The Blackfoot optimist. [volume], February 12, 1912, Image 2

About The Blackfoot optimist. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1907-1918

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Blackfoot Optimist
Karl P. Brown, Publisher.
BLACKFOOT " - IDAHO
IDAHO STATE NEWS
' Representative . French has „ Intro
Suced a bill appropriating $100,00(
por a public building at Payette.
' The new revenue law provides that
jcash value and 40 per cent valuation
shall be entered on all tax' "lists In'
parallel columns, and taxes levied oi
40 per cent. '
Robert Proudflt Is wanted ln Bois«
for the embezzlement of $10,000 front
the Intermountain Auto company o:
that city in the past two years. It it
believed Proudflt has gone to Canada
E. E. Rork was convicted in th<
probate court at Gooding of shootinj
the eyes out of a colt belonging to J
W. Matthews. The two men ar<
neighbors, living within a few mllei
pf Gooding.
The Pacific & Idaho Northern rail
road has Hied in the federal land of
flee its set of maps, plats -and appli
cation for a right of way thlrty-fiv«
miles from Meadows to a point neat
Riggins, Idaho county.
Jack Downey of Salt Lake - wai
awarded a . decision over Slick Merrill
Boise's "Black Panther,'' in a ten
round go at Boise. Downey had th«
better of it all the way, although h<
fought mostly on the defensive.
Work is still being prosecuted ot
the Nampa Caldwell line. The recent
cold weather hindered the contract
ors, but did not cause them to stop
The company now expects to be run
ning oars over the line by May.l. „ ..
Hiram Caswell tells a thrilling tab.
of escape from a snowslide whicl
struck him as he was going out tc
his camp in the mountains near Sal
mon. Caswell was buried for fourteei
•hours, but finally managed to dig him
self out.
To stimulate an interest in Interna
tional peace, the American Schoo'
Peace league has announced a priz«
contest in high schools and norma
schools throughout the country, whicl
it is hoped Idaho pupfls will be inter
ested in.
Iva Child, 8 yeays old, daughter o:
Herbert Child of Shelley, was killed
instantly by a freight engine as sh«
was returning from school. She wai
standing on one track and watöhlng :
train go by on another, when the en
gine^ struck her.
Presumably because his 17-year-old
daughter Delia confessed that she had
been sustaining improper relations
with him, her father, J. M. Foster
Bhot himself."through the head -severa!
pays ago,''the body being found in hit
home neap Moscow. \ .
Thirteen prisoners awaiting trial foi
felonies or serving sentences for minoi
.offenses, escaped from the Bannocb
county jail at Pocatello on the 30th
The jail" break was discovered half as
■hour after It occurred and-seven oi
.the prisoners recaptured.
; Smallpox, which has apparentl}
taken a'firm holà of Kellogg,' has hÔv
Jumped' to Burke. But one case hat
been imported in this latter town, but
the hdWlth authorities anticipate more
trouble, as this first case was well ad
vanced i before it was discovered.
the disturbing factor in Lemhi coho
ty. At a recent meeting of the „city
council an ordinance was passed fix
ing tlte cost of city saloon licenses ai
$187.50 per quarter, and making rejj
ulations for the operation of salpons'
A special from Washington • a'q
nounces that notwithstanding Secre
tary Stimson's recommendation tha'
Boise 1 'barracks be abandoned, suet
action is not at all probable, for' prac
tically every member of the senate 1«
opposed to Stimson's .proposed sweep
Ing economy.
If there Is a timber trust ln th«
United States the federal governmem
Is Its most mighty factor, accordinj
to Senator Borah who, in his speech
In the senate, vigorously denounced
the present policy of the government
in the matter of disposing of timbet
in forest reserves.
Senator Heyburn of Idaho on Thürs
pay effectually .blocked the effort oi
Senator Lodge and the other mem
bers of the committee on foreign re
latlops to have the senate grant unan
I mous consent to the fixing cf a day
for the vote on the arbitratioupkrea
ties with Great Britain and France.
Representative French has intro
duced. a bill providing that, the lan
requiring labor and improvements tc
be done anually upon mining claim«
be so amended as to provide that iu
provements made upon roads or high
way ».leading to the mining claim«
shall be accepte! a« labor expended
upon the claim itself.
Oil burners which can be Installed
in any^kind of a kitchen stove, and
which will reduce the fuel cost mor«
than one-half, is an Invention which
will soon be put on the market, and
for which Boise will be the manufac.
turihg»*point.
Sportsmen throughout the state
have been notified by the state gam«
and 'floh department that the ape»
season for duck and goose shooting
whldv- formerly extended until Marct
1, closes one month eartier» on Febru
ary i, this year.
William S. Clark, who are charged
with murder ip the first degree foi
the alleged killing of Joe Morris at
The liquor license question Is still
Husband*
Bolée last Novembsr, was declared «
not guilty by a jury. Morris gtrucl
Clark In the fact and wae stabbed li
the abdomen by the man he h«id at.
tack'd j ' 1
- *
» TO DEATH
PONT ORCHARD JUR? RETURNS
VERDICT OF MANSLAUGHTER
AGAINST MRS. HAZZARD.
Woman Who Was Responsible foi
Death of English Woman at Her
Sanitarium Raves- at What -She
Terms Persecution.
Seattle, Wash.—The Jury in th«
case of Mrs. Linda Burfield Hazzard
accused in the Kitsap county superloi
court at Port Orchard of having
starved to death Miss Claire William
son, a wealthy English patient, at th«
Hazzard "starvation sanitarium," re
turned a verdict Sunday night finding
her guilty of manslaughter.
Counsel for the state expressed sat
lsfactioh with -the verdict, which car
riesr an indeterminate penitentiary
sentence of from one to twenty years
Mrs. Hazzard, silent in court, stormed
and raged as she left tor what she
declared to be the persecution on the
part of the medical profession.
Mrs. Linda Burfield Hazzard wae
arrested August 5, 1911, on a charge
of murder in the first degree, on an
Information 'filed In Kitsap county,
tbe complaining witness being - Miss
Dorothea Williamson, aged 37 years,
who alleged that her sister, Claire
Williamson, aged 33, was starved to
death by Mro. Hazzard. The ..William
sons were English women of means
who were on a tour around the
world and who consulted Mrs. Haz
zard concerning tbelr health. Mrs.
Hazzard soon had both the women in
her "starvation sanitarium" at Olal
la where, on ' a diet of |gange juice
and asparagus juice brotj», Claire died
May 19, 1911, and Dorothea was
wasted to a skeleton. After Claire's
death Mrs. Hazzard obtained the ap
pointment of hfirself as guardian of
Dorothea by alleging that the latter
was of infirm mind. She also applied
tor appointment as - administratrix of
the estate of Claire Williamson. The
plight of Dorothea came to the
knowledge of British Vice Consul C.
Ë. L. Agassiz, at Tacoma, with the
result that Miss Dorothea was' de
clared of sound mind and her. guar
dian removed. Mrs. Hazzard's Appli
cation tor letters of administration
of Claire's estate ' was refused ahd
Agassiz was appointed administrator
instead. Dorothea was nursed back
to health. x
MAY END THE INDECISION.
Edict for
Empress Dowager Issues
New Republic.
Peking.—The empress dowager is
sued an edict Sunday evening in
structing Premier Tuan Shi .Kai to
establish . a . republic m co-operation
with the southern republicans. The
edict has not yët been published and
It is expected it will be kepf more ot
less secret as far as the public is con
cerned» until » arrangements in the
south have been completed.
Yuan Shi Kai now is endeavoring
to persuade the Nankin government
to hand over the oontrol of affairs to
;^>M^.ble him -to carry on the adminis
tfition of the'whole empire until the
'national convention' appoints A per
manent government and adopts a con
stitution.
THE WAGES OF SIN.
;Wonta«T" Who Deserted Millionaire
' *foi*PUimber Ends Career
In Suicide.
New York.—Double suicide Sunday
èmjéd a Sensational romance of the
former wife of Walter L. Suydam ahd
Frederick Noble, a young plumber, fbr
the love of whom Mrs. Suydam ran
away from her millionaire husband
and married. The bodies of Noblfi«and
his bride of a month were foup^f in
their New York apartment, The couple
had been asphyxiated by gas.
■Hajser Will 8end Son to America.
Washington,.—The kaiser is deter
mined that Germany should not be
outdone by the recent visit to New
York and Washington by a British
royal duke, the Duke of Connaught.
With this end in mihd he has com
manded Prince Adalbert, his youngest
son, to visit the United States. Uncle
Sam's largest battleship will greet him
in the middle ' of the Atlantic ocean
and-escort.him to New-Y<yk. ,ôn his
arrival he will he received by the
royal salute of twenty-one guns.
Mpre Testimony, Agalpst Packer*.
Chicago.—Further confirmation oi
the government's oh arge that there
was concerted co-operation in the ex
changé of selling prices and. margins
between the Chicago packers undei
Indictment for criminal violation ol
the Sherman' Jaw was given Saturday
at' the trial of the defendants before
United States District Judge Ge'drge
A. Cdtpenter. Ï . . !!
Killed by Fall of Rock.
Telluride, Goto.—John Herrn it,- aged
60, widely known mining man in the
west, died Sunday a result of in
juriés received in jr' fall .of rock in
the" Pandora jfllne, df which he wax
consulting engineer.
; ; -:- Î --- , . .
Homecoining of King and 'Queen.
Portsmouth.—King . George and
.
Queen Mary, who left^ Portsmouth pn
November 11 on the''steamship -Me
di: ; bound for India, returned from
tbelr durbar trip. The Medina &r
'
rived-Sunday. *•
r
'I
B^PROf MäRDJ ÛûEAM)
COPYRIGHT BY W. G. CHAPMAN
BRAHAM LINCOLN had a
A | substitute who served as
I a defender of tbe Union
■ through the bloody and
epoch-making period of
the Civi\ war. Thfs asser
tion has been made many
times before. It has
aroused bitter contro
versy in various quarters;
it has given birth to col
umns of print, both in
support of and denial of its truth.
Now, for the first time, evidence is
here presented that the story of Lin
coln's substitute is correct—evidence
in the unassailable shape of an official
acknowledgment from the federal gov
ernment.
The exemption of the president of
the United States from the taking up
of arms, or serving on an actual field
of battle, is provided for by a spécial
statute drawn up to meet such a con
tingency. But there is nothing to
prevent the nation's chief executive
from sending forth a substitute to
fight in his place, although Lincoln
was tbe only occupant of the White
House who ever took advantage of
this fact. Tbe man who represented
in his person that of the martyred
president was John Summerfleld Sta
ples, whose body now lies at rest in
a little cemetery at Stroudsburg, Pà.
The tombstone above his grave, pho
tograph of which is here reproduced,
testifies not only to Staples' war
record, but states in granite lettera
the fact of his having served as Abra
ham Lincoln's substitute. The inscrip
tion in question reads an follows:
J. Summerfleld Staples,
a Private of
Co. C., 176 Regt., P. V.
Also a Member of tbe
2 Reg. D. C. Vols., as a - ,
Substitute tor -
ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
Died Jan. 11, 1888,
Aged 43 Years, 4 Mos., 25 Days.
His grave also bears . tbe G. A. R.
marker, a metallic star upon .which
the words "Post 150'' appear. A small
American flag flutters in tbe breeze^
but tbe outside world seems little In
formed as to the career of this patri
otic and distinguished soldier boy.
I had heard tbe tradition that Lin
coln during the dark days of 1864 had
sent a substitute to the' front. But
to confirm the truth of the tradition
was quite another matter. The popu
lar opinion of those I consulted ap
peared tb be that thé tale of Lin
coln's substitute belonged in the myth
category, and had-no more foundation
In sober fact than tbe legend of Wash
ington and tbe cherry tree. Men high
m
J. SU MM ER FI ELD STAPLES.
"Lincoln's Substitute." From a Pho
tograph Taken at the Tims He Went
to the jfrront In Lincoln's Stead.
in the ranks of ' the Grand Army of
the Republic assured me that they
were certain that "Old Abe" was un
represented In, the ranks of the boys
In blue'. For all that it seemed to me
that the story , was something more
than one of those romantic incidents
•o: frequently quoted as having oc
curred in the lives of famous men aft
er they had passed over to the great
majority; ,indents lending color to
laudatc^-y ; bifigraphical sketches, but
rejected bjr the thoughtful* historian
as beipg -terjbçd of "the stuff dreams
are made of." Lincoln, with bis ex
alted ideals, his stern devotion to
.duty.,his. undyiqg^layc £pr_ the Union
and all that it represented, was ex
actly the type of man to consider him-
self at fault if be neglected to «lake
.every possible, sacrifice in bis power
:to the» causeJlfe held deJtrer than life.
I corresponded yith tbejfederai au
thorities - at. Washington 1 - oifr-the -sub
ject, but the replies I received did not
tend tb'bring me any closer to the
gotii. _.{instead ihey asserted positively
that the reported tradition was entire
ly without ^foundation. A letter from
the war'jiepartment 8t«ted emphatic
t
*
J. SUMMERFIELD 8TAPLE8.
'Lincoln's Substitute." From a Pho
tograph Taken a Few Years Before
Hie Death.
ally: "It does not appear from'the
official records of tbe department
that President Lincoln ever furnished
a substitute.'.' Another informed me
that "Abraham Lincoln was not liable
to draft," a fact of which I was al
ready well aware. Had hot such been
the case the employment of a substi
tute would have lost all significance.
But a personal search through the
official records of tbe Civil war
brought to light a reference to «"Abra
ham Lincoln, principal, and John Sta
ples, recruit, both of the District of
Columbia." And on another page ap
peared an entry to the effect that Lin
coln wished a representative recruit,
and same was assigned as private to
Company H of tbe Second regiment.
D. C. infantry. With these entries as
a base of operations it became pos
sible to trace the substitute, and the
discovery was made that John S. Star
pies was buried in Stroudsburg, Pa,
Further details were furnished by Mr.
John W. Burnett of Massachusettes,
a comrade of Staples, in the following
letter:
"I well recall the military career of
J. S. Staples of my regiment. The
awful losses of the Union army, east
and west, were weighing heavily on'
dear Lincoln, and be, with others in
public life, were considering the de
sirability of having personal repre
sentatives - in the field for those not
eligible tor service at all. According
to my recollection, in the fall or late
summer of 1864 Mr. Lincoln bad a
committee of citizens of the District
of Columbia search tor aB perfect a
specimen of physicM manhood as
could be found to become his repre
sentative recruit. This committee, or
some of them, met my dear comrade
■i Staples) on the streets ot George
town, and seeing, his superbly com
pact form, and being,at once satisfied
that he was the man worthy to be
Lincoln's representative In the army,
tfa,ey made a proposition to him, and
the loyal boy—for he was but a boy—
' onCe signified his desire to fill the
, . kbrable position. He was soon aft-
éjïr#ard introduced to President Lin-
coln, and the latter gladly chose him
*8 his representative."
- Although the communication ^ pe
oeived from Mr. Burnett was as con
vincing as one could wish, yet it wae
clear that without governmental sanc
tion there still would remain doubting
Thomases who would dispute tlie
Claim made in behalf of the dead- sol
dier. Therefore, the facts in thecas^
«are laid befqye the federal author!
tîéfc, and I received from the office of
tlfe commissioner of pension at Wash
içptt^n an official statement confirming
the entire ' tradition concerning Lin
coln and .fils substitute. This docu^
ment reads as follows:
", Department ot the Interior,
* Bureau of Penslôna
' Washington', May 11, 1910.
"John Summerfleld Staples, residing
at Stroudsburg, Pay filed an applica
tion for pension in 1882, stating that
in the, Civil war he had served in Com
pany Ç, One Hundred and Seventy
sixth Pennsylvania' militia, and after
wards, in Company H, Second District
of Columbia Infantry, and that in his
second enlistment he was a substitute
for President Lincoln.
""The records show that said soldier
enlfsted November 2, 1862, in Com
pany C, One Hundred and Seventy
sixth Pénnsylvanla drafted militia,
that hé was honorably discharged
May 5, 1863,' and that he afterward
enlisted April 3, 1864, in Company H,
Second Pistriot of Columbia volun
teers, from which be was honorably'
discharged at Alegaqflriç, Va., .Sep
tember 12,, i865, ' apd .the record also
show that in this' last service he was
^enrolled as a representative recruit
t tor Abraham Lincoln: who was not
liable to draft,
• "it is shown by the papers on file
in this case that during the war Presi;
dent Lincoln decided that he would
place in tbe army a. substitute to the
credit of the District of Columbia, and
tfiat he communicated his'desire to do
'ajo to the provost marshal of the dis
trict, with a request that be select the
person who should be placed Jn the
service, and that the provost marshal'
then sent for Noble' D. 'Lamer, then a
prominent citfoen of this city, and
Stated to him the president's wishes,
and . Mr. Lamer, afterward succeeded
ip getting the substitute in the person
of Mr. Staples, and he was afterward
mustered into the service.
"This Is about all the Information !
can give you with reference to .the
matter, and would suggest that If you
desire to learn anything about the
private life of Mr. Staples you might
write to the postmaster or solhe other
person at Stroudsburg, Pa., where
Mr. Staples lived and where he died
January 11, 1888."
(signed) J. L. DAVENPORT,
Commissioner.
There are several people still living
in Stroudsburg who knew Staples and
remember that to him belonged the
unique distinction of representing
Lincoln on the field of battle. Among
their number are J. T. Palmer, post
master and principal of the public
school; C. L. Drake, editor of the
Stroudsburg Times, and Representa
tive A. Mitchell Palmer of Pennsyl
vania. It was characteristic of Lin
coln that he kept the matter from the
public press, and a like modesty
seems to have Imposed silence on the
young soldier-who served his country
sp well.
One does not have to make a very
exhaustive study of Lincoln's charac
ter in order to understand the motive
which led him to send a substitute to
represent him in the scenes of the
bloody drama then being enacted
throughout the land. His conscience
was not of that easily satisfied variety
which contents Itself with allowing
'things to remain as they are, without
indulging in exertion for the common
good. His was the hand which was
steering the Ship of State through
tempest and .crash of hostile guns, yet
great as was the task assigned him,
he perceived with the., eagle eye that
watched the course of action, a post
still unfilled, an unoccupied niche
where a combatant could be placed to
strike in behalf of the Union. To that
post he resolved to appoint a repre
sentative,'that he might be practical
ly in person—as he was already in
spirit—on the red field of carnage. It
was..done quietly, in that simple, unos
tentatious manner that distinguished
all of Lincoln's acts, whether in offi
cial or private life. He never played
to the ..gallery, and the verdict of his
own conscience was all he cared
about.
While this is probably the only case
in history where the leader of a na
tion sent * substitute to fill his place
in the ranks of fighting men, a sort of
precedent may be said to he found
in the oustom, but recently fallen into
disuse, of appointing a "king's "cham
pion," who was supposed to offer his
body in opposition to any challenger
of the reigning monarch of Great
Britain. Until the accession of the
late King Edward VII. to the crown
of England, this functionary waa a
member of the royal entourage. When
ever the new Ung was publicly crown
ed the "champion" appeared before
CoCmKyfii,
a membref
estt
Grave of J. Summerfleld 8tapl*s, in
the Cemetery at Stroudsburg, Pa.
the assembled multitude clad in mar
tial gear, and casting down a gauntlet
upon the grouqd, defied to mortal com
bat any person or persons having
quarrel with or denying the right of
the potentate to refgn over the land.
This custom dated back to the stren
uous days when a monarch was also
an active man-at-arms, and likely to
meet in a hand-to-hand engagement
with some persistent foeman at any
time or place. Hence the Institution
of "king's champion," appointed to
keep ajl challengers at bay, a heredi
tary honor, and one that was held for
many generations by the descendants
of the Dymbke family. But Edward
VII., who possessed an unusually
strong sense of the ridiculous, refused
to permit this heroic burlesque of a
mediaeval ..custom to be Introduced
into the spjendid pageantry at his oor
n'ation and abolished the office of a
warlike 'substitute forever.
Nourishment for. Invalids.
When the appetite has failed, as in
the case of convalescents and many
weak children, nourishment Is of
prime importance. There is a capital
way to administerlt, which rarely fails
even in extreme cases. -To the white
of an egg. add the Juice of an oranze
and the least bit of sugar. Strain the
mlxtpre carefully and set It away un
til it is very cold. Then it may be
served as "orange Jelly," either with, or
Without a cracker.
■
MU6ARA SCENE OF TRAGEDY
Great Ice Jam Gives Way and Carries
Three Pleasure Seekers Down the
River to Their Death.
Niagara Falls, N. Y.—The great Ice
bridge that has choked the river chan
nel between the cataract and the up
per steel arch bridge belhW the falls
tor, the last three weeks, broke from
its shoring at neon Sunday and went
down the river, taking with it to their
death a man and a woman, said to be
Mr. and Mrs. Eldridge Stanton, of To
ronto,' Canada, and Burrell Heacock,
17 years old, of Cleveland, O.
Four other persons were on the ice
at. the time, but managed to get ashore
in safety.
The bridge was considered safe. For
weeks the great fields of ice had been
coming down the river, piling up
against the barrier until it was from
sixty to eighty feet thick and under
the influence of zero weather the great
mass had become anchored firmly to
the shore. The Jam was about 1,000
feet wide and in some places a quarter
of a mile in length.
For two weeks it had offered safe
passage and Sunday an immense
crowd of excursionists came to view
the'winter wonder of the river. Had
the accident happened an hour later,
hundreds would have lost their lives,
for the crowd was moving into Pros
pect park in the elevators that « run
down the cliff tor the purpose of ven
turing out upon the ice.
REBELS MUST BE CAREFUL.
Mexicans Ar« Warned by Represen*
tatives of the United States Against
Promiscuous Shooting.
Washington.—Colonel. Edgar C.'
Steever, commanding the Fouth
United States cavalry at El Paso, has
been instructed to prevent firing into
American territory and the Mexican
authorities have received a wamine
from the American government not
to -permit shoot! Jg across the border
line. These ol-ders have been issued
as a result of the exchange of tele
grams between President Taft and
Governor Colquitt of Texas.
Colonel Steever has replied to the •
department that there has yet been
no firing into American territory and
that he gave formal notice to tha
Mexican government through Mexi
can Consul Florent, in El Paso, that
he would take such steps as he
deemed necessary to protect Ameri
can interests.
Servian Cabinet Resigns.
Belgrade, Servla.—The Servian cab
inet hks resigned. The ministers
took this step partly on account of
the recent discovery of what is
known an the "black hand" conspir
acy in the army to force King Beter
to dismiss the radical cabinet or -to
abdicate in favor of thé crown prince.
Another reason given tor the resigna
tion is that the support afforded by
the parliament to the government has
declined considerably.
Manchuria Wants Independence.
Washington.—Mianohuria wants to
be independent should a republican
government he established in China.
Advices to the state department Sat
urday from American Consul General
Fisher at Mukden say the Mukden
provincial assembly has telegraphed a
request to Premier Yuan Shi Kai for
independence should a republic be
formed.
Sings at His Own Funeral.
Jaokson, Mich.— Thé only music
rendered at the funeral- Saturday of
Professor W. M. Skinner, a vocalist,
was a phonographic record of his own
voice. Some time before his death
he eang a musical arrangement' of
Tennyson's poem, "Crossing the
Bar,'' and he requested the same se
lection at his funeral. ,
Killed by Infernal Machine.
New York.—Mrs. Howard Walker,
wife of a traveling electrical salesman,
living here under her étage 1 name ot
Grace Taylor,- was killed in her apart
ment Saturday night'by an infernal
machine handed to her at the door
but a moment before by an unlden-.
tilled messenger or delivery boy.
Crew Had Narrow Escape.
Norfolk, Va. —With a fire burning
so fiercely in her hold that her crew
could not stoke the boilers or run the
engines, the British steamer Consols,
Liverpool, with a valuable" cargo
of cotton from Galveston, bound to
Hamburg, was towed with all.possi
ble speed to Hampton Roads.
Preparing for Big' Exposition.
Washington.—President Taft on
Saturday signed a proclamation Invit
ing other nations to participate- in tha
Panama-Pacific International exposi
tion to celebrate the, opening of the
Panama canal at San Francisco in
1915.
„ Connors Jury Disagrees.
' Los Angeles. Cal.—The jury in th?
case of Bert H. Conners, accused oi
having attempted to destroy, .the hall,
"of^ records with* dynamite, reported
Saturday that k was unable to agree
and was discharged.
La Follette Needs Rest. "
:Washington—Senator -Robert M.
La Follette, on the verge- of a physi
cal breakdown, has canceled all his
'speaking arrangements for tfce next'
..two weeks at Trenton, jersey City
■ tod. elsewhere and will seek rest