The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1913-10-31

expressed ny the IfienGS ana
4 press in reference to, this, I'M =
! fortunate accident-J. S. Find. Z
4 ley general secretary. r =
: T. = *4]+ 4s **4%a
Mrs. N. A. Houston and her daugh.
ter left this noon for their home in
Pipestone with the body of Chester
Houston, the young man who died
yesterday afternoon after having one
vertebra crushed. - an. ,rt.r ri.
During this morning the students
of the Commercial college went to
Landowners undertaking rooms,
where the young mans body lay,
to pay their last tribute and the stu
dent body and faculty accompanied
the remains to the train. Professor
F. H, Ward or thee school, William
Lowe and w. e. Fletcher, both
students at the college whose homes
are in Pipestone, and Melvin Merritt,
whose nome is in Parker. S. d., went
to Pipestone to remain for the fun
eral In speaking of him this morn
ing Professor G. f. NettletOn said:
"He was a fine young man and a
fine student"
Rendered BY Students.
Many beautiful floral offerings
were sent by the students and fac
tulty. IS =
The funeral will be held from the
Presbyterian church in ,Pipestone Sun
day afternoon. t& ~ -
Mr.. Houston is survived by his
father and mother, three brothers, and
one sister. They are Mr.. and Mrs.
N. A. Houston, Miss Florence, and
| Will, Gerald H.. and Harry. -
AS was stated in yesterdays Free
Press, Mr.. Houston recently gave an
exhibition at the Y. Me-. A: of his
muscular skill and showed the trick
of bridging" his neck by stiffening
the muscles. Some one remarked
at that time that some day he would
break his neck doing the trick.
Physicians in the city believe that it
was possible that Houston had cracked
the vertebra at some previous time,
and that on Wednesday evening the
bone gave way from the strain caused
i by the previous tests of it's strength
as much as by the strain of that
j night .'' ." .' 1'r> .s'.t - H..
| Statement From MIR. Ward. Ii.
Being on the entertainment com
mittee. Il was responsible for the
/ wrestling match. Chester Houston
has been wrestling for years and
/ was glad to help out on the enter
! tainment He had been training. Mer-
rift for a bout with Tronvald OF
! the Commercial college. They had
agreed not to throw each other, OF
| if one did, he was to allow the other
/ to get a fall also. They also agreed
not to keep any hold obtained longer
than to show the various holds
/ Houston was allowed to escape a
full Nelson a few seconds before
the fatal fall It was evident to all
! that these training partners were
only exhibiting, for they would, break
!, holds When off the mat and catch
anew instead of being given the same
holds, as the rules of wrestling al
low. &9sfg AlsH'S,'' 'sr9
Z Close To the5 Mat. 81
81 was at all times within three
feet of the mat and was timing them
for two minutes They had wrestled
a trif1e more than minute. Mr..
Houston was on the. defensive, as
agreed upon, and was caught nin a
hold called a bar arm and hammer
lock, his head was "a the mat and
he started to spin out of the hold.
Merritt was ready to release him
but tho impulse he gave his body
to bridge and spin, seemed to cause
the muscles to give all at once, his
neck buckled and the injury was
done before he could be released
/ There was no drop to the mat and
my Judgment is that his NECK
muscles gave under the impulse
1 given by his own body.
On Football Team.
.Houston has been ON my football
squad and every evening the play
ers are piled up in much worse
shape. Chester used to tell me that
he prided himself on his mech
strength in wrestling and foot ball
He was good clean boy keeping
himself in training at all times.
cannot realize yet how it was pos
Z sible for this to happen. 1t is more
/ than sad to all of us. No blame
can be given any one. just an 'ac
cident that has come to all of us.
REV. T: r. Paden said to Chester
after the accident e You feel that i
was all fair and gust ans accident? 2
Sure, said Chester very heartily.
= Merritt is alright then - and fre'
from all blame?' sure, again he re
piled with an earnestness that SPOKE
volumes of good will and left nj
doubt as to how he felt about thu
accident Signed, F. H. Ward, in
structor and coach, Commercial col
lege.
La Wants to Join Navy. :,
Melvin P. Merritt, unfoftunatel.
connected with the wrestling mattel
!, which resulted SO fatally yesterda.
IA fba W. MI ~ "A hIfilf1ino m n