Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1913-10-16

interested, I suppose, but how?"
Wen get busy today" Wright said
decfsively. "A few pointed questions
on the front page may bring them out
from under cover.
In the conference which ensued the
two men discussed every possible
phase of the question, yet they never
dreamed that it was part of the stock
yards scheme. What aroused sCspi-
ciOn as much as anything else was
that there was nothing they could find
on which to base suspicion. When
Morrison left it was with the intention
of scrutinizing copy of the proposed
ordinance carefully.
Wright sent a reporter to interview
Alderman Grunewald, and all other re-
porteTs were instructed to find out
what the public thought of it and any
definite facts that could be brought to
light. The city editor himself took
an hour off to go to the Office of Rosen-
baum & -Rosenbaum, who it was
learned had given Grunewald the bill
TO present for them.
The drag net which the News spread
did not seem productive Of results cal
culated 10 bring anything to light. AL
derman GrunewaId had introduced it
at the request of his good friends
Rosenbaum & Rosenbaum and knew
nothing about it
Rosen baum & Rosenbaum said that
b.l fyNr +E oil
and that the road would prove of in
estimable benefit to Belmont, silce in
the near future It would be extended
to Corona, and all the people of that
little town and the villages along the
line would do their shopping in Bel
mont The incoEporators were Chica-
go men with plenty of capital back Of
them
Wright telegraphed a Chicago news
agency TO find out who the incorpora-
tors ware. At his suggestion the city
editor tired to get Kerr at Esmeralda
Springs by telephone, but was unsuc-
cassfui.
Only one clue was found which of
itself was suspicious, and it was not
one which could be used that after
noon. The courthouse reporter had
dropped into the county surveyors of
flee, and talked about surveying in
general and the work in Belmont coun-
ty in particular. Was anything going
on just then? This elected the reply
that the spring was not far enough
advanced for the usual work, but that
the stock-yards company had had men
out. WHAT were they doing? They
We're seeing how they could save their
tracks along 'the river and rearralIg-
ing the quarantine tracks for Texas
cattle which We're by themselves to
the east Of the main yards This was
all the courthouse man brought back
to the Office, but 1t was duly presented
to Wright by the city editor.
That afternoon Belmont rubbed its
eyes as 1t looked at the front page of
the News. In the last column under
an extended head was a story about
the proposed car line down Maple ave
nue.. It was not replete with facts and
figures, but it asked a great many
I
views which said nothing. Even the
property owners along Maple avenue
| who had consented to the line and
then been pledged to secrecy until the
matter was made public by the intro
duction Of the bill in the council, knew
nothing more than that Rosenbaum &.
Rosenbaum had secured their consent.
= i
send what information II gathered IN
til too late for use on that day
Sam Hayes bought q paper On the
street, read the story, and rushed for
a telephone. He paid two dollars and
thirty cents for the privilege, one
could not call it pleasure. of talking
with Kerr at EsmeCelda Springs. He
read the paper to the boss, the front
/ page story and the trenchant short
| editorial in inquiry. Kerr asked that
| he be connected with Gilbert but al
ready the Judge was trying to get Els
meralda Springs, having seen the
/ News just a few minutes after Hayes.
| Their conversation was short Kerr
| knew the facts, and il was mainly a
| discussion of how the Banner should
treat the matter in the morning. he
| boss decided his paper should insist
/ that the News was trying TO knock
! the town. The attack was to be upon
/ the News, thus diverting attention
/ from the real issue. This command
/ properly phrased, was dropped into
! the eager ear of Deacon Winthrow
and he proceeded TO write a seathine
| editorial holding up to scorn the pa
per which would try to barTicade the
path of the car of progress. The dea
con felt proud of his editorial when
/ he read it in the proof, and was
warmed with a self-satisf1ed glow Ia
think that he had thought Of it. He
/ still lived in the age of personal Jour
nalism and to lambast the other fell
! low personally was part OF his edito
rial creed.
| Before the paper came out, wright
| telephoned Gloria that he would be I'M
| able to drive with her but that he
would call in the evening. They had
ship where she was not unwilling to
pout and let him know how disap2oint
! ed she was
! II was four o'clock when Morrison
arrived at the News Office with a copy
OF the proposed franchise. As be
threw it on the table in Wright's pri
/ vate Office he exclaimed:
I IF that goes through. the company
can DO anything according to its pro
vision except commit murder"
| Il suspected as much" replied
, Wright. What right of way have
they?"
| Morrison went to the map of Bel