Newspaper Page Text
THE COLFAX GAZETTE THIRTY-FOIRTH YEAR. POI POURRI OF NEWS FROM STATE GAPITAL Land Office in Hands of Three Commissioners. Two Contradictory Reports on Cost of Jute Bags at State Peniten tiary--Due to Methods of Fig uring, Both Probably Right. Olympia, Feb. 15—Since taking office January 27, 1909, Governor M. E. Hay has granted pardon to but one prisoner convicted in Whitman county. This was Ralph W. Carter, sentenced in July, 1909, to not less than one year in the reformatory for the crime of grand lar ceny. A communication by the gov ernor to the legislature states that the pardon was granted on the recommenda tion of the board of managers of the re formatory, the trial judge and a number of repHtable citizens of Whitman county. The pardon was granted March 30, 1910. In re the Land Office. Outside of the bill cutting the state road (hi levy from one mill to half a mill the measure of moot general in terest throughout the state thus far treated open in the senate in the bill by Allen of Kutit to abolish the elective office of hTHtc land commissioner and to place the (iffiiirs of the laud office iv the bands of a commtMion of three mem bers to be appointed by the governor. Thin pawed the senate Thursday after* noon by a vote nl 24 to 17 Senators ArrHHtnith and Hall of Whitman county both opposed the bill on final paHSHge, and both supported the motion made a fetv moments before by Stewart of Cow litz that the measure be indefinitely postponed. The measure was lost, how ever, by a vote of 27 to 14- Some of the opposition to the measure wae due to the appointive feature, and an effort was made by some of the friends of the bill to have it referred to committee and tae appointive feature eliminated. Bills Introduced. The Whitman county delegation in the legislature has introduced within the past few days measures as follows* Bj Representative Larue, H. B. 286, providing that county treasurers shall submit monthly statements of financial conditions of third class school districts to clerks of such districts. 11. B. 287, amending the constitution, making supreme court judges appointives of governor ami fixing their terms at 12 years. H. B. 310, prohibiting hunting and fishing on private property without consent of the owner. H. B. 244, re lating to cities of third class, author izing collection of assessments for local improvements and declaring an emer gency. By Representative Todd, H. B. 302, permitting candidates for the legislature to tile declaration to vote for popular choice for United States senator. H. B. 317, relating to damages for death by wronglul act and amending laws of 1909 relating to recovery of damage for death of person caused by wrongful act or neglect of another. Two Sides of the Shield. Two reports have been received by Governor M. E, Hay from the three men named to investigate the matter of jute bag production at the state penitentiary at Walla Walla. A minority report was turned in by E. I). Cowan, a member of the state board of control, while a ma jority report was received from H. H. Hanson of Touchet and H. A. Reynolds of Walla Walla. According to the re port of Cowan the state, during the last 18. years, has lost f 300,000 in operating the jute mill. On the other hand, the report by the majority shows a profit to the state in the sum of $113,000 in the same rime. The difference is due to the method of figuring employed. In the compilation of the minority report maintenance and every expense except interest on the in vestment and sustenance of free em ployes is figured in, while in preparing the majority report there was only charged to expense the actual expense of operation of the mill. Mr. Cowan is of the opinion that the prisoners should not be required to work in the jute mill, that it is unhealthy and that it would be better for them to be employed upon the public roads. The report also pays that if the farm ers of Oregon, Idaho and WashiDgton were of a mind to combine in the pur chase of grain bags as a corporate body they could break the grain bag trust. The minority report says the state should have a buyer ol jute stationed at Calcutta all the time to take advantage of any lowering of price, and in addition could save the etate some $26,000 a year by buying second grade or mixed jute, which would result in the manu facture of a lighter sack. MA, INQUIRIES AT HAND. Home i< ters Want to Know Mora A ■-; the Palouse Country. Heal B e men in Colfax report that many 7; iries are coming from the East aX Vlidfile West asking for in formation in regard to land and h'ttiit - in the Palou*e. It is apparent there will be a movement in this direction noon. While we of the Palouse cannot expect, and do not desire, to capture all, etill we should not hide our light under a bushel, but let our resources and advantages be known. The commercial clubs of the different towns situated in the marvelous region known as the Palouse should get a "move on" and that right away. Therein an old Baying that "God helps those who help themselves," the moral of which it it not difficult to understand There is room in the Palouse and the Inland Empire for thousands yet to come, a land if not overflowing with milk and honey yet has many unde veloped resources, a land capable of pro ducing everything raised in the temperate zone. The Palouse is the cream of this rich empire, still it is the least adver* tised of any part of it. Who is to blame? GOES TO WASHINGTON. D. C. J. G. Patrick Enters Government Service--Hurry Up Call. ,T. Q. Patrick, who took the civil ser vice examination l»st September for a clerkship in the chief engineer's depart ment of the war office, received a tele gram Yonday from Wat-hington, D C , to come at once, consequently Mr. Pat rick has resigned his position in the county treasurer's office and will leave on the 19th to ap'uoie his new duties at the national capital En route he will stop a few days at Dcs Moines, lowa, to ccc his brother livinc there. In this connection it should be stated that the civil service examination passed by Mr Patrick was the highest in the state, which accounts for the quick demand for his services in the war department. Mr. Patrick is a most worthy young man, and is being heartily congratulated by his friends. E I). Eldridge has picked up the duties of Mr. Patrick in the treasurer's office and will probably be a fixture there. THE JERSEY CREAMERY CO. Turns Out Several Hundred Pounds of Butter ■ Week. The Jersey Creamery Co. of Colfax is turning out between 600 and 700 pounds of butter a week at this time. This is made possible by reason of the fact that large quantities of cream that formerly went to the Elgin Creamery at Palouse are now coming here. Dissatisfaction arose with the Elgin people, the nature of which we do not profess to under stand, the result being that the Jersey Creamery gets the cream. Elbertonand other outlying points are the places of distribution bringing th*> change about The product from the Jersey Creamery finds a ready sale in Colfax and many of the near by towns, it not being necessary to ship the product to Spokane or to the Coeur d'Alt-nes. Bible Lecture at Court House. Announcement is made that a free Bible lecture will be held in the court house on the evening of the 22d, begin ning at 7:30 o'clock. It is held under the auspices of the Brooklyn Bible So ciety of New York. The special object of this society is not to create new de nominations, but to stimulate bible study. Besides these free bible lectures a quantity of free reading matter is given away. No doubt those who at tend will be greatly enriched in thought and action. Remember the time and place. K. of P. Lodge at Elberton. The Knights of Pythias will soon or ganize a lodge at Elberton. A petition . for the institution of a lodge has been : B°nt to the errand chancellor, and as Boon as th<? petition is granted the ' local lodge will be launched. It is the in tention of those having the matter in | hand to institute about the first of March. Changs of Residence. County Surveyor McCaw and family moved this week from the Duehemin residence in the south end to Mrs. Thomas Baker's house on Mill street. Mrs Baker has taken up her residence in the MacKeozie apartments. COLFAX, WASHINGTON, FKIDAY, FKBRUAKY 17. 1911. REEDER, DINING CAR CONDUCTOR, SHOT BY A WOULD-BE BURGLAR Lewiston Junction Scene of Crime—John W. Burns Confesses to Shooting and Issues Statement. D. J. Reeder of Portland, diaing car conductor on the Oregon-Washington Railroad & Navigation Co.'c line runuing out of Spokane to Lewiston Junction, where the dining car is sidetracked until No. 11 comes along, which takes it to Portland, was shot in the breast, just above the heart, by a would-be burglar at 1 o'clock Tuesday morning. Reeder heard some one trying to break into the kitchen of the dining car. Getting up to investigate he was fired at by the intruder from the car kitchen window, the ball taking effect as above stated. Reeder is at St. Mary's hospital, Walla Walla, where he was taken soon aftsr the shoot ing, and is in a critical condition. The shooting seems to have been cowardly, as the would-be burglar oould have escaped, not having entered the car. As soon as news of the shooting reached Spokane R 0. Cowling, assistant super intendent of the Washington division, went messages to every agent and pection foreman along the line to notify all rail road employes. Per consequence all tramps and suspicious characters in the territory where it was possiMe for the wood-be murderer to be were bundled into box cars and later taken to Star buck, only eight miles from Riparia, which is on the opposite side of Snake river from Lewinton Junction. Sheriff Carter Takes a Hand. Sheriff Carter left for the sceue of the shooting immediately after being noti fied. He. with Detective Joseph Plover of the 0.-W. R. & N\, who was on the train which left Spokane at 7 o'clock Monday evening, took up certain dues which finally led to the discovery and arrest of John W. Burns, who acknowl edged doing the shooting and made a signed statement which is published be low. The region in and around Lewis ton Junction is sandy, and the track of the man who did the shooting from the car kitchen window wae picked up and traced as far as Riparia. Mr. Plover made a plaster of parie cast of the foot print, which fit in every instance, for be it known Burns has a peculiar shaped foot or wears a peculiar shaped shoe, which in the end was his undoing. Are On the Right Trail. Reaching Riparia the sheriff and de tective found that the station agent and section men had rounded up a bunch of tramps and had them in a box car. It was decided to take them to Starbnck, eight miles distant, which was done. There each shoe worn by the bunch was examined, when lo! the shoes worn by Burns were exactly the same size and shape as indicated by the plaster of paris cast. Burns was closely questioned, strongly denying that he bad any knowledge of the shooting. He wa* perfectly cool, Be!'-possessed, an swered all questions freely in an off hand manner, and in no particular did he con tradict himself. When told of the tell tale foot prints and shown the plaster of paris cast he weakened and admitted that he did the shooting, but attempted to justify his act by the statement given below: Statement by Burns. February 14, 1911. To Whom It May Concern: A con fession concerning assault with a deadly weapon on the Pullman conductor on February 13, 1911. I came into Ripnria, Wn., on a freight, hungry, cold and broke. After warming up in the depot 1 decided to rustle some thing to eat. I walked to Lewiston Junction in search of it. The first thing I saw was the dining car, aud thinking I might make a raise I crawled inside and bit the glass with the muzzle of the gun, but failed to break it. Being frightened I went out to investigate. Seeing no body around I returned and broke it in. This awoke the men iusidp. I was busy picking out broken glass when a man t-ame up in the car. I saw him through the crack of the door and I thought I saw an automatic pistol. I drew my gun and he pushed che door back against my head and the gun exploded accidentally. After th» fl^sh I «aw nor heard anything and jumped and ran and returned to Riparia. (Signed) John W. Burns. Witness: C. F. Actor, Ed M. Davis. Prisoner in County Jail. Sheriff Carter arrived with his man in Colfax Wednesday afternoon, where he lingers in the county jail. Burnt* ie 23 years of ege, of medium height and weighs about 150 pounds. Ie should be stated that the gun with which he did the shooting as well as several bu'l^ts were found close to the track near Ri paria, where they had been hastily cached. The gun is a Colt's 32-20, of large size, carrying an ounce ball. Evidently a Tramp. Burns ie evidently an assumed name. He says that he was born and his folks live in ludiana. Evidently he has been floating throughout the Northwest for the last two or three years, mentioning numerous places where he had worked, even giving the name of a man at Star buck for whom he had worked a few daye, the man being called in by Sheiiff Carter and recognizing Burns as the man. Reeder, the unfortunate dining car conductor, lives at 190 North Twenty first street, Portland. His fatber, Wil liam R. Reeder, lives at Weiser, Idaho. DEATH OF GRANDMA TAYLOR. Pioneer of Pioneers of the Palouse Country--Highly Respected. Probably the oldest pioneer of the Palouse, bo far as early settlement is concerned, died at Pullman Monday night. We refer to Mrs. Hester Anna Taylor, wife of James S. Taylor of Vera, Spuknue county. Mr*. Taylor was nr the home of her dauunter, Mrs F. V Meek of Pullmnn at the time of death Mrs Taylor was born 66 yearn ago in lowa. She, wirb her pare-ite, crocked the plains to Polk county, Oregon, in 18. r>9. Fron: O.egoo nhe went to Walla Walla where, in 1863, she became the wife of James S. Taylor. The couple moved to Colfax in 1871, taking up a homestead sou*h of town, living there 40 years. She is survived by her Lusband. one son and two daughters—Edward C.Tay lor of Colfax, Mr*. F. V. Meek of Pull man and Mrs. Fred Johnson of Colfax Funeral was held from the Presby terian church WetJuesdny afternoon at 2 o'clock, Rev. J. Herbert Biinton offici ating. Interment took place in Colfax cemetery. PIONEER PASSES AWAY. Charles F. Eaton Dies at Potlatch- - Buried at Onecho. Charles F. Eaton, a pioneer of Whit man county, who came from Eugene, Oregon, 85 years ago and settled on a homestead near Wilcox, died Saturday at the home of his daughter, Mrs. A. J. Allen of Potlatch, Idaho. He wag 58 years of age. Dro; sy ie given as the cause of death. The funeral took place Wednesday forenoon from the Methodist church, Rev. N. M. Jones officiating. Interment took place in Onecho cemetery beside the remains of bis wife. Six children survive—Mrs. Mattie Ennis of Portland, George and Charles Eaton of Wilcox, Frank Eaton of White Salmon, Robert Eaton and Mrs. A. J. Allen of Potlatcb. Mr. Eaton wae a man universally respected. G. A. R. AND RELIEF CORPS. Will Observe Birthdays of Wishing. ton, Lincoln and McKinley. The G. A. R and Relief Corps of Col fax will meet in G. A. R. ball tomorrow night to honor the memories of Wash ington, Lincoln and McKinley. This is an anuual event observed by the mem bers of the G. A. R. Washington's j birthday anniversary is next ftednee (lay, Lincoln's wns last .Sunday and Me- , Kinley'e was in January, but the three j events are obseived at one time. An elaborate program has been pre- I pared, consisting in part of singing by | the High school quartet, an address by j Rev. N. M. Jones, and other features j that will be of interest to all who at tend. The public is invited to these ex- ; ercises. Before the public meeting, af 6 o'clock, the veterans and their families will en- • joy a banquet, which, no doubt, will be ! an enjoyable affair. To honor the names of Washington, Lincoln and McKinley, a trio of patriots ! whose names add luster to the Great I Republic, is and should be a pleasure to j all citizens, and it is befiitting that the ! G. A. R. veterans should take the initi ; ative. More Than Doubly Afflicted. The four year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. ; Steve Cutler, who live on the Palouse river near Diamond, died of pneumonia Monday night. Mrs. Cutler and another ! child are down with the same disease, which makes the family more than doubly hfH.cted. Ptomain Poison. Word was received Tuesday that Dr. Maguire, mayor of Pullman, who is vis iting in Los Angeles, was stricken in that city with ptomain poison, for a time being a very sick man. Latest ac counts, however, state that the ductor ie recoTering. WHITMAN COUNTY TOWNS. Census Returns Give Population as Reported by Cansus. The Gaznte received a dispatch from Director Durand at Washington, I) C , Saturday, giving the population of Col ; lax, whicti wa« potted for the benetit of all. Sunday, however, the population of incorporated towns in the state not i heretofore reported were given out by j the census bureau, those of Whitmau county being an below given : 'town 1900 1910 Colfax 2121 1783 Helton 251 39i Elborton 297 330 Faruaington .434 489 Oakeadale 928 8«2 Palousse 929 1549 Pullman .13.8 2603 Rosalia 379 767 Tekoa 717 1676 Uniontown 404 426 (Jartield 932 Endicott 474 St. John 421 Tekoa lead* all Whitman county towns in gain of population. Roaalia is a close second, with Pullman only a neck be hind as third. All towns in the county show a healthy increase save Oakeedale, that town having 4G less than it had 10 years age. The reason for this is not obvious, as Onkesdale is surrounded by a rich farming community and beara the imprint of prowperity, not that of decay. The population of Maiden and Lamont were not reported at this writing, but they are new towns, both feeling the im pulse of railroad cons-ruction. Eudicott gained 127 over the 12th census. There in no cause for any town in Whitman county to curry a chip on its hhou'der. BREAKS WINDOW GLASS. Horatio D. Moses Adopts a New Method to Get Into Jail. Horatio 1). Moses iH in (he county jail charged with malicious mischief. Tue malicious mischief consisted in breaking several panes o! glass in the sheriff'« office with his fist, the object being, hh he stated, to get iubi'ie the jail, being broke and de*-irii>g food and lodging. He told the sheriff ho many stories of his doings and tseapades that it was thought best to detain him until more could be learned about him. If is claimed that Moses comes from a well-to-do family living in New York. He was iutrodut'd to Julius Lippitt at Portland as a yonog man who desired to be a farmer, the plan beiiig to take a six months' course at practical work on a farm, and if I,' good his father in the east would buy a farm and Bet him up in business. Julius Lippitt re ferred Moees to William Lippitt in Colfax Moses put up at the Hotel Whitman, had a wardrobe tit for a king, there be ing no suspicion that he was on the verge of starvation. Mr. Lippitt visited Moses at the county jail and told him there was no occasion to break windows to get into jnil—if he (Vioees) had made his wants known they would have been supplied. It has developed that Moses is ad dicted to the use of cocaine at times, which probably accounts for his strange actions and many contradictory storiep. What he will do on a farm if be gets one, under all the circumstances, is enough to make a mule hee-haw. He is being detained in jail until his folks in New York can he heard from. A NEW WEATHER PROPHET. Irwin's Bullfrog Has Commenced to Eat--Fasted All Winter. Spring jb near at hand. There is no doubt about it tbiß time. The weather prophet, in the form of Lou Irwin'a big bullfrog, which has been confined in his aquarium for over a year, Bays bo. His frogsbip, which was brought from Snake river and haa bf jen on object of much in ; terest, has lain dormant in the bottom of the acquariutn all winter, but recently has showa a disposition to come to the nurface and stick hi* head out of water i During all this time he ban not tasted food. Last Saturday, however, he grabbed one of the gold fish in the ! aquarium and without ceremony pro -1 ceeded to swallow the little beauty. Gulp i by gulp he had nearly accomplished the task, only the tail of the fish sticking . out of bit* mouth, when Irwin made the ' discovery. L>n lifted hie frogebip out of the water, squeezed the atck tightly, i when the frog let loose and spewed the \ fish into the water, which swam away apparently none the worse from the ; startling experience. Weather savants ear this is a sure j sign of the approach of spring, as the i bullfrog never touches food until the ice '< king has been dethroned, and gentle, ethereal spring is about to enchant our homes. We will see. Day Was Obsaaved. Monday was a legal holiday, its ob servance being the birthday anniversary of Abraham Lincoln. Sunday, the 12tb, was the real day, but Monday following, as in this instance, is the legal day. The backs and the county offices were closed to business. In some of the churches last Sunday the greatness of Lincoln was dwelt upon in sermons. Next Sue day Washington will be the subject of discourse in several of the churched. PRICE FIVE CENTS. WHITMAN COUNIY RANCHER IS SHOT Fred Day Seriously Wounded by Emil Sparkes. Old Feud Supposed to Be at Bottom of Crime--Sparkes Quickly Lands in Jail.-Two Bullets Enter Body of Day--Feeling at Hay Is Deep. Fred Day was shot at Hay at 11 o'clock TueHday forenoon by Emil Sparkps, the shooting being the result ol an old grudge existing between the men. They met at the time mentioned in the Btore of J. B. Taggart, a few words passed between them, when Sparkes wbippf d out a pintol aod shot Day twice in the breast. Th*> first shot bit Day in the center of the left breast, striking a rib and passing aronnd to the back. The second struck the right breast, lodg ing under the arm. Mr. Taggart, pro prietor of the store, his ton and a man whose name we did not catch, were the only witnesses of the tragedy. The sheriff's office in Colfax was noti fied and Deputy Sheriff Cole lost no time iv going to Hay. Sparkes was found at the home of hit* father, William Sparkes, 8 few ruiliH from Bay, ami wnn takeu across couutry to La CroMe and lodged iv jail there, it being (bought best not to t/ik- hiui to Bay, (be feeliug in that neighborhood tieii g strung aguiiMt him. O i the tirnt iocomiug trim Spurkea wuh brought to Colfai ai»d lodged in jail. Spurken in about .'lO jeurs of age aiid Domarried. Day in a well-to-do farmer living near Hay, in .'52 jeitrH ul nge and han a wife anu four ehildreo. After the nhootiug D^iy wsH carried to the home of hiu sister, Mrt«. ,J. A. Mt)rgiiii, near May, and a doctor from La CrosseHummoned. Day's wife and children were Ho,>n rtt his bedside, also his father and mother, Mr. and Mrs. W. W. Day. It should be stated that Flay it a hamlet and station on the (>. W U. A N. in the enstern part of Whitman county, being the trading point and out let of an exteußive farmiug community surrounding it. Sparkes telephoned from La Cronse to Hanna & Hanna, attorneys of thin city, to defend him. What the line of defense will be remains to be seen. Deputy ProsecutiDg Attorney Stotler went to Hay Tuesday to investigate, bo as to get at the true inwarduess of affairs. Out on Bail. Sparkee was released on bail yesterday morning in the superior court, bail being fixed at J3UOO, Sparken' father and uncle signing as sureties. He in charged with assault in first degree. COURT REPORTER NAMED. Judge Neill Appoints H. M. Lova for Tim* Being. . Judge Thomas Neill baa entered an order employing H. M. Love to act as court reporter until the next meeting of the board of county commissioners. Mr. Love ban been acting under the employ of the county as court reporter for sev eral years, but the comtnieHioners ad journed their February meeting without renewing the contract, and Mr. Love bad an offer in Spokane which be w»»h about to accpt, which would leave this county without a stenographer who could report cases. There will be a jury term next month with a number of crim inal cage* and county road condemna tion canes on the docket wherein the services of a reporter will be nquired, and the order wut> nrnde in order to re tain the services ot Mr. Love until the commissioners could tn'tke permanent arrangement* for a c<urt reporter. Marriage Licenses. Marriage licensee have bf-en ineuad by the county auditor to the following: George U. BrookH and Elizabeth Mc- Donald, both of Endicott. John C Bubch aud Tillie Herboth, both of Uniontown. Peter J. Weitz and Mary Hcbmick, both of Endicott. Endicott vs. Colfax. An exciting bucket bull gauie is sched uled to be pulled off this (Friday) even ing at the High school gymnasium, the game to ntart at 8 o'clock. It is Endi cott egaihHt Colfax, both good teams and both intent on victory. Basket Ball at Endioott. The Boy .Scout*' basket ball team met their Waterloo at Endicott last Friday, when they went up against the Boy Brigade of that place, with a ttcore of 23 10 6 Big Class Initiated. Verona Kebekab Lodge No. 13, I. O. O. F., at its meeting Tbureday evening initiated fourteen candidates into the mysteries oi that order.