The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1910-09-01
Home Town Of Billy Hall Very Much
Before Public Care on Account
Of the Sensational Vaughn
Case.
TO BE SCENE OF TRIAL
St. Louis Paper FIippantIy Refers to
Little Town as Good Place
in Which to Air The,
Scandal.

Tne st. Louis Republic had spe-,
cial story day or two ago about
Lancaster Mo-, the Missouri town
made famous, or notorious, because
of the fact that the trial OF Mrs.
Vaughn and DR.. Hull, charged with
the murder OF Prof. Vaughn, is to be
held there. The followings1, the story
which is given for what 1t is worth:
Some towns are naturally great,
while others have greatness thrust
upon them. In this latter. class Is
the town Of Lancaster, Schuyler Co.,
Mo-, which is not only being thrust
into greatness, but also has greatness
hurled bodily into the corporate
limits over the protest of the citizen
ry u
All Lancaster is now being prfmp-
ed and polished as BELTS It's great
ness, for Lancaster is to be the
scene of a murder trial. This is quite
some event In Lancaster, which has
hitherto been SO quiet as to rival the
Arcadian village where Evangeline
lived.
Funerals and weddings, with an oc-
casional dog fight behind the barber
shop, have constituted the sum total
Of excitement in Lancaster for many
years. Whenever there is a. funeral
everyone wends to the church and at
tends, regardless of acquaintance
with either mourned or the mourn
ers. 1t is really the only diversion
offered unless there is wedding and
consequent charivari, and somehow
there aren't a large number of we'd
dings at Lancaster In the course of a
year.
Does Not Welcome Sensation.
After years of rectitude and pastor
al propriety, one would expect Lam
caster to welcome with open arms,
real sensation, the trial of wo.
man for MURDER the airing of so
cial scandal. But she doesn't Lancas
ter never had a scandal of her very
own. From the outside world, on oc
casion, come reports of wives elop
ing with other womens husbands
and tales reeking with impropriety
and outraged morals but through II
all Lancaster has been spared. GoSd
women and good men abound in
Lancaster, If any class may be sale
to abound where there are 976 souls
within corporate lines.
So when Kirksville had a scandal
with all the salacious details neces
sary to keep Nine. Gossip and her vo
taries busy for ten years or SO, Ian
caster looked on with tolerance
When Mrs. Alma Proctor Vaughn
daughter of first family in Monroe
county, was charged with numbering
her husband by the administration O
strychnine, and DR.. James r. HUI
was charged as an accomplish, Ian
caster drew her civic skirts lfttl,
tighter and thanked goodness tina
nothing like that could happen il
their family. When there were re
ports Of evidence showing trip to
Quincy hotel, where DR. Hull an,
Mrs. Vaughn are charged with hay
Ing met a few weeks after her tragi
Widowhood, Lancaster was amazed
The people there wouldn't even tall
about it.
Such things might be we'll enougl
for kirksville, but Lancaster shout
never thus be degraded.
Lancaster Can't Help Herself.
Eventually however. there wer
court proceedings in Kirksville, som
people swcre that a fair trial couldn
be given Mrs. Vaughn in Adair cour
ty, and the judge just had to sen
the trial somewhere else. Judge Ma
". Shelton, who lives at Macon an
has four-county circuit, looked owe
the places where he might send tn
trial, and then he made anssunluck
guess. He decided on Lancaster. Lai