The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1881-01-01
TeleDIlOnICs.

| Telephones.
] To follow my thoughts as they go on,
| Electrodes I'd place in my brain;
Nay, I'd swallow live entozoon,
New feelings Of life to obtain
-Btemus.
The Leland COMET is growing in size and be
ginneth to wax better and better than even an
Ottawa daily
We were fully conversant a week ago with the
| facts indicated IL the extract below from quiet
little rural sheet, but suppressed the information
in desiring to avoid all appearance OF interfering
with the new court house committee in its work.
Since they have been published our readers may
as well have them, and we quote the item;
The La Sale county court house and jail
building committee, composed of Geo w. Arm
strong, chairman, Henry Belling hausen, secre-
tary, A. +. Beach, s ). Burgess Martin Flsherty,
+. c: Lewis and y. Mclntirc, have been in SEES
sion here since Tuesday, and in fact have been
in session most OF the time for foar weeks. They
selected six architects and paid them to draw up
and submit plans for the court house and Jail
After giving each hearing they soon narrowed
the issue to one or two competitors and finally
were about to vote on one. But about this time
f. +. Myers, OF Detroit, Mich, man Of national
reputation, sent word to the committee that he
had drawn plans for said court house and Jail a.
great expense, and he would come on and exhib-
il them without money and without price. The
six who were invited to compete were to be paid
800 each If rejected. Mr.. Myers said If his
should be rejected he would not charge one
cent. Mr.. Armstrong had been in communica.
ton with Myers. when all at once Myers received
letter from Ottawa purportlng to be from the
committee. Myers took Armstrong to task for
want of good faith. The chairman telcgraphed
to Detroit for an explanation, and Myers sent
photograph of the letter which came from Otta-
wa and was as follows:
Mr. MYERs-The committee have declined to exclude al
who not paid TO plans and Will not under
circumstances give you hearing.
The letter was signed by order Of the court
house and Jail committee of La Sale county, per
B. This was conveniently vague, for there are
three members Of the committee you will OBJ.
serve whosekname begins with B. Mr.. Arm.
strong laid the letter before the committee and
asked who was the author--result, q tableau:
The original letter was sent for, and behold it
corresponded exactly with pad Of paper used
in democratic headquarters. 1t had the head
torn off, and was Of the same color, a peculiar
yellowish tint; it had the same water mark"
tint and the hand resembled that of certain
architect exactly, so the committee called him
before that august body, and he denied 1t poiat
blank and said it was a put up job to beat him
out of his chances. Be that as 1t may, it was 4
regular Morey letter for him, and lost to him
had the best plan. Randall of Chicago had his
plans for jail adopted and Beers, OF the same
place, got the court house job.
-
So far as the letter is concerned, the gentle
man alluded to has written assurances from Mr.,
Meyers that he is not believed guilty Of the let
ter. Further, certain builder of this city, IA
nous in former days, SAYS h. lays claim to the
letter as having been inspired by him. The fact
that it was written on water.lned linen paper il
nothing, since we can duplicate it almost any
day In the week from our stock and half hun
bred business men OF the county use ii.
Messrs. Committee
Why was 1t that the committee cast aside al
the older land Judging from the appearance o!
the original architects, best architects anu
chose the most inexperienced?
Why is man with less than years experience
chosen in l,lace of men with thirty years eX-
perience:
Why is Mr.. Beers given ) per cent. commits
sions when Others offered to do the same work
for per cent. on job of $l0O,OOO?
Why are Mr.. Beers travelling expenses and
hotel bills with carte blanche to travel and
board as he choses) to be paid extra by the coun.
ty, when the other architects ask nothing o;
the kind?
new plan to be presented on Wednesday next -
not approved by the Board?
Why is Mr. Beers to be allowed to go ahead
without giving bonds of any kind if he should
get this job
WHY did certain members of this committee
refuse to sign the contract made with Mr. Beers?
Really now, gentlemen, aren't you acting just
a little strangely in some respects?
How is this9
Ha. Ha-a-a See them daggcrs? The relics
of the Beemus is annoyed. In week or two
he'll devote some bad spelling to the subject
Then he will be laid up for day or two. When
Beemus is delivered Of dose OF smart spell
ing with infinite labor and pain, he takes TO MS
bed has straw laid down, the knocker tied up,
10 col
ies and the answer at the door invariably IL,
"Mr Beemus and his little snartness are as wei
as can be expected"
The experience of yesterday would seem 70
make imperative some system for testing our hrc
engines that some reliability may be placed in
them. Let them be tested every ten days to find
out the weak points and have them remedied, 60
we may be sure of good work from the steamers
II they cannot be made reliable, let the council
get rid of them and get others that are good for
something. Having engines breaking down al
the critical part of fire is getting tiresome and
expensive.
We are besought, with earnestness and with
tears-on paper-not to say anything whatev
err, touching that watch and Professor Won
Schreeb-"a great insult to so refined and hiShJ
cultured a-person." Well, we like to obhge
lady always, and so long as the Prof. has put UP
the ks, and the drinks, and hangs onto the
WatCn, we won u ueih WIN ooous ~" NV !"
syllable-not mutter-nOt even twitter.
- Friday evening, and this was when
the ''gIganticist frod" OF the entire proceedings
the Military Fairl came in. OF course this re-
fers TO the vote whereby was awarded cane TO
the most numerous and populous editor, or
something of that Sort the competitors being
Witte, Of the Wochenblatt, and Zwanzg, OF the
He,pld. That money was freely used in this
election is almost certain, and likewise disgust
ing.-RepublicGn.
ana no set of editors in the country excepting
the trinity of the Republican would see anything
else In It, Evidently that Office is more than usu-
ally supplied with jackasses. The name OF the
winner would seem to give point to the item; but
to have stated it would have spoiled the moral OF