Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1905-04-22
KANSAS COMMENT

effort will be made to secure par
don for Willie Sells. The application
will be presented TO Governor Hoch
on May 1. Mrs. Hanna Sylvester is
pushing the case. Sells is serving a
hang sentence for killing his
father. mother. sister and brother
near Chanute in March, 1886. He was
a mere boy and was convicted on cir
cumstantial evidence.
Guaranteed 1000 Sheep. = C. ].
Keishner, state live stock inspector,
arrived at Emporia and put 1000
sheep in the Santa Fe stock yards
under quarantine, claiming that they
are suffering from scabies. The sheep
came from the Southwest and were
unloaded 10 give them d rest. The
law requires that sheep so affected
must be sheared and dipped before
resuming their journey TO market,
and a large force of men are now
working on the sheep.
Wheat in Good Shape. = 1.-The
crops in Western Kansas are in won
derfulIy fine shape this spring, - said
+. f. Ames, of Norton, national bank
examiner for Kansas. In the
twenty-five years that have been
travelling around through Kansas
have never seen them better. Two or
three good showers are really all that
is needed for the wheat now. What
we are praying for, in view of the eX-
periences of the last two or three
years is that we don't get too much
rain.
Oil Operations at StandstiI. = At
Humboldt all the oil operations in this
part of the oil fields are practically
stopped. There is no drilling going
on and all the wells west of the Santa
Fe tracks are disconnected. and none
are being pumped p j. Mckinley,
the gauger, says that he has been
laid off. as his territory was in the
cut off district. How long this thing
is going to last is hard to tell, but it
is crushing the life out of many COM
ranies, and throwing hundreds of peo-
pie out OF employment
Col. Godfrey Leaves Fort Riley
Colonel T.. S. Godfrey, commandant
of Fort Riley, left the fort for Omaha,
where he will be in command Of the
department of the Missouri during the
absence of the department command
er, Brigadier General Whit, who will
take a vacation. In the absence of
Colonel Godfrey. Lieutenant Colonel
James Parker will be in command at
Fort Riley Colonel Parker arrived
here this week from st. Louis. where
he was on duty as military secretary
nf ~
Deserves More Prominence. = An
other institution in Kansas that de-
serves greater prominence is the Anti
Horse Thief Association. 1t is an in
ter-state association covering Kansas,
Missouri, Oklahoma and Indian Terri
tory. There are districts in Kansas
where the association has been so we'll
perfected that it is almost impossible
for a man with a stolen horse to get
away. A number of captures by that
organization has given a black eye to
that old idea that the simplest way
to get horse Is to steal it.
Socialists Defend WILL The state
committee of the Socialist party issu.
ed a statement generating State
the Wichita society of completely in
an alleged plot to wreck the Socialist
party in Kansas. The statement will
be followed by the submission of a re-
ferendum on whether or not the char
ter of Kansas City. Kan. local shall
be revoked. Members of that organi-
Eation are said to be responsible for
The charges against the state officer
and the Wichita local.
Long Coming Honne.-Senator Long
and family expect to return to Medi-
cine Lodge on the 18th of the present
month. The senator will remain in
Kansas until the latter part of June,
when he win join the congressional
iunket to the Philippines. During the
interim he will deliver an address on
Decoration day and numerous
speeches at high school graduations
throughout the state and on other oc-
casions.
Charged With Murder.-Charles H
Stokesberry, the supposed murderer
OF Charles Ferguson last July, was ar
rested south of Ellis and taken to
Wakeeney After his arrest Stokes
berry had very little To say of the
murder, but since the disappearance
of Ferguson. it is said he told several
times of having committed the crime
and said that Ferguson's body would
be plowed up one of these times. One
theory advanced for the crime is thai
The murdered man was about 10 give
information regarding the alleged cat
tie stealing that had been going on fol-
some time southwest of here and in
which it was alleged that Stokes
berry was implicated.
New Court House For Troy. - Thl
board of county commissioners me
at the court house at Troy TO discuss
the building and location of a new
court house. Many taxpayers from
different parts OF the county were
present and are unanimously in ia
vor of work on the new building com
mencing at once and it was so de
cided by the board. The new cour
house is to be built on the site of the
old one in the center of the cour
house square and will cost not 10 ex