davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

fixed in a manner common in the dis
Beeting room The autopsy showed
that an assault had been committed
upon the murdered woman.
A dapper little man named TheO-
doro Durrant came to be suspected Of
the crime. AS far as any one knew
he was a model youth, an assistant su-
perintendcnt of the Sunday school, an
earnest and enthusiastic Christian En-
deavorer He was so devoted to the
affairs of the church that he was
puttering around the building contin-
ualIy attending to the electricity and
doing all sorts of odd jobs. He was a
student at the Cooper medical college
and a member Of the national guard.
The evidence showed that Miss La
mont, who was a most circu4nspect
young woman, left the hG@Se of her
uncle G. G. Noble, on April went
to the church and was not again seen
alive 1t is supposed that Durrant
met her there and killed her. George
King, the Organist, saw him in the
church at p. III. on that day He
was pale, excited and dishevelled and
said that he had been overcome by
escaping gas. That night, while the
body of his victim lay in the belfry,
Durrant went to prayer meeting in the
church. Gher he met Mrs. Noble, the
murdered girls aunt, and expressed
surprise that Blanche was not pres
ent. Mrs. Noble by that time was I'M
easy at the girls absence.
Durrant offered his services in try
ing to find her He first awakened
suspicion by suggesting to her aunt
that She had run away with a lover.
A few days later Durrant offered for
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

get into contest viii a 'cosu above
! the average size.
IF the dog fails to get the coon mst
right at the first leap there IN trouble
ahead for the dog-split ears, q 2ashed
face and other disagrocahis things
/ Of this sort. The dog that under,
stands the game will max. uu c.corl
to crush the 'coon'S breast This is
the only chance he has, and # the
| lick misses honOrs will be even for a
while at least, and the Chauocs viii
be i'll favor Of the 'coon's escape a
second time. SO game arc these AMI,
mails when it comes TO fighting dogs
! that one viii frequently be more than
match for a half-dozen Gnoe. | re.
call one instance i'm my own experience
where a coon that had lost one of his
fOrelegs in a steel trap whipped three
dogs.
Now 'possum will not hgh. a dog
at all. They will give up in q minute
and play dead. They simply fall over
as if dead and apparently omit breath
ing. If they breathe they do not show
il. But here is the curious thing
which hunters claim To have dlscoy.
cred; A 'possum can WHIP a coon.
Not only that. but a coon is actually
afraid Of a 'pOssum, and win avoid the
fight if there is any chance N tho
world for him 10 do it. and they have
been known to run.
Il cannot speak with aathurity on
the subject but | Witnessed a thing
once which tended to cncou.&gy belief
! in what the hunters say. had built
scaffOld in a persimmon trar and had
! been laying for a bear trat Tad be.
gun to lay in his winter suppl, Ct food
| from a field of corn in g; Francis
county, Arkansas. Suddenly 7 saw a
/ Po3~um Slipping around Under the
tree picking up the persmm,rr which
had fallen. ~ coon showed Up and
the 'possum crouchal- untn -" coca
was in reach and tn" white. ti.a,+V fCis
low sprang upon the coon desperate.
ly. | never heard such . wild ,ry OF
utter and agonizing dcspa'r. The
coon managed to get awar. INT the
'possum remained until h. go; ready
TO leave. Now, the coon might have
! been frightened, merely. I 90 not
know how that was. But an certain
of one thing The coon quit the pes
simmOn tree for the night AT last -
New Orleans Times-DemOcr"-
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

This event recalls one Of the most
sensational tragedies in the history OF
the country. On April 10, 1895, the
women who went to decorate the EN-
manuel Baptist church in San Fran
cisco for Easter Sunday found in the
little library Of the Sunday school the
dead body of Minnie Williams, mem
Der of the church. She had been
stabbed and strangled. On the fol-
lowing day, prompted by that discoV-
cry, a search was made of the belfry
and there was discovered the body Of
Blanche Lamont AS in the case of
Miss Williams, death was due TO
strangulation, and the slayer had laid
out the body, which was unclothed, as
a doctor or medical student would be
apt to do. Behind the head, keeping
1t In position were two wooden blocks
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
COMPEL CITIZENS TO VOTE.
All 6eIgians Qualified Must Exercise
the Elective Franchise.

The Belgians have made an i'm.
pOrtant discovery. They have found
out how to accomplish something that
no American commonwealth accom-
plishes. They have found out how
to compel citizens to vote. They dc
not send the non-voters to Jail, but the
coercive means employed is so effect.
i've that at recent election out OF
1,058,165 eligible voters only 1851
failed to vote without giving previous
notice to the courts as required by
law, and of this number 1921 when
summoned before the magistrates,
were able to present acceptable ex-
cuses, such as age, illness or unavoid
able absence. The number punished
for not voting at that election was
thousand.
How has this wonder been achieved?
In the case of first offenders the state
is far from being harsh. The magis-
trates simply admonish the Negligent
citizen that the habit of staying away
from the polls will cause him trouble
if persisted in. He has begun to
make entries on the wrong side of his
account with the state. If he fails
to vote second time there will be
a penalty. In that event he hands
the magistrate So, and if he still con-
tinues to refrain from voting as the
elections recur his political rights
are suspended for ten years Some
day we shall be as efficient as the Bel
gians are in enforcing the perform
ance of political duty.
If men will not vote why let them
call themselves voters? Why bother
TO keep their names on the voting
lists? Why not let the fact OF their
refusal to take part in the government
Of the country be known of all mer
by reason Of the absence of their
names from the suffrage lists?
Before the year 1893 in Belgium it
is said that 16 per cent. of the voters
remained away from the polls at every
election in spite of all that the party
workers could do to get them there
But as soon as the law making voting
compulsory was passed the rate of
abstention fell below 5 per cent
Hartford Times.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

"
it is started in Christian endeavor
services or church prayer-meetings,
the people join in the singing with
great heartiness and evident enjoy
ment. Thousands have been cheered
in time of trouble, and led nearer to
the Friend that sticketh closer than
a brother" by this sweet and simple
hymn. 1t is found in almost all the
hymnals, but in scarcely any of them
Is the authors name given. In some
books it is credited to DR.. HOratius
Bonar, but as a rule the word "un-
known" appears.
The real author Of the hymn was
humble Christian worker named
Joseph Scriven, who lived for several
years in the town of Port Hope,
Canada. He was born in Dublin in
1920, was educated at Trinity college,
and graduated with full honors from
that institution. He came to Canada
i'll 1915, where he lived a most useful
life until his death in 1886.
Having an income from the old
!
spent his entire time in preaching and
other forms of Christian work. At
the races. the fairs. on the streets, and
wherever crowds cOngegated Joseph
Scriven was accustomed to call sin
neTs to repentance.
It is said that, when he was a young
man, on the eve Of his wedding-day
the young lady to whom he was to be
married was accidentally drowned,
and he was so deeply impressed with
the vanity Of ali earthly joys that he
consecTated his life and fortune to the
service of Christ. A large part Of
his time was taken up in visiting the
sick and helping the poor.
One afternoon he was seen walking
down the street in Port Hope, dressed
in plain suit Of tweed such as a
thrifty wOrkingman would wear, and
carrying a saw-horse and saw. A
citizen, seeing a friend recognize him,
said: DO you know that man? What
is his name and where does he live?
l want some one to cut wood, and find
it difficult to get sober man who will
do such work faithfully"
But you can't get that man" was
the reply. THAT is Mr.. Scriven. He
won't cut wood for you"
why nOt?' queried the gentleman.
Because you are able to pay for it.
He saws wood for poor widows and
sick people, and often sends them
wood"
Upon one occasion he found family
| in the greatest Indebtedness, with
the head of the household very i'll.
Mr.. Scriven paid their rent, got them
| better house, and provided wood
and other necessaries. Then, and not
till then, did he talk religion to
| them.
Nobody ever suspected that he had
any poetical gift until short time
before his death. A neighbor was sit
ting up with him, and while the
patient was asleep accidentally found
a manuscript copy of What friend
we have in jesus" and read it with
great Telight. When Mr.. Scriven was
questioned about it, he said that he
had composed it for his mother. He
had sent her a copy to comfort her in
some great sorrow, and had kept this
copy for himself, never intending that
any one else should see it.
Some time later Port Hope gen
tIeman said to him: "Mr. Scriven. it
is said that you composed the hymn,
What a friend we have in Jesus,' Is
it 500"
He replied, THE Lord and l did it
between u.s."
The hymn is undoubtedly one that
will live.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

sale to a second hand dealer a plain
sold ring with a chip diamond in the
center that the murdered girl wore
when last seen alive. April 13 a post
man delivered TO Mrs. Noble three
rings belonging to the dead girl, and
which it is supposed she wore when
killed
The name Of the prisoner appeared
on the roll-can 0 fthe medical college
as being present at a lecture at about
the time Blanche disappeared. 1t
was shown, however, that he had got
another student to answer the roll
call for him. and that afterwards he
had copied a friends notes of the lee
ture to give the impression that he
was there, the intention being to es-
tablish an alihi
An interesting feature of the case
was the question of the shape of Dur
rants fingers. Upon the neck of the
girl were finger marks showing the in.
dentations Of square-cut nails. 1t was
shown that the prisoner had square
blunt fingers, and that likely enough
they were his hands that choked the
breath out of her.
Much of the evidence had reference
10 the movements of the principals in
the tragedy on the day of its occur
renee. Bit by bit proof was piled OF
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
100000 EYES,"
An English Outrage Upon a Purely
American Word.

\ y
American Word.
The English, among other writer's,
are smart indeed, and possess good
taste" said a young man who keeps
up with current events, "and while
they may be fair enough when it
comes to big things, things that spread
out until they beome of national sig
nifcance, they are sometimes just q
little unfair when it comes to the
smaller things. While reading an
English periodical recently l ran
across an American expression which
has been adopted in England, but they
have had the temerity to change the
spelling which is so thoroughly AMI
originally American that it is not in
any of the standard English diction-
aries. 1t is yet an American provin-
cialism. | am speaking of the word
'goOgoO' as We find it in the American
song, Just Because She Made Dem Goo
goo Eyes If there is a word current
which is distinctly American at this
time, 1t is the word googoo. The
American press, which is a sort Of
word factory, has made the word
amenable to the lenses, and so we fire
quently have the words 'googoo-ed
and 'googooing,' which represent the
past and the present.
Now the English have changed the
spelling of the word. They spell it
google By what authority? This
way Of spelling the word detracts
much from it, for it loses much of its
descriptive import, and even more il
smoothness of sound in pronunciation
'GoogOo' is a better word than google.
It looks better in print. 1t sounds bet
ter in conversation and song, and il
seem to fit that peculiar firtive manip
ulation of the eye with more ease ana
eXactitude. The tongue and lips can
roll it out more unsteady and il
gurgles in a soft sort of way out OF
the throat of the singer. Women, OF
course, make 'googoo' eyes in all coun
tries, old England not excepted, but
when it comes to the word 'googoo,
it is an American provincialism, and
England may not change the spelling
of it at her pleasure New Orleans
Times-Democrat.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
TALENT AND CHARACTER.
Max O'ReII Says the First Is Desir-
able. the Second Necessary.

able, the Second Necessary.
Talent helps a man to obtain sue
cess, but it is character which secures
! it for him. A man will succeed with
character and very little talent, and
will never succeed without character,
! whatever talent he may have at his
disposal
By character I mean honesty, steaGI
ness Of purpose, tact, perseverance
industry, sobriety, seIf-control, re-
liability and strict punctuality. The
man who possesses these qualities
need not leave the old world and try
new countries to get a better chance
in life; wherever he goes, wherever he
! happens to be, he is bound to be sue
cessful, simply because he is wanted,
indispensable. everywhere.
No one wants shrewdness without
honesty, or diplomacy without sin
cerity.
When you are in the presence of a
man who for many years has been a
great success in life, take it for graut,
&C that you have before yOu a steady.
sincere. honest and reliable man
.hatev'. 'alent he may possess IS
| of no use to him unless that talent is
! the servant of his character, and you
! will find that this holds good, nc
matter what the pursuit in life of that
| man, whether he is a man of busint IS
an employer or an employee, or pro
| fessional man, lawyer. doctor, journal
| ist artist, literary man, actor.
1t is owing to the absence of charac
ter that great geniuses have been
known to die in poorhouses. 1t is on
| account of their character that men
with little talent have died million
| aires, and most respected ones. too.
1t is not the cleverest boy of a class
| who is at the top; it is generally the
one who has the strongest character
OF course, if he has both genius and
| character. he stands beyond COMPETE
/ ton. That goes without saying.
| There is no luck in life. Luck is OF
our own making. Luck means rising
| at in the morning, living on 81 a day
! if you make two. mindng your own
business and not meddling with other
peoples; luck means the hardships
and privatiOns which you have Mt
hcsitated to endure, the long nights
i that you have devoted to work; luck
means the appointments you have
never failed to keep. the trains YOU
have never failed to catch; luck
means trusting in God and in youl
/ own resources, a religion whose motto
is Help yourself and Heaven vii
help YOU" Luck comes to those who
help themselves and know how e
wait
II yoG are successful all the socia
failures will howl at the top of then
voices that you have always beer
lucky. You may certainly be luck,
for short time, but you cannot al
ways be lucky, any more than you
can always be unlucky. The man who
plays cards every day Of his life vii
| tell you at the end of the year that l.,
has been lucky as many times as X
has been unlucky.
| This is a mathematical law. fata
law. The only way TO be lucky a.
cards -oftener than unlucky is &
cheat; that is to say, TO force you
luck, 10 make IT,
! The same in life: the only way 10 L
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

proof and the simultaneous presence
of Miss Lamont and of the prisoner in
the church was demonstrated.
For the guidance of the jury they
= ere taken to the belfry where the
body lay. Durrant accompanied them.
He stood in the little room where
Minnie Williams was choked and
gashed TO death, and he passed up
the narrow staircase through which
he had dragged the body of Miss La
mont, but in that trying ordeal his
nerve and assurance did not desert
him. He even smiled as he brushed
from his neat clothes the dust and
cobwebs which touched him in the
belfry.
A model of the church was used In
evidence in court. A French doll
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
TO THE MARK.
he mark goes the ship,

To the mark goes the ship,
Bird and boat and booming train;
To the mark speak eye and lip,
Deeply loved that love again.
To the mark the arrow sings,
Planets move and rains descend.
To the mark The hammer rings,
To the mark speaks friend Will
friend.
To the mark 90 AK and pillow.
Shame upon thy listIess aim
II it glance aside, and thou
Fail to give thy work thy name
-Ethelwyn Wetherald
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
Model for American Women.

Tn" model that should he held up
to American women Of today IS not
the Amazon, glorying in her martial
deeds and powers; not the Spartan
who made female perfection to con.
sist in the development Of physical
strength at the expense of feminine
decOrum and modesty; not the god.
dess of impure love like Venus
whose votaries regarded beauty Of
form the personal charm Is the
highest types of womanlH excellence.
No, the model that should be- held up
before you and all women is Mary the
mother of Christ. She is the great
pattern of virtue, and all that goes
to make the perfect woman alike -
maiden, wife and mother-Cardina1
Gibbons in The Ladies' Home Jour.
nal!
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
COON AND 'POSSUM.

Something About the Toothsome Ami
mails of the Woods.
Speaking of the hunting season re-
minds me of a curious thing in con
nection with the opossum and the rae
coon," said a man who is fond of a
chase in the woods, "and | have often
heard hunters remark On exactly the
same thing. Now, it takes we'll
trained dog to whip coon. A coon
is one of the gamiest things in the
woods in many respects. They are nat
urally belligerent and fight a great
deal among themselves. Among the
well-trained dogs you will not find
many that are particularly anxious to
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

lucky-that is to say, successful-ls
TO leave nothing TO chance. but to
work and work and work again; to in
spire confidence in others by tire
strength and uprightness of your
character; TO make yourself indis-
pensable Of your reliability and year
devotion to your calling, peasant by
your cheerfulness, respected for your
honesty and sincerity; ard always to
bear in mind that what can be cb-
tanned once by tricky means can, as a
rule, be obtained forever and ever ~
honest ones.-MaX O'Rell
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
Angels Bothered Her.

Thaddeus Hyatt, prominent mem
Der Of the Dyker Heights colony, has a
little daughter who has been religi-
Ously impressed with the idea that
good angels are always in attendance
upon her. One day last week when she
went out for her daily walk she was
followed by her dog.
Go back, Dick" said she GO back,
say It's bad enough to have the
angels flying about all day without
bothering with you. New York
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

San Francisco, Dec. 24.-Adoiph
Oppenheimer, one Of the principal wit
nesses against Theodore Durrant, who
was hanged for the murder Of Blanche
Lamont, was mysteriously shot and
killed early yesterday morning in his
shooting gallery. Robbery was the
motive
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

The Manchurian question has
reached stage which best informed
observers consider to be a crisis IN
Chinese history. The Chinese govern
ment is beset between Russia on the
one hand and Great Britain, the
United States and Japan on the other.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

The duchess of Albany Is believed
to have been selected as az in er.
mediary in sounding the hoer leaders
as to peace proposals.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
ATRADEGY RECALLED
PRINCIPAL WITNESS AGAINST
THEODORE DURRANT is SHOT.
4 SENSATIONAL MYSTERY

Remarkable Web of discriminating
Evidence Wove About Theodore
Durrant Whose Trial Six Years
Ago Was the Talk of the Time
Story of the Crime.
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02

formidable revolution against
President Castro breaks out in vene
zuela
Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1902-01-02
A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.

Authorship of WeIl-known and Pop
uiar Hymn.
Rev. A. c. Crews in Christian En-
deayor World.-Very few hymns
have been more widely published or
more frequently sung than What a
Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-08-27
Chamber Sets

We have large and varied assort-
ment of Chamber Sets. Our Iron
Bedsteads are the latest thing out.
They can't be beat. The Wood
Sets speak for themselves. Come
in and see them; we are always
pleased to show goods.
Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1902-08-27
THE SENATOR mALRg WIN
The Hose Race at Bar Harbor City
Hose Second.

The Hose Race at Bar Harbor City
Hose Second.
The Senator Hale Hose Co., OF Eiis-
wort, was the winning team IN the race
at the Bar Harbor horse-show last We'd
nesday, with the City hose a close second.
The other contestants were tho Dirigos
of Brewer, the Eagles of Oroao, and the
Orioles OF Bar Harbor. The prize was
'sleg" on the Morrell cup ana SO.
The City hose was the first team TO run.
They went off in good shape, and made
good run to the cart and return. When
their pipe struck the ground the time was
~ 20 seconds, but the pipe wss not up
the required three full turns, and that ad-
ded one second to the tins, making it
1925.
The Senator Haies came next. They had
some difficulty in getting started, going Off
four times before the gun, bat they
finally got underway and the way they
went to the cart was a caution. When
they started to return the rope caught
around the reel, and only about eleven of
the twenty four feet came out. This was
bad and caused the loss OF some time, but
they got their places ard went down the
track to the tune OF 43 is, beating the
City hose by OF q second
The Orioles were the next team to run.
They went to the cart all right, but In re-
turning, two OF their men fell, and the
cart passed over them. Being so light it
could not stand the jar, and one OF the
wheels went under. They continued, how
ever, and got very good time considering
--453 5.
the Eagles then came to the scratch.
Their run was good one, but they could
not get their pipe on.
The Dirigos OF Brewer came last. Like
the Eagles the run was fine, and they got
their pipe on all right, but the hose was
twenty-six and ope-haIf feet short OF the
seventy five foot line. This adds Ia of
second for every foot. This took them
out of the race, and the Senator HaIes
were declared the winners by Id OF
second over the City hose company.
The Senators, by this victory have se-
cured a second "Ieg" on the cup. But
one more is needed to bring it to Ellis
worth.
The "Morrell eupr will be presented by
Cot. Edward Morrell to the first company
that wins 1t three times. 1t is q handsome
cup, as will be remembered by many who
saw 1t In Ellsworth last fair time, when it
was on exhibition.
In addition to the two prizes already
mentioned, Col Morrei, in a brief speech,
presented the Senator Haies with medals,
which were acknowledged by three
rousing cheers.
The home teams entertained the visitors
in grand style, which was highly appre-
ctated-dinDer being served on their ar
rivat at noon, free carriages to the fair
grounds, and refreshments after the race.
The boys returned home on the 10.2S
train and were met at the station by
large crowd, Who showed their apprecia-
tion Of the days work by shouting and
blowing horns.