The Blackfoot optimist. [volume], February 19, 1912, Image 2

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

Image provided by: Idaho State Historical Society

                
Blackfoot Optimist
Karl P. Brown. Publisher.
•LACK FOOT " - • IDAHO
IDAHO STATE NEWS
The saloon men of Salmon are hav
in* trouble In securing their licenses,
the city and county authorities having
disagreed In the matter.
Livestock growers of the upper
Lemhi met in Leadore on February
9 for the purpose of conferring with
representatives of the forest service
to discuss matters of range apportion
ment.
The treasurer of Latah county is
busy preparing to call for every war
rant' outstanding against this county.
Latah county is thought to be the only
county in the northwest that will be
absolutely out of debt.
A new $30^000 hotel is being built
at Downey as fast as possible with
the hopes that it will be occupied by
the first of April. This will be one
of the handsomest buildings between
fiait. Lake and Boise.
There remained 33 cases of small
pox in Boise at the close of the month
of January. At the beginning of the
month there were In quarantine 35
cases, and -though 50 new cases were
reported, 52 were discharged.
The church building at Nampa
which was vacated by -the Catholics
when they moved into their new edi
fice bas been purchased by the Lat
ter-day Saints and will be moved to a
lot owned by -the organization.
The third annual exhibit of the
Idaho State Poultry association at
Boise was a highly successful one.
Although there were birds from three
different states shown in competition,
the Idaho birds won -the two silver
jnups.
Idaho's laws on weights and meas
ures are ineffective and inadequate,
and will have to be remedied if the
Btate sealer is to do any really im
portant work in that department, ac
cording to James H. Wallis, the state
inspector.
A reward has been offered for the
reoovery of the body of -the mail car
rler who los-t his life in a snow slide
between Atlanta and Rocky Bar sev
eral weeks ago. Nineteen men dug
for several days in search of the body
without result.
C. O. Carlson, a fireman, fell from
bis engine near Mountain Rome and
sustained injuries which may prove
fatal. Carlson was standing on the
platform between the engine and the
tender and lost bis balance when the
train lurched.
Caught by a revolving shaft, J. H.
Adkins was whirled to his death in
the Morning mill at Mulian. He made
four complete revolutions with the
machinery and when his clothing
finally gave way, his chest and arms
had been crushed.
Almost every report of wardens and
prison superintendents ip the eastern
etates shows that Idaho is far in ad
vance of these places in the matter of
prison reform. Things for which the
eastern experts are working. Idaho
has had for years.
The news comes from Mountain
Home that ex-Oovernor James H
Brady has paid to the receiver for the
Great Western Beet Sugar company,
the sum of 314,125, the same being the
stipulated 25 per cent of the price at
which the property of that defunct
coimpany was bid in.
The passenger station at Wendell
which will be entirely completed by
the 1st of March, is not surpassed in
th|s part of the stale. The building is
128 feet,long. It has large separate
waiting rooms for men and women,
agents' office, baggage room and a
freight room 30x47 feet.
iDeer hunters in the northern part
oft the state are learning that it is a
costly diversion to kill deer during
the closed season. Two hunters, one
at Sandpoint and the other at Lew
iston, have been fined $50 and costs
each, through efforts of the deputies
in the state game department.
The constitutionality of the insur
apce law 'passed at the Eleventh ses
sion of the legislature was determined
and established in a decision handed
down last week by the supreme court
in: the case of the Continental Life In
siirance and Investment company
against J. C- Hattatoaugh, insurance
commissioner of Idaho.
Bonnie star, who took chloral with
suicidal intent at Butte, is de«*.. Star
was despondent because she could
not pay £top board of her baby, which
she left recently in Spokane. Her
husband is said to live In St. Marie,
Idaho and She herself had lived
there. -J
During the present year a vigorous
campaign against blight, codling moth
and scale will be waged by the B^ate
inspector and the deputies in the va
rious districts, this work to com
mence Immediately, according -to the
decision of the state horticultural
board.
Manuel Silva must serve a jail sen
tence of five months and pay a fine
of $500 .and costs for selling intoxi
cating liquor in prohibition territory,
according to a decision rendered by
the supreme court. The case origi
nated at ßhoshone.
"The first step toward getting new
Industries is to support those we al
ready have," is the legend on a card
which the Boise Commercial club Is
distributing. It is the first movement
that the club has started toward the
capture of more factories the coming
..... -
MORGAN TO RETIRE
CZAR OF AMERICAN FINANCE HAS
NO INTENTION OF DYING
IN THE HARNESS.
Man Whose Fortune Is Estimated at
Three Hundred Millions Has Decided
to Act Hereafter Only in an Ad
visory Capacity in Affaira of Firm.
New York.—J. Pierpont Morgan,
czar of American finances, has retired
from active business life.
The business interests of J. P. Mor
gan & Co. are now in the hands of
his younger partners. Mr. Morgan
himself is no longer at the helm, nor
does he intend to resume that post
when he returns from Egypt.
He has definitely laid aside the bur
dens and cares which he has borne for
fifty years, and has decided to act
hereafter only in an "advisory capac
ity" in the affairs of his firm.
Not until Sunday did it become
known that Mr. Morgan, just prior to
his departure for Egypt, on December
29, called a conference of his partners
and acquainted them with his intention
to retire from active business affaira.
The partners had kept the secret with
care.
Mr. Morgan on that occasion made
the dramatic assertion that his entire
personal fortune was at the service
of the firm and would remain so in bis
lifetime. No one outside of Mr. Mor
J. PIERPONT MORGAN.
gan and a few of his most intimate
associates knows how great that for
tune is. It Is estimated to be at least
$300,000,000.
The great financier expressed to his
partners that he felt compelled to re
tire because of his age. He is now in
his seventy-fifth year and has stood
the wear and tear of financial leader
ship for half a century.
Preparing to Play War Game.
Washington.—In anticipation of an
allowance by congress of the war de
partment's estimate of $1,350,000 for
the joint maneuvers next summer of
the regular army and the organized
militia, Brigadier General Evans, chief
af the division of militia affairs, has
lust communicated with the adjutants
general of Callforna, Oregon, Wash
ington, Idaho, Arizona, New Mexico
and Utah definitely to ascertain the
number and the kind of troops each
state 1 will be able to furnish.
Lodger Shoots Seattle Woman.
Seattle, Wash.—J. Grossmltz,
tailor, returning borne Saturday night,
found the bodyôj his 24-year-old wife
lying on the dining room floor with a
hüllet hole in-.the left temple. Up
stairs he found Philip Bromberg, 30
years, a - de'aler in second-hand cloth
ing, lying on the bed with a bullet
hole in the right side of his head. It
is supposed Bromberg shot the wo
man and then himself.
Leper Will be Fenced In.
Tacomp.—Shunted about from place
to place as the result of the long gov
ernment Investigation to determine
whether he was a leper or not, John
R. Early, formerly of Washington, D
C., has been found at Summit, near
here, and will he fenced in on an acre
of land. Early's wife and three small
children are with him.
Rioting in Paris.
Paris.—Thousands of Socialists, rev
olutienaries and anarchists attended
the incineration on Sunday of the
Syndicalist Aernolt, who was promt
nent in the labor troubles here severs
years ago and who died while serving
in a disciplinary battalion in Africa
Following the ceremony they began
rioting, a large number being injured
in encounters with police.
Co-Worker of Moody Dead
Chicago.—John M. Hitchcock, for
many years a co-worker of Dwight L.
Moody, the evangelist, died of apo
plexy Sunday. Mr. Hitchcock was 79
years old and had been a leader in
the Moody* church for forty years.
Murderers Granted Reprieve.
Washington.—President Taft hos re
prieved for ninety-one days Mattie Lo
max, a negro woman under sentence
of death here for murder of her bus
band, pending a decision of a case in
the District of Columbia courts.
Stove Overturned on Train.
Emporia, Kan.—Mrs. S. H. Scher
merhorn, wife of a Chicago broker,
was -seriously burned when an alcohol
stove overturned in a compartment of
a car on the Santa Fe California Lim
ited train near here Sunday.
T8 60 U MISSION OF AMITY
8 * 0 rotary of State Knox to Visit
Spanloh-Amerlcan Republics le En*
dsavor to Solve Problems.
Washington.—For the purpose of
solving diplomatic problems and ac
quiring more accurate information as
to conditions in Central and South
America, Secretary of State Knox, by
direction of President Taft, will make
five week's trip to the Spanish
American republics bordering on the
Caribbean sea and the Gulf of Mexico,
As now planned, Mr. Knox will not
visit Mexico, but that country may
be included in the program before he
returns the first week of April.
Although the official announcement
of the trip, made public at the White
House late Saturday, gave no details,
was made known that Havana
would be Mr. Knox's first stop,'and it
was reported that in Cuba he might
attempt to "solve the problem" that
brought about hints of American in
tervention there a few weeks ago.
Aside from a possible peace-making
expedition to Cuba, the purpose of
the trip was announced to be the pro
motion of friendly relations in Cen
tral America. In many respeotB It
will he similar to that taken around
South America several years ago by
former Secretary of State Root.
Five Workmen Killed When Cable
Broke and Car With Ita Human
Freight Fell 168 Feet.
Casper, Wyo.—The snapping of an
aerial cable across the Platte river
at the government Pathfinder dam
Saturday night hurled a gang of work
men in a tram car 168 feet to the
rocks. Five are dead and several
others seriously injured.
The scene of the accident is fifty
miles southeast of Casper. A courier,
after an all-night ride through a wild
and rugged country, reached Casper
with the first word of the accident
and an appeal for medical assistance.
From his meager knowledge of the
disaster it was learned that the men
were crossing the Platte siver in the
aerial tram, as had been their custom
for months, when the cable broke
and the car with its human freight
was hurled upon the rocks.
TRAM CAR DROPS ON ROCKS.
nsane Woman Jumps From Window.
Colfax, Wash.—Mrs. Pearl Henke,
aged 25, wife of Professor Henry
Henke of the Washington State col
lege of Pullman, while temporarily
Insane, jumped from the second-story
window of a hospital at Pullman,
breaking her neck. She was dead
when a nurse reached her. Mrs.
Henke gave birth to a baby bey two
weeks ago. The baby died, and Mrs.
Henke became insane from grief.
Serious Floods in Portugal.
Lisbon.—Floods continue in every
part of Portugal, but the southern dis
tricts *are most seriously affected, and
the distress among the population is
acute. At Oporto a large number of
barges on the river Douro have been
swept away, and several small coast
ing vessels have been driven eut to
Bea and lost.
Philippine Democrats Divided.
Manila.—The Démocratie territorial
convention for the election of dele
gates to the national eenvention at
Baltimore was in continuous session
for twelve hours Saturday and was
marked by quarrels between two fac
tions, which resulted in a divided con
vention. Each faction elected six dele
gates to the national conventioa.
City Must Pay for Mob's Work.
Springfield, 111.—Harry Loper, own
sr"of a cafe which was destroyed by
\ mob in a race riot here three years
ago, v^s awarded judgment for $7,
750 against the city in the circuit
court. Loper's place was destroyed
because, it wa3 alleged, he aided the
sheriff in spiriting away negro pris
Dners.
8 urvey Will Soon be Completed.
Seattle—The Aiaska-Canadian boun
dary survey will be completed this
year, according to the present plans
of those in charge of the work. A
party of twenty-five men will leave
Seattle for the north soon, and will
cover the last stretch to the Arctic
ocean.
Progross of Canal.
Washington.—Work on the Panama
canal progressed steadily in January,
according to. «able reports received
by the Isthmian canal commission.
With one working day less, the canal
diggers excavated 2,641,441 cubic
yards in January, as against-2,439,^ 16
the preceding month.
Peace Conference in September.
Brussels.—The interparliamentary
peace union has called the next in
terparliamentary conference for Sep
tember 17 next. The place of meeting
probably will be in Geneva.
Women Ejected From Court Room.
Fort Worth.—Women who persisted
In remaining in the court room where
J. B. Sneed is on trial for killing Cap
tain A. G. Boyce were ejected. The
court held that the testimony was un
fit for the women's ears.
Tunneled Towards Vault.
Oakland, Cal.—Discovery of a tunnel
headed toward the vaults of the Oak-1
j ,and Bank of Commerce became known |
| Saturday. The tunnel was fifty feet I
lon s and had seventy feet to go before J
reaching the bank vaults.
Washington Statue'in Boston Public Gardens
□
O
More About
the
English Home
of the
Washingtons
D=
□
PROPOSITION seri
ously engaging the at
tention of the English
people and press 1 b
that Sulgrave manor,
in Northamptonshire,
the home of George Washington's an
cestors, shall be purchased by public
subscription in both countries as a
visible monument to the cordial rela
tions existing between the two great
branches of the English-speaking race.
Sulgrave is the place In England moBt
closely associated with the name of
Washington. It Is true that George
himself attached little Importance to
this fact. In the early days of the
American republic, ancestry was de
spised much more than Is now the
case. In 1788 he refused to accept
the dedication of a book on heraldry
because a portion of the community
were "clamorously endeavoring to
propagate an Idea that those whom
they wished invidiously to designate
toy the name of 'well-born' were medi
tating In the first Instance to distin
guish themselves from their compat
riots and to wrest the dearest privil
eges from the bulk of the people." An
cestry today is much more regarded In
America than it was a hundred years
ago. Washington knew very little
about his own forefathers. When he
was asked about them by. the garter
klngat-arms, he said the first of his
family In Virginia had come from one
of the northern counties In England
Yorkshire or Lancashire, or even one
■till further north. Later there was
much disputation about his family
tree, tont It was finally agreed that the
Washingtons of Sulgrave and Brlngton
did actually spring from the Washing
tons of Warton In Lancashire, a place
on the Westmoreland border. Several
-♦J«»
Graves Of Washington's Ancestors,
Sulgrave, England.
generations of Washingtons of War
ton are recorded, end one of these waa
the father of Laurence Washington,
mayor of Northampton in 1532 and
1645. This Laurence Washington
had for moth«* the daughter of
Robert Kytaon of Warton, and a sis
ter of Sir Thomas Kytsoh of Hen
grave In Suffolk, This proved a mat
ter of very considerable Importance in
their history, because it brought them
into connection with the Spencers of
Althorp and Wormlelghton, through
the marriage of Sir Thomas Kytson's
daughter, Catherine, to Sir John Spen
cer of Wormlelghton, whose grand
son, Sir Robert Spencer, was created
Baron Spencer of Wormlelghton in
1603. In process of time the Wash
ingtons of Sulgrave appear to have
got Into financial difficulties. Lau-,
rence Washington entered the wool
trade, perhaps Induced to do so by the
fact that Lord Spencer was one of the
great flock-masters of his day. This
Laurence acquired great riches in the
wool trade. In 1539 he became pos
sessed of the manor of Sulgrave for
the sum of £321 14a. 10d., and sub
sequently be purchased additional
| property' He had many t om , ot
I whom the oldest waa Robert, the an
J eestor ot George Washington. He auo
ceeded his father In 1585, when he was
of the age of forty. He does not seem
to have been so prosperous as his
father, and yet seems to have been
able to send both his sons, Christo
pher and William, to Oriel college, Ox
ford, where they were In 1688, the
year of the Great Armada. Robert's
eldest son was named Laurence, prob
ably after the mayor of Northampton,
and in 1610 he. In agreement with hla
son, agreed to sell Sulgrave to their
cousin, Laurence Makepeace. The
second Laurence Washington then re
moved to Brlngton, near Northampton,
his father, perhaps, going with him,
though the latter was buried In the
family vault at Sulgrave. Laurence
Washington had seventeen children,
two of whom rose to high positions
and were knighted—Sir William Wash
ington of Packlngton In 1622, and Sir
John Washington of Thrapston in 1623.
But the younger members of the fam
ily were becoming Impecunious. This,
then, was the connection of the fam
ily of Washington with Sulgrave man
or. It is a very Interesting one. The
manor could not be properly described
as one of the stately homeB of Eng
land. It was built at a good time, but
It is not a very fine example of the
period. Nevertheless, a single glance
at the pictures of the really grand
old place will show how essen
tially English are the architecture and
Its surroundings. It would have been
a very befitting action had It fallen to
the lot of the celebrants in Great Brit
tain to think first of Sulgrave and to
have offered It as a free gift to the
United States. The inhabitants of the
latter could have made: good use of 1L
It has long been the object of many a
pilgrimage on the part of Americans
In Europe, and it might have been a
rallying ground and a center where
objects of Interest to them could be
collected. Something of the kind may
yet be done; but perhaps It is better
that all of those who are Interested
In keeping the centenary of the sig
nature of peace should take a share In
the acquisition of this memorial of
Washington.
I
Volunteer Fireman
True Public Spirit of the First
President Is Shown in Signi
ficant Action Recorded
One of the facta In the history of
George Washington which most his
torians fall to mention la that he waa
a volunteer fireman. About 1750 he
enrolled hlmaelf ta the volunteer fire
company at Alexandria, Va.
It la related that on more than one
occasion when Washington learned
that there was a fire In the vicinity of
Alexandia which had caUed out the
firemen he mounted hla horse and
rode thither from Mount Vernon. The
records of the place show that when
the volunteer fire department was or
ganized each member agreed "out of
mutual friendship" to carry to every
fire "two leathern buckets and one
great bag of oznaburg or vider linen,"
which was the primitive means of ex
tinguishing a fire.
The Friendship Fire company ot
Alexandria was organised in 1774, at
which time Washington waa a dele
gate to the Continental,congress In
Philadelphia. The members of the
company, remembering Washington's
former services as à fireman, elected
him an honorary member at their first
meeting, and forwarded him a copy of
the minutes.
To show Ma appreciation of the
compliment, he at once made, a thor
ough inspection of the different kinds
of fire engines In use in Philadelphia,
and upon hia second return there in
1776, , he bought from one Gibbs
small fourth-class engine for 80
pounds and ten shillings, and Just be
fore be set out for Boston to become
commander-in-chief of the Continen
tal army sent this little engine as a
present to the Friendship company.
Washington did not lose his inter
est In fire matters through hla eleva
tion to position and power. Upon hia
retirement to Mount Vernon, after hla
second term aa president, and when
bis fame spread around the world,
he continued to take active Interest
in the volunteer fire department, and
aided it in many ways.
Gats a Relia of Washington.
Tho notea from which Washington
delivered hla farewell address are be
queathed to Mias Llxxie C. Faxon of
Dedham, Maas., by the will of her
grandmother. Misa Faxon la a de
scendant of Thomas Jefferson and has
a valuable collection of Joffamon loo
ters and papers.
The Tory
of
Valley Forge
By
GILBERT PATTEN BROWN
f from the
CHRISTIAN HERALD
Û
I T WAS a cold day ta February In
the year of grace i778, and the
patriot army lay in winter quar
ters at Valley Forge. The bleak
winds that swept across Cedar Hol
low were tearing through the huts of
t,he freezing soldiers. Down near the
Potts mansion is seen an old man
slowly making his way toward the out
post of Washington's guard.
'Who comes here?" asked the
picket
"Peter Davis," was the reply, "and
I want to see Mr. George Washington,
the rebel chief," continued the aged
peasant.
If you, reader, will now approach
the scene, I will Introduce to you a
Tory, an Englishman by birth, a strong
defender of the king, and a spy for
Lord Howe's army while they are en
joying the festivities of gay Philadel
phia. Hla two sons are soldiers in
the Continental army, and the old man
has come to ask permission of Wash
ington to visit them as they are now
freezing at Valley Forge.
Soon a tall man comes upon the
scene. The Tory trembles. It Is Gen
eral Washington, who has come to
greet the old man and to hear his
pitiful story.
"What Is your mission, my dear
man?" asked the patriot chief, as he
looked with love Into the face of the
stranger.
"Well, Mr. Washington, you see It
is like this; you're a rebel and I am
a Tory; but I want to see my two
boys."
"Come In and get warm, sir, and I
will try to find them," replied the dis
tinguished Virginian.
Soon General Washington summons
to his headquarters the adjutant gen
eral of the Continental army.
"General," said he, "this man la
Mr. Davis, a farmer and a Tory; but
even the rights of a Tory must be
respected by the army of the Thirteen
Colonies. You will find among the
enrolled men James and John Davis;
4
4L
«
m
General Washington.
and If they are well, dispatch them'
to my headquarters."
At this Juncture, the countersign le
given at the door, and there enter*
the spaolous room Rev. Israel Evans,
chaplain of the New York brigade.
"Good morning, chaplain,'' said
Washington.
"Good morning, general," was his,
reply. "On this, your forty-sixth birth
day, I bring to you the greetings of
Chancellor Livingston, and hére'a r a'
box of dainties with the complimenta
of Mrs. Livingston." ' • •!'
"May heaven bless them!" replied
the glad recipient. .
"So, general, tMa la your birthday-;
forty-six years?' I am nearly twice
your age," slowly remarkéd the Tory;
"and I fear God has forgotten me long
ago."
-The care-worn features of the gen-'
eral and the peaceful face ot the chap-'
lain seemed deeply to affect the aged
man. A moment of silence prevails,
when the old man bursts Into te«rp
"Let us pray," said the army chap-,
lain. "Will you not kneel with the
general and myself. Mr. Davis?" aBked
the reverend gentleman.
The stranger fell to his knees, and'
a prayer went forth that Peter Davis
should no longer remain à Tory or an
enemy to human justice.
Peter Davis went home a changed
man that afternoon. He no longer act
ed as a spy for Lord Howe's army.
The Davis farmhouse -was at the serv
ice of the Continentals during the re
mainder of their stay at Valley Forge.
He lived to see the independence of
the Colonies, and many times during
(he evening of his life, he thanked
hla Maker that to hla heart there came
courage to vtait Général Washington
among the hnta of the Continental
•rmy daring- the darkest days of war
•aged against British daapotism. • •