying in bed in a bedroom on the lower floor west of the diningroom. He was in a very weak condition, pulse hardly perceptible and rapid; his breathing rapid; he was expectorating every two or three minutes and evidently in a dying condition. There was a tenderness in the right side, and dullness on percussion over the liver and portion from the right lung. There was a soreness and tenderness through the abdomen. The bed was not m a very clean and orderly condition. He gave me a history of having been sick for about a week with a cough and that he had been feverish. His wife was present at the time. When I told her that her husband was dead, she acted in a dazed manner; she went over to the lounge on the other side of the diningroom with her face turned toward the wall. She took no notice of anything that was passing in the room, or anything that was said to her for perhaps ten or fifteen minutes. After that time she seemed to take more interest in what was going on and talked with the rest of the family about the funeral arrangements.

   When I first went there, there were present the two Powers boys, Maude Kiehl, Adam Kiehl, who came after me, and Fred Shearer, was either there or came soon after. I examined William Kiehl three or four weeks before his death, when I examined him for life insurance. I found his physical condition perfect. I diagnosed his case at the time of his death to be pneumonia. He was restless, uneasy, did not lie quiet in the bed, moving around and expectorating every minute or two. I had a case of arsenical poisoning in which the symptoms were continued vomiting and abdominal pain. The expectoration was a whitish mucous, not the rusty expectoration you would expect in pneumonia; it was not characteristic of pneumonia.

 

PAGE FOUR—EDITORIAL.

Holding Sheriffs Responsible.

   There is in Indiana a law which provides that when a sheriff allows a prisoner to be taken away from him and lynched he thereby loses his office and can get it back only after proving that he used all his powers to prevent the crime. The recent lynching of the negro Dillard has brought Sheriff Dudley of Sullivan county, that state, within the terms of this law, and Governor Durbin has done his part by notifying the sheriff that he is now a private citizen.

   It will be interesting to learn what happens next—that is, to see how this rather unusual statute works when put to the test of practical application. That the sheriff will have any difficulty in securing witnesses ready to depose that he was unable to defend his prisoner is highly improbable, particularly if his acquaintance among the lynchers is large, and—well, sheriffs do usually know most of their neighbors, and it would require no very desperate exertions on their part to convince the participants in a lynching that he had done all that could be expected of him in the way of resisting the mob.

   However, if such a law as this in Indiana could be generally enforced in states where lynchings are of too frequent occurrence and sheriffs and their deputies be held strictly responsible for prisoners it might be an important factor in lessening the number of these outrages upon justice. If the sheriffs were given to understand that they would lose their positions if they lost their prisoners, they might make somewhat more strenuous efforts to outwit and, if necessary, outshoot the lynchers than appears to be the case in many of these illegal executions.

 

THE PREBLE APPEAL.

Writ of Certiorari Obtained by J. & T. E. Courtney.

SERVED ON CLERK ALGER SATURDAY.

Order Granted by Justice Mattice—Will Act as a Stay in the Proceedings—Bill for Costs Cannot be Included in This Year's Taxes.

   A new move was made in the Preble, N. Y. appeal case Saturday afternoon when Clerk E. C. Alger was served with a writ of certiorari issued by Justice Burr Mattice of the supreme court at an adjourned special term in Oneonta. The writ was obtained by Attorney T. R. Courtney of the firm of Courtney Bros., attorneys for the town of Preble in the action. The writ will serve as a stay in the proceedings and will prevent including the costs in the action which were assessed against the town of Preble in this year's taxes.

   The writ was not served upon the clerk until after the adjournment of the board, Saturday, consequently no action could be taken in reference to the matter.

   Kellogg & Van Hoesen, attorneys for the board of supervisors, said this morning that the writ was not in the nature of an appeal but was simply for a review of the proceedings to ascertain if such proceedings were conducted according to law and that there could be no review of questions of fact involved in the proceedings before the state tax commission.

   Attorney T. E. Courtney was seen in reference to the matter and refused to discuss the situation. He said that the attorney for the board had said there could be no appeal from the decision of the state board of tax commissioners and he did not care to express any opinion but would let the proceedings speak for themselves.

   Section 2140 of the code of civil procedure referring to the questions which may be inquired into under a writ of certiorari says:

   The questions, involving the merits, to be determined by the court upon the hearing, are the following only:

   1. Whether the body or officer had jurisdiction of the subject matter of the determination under review.

   2. Whether the authority, conferred upon the body or officer, in relation to that subject matter, has been pursued in the mode required by law, in order to authorize it or him to make the determination.

   3. Whether, in making the determination any rule of law, affecting the rights of the parties thereto, has been violated, to the prejudice of the relator.

   4. Whether there was any competent proof of all the facts, necessary to be proved, in order to authorize the making of the determination.

   5. If there was such proof, whether there was, upon all the evidence, such a preponderance of proof, against the existence of any of those facts, that the verdict of a jury affirming the existence thereof, rendered in an action in the supreme court, triable by a jury, would be set aside by the court, as against the weight of evidence.

 

TIOUGHNIOGA TEACHERS' COUNCIL

Held its First Regular Meeting in the Normal Building Saturday.

   The first regular meeting of the Tiouhgnioga Teachers' council was held in the Normal school building Saturday Dec. 13 from 10 a. m. until 4:30 p. m.

   Business occupied the first three quarters of an hour. Following this Commissioner Luke J. McEvoy presented a paper upon "The Needs of the Common School Teacher." The moral standard of teachers especially in the country districts was particularly emphasized. Teachers should study to improve themselves if they are to expect to improve others. Although the state has done much to foster rural education a startling lack of buildings, play grounds and apparatus is all too evident. The general tendency of the common schools today is toward a higher standard. This paper was valuable and helpful to every teacher present.

   The discussion following was opened by Mr. Holmes of Homer. Miss Libbie Sweetland of Dryden made especial mention of the social relations of teachers and students, that the teacher is acting largely in the capacity of parent is beginning to be recognized. Others who responded to a general call for volunteers were Prof. P. R. Parker, and Supt. F. E. Smith. The future of the common school and its relation to village and town schools proved an interesting subject.

   The afternoon session was opened by Dr. Cheney who introduced Dr. J. R. Street of the department of pedagogy of Syracuse university. "The Psychic Life of the Child" was the subject presented. A genial smile and pleasant allusion to the perseverance of the audience despite the storm made all feel personally responsible for the very valuable paper presented. The stages of the development of the child's life were classified according to our best psychologists and then Dr. Street made what he considers a perfectly natural classification following his own views of the subject. These followed easily from an evolutionary under current which characterized the lecture. Heredity, environment and particularly ''instinct" were each given their share in the growth of a boy or girl. Just as in the construction of a building we expect to see first foundations then walls, beams, girders and shingles so in the development of the child should we expect to find transitional stages. Periods of growth, physical and mental, follow one another in rapid succession, sometimes aiding sometimes opposing one another until about the twenty-fifth year. To arrest what nature has made inherent may lead to mental or moral derangement, to graft upon the instinct side of the boy's character right principles makes the man. Hence the value to all teachers of such knowledge as the foregoing.

   Teaching is an art and not a trade. It will be a difficult matter to secure a more valuable address from the teachers or parents' standpoint.

   At 3:30 p. m. a stereopticon lecture was given by Wm. Booth in the science department.

   It is intended to secure the services of three prominent educators during the remainder of the school year.

   Cortland is pre-eminently an educational center both from the fact that it is sending out many teachers and that many families include teachers. It is therefore hoped that the new organization will receive a generous support. The next meeting will be held in February at the Normal building.

 

SATURDAY'S STORM.

Eighteen Inches of Snow Now Covers the Ground.

   The snow storm which began early Saturday morning continued unabated all day and until about 10 o'clock Saturday night. The ground is now buried under nearly 18 inches of snow which is distributed evenly over the surface and is not yet piled in drifts as is usual in the case of snow storms in this vicinity. The storm was more or less general in all the northern states. The area of the storm was extremely large and had the snow been accompanied by winds it would have been a genuine blizzard. Trains on the local railroads were all able to get through Saturday and Sunday but were running behind schedule time. In the northern part of the state traffic was more delayed and trains in some sections were abandoned.

   There is no indication at the present time that the snow is liable to go off in a hurry. In fact the forecast for tomorrow indicates more snow. Everywhere the sleighing will be fine when the track becomes beaten down and unless the storm is followed by a big blow it will make ideal Christmas weather.

   The street railway people have been extremely busy, but by prompt and continued action have kept their tracks clear and the cars moving.

   The storm seriously interfered with Saturday's business in the city. The merchants were looking for a large trade on account of the approaching Holiday's but the number of shoppers who ventured out was limited. The city letter carriers and those on the rural routes were delayed by the snow and found it one of the worst days of the season for their business.

   The storm was quite similar to the one which occurred just one year ago and which caused the disastrous floods of Dec. 14, except that last year it came down in rain instead of snow. The amount of rainfall at that time was more than 3 inches. Saturday's snow was very light and dry and it is estimated that the total would be equivalent to not more than an inch and a half of rain.

 

BREVITIES.

   —Regular meeting of Grover Post, G. A. R., tonight at 7:30.

   —The Woman's Relief Corps will meet Tuesday afternoon at 2:30 o'clock.

   —The Talmage case, which was started in city court Saturday, has been adjourned until Dec. 22.

   —The Y. M. C. A. basket ball team [sic] was badly defeated by the Cornell team at Ithaca last Saturday night in a practice game. The score was 42 and 8.

   —The Loyal circle of King's Daughters will meet with Mrs. F. M. Ingersoll, 82 Railroad-st., Tuesday, Dec. 18, at 3 p. m. The ladies will please come prepared to sew.

   —S. N. Gooding and John H. Corcoran [former policemen convicted of assault—CC ed.], who had been on the jail limits for several weeks, were discharged from the custody of the sheriff last Saturday by order of County Judge Joseph E. Eggleston.

   —The new display advertisements today are—Warren, Tanner & Co., Cloak department sacrifice, page 6; S. Simmons, Christmas gifts, page 6; Buck & Lane, Carpet sweepers, etc., page 5; Baker & Angell, "Sorosis shoes,'' page 4.

   —Cortlandville lodge, No. 470, F. and A. M., will confer the third degree in full form at their regular communication Tuesday evening at 7:30 o'clock. After conferring the degree light refreshments and a ''smoke" will be enjoyed, W. S. Farmer of Syracuse, dist. deputy grand master of the twenty-seventh Masonic district state of New York, will make his official visit at this time.

 

JOHN STOSSEL INTERVIEWS GLORIA ALVAREZ