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f* SiSlt Over 2,0''0 paid suhserib to the Saturday News and figuring on a basis that four people read each eopy every week 'would give us over 8,000 readers weekly. HearHon OLD CITY CHARTER Is a Handicap to Growing City Like Watertown—Was O. K. in Yillagr- Days. FAHNESTOCK FAVORS CHANGE lively Discussion Over Proposition to Vacate Street to Please Railroad Company. The necessity for the city of Water town to get out from under its anti quated special charter and to adopt a form of government that is up to :te and suited to present needs was made manifest at the last meeting of the city council when the matter of vacating streets and of constructing a viaduct over the tracks was brought up for consideratioc. The discussion arose over the mat ter of the vacation of First street N. W. and of other streets, which had been asked for by the M. & St. I* Ry. Co. several weeks ago. The ordinance granting this peti tion of the Ry. Co. was passed to a first reading at a former meeting of the council and was supposed to come up for final passage at this time. A petition, however, was presented to the council, at this time, with over one hundred signatures asking that the street be left as it is. Attorney A. Sherin appeared before the council representing one of the petitioners aufif -yitefftd ,prot€|st against the council taking such ac tion. He told them it would be impossible -under the city ordinance, as well as the state laws, for them to proceed with the work of vacation setting forth the fact that a street to be va cated must have a petition with the signature of every person Hiring in the block affected, also the sworn statements of two. Mr. Sherin called the council's at tention to the fact that the petition signed by R, G. Kenely, as an officer of the railroad was not sufficient to "be considered ,-a legal petition because the petitioner was not a property own er i.n the city and could not petition the council for the favor he was ask ing. Mr. Sherin .also informed the coun cil -of the fact that the advertisement appearing in the paper was wrong be cause of a mistake on the part of the drafters of the same, the advertise ment reading the vacation of First avenue, northwest, instead of First street, northwest. Attorney George W. Case, repre senting the St. Louis, while he ad mitted that a technical error had been made, stated that it was only a small matter and could be fixed up. He continued by referring to that clause in the ordinance calling for vacation which gives the city a per petual easement or in other words gives them the right to erect a via duct over the street at any time. Also Mr. Case referred to that part of the ordinance which compels the railroad company to sign a contract agreeing to hold the city harmless from any damage suits that might be the result of passing the ordinance. Gunder Shold was present and in a short talk before the council pro tested vigorously to the vacation of the street. t, Fahnestock Favors New Plarnj# Alderman Fahnestock stated that he did not want to lose hold on the street any more than any of the sign ers of the petition but that he was in favor of reserving the right to put a viaduct ^ver the tracks. If this could be done he estimated that the only good the city would ever get from the crossing in question would be over head traffic. Mr. Fahnestock stated that he understood that the only way the city could go ahead with the im provement needed was to go undor 'the new form of government and he saw** T, of government there are two methods possible as the News understands the situation,—either to come under the general law or to adopt the commis sion form. As the News has suggested several times we believe the commission form is the preferable one. The sentiment for the commission form of city government is spreading and we believe the time is ripe for Watertown to keep along side of oth er progressive cities. Let us have the commission form if a change is made. At the last council meeting a reso lution was passed calling for a spe cial election to be held November 14, for the purpose of submitting to a vote of the people the following ques tion: "Shall the city council authorize a ¥11,000 bond issue for the purpose of paying the indebtedness accruin? from the warrants made necessary by the installation of the drainage canal, bonds redeemable at $550 per year and to draw about five per cent?" Resolution number 88 which com pels future waterpipes to be of lead and also the changing of all pipe in the streets to be paved to comply with the new resolution which makes all pipe of lead, before such streets Continued on Page 8. Congressman Burke Out for Re-Election Congressman Charles H. Burke haB formally announced that he will be a candidate to succeed, himself as re presentative in congress from the sec ond district. Congressman Burlte. is a strong his.n in., *halls,-Of, ns demonstrated the fact to his constitu ents that he can always be depend ed upon to vote for their best inter- CHARLES H. BURKE. ests. He has represented our young state in congress for the past twelve years and there has never been a time when his home people did not know exactly where he stood on every pub lic question. We do not think it would be wise for the electors of the second congres sional district to ttjrn down a man like CharleS H. Burke who is now an experienced congressman, and elect an experiment. The Saturday News is for Congressman Burke first, last and all the time. Weather Report by R. Q. Wood for News The following weatuir report is fur niBhed the Saturday News hy Robert Q. Wood which will be of interest to the readers of this paper: Oct. 12 Precipitatlo Ol?t 1.25 in. •*.? VOL. 10 NO 17. WATERTOWN, SOUTH DAKOTA, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 12, 1911. FLOODS IN WISCONSIN Black River Falls, Wis., Has Thirty Business Blocks on Main Street Washed Away. i|| BUILDINGS UNDERMINED, FALL Water Twenty Feet Deep in the Streets—It is Believed Dam Will Hold. Minneapolis, Minn., Oct. 6.—The big dam of the Water and Power com pany across the river at Hatfield,Wis., went out this morning. The officials of the company telephoned the people in the valley to flee for their lives and it is believed that nearly all have escaped. Hatfield itself is flooded and all tel egraph and telephone wires are down. The damage will be enormous. La Crosse, Wis., Oct. 6.—Thirty business blocks in the business dis trict have toppled over, about thirty residences have been carried away and buildings are being undermined and are falling one after the other, according to the latest communication from Black River Falls, secured when Ilarry Gettman, a telephone lineman, swam to a telephone pole, and with a test est gave added details of the disaster which shows a situation far worse than estimated. Two are reported missing in Black River Falls, and Gettman said tho only reason there was no heavy loss oi life was because the warning came in time to permit people to,escape to tie higher ground. Business Section Razed. The havoc wrought on Water street and on Main street is terrific. Gett man declared not a single building re mained on Water street and that practically every building in the first block on Main street had fallen. There are some twenty to thirty feet of water on Water and Main streets. TWo-story buildings were al most entirely submerged before they collapBed. City in Darkness. The power house which furnishes the city light is entirely under water and the city is in darkness. The Omaha railroad bridge is for ty feet above the water normally, and now the flood is within ten feet of the rails, and the water Is still rising. All traffic over the structure has been stopped. Buildings on San(C Undermined. The section of the city where the greatest havoc has been wrought was built upon Band, and when the floou swept over and around the city's pow er dam this land was eaten away and the buildings undermined. Many persons have had nothing to eat since morning and the city's sup plies of food are all submerged. Farm buildings and houses continue to come down with the flood, indicat ing' widespread destruction thruout the valley between Black River Falls and Hatfield, and possible loss of life. No communication can be establish ed with Hatfield and it is impossible to learn whether the main Hatfield dam is showing signs of giving away and releasing the larger volume of water. Some Facts About the Stricken City. Black River Falls is one of the pio neer cities of Wisconsin, having had its origin in the lumbering operations of the early days in which many of the first settlers of the Badger state reaped large fortunes. Later it grew into a boarding' station for rivermen, when rafting their logs down for the great sawmills of Onalaska and La Crosse, more than a score of which were in operation at that. time. Its strategic location at the falls of the Black River, however, was soon re cognized hy manufacturers and mer chants and It grew Into a lively little city, altho lack of transportation fa cilities by rail handicapped its early development and prevented it becom- END IS Hit it®,,,. Dr. E, F. Harrington Dies at His Office in this City of Heart Failure. 'if'' HAD BEEN ABOUT DAY BEFORE Was Prominent in Business and Professional Circles—An Active Man. The citizens of this community were severely shocked last Friday evening to hear of the Budden death of Dr. E. F. Harrington. Dr. Harrington has been in ill health for the past year but notwith standing that fact has been able to attend to his duties at his office. Last Thursday evening the doctor retired to his room adjoining his of fice and instructed the clerks in the drug store not to disturb him until morning. His family thinking noth ing unusual regarding this request did not disturb him, and it was not until towards evening that his son, Dr. Earl Harrington became alarmed because he had not seen his father around the store during the day and upon inquiry found that he had not been observed during the day by any one in the store. He went to his father's office and to his bed room and found him dead in bed. He had no doubt been dead for several hours as the body was cold. He had evi dently died without a struggle as he lay just as though he was sleeping. Death was no doubt due to heart trouble as the doctor has been suf fering with that disease for some time, and expected to depart next Monday for California to spend the winter where he thought the mild& climate would be a benefit to his health. Dr. Harrington was about fifty years of age and came to Watertown ten years ago where he embarked into the drug business and opened an of fice for the general practice of med icine. He was a very energetic man and invested his money in various enterprises in the city among them being the Watertown Pressed Brick Company of which he was a heavy stock holder. He purchased the lot where his store and office now stands and erected a handsome business block which is one of the best busi ing one of the big cities of the state. At present Black River Falls has a population of approximately 2,000.It is an incorporated city, located on the main line of the Chicago. St. Paul, Minneapolis & Omaha railway, be tween St. Paul and Chicago. It is 150 miles southeast of St. Paul and 171 mileB northwest of Milwaukee. It is the county seat of Jackson county is lighted by electricity, has waterworks, fire -department, churches of the Bap I tist. Catholic, Episcopal, German Re formed, Methodist and Norwegian Lutheran denominations. It has ex cellent schools, a public library, an opera house seating 500, two banks and two newspapers,the Badger State Banner and the Jackson County Jour nal. The business section of the city Is built up from the river front and ex tends back up the sides of the river bank, BO that most of the better part of the' residence district and the tracks of the railroad are thot to be above the reach of the present flood. The stores, banks and public build ings, including the light plant, are well in the pathway of flood water and the damage wil unquestionably be heavy if the flood is anything like as higl^as reported. Black Oliver Falls has suffered from several bad floods heretofore. When weather conditions are right in the spring Ice gorges form at a bend of the river above the falls and when they go out the city la flooded. Noth ing approaching the present flood In the amount of damage done, however, haB.gyerJjeen experienced by the elty. 48k ssfcii ness blocks in thecity. He was an active and energetic man, both mentally and physically, giving liberally of his time and mon ey to any cause which he thought was deserving. In religion he early developed the! habit of weighing things in the bal ance of reason, discarding that which to him did not harmonize with the Creator's jllan as he saw God's laws in the big book of nature. He be lieved- in doing good for the sake of humanity and not in the fear of anger and vengeance of a higher power. Hell, to him is what men make for themselves here on earth and not a place of divine origin for future pun ishment. As to future existence, he felt that each will he rewarded ac cording to the good deeds done in this life. That we come into this life not of our own accord, and we go out not of our own free will, but subject to the Supreme Power oyer all, and to that Power, he was willing to truBt his fate when his time should come to meet the great mystery of death. His convictions wehether right or wrong were sincere, resulting from much careful stqdy and analysis on his part, and with which he. calmly met the faith of all flesh. Having lived according to the light he had—and who should judge that light but the just God before^ whom we all must pass? The funeral services were held oil. Monday at Dell Rapids. Fred Ben thin, one of the substan tial farmers residing near Grover.was a county seat visitor last Friday and while in the city called at the Satur day News office and renewed his subscription for ahotheer year. Mr. Benthin is one of the oldest subscrib ers, having taken the paper continu ously ever since the paper was estab lished. Clear Lake Woman Dies Very Suddenly Mrs. Flora Griffin, sister of Mrs. H. F..W. Schaller of this city, died at her home in Clear Lake Tuesday eve ning after a short illness. The cause of her death was assigned as pneu monia. She was aged 55 years. Deceased was a very lovable wo man and was well known to a large circle of Watertown friends who ex tend their heartfet sympathy to the relatives in their sad bereavement. Crowds Pour Into Registration Points Gregory, Oct. 11.—Judging from the size of the crowds that arrived Mon day, the second week of the Rosebud and Pine Ridge reservation land open ing promises to be more successful,in point of attendance than was the first week. The fine reports sent out from each town in regard to the ac commodations for shelter and the ab solute guarantee of protection from all forms of lawlessness, are having their affect and many timid ones, frightened by the history of previous openings, have been reassured and the result is an increased registration. The ratio of women to attend this opening is also far larger than at any previous one, and their welfare and safety has been the one chief concern of the citizens not only of Gregory but also of all the rest of the regis tration points. The efforts oi .the officials to pre serve law and order has resulted in keeping out a very undesirable class of persons who usually congregate in large numbers at these opening^, and Judge Witten, who has the opening in Continued on Page 16. mi VERTISERS imARMli hat the Sa circulation fniiU.1i newspaper -Is the $1.60 PER YEAR NfcJ j'ia! SPECIAL ELECTI0 Massachusetts Election Will Throw Considerable Light on Outcome of Preaidental Election. EXIK)RTS_:. Democrats are Stronger r$. The deceased was a prominent Ala son and a large body of MasonB ac companied the body to the train. The remains were shipped to Sioux Falls Sunday morning and from there to Dell Rapids, his former home,and the present home of his mother, Mrs. C. Harrington, and three sisters, Mrs. W. I. Irwin, Mrs. W. A. Catlin, and Miss Nellie Harrington, who with two brothers, B. F. Harrington of Sioux Fails and J. L, Harrington of Montrose, S. D., besides the wile and four children survive him. hi: Senate than at Last Session—Taft in Favor of Sherman Acr. -fy Washington, D. O., October 9.—Mai£ sachusetts republicans have a notion that they are about: "it," as they are holding one of the few "off year-' elections", and the following front* their platform indicates how they" expect the result In the ol& "codfish*., state" will settle matters. The plat- :, form says: With.a single exception* —Massachusetts is the only state In which election of all state officers takes place this year, and. its ver alet will be read by the entire coun try as first judgment upon the doings of a democratic and insurgent con*. gresB and upon the wisdom of the ex ecutlve checks placed upon it. That'.. verdict will vitally affect the action of congress during the coming sessions and influence the still more vital! presidential election of .the coming year. The capital is used to Senator Hey burn's pyrotechnics, .and in the ordin ary course of legislation- his eccen tricities command the same attention'as: Is now attracted to hlee course as Chairman of the investiga tion in Wisconsin into the .^lection of Senator Stephenson. A good many of the senator's comments resemble: stump speeches, and in the criti cisms of the primary system, and of both Senators Stephenson and La Follette, are giving spice to the inves tigation, making even more interest ing reading for the public than the story of Lorimer and the alleged de bauching of the Illinois legislature. After about five thousand post of flees throughout the country had Ibeen designated as postal savings! banks, the Washington office was "also" made a depository, and* on the first day It did business, one hundred and eighteen depositors left their coin in Mr.Hltchcock's strong box. Practically all second-class presiden tial offices throughout the country are now postal savings banks, and the system is rapidly being extended to Include first and third-class preBiden-1 tlal offices. The widow of Senator Carter, formerly of Montana, and the father of the postal savings bank ldt'ti in the United States, received certi ficate number one from the Washing ton office. News of the cordial receptions' ten dered President Taft every where along the route of his travels, is roost pleasing to his official family in Washington. Particularly in Iowa was Mr. Taft most kindly re ceived, and there was little evidence of the reported opposition to him there—or in Kansas, and those here closest to the administration declare that Mr. Taft will carry every state west of the Mississippi notwithstand ing the fact that a few senators are trying to shape things otherwise. Harmon Called Unvafe. 4 The featuring of Governor Har mon, of Ohio, as "unsafe," byf the chairman of the democratic commit tee of Idaho, has been seized upon as an item of "news" of wonderful im portance by the boomers of several Democratic candidates tor the presidency. It is recalled here that the "Peesrless One" from Nebraska, has long contended that Mr. Harinoa has been too friendly to the "inter ests" to be considered seriously as a possibility. Once more Senator Penrose, the stalwart old war horse of Pennsyl vania, has routed his enemies, and af ter one of the hardest fights he has ever been called on to lead, lie has succeeded In nominating his candl- Continued on Page 8.