The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1897-03-11
CAUSED A SENSATION
The Announcement That DR.. Scott Is After
Uncle sam Houston


Uncle Sam Houston
The announcement made Wednesday
evening in the local papers and in the
Milwaukee Sentinel this morning to the
effect that DR.. j. L. Scott, state veter-
marian, is after r.. S. Houston, has
caused profound sensation through
out Kenosha county. Not that the
matter comes to them as any very great
surprise, for many of the farmers pro-
fess to have known all along that the
COWS of Mr.. Houston were not killed.
The whole proceedings in the case from
the time DR.. Scott left his orders and
came to Kenosha for the purpose of
going home, were very queer, to say
the least, and neighbors say that while
they would not impute wrong motives
to single man who had hand in the
affair, yet they feel they must say that
it was all conducted in most unbusi-
nesslike manner.
Here is the way in which the whole
thing is alleged by neighbors to have
been conducted DR.. Scott went there,
killed one of the animals, made an ex-
animation, and found what he claims
was bad case of tuberculosis. He
then continued his examination and
ordered thirty seven animals to be
killed.
Mr.. Houston then notified Justice of
the Peace John Lucas that three APP
praisers would have to be appointed to
fix the value of the COWS so ordered
killed. Henry Blackman, F. r. Snyder
and P c. Torrey were appointed to do
the appraising. The three appraisers
made affidavit to the effect that they
were instructed by Justice Lucas that
it was tkeir duty to appraise the cattle
to their full value as they appeared not
take into consideration their diseased
condition, and not to allow their APP
praisement to exceed $50 a head. The
appraisers each declared on oath that
they were not permitted to see the
condemned cattle slaughtered. APP
praisers Blackman and Torrey declare
under oath that on the printed form
presented to them to sign, were the
words, And we further certify that
we have seen said animals destroyed
which were scratched out before they
signed it, and they were fully of the
opinion that the return would be re-
fused by the state authorities. Mr..
Torrey in his affidavit declares that
Justice Lucas said he represented the
state of Wisconsin, and erased the word
g SEEM in the certificate and inserted
the word " ordered" after which the
appraisers had signed it.
Notwithstanding the form of these
affdavits the secretary of state allowed
the bill of Mr. Houston for indemnity
to the amount of two thirds the value
of the COWS killed, amounting to 81, 100.
The cattle were all then turned over to
Stephen Crosby to dispose of.
William Demund, the man who was
afterWard tarred and feathered at Sa-
lem, was working for Mr. Crosby at the
time. On Dec. 5. at IL o'clock at night
a portion of those COWS were put into
two cars on the Chicago, Milwaukee &
St. Paul road at Ranney and shipped
in the name of Demund to Benedict &
Murray, at the Union stock yards in
Chicago to be sold. The COWS brought
$49314, and this money was disbrib
uted among the interested parties.
A neighbor who claims to know
something about the whole transaction
says that he would hate to be hung for
what he knows about some of those
COWS still being on certain farm not
two or three miles from Mr.. HoustOn's,
and that at least those cows are not yet
dead, unless they have died since he
came to town.
DR.. Scott proposes to begin action to
recover the indemnity money and to
impose the penalty for the deception
practised upon the state.
Under the Illinois law the penalty for
shipping deceased cattle into the state,
DR.. Scott says, is very severe, being a
maximum fine of So, 900 in addition to
a term of Imprisonment. But just how
the state of Illinois can get at Wis |
consin citizen does not appear. 1t is
not believed that this otfense is an eX
traditable one.