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You Never Know What A Fin e Town You Have Until You Talk It To A Stranger THE LIB DEMOCRAT VOL. XV. NO: 40 LIBERAL, S EWARD C&UNTY. KANSAS, MARCH 23, 1922 By J. B. MILLER GAS FRANCHISE PROPOSI- TION IS TOPIC OF DAY i City . Council to Publish Proposition and Submit It to the Voters at General Election The gas franchise, controversy is the big topic of conversation in Lib eral this week, and, for the benefit of the public, we will give here a re view of the late developments, which bid fair to end in a merry war be tween those favoring and those op posing gas. After the city council had reject ed the franchise submitted hv Mc Quigg and associates, a delegation of prominent citizens organized with the idea of reviving the issue. The first thoueh was a citv ticket to be composed of franchise boosters, but this gave way to the suggestion that it would be advisable to deal with the present city council and en deavor to secure an agreement whereby the matter would be check ed up to the voters at the coming1 municipal election. After some ne gotiations a sufficient number of councilmen indicated their willing ness to submit the matter PROVID ED a satisfactory franchise could be worked out between the council and the McQuigg's, and with the un derstanding that the matter of the rate and the time of granting left to the voters. . This seemed accep table all around and last Saturday morning the council met with H. M. and Frank McQuigg to work out a satisfactory agreement. Saturday evening the mee'ting re-convened and lasted mpst of the night, with the re sult that practically all points con tested had been adjusted. On Monday following, Mayor Grif fith, together with Councilmen New by( Malone and Wright went to To peka to submit the proposed fran chise to the attorneys for the Utili ties Commission and other franchise attorneys. ; The council did require' that "be fore submitting the proposition to vtne voters, they would-- requine large petition, and during the past few days, backers of the franchise have been securing the 'necessary signers. i. . i .11.-1 . ,.,,!, it is nopeu mm a itaiiMULwij num ing agrement between the McQuiggs and the council can be reached in the near future and if this is done the franchise will be published and every legal voter in the city will have an "opportunity to express themselves at at the polls as to whether they want gas for Liberal or not. One of the interesting sidelights to the gas controversy, but which is real ly collateral to the main issue is the method of procedure and the argu ments put up by the opposition. After most all arguments against the fran chise had been successfully answered, a municipal ownerhip boom was insti tuted and a petition asking the coun cil to submit that proposition to the voters as well as the franchise was circulated with apparently good re sults. But how many wilkvote for a municipal ownership, when they under stand that it will virtually mean a new bond issue, or voting for bonds to fi nance putting in the system that will perhaps cost upwards of one hundred hn.iEnnfl dollars when the city is al ready top-heavy with bond issues and new ones for the new high school, remain to be seen. We venture the assertion that if the boosters for municipal ownership were asked to sign or circulate reti tions calling for a bond issue, which will have to be done, before the city could put in a gas plant, if the propo sition did happen to carry, there would be few who are now professing their interest that would support it. The city council is showing a dispo sition to be extremely fair about the matter,' and certainly the citizen's com mittee has met the council half way; Messers. McQuigg have conceded a lot. They first asl:ed a year to begin work, and now they have gvecd to have the system completed within twelve months, which seems reason able. McQuigg first asked that the franchise be extended at the expira tion or that the city take over the plant at its value at that time; it was opposed to and McQuigg agreed to the removal of the clause. , These were the principal talking points of the franchise opponets, and now about the only thing they have left to harpoon the franchise with is "the city owner ship dream", which is impractible and which a large number of citizens, we .iL- tha overwhelming majority, could ill afford. IF, LIBERAL IS TO HAVE GAS SOON WE MUST LIBERAL MUSICAL ASSOCIATION An audjence ' of more than one hundred people gathered to hear the initial program of the new musical asociation which has been organized in Liberal. All of the musical num bers received hearty applause. After the program, Mrs. Molthop presented the advantages of such a musical organization, and election of officers took place. At the request of Mrs. Molthop, Mrs. Colvin acted as secretary, and the following were elected officers: President, Mrs. Molthop. First Vice Pres., Mrs. Fortna. Second Vice Pres, Mrs. Connely. . Rec Secy., Mrs. Barrier. Cor Secy., Mrs. L Wilkins Treasurer, Mrs Lowry. Fifty members were received that evening and it was voted to allow thirty days from date for other mem bers to join the club. The initial fee was fixed at One Dollar for all mem bers, excepting high school and other pupils, which fee will be fifty cents. This organization is especially to develop the musical appreciation of the young people in the town who are talented or interested in music, so the fee has been placed at a figure that will allow all to join. All dues should be paid in as soon as convenient that the lack of funds may not hinder the rapid develop ment of the new undertaking. The next meeting will be held on Wednesday evening, March 29th, at 8 o'clock, in the Methodist church, when various study clubs will be formed. The program of last night was as follows: Pian0 duet, Mildred Cure and Laura Barrier. Flute Solo, Mill Reed. Boys' Quartet, Lester Ellsaesser, Marlin Kelly, Clifford Sawyer and Correal Knaak. Violin Solo, Forest Wyman. Piano Solo, Mildred. Cure. Trio, (Violin, Saxaphone and Piano) Charlotte Gasaway," Helen Boles and Fern" Ellsaesser. ' ' Piano Solo, Esther Walker. Vocal Solo, Mrs. Darst. ROTARY- CLUB Tuesday's luncheon was particularly enjoyable. There were four guests and a one hundred per- cent attendance. Rev. Eli Walker, John L. Boles, A. F. Gorman and Jack Mulholland of Dodge City were guests. Charlie Brown had charge of the program which included short talks. Joe Fuest on service, in business and as citizens. Tom Smith and Frank Boles on "The Ethics of Business". Roy Ravenscroft and Tom Pate on "Advertising". Mr. Walker told of the Boy Scouts and how they liked to think that some organization was in terested in them and willing to give them a helping hand. There are four troops in Liberal, 2, 3, 4, and 6. Troops 3 and 5 have- sponsors and 2 and 4 are without. Chairman Evans referred the question of adopting one of the troops to the Boy's Work Cmmittee. for investigation and report to the dir ectors, explaining that, under the by laws, the Club could take action only thru the directors. . The new hats and breast plate but tons were distributed to the members. Look out for the hats next Tuesday about noon. They will be going to ward the Cimarron Hotel and can be seen. ROUTES OPEN FOR BIDS The three star routes out of Lib eral are open for bids until April 4. The routes are : Liberal to Beaver and Return; Liberal to Hugoton and Return; Liberal to Perryton and Return. These routes are lot to the lowest bidders, and are let for a period of four vears. The nroposal bids are at the post office now. The bids close ; at 4:00 p. m., April 4th. INSTALLS SHOE REPAIR SHOP AT HUGOTON C. E. Stutzman of this city moved this week to Hugoton where he will establish a shoe repair shop. Mr. Stutzman who has been in the shoe repairing business here recently lost his shop by fire although his machin ery was not badly damaged. He has a modern electric outfit and will open soon. , ' -., GRANT A FRANCHISE TO SOME BODY and McQuiggs and Associa tes are the" only persons in this coun try who have gas to sell. A LITTLE MORE REAL INTERESTING GAS DOPE Shooting to Pieces Soma of the Ar gument! Against the Gat ' Franchise "There are authorities on the sub' ject of gas which cannot be ques tioned by' reasonable people, any more than would the dictionery, and these authorities certainly give the beBt argument as to the comparative cost of the different fuels. We cite a few of these comparisons quoted from this authority. In tests made by the Department of Home Economics in Ohio State University to determine the relative costs of various fuels for cooking, the following startling relationships were, found. Natural gas at $1.12 per M. equivalent to coal at $6.50 per ton Natural gas at $2.00 per M. is equivalent to gasoline at 27c per gallon. Natural gas at $2.20 per M. is equivalent to electricity at 3c per kilowatt. Natural gas at $2.40 . per M. is equivalent to coal oil at 15 cents per gallon. House heating furnace tests: Inves tigations conducted by the Samuel S. Wyer for the Ohio Fuel Supply Company in 1912, developed the fol lowing information: Natural gas at 30c per thousand in a special gas. furnace yielded 2, 023,000 heat units for $1.00. Natural gas at 30c in ah ordinary furnace yielded 1,109,000 heat units for $1.00. Coke at $5.50 per ton in an ordi- nary furnace yielded 987,000 heat: units for $1.00. Nut coal at $3.25 per ton in an or- dinary furnace yielded 987,000 heat. units for $1.00. Figuring gas at 60c and coal at $6.50 as a comparison, the heat 1 units for one dollar's worth of fuel is 112,000 in favor of natural gas in an ordinary furnace, while on the same basis of, cost the balance in favor of natural gas in a gas furnace is 1,036,000 heat units for one dol-j lar's worth of fuel. " Now, these figures are the result, of an actual experiment and are not hearsay. Figures are what count in a case of this kind and a mere J statement does not go. j Now comes a gentleman and shows ( us a statement he paid for gas in : Denver. Artificial gas was used at 75c per thousand. He burned a grate most of the time and a gas range for cooking, several hours each day, and his bill for the month was $3.42. How many persons in Liberal can heat their homes and do their cook - ing for $3.42 with coal? There are some people who haa ; rather compare rates, so here are ; the rates, so here are the rates as charged in some other cities: Lawrence, Kansas, 80c j Newton, 60c with a 75c service , charge; Fort Worth, Texas, 62 l-2c; Amarillo, 50c; ' Dallas, 62 l-2c; Tulsa, Oklahoma, 75c; Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 75c; Hutchinson, 80c, with $1.00 ser vice charge; Topeka, the same as Hutchinson; Cherryville, 65c with 50c service charge ; Richmond, Kansas, 80c; Coffeyville, Kansas, 60c; Muskogee, Oklahoma, 63c; Nowata; Oklahoma, 50c. AT THE METHODIST CHURCH ' Sunday school at 9:45. Epworth League at 6:.10.- At 11:00 a. m. the pastor will preach on this subject: "The Fall of Man". A great many people seem to think that man has ever fallen upward. That he started an animal and slowly became a man. The .Bible seems to have a different ac count. Study this with us Sunday. At 7:30 the subject of the sermon by the pastor wil be "The Larger Life". Some persons today talk about the restric tions of Christian life. And they as sert the church must give wider lib erty. We wonder where the restic tions of life really are? There is a seat, a song book and a welcome for you. If you do not regu larly worship elsewhere, we invite you to come. - J. B. Miller of the Democrat, was taken suddenly ill shortly after noon today, Thursday, and was taken to his home, where he is confined to his bed.:' ' . DUCKWELL'S VARIETY . . ! STORE OPENS SATURDAY Now Store Opens Friday With a "Get Acquainted" Feature ' - In Greenberg Building On Friday afternoon and evening the new Variety store of Duckwell's will feature a "get acquainted" open ing, the purpose to meet the people of this trading territory and for the people to come in and give this new addition to Liberal the "once over". No goods will be sold this day, but you, one and all, are invited to visit the store and get acquainted. On Saturday morning at 9 o'clock the new Btore will open to the public for the selling of goods, and they have many "specials" billed for the day. This store is one of a chain of stores being operated by Duck- well's,- there being several in Kansas, the oldest one being at Abilene, in Dickinson county. Duckwnll's have established a rep utation over the state for maintain ing stores of the first water They carry at all times complete lines of the best quality merchandise, spec ializing in popular priced articles from 10c ufl. We welcome .'Duckwall's to the business circles of Liberal. We know from their past records in other Kan sas towns what we can expect of them, and we predict they will have no cause for regret in placing the new business house in this town. LARGE CROWD ATTENDED COMMUNITY MEETING SAT, County Superintendent Miss Emma Thompson reports the Community meeting at the Court house Satur day was well attended. The large court room was crowded. Lunch was served from one o'clock until two. Some very good work was Exhibition of school work. The little folks under the drection of Mrs. Lucile Lake did exceptionally well in the Dramatization lesson, Miss Reed, Musical director in the jgn-chool had chuige. of, the Com' munity singing, District No. 4 taught by Miss Ross won the prize which was $10, for the largest attendance. Districts No. 2, taught by Misses Edna Bloom and Lois Gilbert, No. 26, taught by Effle White, and No.31 taught by Miss Irene Behnkeand and No. 32 taught by Miss Opal Crecden all won prizes for having all members of the board of their district present. The prizes I were large framed landscapes for the school rooms. County Supt. Thompson offered a prize for the best penmanship on ex hibition, and Margaret Harmlen re ' cejved the prize which was an Ever-1 I sharpe Pencil. Edda White ranked sec- j 0nd and Fem Crebert third. 1 he meet -mg was a great success and proved helpful for all who attended. ! SUBLETTE AGRI. CLASS I VISIT STEPHENS DAIRY The Agricultural class of the, Sub lette high school, under leadership of Prof. Lee. was in Liberal today, vis iting the' Sunnyside Dairy. The Sunnyside Dairy, owned by J. D. Stephens & Sons, is one that is worth coming fifty miles to see. Mr. Stephens uses an electric milker, and ,g Dllidin(r up a nne herd of Hoi steins. He has a thriving business in this city, and says that he sells about fifty gallons of milk per day. ELEVATOR AT HUGOTON INSTALLS RADIO OUTFIT The Hugoton Equity Exchange elevator has purchased a radio outfit and thereby plans to get the market reports at least three times daily. This will be very convenient for the concern and will keep them in touch with the markets at times. . . a PRATT TO STAY WITH SMALL WELL PROPOSITION A Pratt citizen in Liberal a few days ago; said that the city council at Pratt intended drilling about a dozen small wells to get a larger water supply. Pratt had better in vestigate the Liberal plants and de cide on two large wells, and be sure of plenty of water. Liberal had many smalf wells and never had enough water, "but either of the two big1 wells will easily supply the needs I of the city at this time. Liberal has j a water system that Is unbeatable. J Pete McFarlane, gardner for the j Rock Island, has; begun the making of flower beds and the?, planning of gardens about the railrload yards. i PARENTS OF BOY SCOUTS j SHOULD BE MORE INTERESTED Have you parents taken the time to investigate and realize the high moral and physical principles taught Boy Scouts? Do you know just what the ideals of this organization are? Do you know just what kind of a' boy your boy must be in order to get to the top in Boy Scouting? . What are vou doinor in nrder to aid the progress f o - of this organization, and of your own boyi Fverv Darent of a bov eheible to bpcnme a member of the Boy Scouts should give these questions thought ful consideration. Liberal, with a population of 4000 people has an enrollment of less than 100 Boy Scouts less than one-third of what it should have. In perhaps a majority of cases this condition is caused by a lack of interest on the part of the parents. The Boy Scout movement in Liberal, however, is commencing to show more interest during the past few weeks. If you. as a parent, are not now interested, we know you will be if you make an investigation. Ask your own boy first: chances are he is interested, but if not, its your duty to interest him. Recently the Lions Club adopted one of the troops and we are look ing for this organization to throw enough pep and enthusiasm into the boys to make their troop one of the best in the state. The Rotary is now considering tnking over one troop, and it is hoped they reach a favor able decision as this will mean much to the boys. The other two troops are getting along fine with good stroll e leaders. You couldn't find a, better cause to give some of your time and at tention to. Call up any of the fel interested in this move ment and they will be glad to give yon any Information yu wish. -a- THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH Next Sunday ,will be your last chance to help in the big attendance contest with Garden City. Report for last Sunday, Liberal 344, Gar den City 330. Liberal is 239 in the lead, but this 'can easily be over come if we fall down In our atten dance next Sunday. Wo must pass the 400 mark. Come on, let's go. . The Christian Endeavor also closes their contest. They about evened the score last Sunday by having an attendance of 207. They .want to pass that mark next Sunday evening. Help them do it. I The special Sundny evening ser mons are attracting a packed house every Sunday evening. If you would get a good seat for these special ser mons and pictures, come early. Sermon subjects: at 11:00 a. m. "Why Join the Church?" At 8:00 p. m., "Divine Healing." A special invitation is extended physicians, Christian Scientists, Faith Healers, in fact, healers of every type. Music specials: "My Mothers' Songs" by Mrs. F. Fortna; "The Pro digal Son" by Miss Brink; illustrated. Baptismal service at close of even ing sermon. We want to take a picture of the Bible school next Sunday. A very cordial invitation to all. a BASKET BALL TOURNA- MENT AT TYRONE, OKLA. There will be a basket ball tourna ment at Tyrone, Oklahoma, on Fri day and- Snturday, March 24th and 25th. Eleven high schools have en tered and the fc.Tmes will be played on the high school court. The games will start at 4:00 p. m. March 24th. . a PIE SOCIAL There vil bo a pie social at the Arkalon ochool house, Friday night, March' 24th, and several of the young people of Liberal are counting on at tending. Miss Roma Brown is teach ing that school, . CATHOLIC CHURCH SERVICES Mass Sunday at 8:00 a. m., and Friday at '7:30 p. m. ' " ' ' There will be no devotional servi ces Sunday evening as Father Cryne goes "to Fowler to conduct services. . r' ' D, Davidson left Sunday for the East on a buying trip for his Hew store at this place. He has expressed himself as well pleased with business since the opening of the store, and that he will continue to bring in new goods for the trade. .. 1 i ' j .:.; ",: ' .'' ... ED DONNELLY LOSES ' LIFE IN BLIZZARD Former Resident of This Section Caught in Blixsard of Two . Weeks Ago and Perished One of the tragedies of the (Mot snow storm that swept over the southwestern portion of the state, was the untimely death, apparently by freezing and exposure of a man by the name of Ed Donnelly, who, several years ago, filed on and proved up a homestead in the breaks of the Cimarron river, in the north west part of the county. Donnelly's body was found on the M. McGehee ranch which is near the old Donnelly homestead. A resi dent of that section, a Mr. Davis, and his son-in-law, while driving down to the Cimarron river in search of some cottonwood trees, which they might use for fuel, jtound a de serted wagon with some men's clothinir and a loaf of bread in it, and, upon looking further, discovered the body of a man about a mile and a quarter south, further toward the river. In' the meantime, sortie of the Rf.r.akan amilv fnn.trtal hn nndinl? .1.1. VI Hl'-t 1 . I - - (' " - - - . ' ' of a team of strange horses in their pasture, one of them with a halter on, but no harness. A telephone call wan nt. nnfA nil t. in from the Edwards ranch to tfio county authorities, and Countv Attorney Davis, Coroner Miller, Sheriff Nelson and Under Sheriff Freemnn hurried to the scene. No one was able to identify the dead man, who apparently had succumbed to exhnustion and exposure. ' Driving up near Satanta, the of ficers found a man by the 'name of Smith, who had seen a man answer ing the description of the dead man, and who identified the wagon and team; he reported that the man was Ed Donnelly, who lived in that local ity several years ago with his wife, who had died there; this was later verified at Sutanta, where names of his relatives were obtained, and they came to Liberal and claimed the body. ; ' ' Donnelly was last seen by Smith driving toward the river the even ing before the snowstorm, in his wagon; he was headed in the direc tion of his old place, where his wife died. The wagon was found in deep washout, and it is presumea that while going through the storm, the wngon going in the ditch, he got stuck, unhitched his team and at tempted to make his way on without the wngon. Some days after the body was found, the harness from the horses, two suit cases and a red , i i i .. ! tn m. miA.a sweater ne " uccu ".-. found piled up in the hills. Mr. McGehee reported he saw a man wundering some distance from his house on Friday after the storm, but ib vim tr. ha a tmnncr or hunter. H un ...... - ' The body of Donnelly was found just west of where he had been seen by McGehee. His fingers, hands and feet were badly frozen. It is an odd coincident that he met his death 'near the spot where 'he lived years ago; had he been able to get a few miles further, he would have reached his former home, where -ha undoubtedly suffered the hard ships of other pioneers inthat section of the country. A sister of Donnelly, a Mrs. Trin dle, lives near Gray, Oklahoma, and another sister and the father live at . . . ,. ...i il.A V-.i l waa Enid, UKianoma, wnere uic shipped for burial. V During the past five years Mr. Don nelly has resided at or near Denver, Colorado, and it is surmized that he. made the trip out to the old place, porsibly to look over the old home stojd anin, iyul possibly to do some trapping. It is fortunate that he was remembered by some of the older residents near where he was found, as there was nothing found on his person by which he could be identi fied. In the suit cases found nearly two miles distance from the body, were important and valuable papers, indicating that he carried insurance. FILE ON CLAIMS v James Clark and Roy Meyer of An thony, passed thru here Tuesday om their way to Roswell New Mexico. It is their intention to file on claims near there. James Clark was formerly em ployed in the First National Bank here td war. and Roy Meyer I uciviu w" O is ,a brotherof "John Meyer of the Peoples on . suppiy .... .. . tS. Z. Hubard who has .been livic northwest of the city is moving far mnear Dalhart.