Camas Prairie chronicle. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1901-1917, 1911-10-20
A GREAT
PROBLEM
By KATHLEEN |. M'CURDY
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation. 1911.

Inree nuuuTeu years aSO tihhCpACNS1
were rare There were town clocks
in some European cities, but the watch
had not yet been developed. Frau
Stoekel living in the square of Stuff
CART. where she could see the tower
clock by stepping to her door. had a
clock Of her own and used to set 1t
every day by the clock in the tower.
Now, at this time the minds Of men
did not work as quickly or as shrewd-
ly as they do now. The masses were
still superstftious. referring every nat
ural event to supernatural course.
The people of Stuttgart were as stupid
as any, and it took them as long to get
a proposition through their heads as
would be required to bore hole
through a milestone with gimlet.
A murder was committed among
them-at least was supposed to have
been committed, for the body of the
murdered man could not be found.
Franz Gobel, peddler. had stopped all
night at the house of John Mertz. and
in the morning Mertz had disappeared.
Gobel was caught leaving the house
with some money Mertz had left be-
hind him. Gobel pleaded guilty to
taking the money, but denied having
in any way injured Gobel. Neverthe-
less he was arrested and tried before
a jury, such system of trial having
recently come into use in Stuttgart.
The fact that Mertz had disappeared
and Gobel was going away with his
money was quite enough to prove to
the Stuttgartians of that day that Co
bel had killed Mertz. They convicted
him in short order, and he was SEN
fenced to be hanged.
In Stuttgart was man named Vent
nor, who possessed a curious comblna-
ton Of knowledge He knew quite
as much law as the attorney Of that
period-which was nothing at all-and
he knew something Of mathematics
and astronomy. Gobel sent for him
and declared on cruci6x that he had
not murdered Mertz. but had scared
him away In the middle of the night
by playing ghost in order that he might
secure his money. The condemned man
begged Ventnor to save him.
Ventnor was as ingenious as the peo-
pie Of Stuttgart were stupid. He took
what money the prisoner had and, GO
ing to the keeper Of the clock, bribed
him to let him Cventnor) into the tower
whenever he wished to go there.
The next day at noon. when Frau
Stocked went to her door to look at
the town clock in order to set her
own. she found that the clock had gain
ed twenty minutes. A gain or loss
of five or ten minutes would not have
surprised her but twenty minutes quite
took her breath away. However, she
and every one in Stuttgart had perfect
confidence in the town clock, and she
set her own timepiece back. The next
day, finding that 1t had gained anoth-
er twenty minutes. she set 1t back
again and moved the regulator to cause
it to go slower. Nevertheless on the
third day her clock had gained an
hour.
Frau Stocked. convinced that her
clock was out Of order. tried to get
some one to fix 1t. Several of the best
mechanics tried. but the more they
tlnkered with 1t the faster it ran. Not
withstanding the work done on it. in
a month 1t had gained In all twenty
four hours.
Gobel was to be executed Just one
month from the date of the sentence.
The day before the intended hanging
Ventnor went before the Judge who
had sentenced his client and declared
that the execution would be illegal.
When asked why he asserted and
brought two witnesses to prove that he
had turned the town clock back at
various times enough to effect the loss
of day. Therefore the date appoint
ed for the hanging would. be the day
after that named in the sentence.
The judge was puzzled. Taking a
quill pen. he began to make figures.
He figured awhile. when fellow
townsman came in. and, having heard
the problem as to whether the setting
back of the clock had lost the town a
day, he. too, began to figure. One by
one the citizens came in till the room
was full OF persons driving quill pens
with view to working out the prob
lem. At midnight. since there was no
result. the judge issued a stay for the
hanging. and the next day the figuring
went on.
At the end Of week the Judge sent
to the university at Heidelberg for a
professor Of mathematics and astrono-
my to come to Stuttgart and tell the
Stuttgartians whether Gobel IL hanged
as sentenced would have been Illegally
executed-in other words, whether by
The setting back Of the clock a day had
been lost.
The professor came and told the
burghers that day had not been lost.
but when he attempted to prove his
words he found his listeners too thick
headed to understand him.
The Stuttgartians after the profes.
'or's departure began to wrangle
,mong themselves. some believing
what he had told them. others stead
last In their opinion that a day had
been lost. But all agreed that a new
day should be fixed for the hanging
and a guard meanwhile placed around
he clock toyyer From, on,n,.. -,