Iowa state bystander. [volume] (Des Moines, Iowa) 1894-1916, 1900-03-16


employed in railroad shops at Cedar
Rapids, while coming through the
yards on his bicycle, was struck by a
Northwe tern switch engine and in
stantly killed, being cut in two.
The democratic state central COM
mittee met in Des Moines a few days
ago and fixed Thursday, May 3. and
Des Moines, as the date and place for
holding the state convention for the
purpose of selecting delegates to the
national convention to be held at Kan
sas City on July 4.
Christopher Bauer, a Plymouth
County farmer, was killed by his broth
er-in-law, Earnest Meyers, at the lat
ter's farm in Rutland township, Wood
bury county. Meyers quarelled with
his mother-in-law, Mrs. Dora Bauer,
and struck her Bauer interfered and
Meyers severed his jugular vein with
q pocket knife. Meyers was arrested.
At a wedding held recently near
leighton. Mahaslsa county, about
thirty young people contracted dis
ease which the doctors pronounce
measles. All of them have been very
sick and three have died. The dead
are Willie Carver, Gusse Van de Haar
and Elmer Nolan. Several others Of
the afflicted are in Il serious condition.
The measles are accompanied by acute
Inflammation of the bowels in all the
cases.
About sixty painters and paper hang
ers employed by the leading firms at
Cedar Rapids struck recently for new
scale. Paper hangers have been get
ting 225 cents an hour and painters
20 cents. Three months ago they no.
tilted the bosses that they would en-
pect 80 cents for paper hangers and 95
cents for painters. The bosses agreed
to give them an advance, but they re-
fused to accept anything but the scale
proposed.
An encounter took place between two
Webster City school boys in which
knife was freely used by one of them
and as result Ralph Gerber, aged 10.
a son of l.. N. Gerber, superintendent
of schools, is confined to his home
with deep, severe cut in the left ear
and neck and two gashes in the head.
The knife barely missed the jugular
vein and the cuts in the head are clear
to the skull. Lowe Pierce, IA years
old, was the boy who did the cutting.
He attacked the Gerber boy while they
were on their way home from school
at noon. The injured boy ran home
and tainted as he entered the house.
A doctor was called and his wounds
dressed. Although the cuts are severe
and dangerous, the injured boy will
recover.
No lawsuit has ever created a great
er sensation in that part OF the state
than the case of Kassman against Bell,
tried recently in the district court at
Allison. Lena Kassman claimed SIS, 900
damages against Bell for seduction.
She was servant working in Bells
family. Mrs. Bell is a widower and
lives or farm near Ackley. He is
quite wealthy and recently built fine
residence in the suburbs of Acl1ley.
Thus he has fine farm as well as a
town residence. The case was hard
fought one, and lasted several days.
Mr.. Scales represented the plaintiff
and Messrs. Evans and Roberts APP
peared for the defendant. The jury
returned verdict for $4,000. Bells
attempt to fasten the paternity of the
child born upon his hired men is sup
posed to have aggravated the verdict.
A Des Moines dispatch says: A. B.
johnson was arrested by Detectives E.
e, johnson of Des Moines and E. R.
Darlington of St. Louis, just as he and
an alleged brother giving his name as
Olaf y. Anderson were taking a Rock
Island train for Omaha. johnson is
believed to be one of the most noto-
rious swindlers in the United States.
The Immediate crime upon which his
arrest was based was the forgery of
s., 500 in checks against St. Louis
banks. He apparently gave up when
the great array of evidence secured by
the detectives was made known to
him and agreed to 60 to St. Louis for
trial without demanding the issuance
of requisition papers. He left for St.
Louis in charge of Detective CARING
ton. If the detectives are correct,
johnson has operated in all the princi-
pal cities of the United States, work.
ing a number of games with equal
facility, but so far as known he has
been living here quietly with his wife
and 3-year-old daughter. The various
aliases under which he is said to have
operated are A. Il. johnson. Olaf Il.
jacobson, Henry NJ. Preston, Cha rles
e. Brown. Charles w. Brown, A. l..
Wood, O. 3. Peterson and o. b. Ander-
son. His operations are supposed to
have netted him hundreds OF thousands
of dollars, and although he is but IS
years of age he is reclSoned one OF the
smoothest men in the profession.
Officials of the Iowa Central road
were in Fl. Dodge recently looking
over the City with a veiw to ascertain
,f fra;rbf orsirir1a r n ty