Free press. [volume] (Hays, Kan.) 1888-1908, 1906-12-29


of which $2,761.O6 was paid over to
the state treasurer, the rest being
used for the running expenses of the
department.
Lower Death Rate. = Health condi-
tons have improved considerably in
Kansas during the past year accord
ing to vital statistics made public
By DR.. s. ]. Crumbine, secretary
of the State Board Of Health. in his
annual report In 1905, 1908 cases
of typhoid fever. diphtheria and scar
let fever, with 757 deaths were re-
ported to the State Board In 1906
only 6.S24 cases of these diseases
with 5G6 deaths have been reported.
Recommend Fire Marshal Law. =
Gov. Hoch viii again recommend
the enactment Of 7 state fire marshal
law in his message to the legisla-
ture. The duties OF the fire marshal,
as fixed by the bill introduced at the
legislative session of 1905, are to in
vestigate the causes of fires with
view Of discovering incendiary or
igin and establishing regulations
AAISu w III lCIu W lOh SI II1OuI dIISC
premiums by decreasing the risk of
loss through fire. At the last session
| of the legislature the fire marshal
bill passed the house but was defeat
ed in the senate.
Found Dead in His Yard-Search
is being made by the authorities of
Grant county, o. T., for the suppos-
ed murderers OF Frank Oerke, citi-
zen of Caldwell. Kan, who was
found dead in the dooryard of a cab
in on his farm about five miles south
of that place, across the Oklahoma
line. Oerke was bachelor. spent a
good deal Of his time at his farm.
living alone in a shack or dugout
The only known motive for the crime
is the fact that he had some diff
Guilty with his neighbors in regard to
the location of a road through his
place. The house bears the marks
of several bullets.
Teachers Must Be Paid. - Accord
ing to an opinion issued by SuDerin-
tendent Dayhoff, a school board can
not cut off the teachers salary while
the school is closed on account of
epidemic. The opinion was written
at the request of the superintendent
of Clark county. There have been
several epidemics OF contagion in
some parts of the state and some
of the schools had to be closed The
/ directors of the school districts be-
Iieved it was not necessary to pay
the teachers for the days the schools
were closed. The opinion says that
an epidemic is a public calamity, and
as long as the teacher is ready to
work but cannot, the salary must be
paid.
Taxing the Corporations. = ]. R.
Burrow, secretary Of state, has pre-
pared a bill in line with the recon-
mendations made in his biennial re
port to the governor regarding cor
poration taxes. The bill will be in
troduced in both houses and senate
shortly after the opening of the leg
islative sessions next month. Osten-
sibly, the bin would provide an en-
tirely new charter or corporation
act. In fact the law would be chang
ed materially only as regards taxa
ton Of corporations. Mr.. Burrows
bill provides that all Kansas corpo-
rations shall be taxed on their capt.
talization in the same manner that
banks are now taxed under the Kan
sas law. In Mr.. Burrows judgment
such a system would effectually con-
troll corporations. preventing over
capitalization and excess of water"
! in the stock.
Water Works Dam Completed. -
The new concrete dam across the
Walnut at 81 Dorado, built by the
city to provide a better water sup
ply. has just been completed and a
banquet was rendered Eli Warren,
the contractor and builder of the
dam, at the Delmonico by the BUSH
ness men. which was a very success
fui affair.
Four Jointists to JaiI.-Four joint
lists. of Arkansas City. Art and
Henry Schmidt. Chef Thomas and
Frank Thorp have been sent to jail
TO serve sentences ranging from four
to nine months on commitments Is
sued from the district court. They
were convicted last spring upon evil
dence secured by John Marshall, as
sistant attorney general, fined heavi-
ly and given Jail sentences. They
applied to the supreme court where
the verdicts of the lower court were
sustained. Two more jointists, Jack
Batty and Bert Files, are already
serving Jail sentences there. making
six who have gone the adverse route
in the last year. Frank Nanny, who
served two months in January and
February. died after his release.
Gift For College. - President
Norman Plass of Washburn college.
ct Topeka. announced that he had
received q gift of $4,000 for the
gymnasium from an unknown source
The college library recently receiv-
| cd a S25, 200 gift from q Rockefeller
institute and $4,000 gift from An
drew Carnegie.
Will Spend $4,000 on Depot-Im-
provements are planned by the Rock
Island Railroad on ifS MESSENGER sta