davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29
Dickens Drew Eram Life

Smlke, Charles Dickens character
In Nicholas Nickleby, seems to have
oeen drawn from the life SAID the
author in letter apropos of that
novel; The rascality of those York
shlre schoolmasters cannot be easily
exaggerated. l have kept down strong
truth and thrown as much comicanty
over it as | could rather than disgust
the weary reader With its fouler as.
poets"
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29
BIG WOODS FIRE NORTH OF
i ORTONA TUESDAY AFTERNOON

A woods fire of considerable extent
to the north of Ortona Tuesday aft
ernoon caused uneasiness to the resi-
dents OF that section of the peninsula,
particularly those living to the south
OF Ormond. BY back firing and cutting
off the advance of the flames at road
ways and trails across the peninsula
the fire was finally gotten under CON
troll. The origin of the fire was not
learned.
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29
Seeming Inconsistencies.

Explosives go in innocent guise.
Thus picric acid is a cure tor burns
1t is also the main ingredient of lyd-
dite, the terrific agent in high-explo-
sive shells. Without nitrogen there
could be no explosive at all, yet this
inert gas is the chief constituent in
the very air we breathe.
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Monday after visit to Palm Beach,
Miami and Havana. While at Palm
Beach. Mr.. Blume invested in some
real estate there, but not for his own
use as he anticipates spending next
winter at Schmidt's.
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Ma and Mrs. F. A. Curtis and daugh-
ter. Miss Bertha Curtis, of Detroit,
who have been spending the winter
at Miami and Palm Beach are making
a short visit to Daytona en- route home
and are registered st the Ridgewood
hotel during their stay
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Alfred Blume, of Union, N. j., anG
daughter, Mrs. G. A. White, who spent
the early part of the winter at the
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

The largest string of fish which has
been caught this season was brought
into the Ridgewood hotel Monday aft
ernoon by the members of the Nullo
Club, whose members include C. E.
Griffing, president; DR.. Hawley, vice
president; DR.. Mooers, secretary and
treasurer, and E. P. Woodbury., chair
man of the committee on arrange
ments. This genial party chartered
the William II, Mond Y, and went to
the inlet, where they spent the day in
fishing. The proof of their prowess
can be seen in a picture in one of the
Beach street photogre phi stores.
The tragic news was received Tues
day at the Prince George of the death
of two ladies who spent a greater part
of the winter at this hotel. Mr.. and
Mrs. William G.. Kerns and Mr.. and
Mrs. John Bonnet, of Lansing, Mich,
were very popular at the Prince George
whittier they came from Michigan in
the REQ limousine They visited all
over Florida, but made the Prince
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Mrs. H. G. Miller, of Orlando, pro-
prietor of the Wyoming hotel, at that
place, visited Daytona Tuesday by au-
tomobile accompanied by several
friends and enoyea luncheon at the
first visit to Daytona, and is very much
impressed with it.
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29
AT THE
@lH01 TELLS
sS&s%~

DR.. and Mrs. NJ. M. Staples, of Ma
con, Ga, who are making a tour of
Florida, are registered at the Despland
for a short stay
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Mr.. and Mrs j. M Metcalf and Miss
Elizabeth B. Metcalf, of Girard, H.,
are registered at the Ridgewood hotel
for short stay en- route north from
a visit at Palm Beach and Miami.
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Mr.. and Mrs r. w Bio, of Winston
Salem, II. c., are among the recent ar
rivals at the Prince George for a short
stay before returning north after a
pleasant visit to many of the show
places Of the East Coast.
The Daytona daily news. [volume] (Daytona, Fla.) 1903-1926, 1916-03-29

Mr.. and Mrs. H. B. Powell, of East
Orange, N. j.. are among the recent
arrivals to Daytona and are stopping
at the Despland hotel for short stay
en- route north from a visit at Miami.
The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-12-14

crude oil, was emptied one night, at
a time between midnight and daylight.
by some person who had gone to the
tank and opening what was known as
the lower faucet. This faucet, which
was two inches In diameter, entered
the tank at a point about six inches
above the bottom. 1t was placed
there for the purpose Of drawing of
the salt water at the bottom Of the oil.
All oil wells in that locality which did
not flow but were operated by pump
ing produced a certain percentage of
salt water, which came up with the
oil out Of the ground. Salt water be-
Ing heavier than oil, 1t Immediately
settled to the bottom of the tank, and
for this reason, when the tank had
become nearly filled with the mixture,
1t was the duty Of the men employed
as bumpers to open the salt water
faucet at the bottom of the tank and
let the salt water escape through it,
the oil thus settling down and making
o for a fresh influx above.
On the night when this tank was
emptied In the manner described.
there was about three feet of snow
c a the ground. The weather was cold,
AID the now had been heaped up
around the tank by the wind. SO that
iC was piled about four feet above the
salt water faucet at the bottom. The
constant drawing of of the salt water
had thoroughly saturated the ground
for a space Of two o. three square
feet under the faucet. and the ground
was soft and muddy, since the satu-
rated earth- would not freeze on &C.
count of the large quantities Of salt
which had intermingled with the dirt.
Salt and snow form q muddy slush
which does not harden.
When the faucet was opened the salt
water ran out, followed by the total
contents of oil within' the tank.
amounting. as has been stated. to four
or five hundred barrels. This oil.
which was highly infammable, even
m its crude state. ran down into Q
rAyine, which was thickly dotted with
oil wells. partly belonging to Mr.. Ack-
ert and partly to other producers. for
the distance Of more than q mile. Had
this stream. In the course Of it, Jour-
ney, reached any Of the nres that
were under the boilers Of the pump
Ing stations, II would instantly have
been converted into = hery river, car
rying destruction AL along the mile
Of it, course. destroying hundreds OF
thodsands Of dollars worth Of property.
and probably sacrificing many lives.
M. Ackert called upon me on the
morning after this occurrence.
hzv5 not shs slightest IDEA who
VAS dastardly enough 70 commit this
malicious act" be said. Il am not
aware that I have IN snsny sa
earth"
The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-12-14

be no probability of my meeting MIN.
Approaching the emptied tank. / care
fully shoveled the snow from around
the salt water faucet and. when 1 got
down to the muddy ground, | found
very distinct traces of a No. 8 boot.
The boots had been very recently half
soled, and the shoemaker who had
made the repairs had placed three
nails in a row across the center OF
the half sole. as his trade mark and
sign manual.
Returning to Oil City, 1 made dill
gent inquiries among the shoemakers
of h town. There was not a large
number of men who did repair work
Of the rough and ready type which
was required by the men employed in
the oil leases. and after a short in
vestigation the man who had soled the
shoes was discovered. He at once
remembered having repaired a pair OF
shoes for Henry Book a couple OF
days before the oil tank had beer
emptied.
1t developed then that both the
"OiC III thC IOhopll dCy, IhO
one having written the letters and the
other having acted upon the threat
contained in them. Undoubtedly
George Book had been more or less
a tool in his brothers hands, for with
a wife and a good position he had no
reason to feel a grudge against his
employer on account of the superin-
tendent.
1 at onoe procured a warrant for
the arrest of the Book brothers, and
that night returned to the Ackert
lease, this was a sleigh and accom-
panied by two officers. Arriving about
IL o'clock | found George Book in
had been the night before. and ut
once arrested him. | then proceeded
to Georges house. where l found his
brother Henry in bed and arrested
him also. After this the house, which
was d one story building with an
attic. was thoroughly searched. and
wagon loads of loot were found, all or
it taken from the Ackert and adjacent
leases. This was afterward identified
by the owners as having disappeared
from time to time.
After a preliminary hearing the
Book brothers were committed to the
county jail In default of bail.
Henry Book soon confessed to the
emptying of the oil tank and George
to the writing of the anonymous let
tiers. There seemed no doubt of their
conviction. However about a week
before the trial was to have begun
there was a jail delivery from the
county jail at Franklin. Pa, fifteen
or more prisoners making their
escape, among them being the Book
brothers. They boarded q northbound
freight train on the A. & G. w. rail-
road, now known as the Erie. When
at q point about twenty miles north
of Franklin this freight train collided
with another train and In the wreck
Henry Book was killed instantly,
while George was SO badly hurt that
he died the following day.
This was the ending of the Book
case. which occupied In all only six
days of my time.
The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-12-14

He begged me TO use all possible ef-
forts to discover who the person was
and to bring him to justice. He then
told of having received the anonymous
letters, which he laid before me. | at
once perceived that they were all writ
ten upon the same brand of paper, In
a legible and penmanlike manner, and
evidently by the same hand and pen.
BY the end of the third day of my
Investigations, l had hit upon a clue.
Joseph Sullivan, the superintendent,
had employed two engineers whose
James were George and Henry Book.
George was a young man, married,
property, near the we'll. Henry, his
brother, was single, and lived with
George and his wife. They were both
employed on the same well as pump
ers. George, who was employed on
the day watch, was considered a very
good engineer and a reliable man,
while his younger brother, Henry,
though known to be competent and en-
ergetic, was not nearly SO reliable.
He had been found asleep while on
duty by Superintendent Sullivan on
various occasions, for which he was
several times reprimanded, and finally
discharged from the service. 1t was
subsequent to his discharge that Mr..
Ackert had received the first of the
anonymous letters.
In addition to the attempt to destroy
property or, at any rate, to the drain
ing off Of Mr.. Ackert's tank, there had
been the theft of oil we'll tools and
other material on the Ackert and ad-
jacent leases. This corroborated the
supposition that the perpetrator Of
these acts was familiar with that por-
ton of the oil territory. In fact, every
thing pointed to Henry Book as the
guilty man.
Being familiar with the manner in
which oil leases were operated, /
donned the suit of an oil driller. con-
sisting of overalls spattered over with
sand pumpings, which gives the wear
er the general appearance of a bill
poster. Thus equipped, l set forth
on a cold night in February, the Their
mometer at the time standing below
zero. My objective was the pumping
house Of a well where l knew George
Book would be on duty until midnight,
when he would retire, to be succeeded
by the man who had taken the posi-
ton formerly held by his brother,
Henry.
Before making my way from Oil
City to the Ackert property, ! visited
a meat market in the town, where /
asked for five cents worth of liver.
There's a pet cat that seems to
have adopted me-" l explained to the
meat market owner. she stays round
my place and cries for food regularly
at meal times. and sc / guess it's up
to me to e that she gets it."
Having planked down my nickel, l
received the chunk of liver which
the proprietor cut off and wrapped up
In n piece of paper. l took it around
the corner, where l made further in
roads into 1t with my jackknife. A
small slice / placed in the hollow of
my right hand. i then cut a thin
piece and spread II on the back of the
same hand. which l afterward tightly
~bandaged with a piece of white mus
lin. The liver soiled the tightly
drawn bandage, which gave the ap-
pearance of a wound extremely in
famed and sore. l then tied two hand
kerchiefs together and improvised a
sling in which l could put my right
hand at the right time. So equipped 1
The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-12-14

left Oh City, passing ~unrecognized
through the streets by reason of my
costume, and walked through the dark
ness and bitter cold to the pumping
house on the Ackex property, where /
arrived a few minutes after nine In
the evening.
Inside the pumping house George
Book was seated alone in a large easy
chair. close to the boiler, which was
fred and well lighted with natural
gas, and was kept warm and neat.
He was reading a novel when / en-
tered.
The engine house was located only
a few feet off the main road that a
between OIL City and the neighboring
town of PlHmmer, and il was not an
unusual thing for oil men. or any other
men for the matter of that, to stop
at the door while passing, to get a
drink or to warm themselves, espe
cially on a February night with zero
temperature. Book, looking up from
his book, was consequently not in the
least surprised to see another OF his
fraternity-as he imagined me to be
standing at the door at that hour
in the evening.
Would you mind my standing by
your boiler to get warmed?" | asked.
Not a Bit" responded George
Book. Its mighty cold outside, and
I'll be glad OF your company. Where
do you work." he continued. cycling
me closely, and a little suspiciously
at first. Q
Il have been working on the Foster
farm" l replied, naming a property
which was situated on the Allegheny
river, about fifteen miles southwest Of
Oil City.
How did you get hurt?" asked
Book Immediately afterward, observ-
ing the bandaged hand, which | had
slipped into the sling just before en-
tering the pumping house.
| muttered something inaudibly and
stood are to the boiler. After a
period Of silence l said in a slow
manner, as a man uses who is about
to reveal a condolences:
You have been mighty kind In al
lowing me to get warm in front of
your boiler, and you look to me like
you would not get a fellow into
trouble by giving him away, SO I will
tell you all about 1t. You see," |
continued, 81 am a driller. and l was
working under a superintendent. We
nod gNDnn tro,,hIa Nun, -;rI o~l
he had a gun. He shot me through
the hand"
With that I pulled my hand out of
the sling and showed him the band
age, to which the liver, adhering, had
given a ~hideously stained appearance,
while the liver itself looked like a
chunk of raw and quivering flesh.
Gracious! You've got an awful
hand there" said George Book. look
ing at the liver and the bandage and
shuddering. you ought to have 1t
attended to at once"
I'm going to have it attended to
when l reach Petroleum Center" |
answered. Il don't want to stop on
the way, either, because of the other
fellow. l shot him, but / don't know
whether he is dead or not; in fact, /
didn't wait to e | left Immediately
he, dropped, and have walked the en-
tire distance, only stopping long
enough to get a cup of coffee at the
eating house in the Oil City depot"
Books sympathy was now fully
aroused, for he was really a good
hearted fellow. You must be awful
hungry" he said
The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-12-14

I The ruse which I am about to de-
scribe was perpetrated by me at the
time when / was chief of police of Oil
City, Pa, and resulted In the appre-
hension of an anonymous letter-writer.
The case was more serious than that,
however, for the property of a number
of men. valued at several hundred
thousand dollars, and the lives OF an
entire city as we'll. were imperiled.
One cold winter morning in the
month of February l received a visit
from a gentleman named Sam Ackert-
Mr. Ackert was well known In the dis.
trict. being the owner of a large oil
lease. on the Towles farm. as 1t was
called. situated upon the Plummer
road, to the northeast of Oil City. and
In venango county.
j Mr.. Ackert was considered to be at
that time one or the largest oil oper-
ators In the district. He vas operat.
ing from twelve to fifteen oil wells. all
of which we're producing large guam
titles OF oil. Some of 1t was being
pumped while others were flowing
wells. One Of the latter kind was
producing as much as four hundred
barrels a day. and at that time crude
or vas selling at the well for about
eight dollars a barrel.
Ackert employed a large number Of
men to attend to the wells and to look
after his general interests. Some Of
these men were employed as en-
gineers. being generally known in the
oil regions as bumpers. To operate
each we'll two OF these bumpers yer
required. each man working for IL
hours at D stretch. Their work was
divided into watches, and men who
were 80 employed usually lived IN
houses or shanties adjacent to the
wells at which they were employed
The Of Mr.. -Ackert's visit to
me VA that some months previously
he lad received . threatening letter
In his mail. It stated that unlesr he
would discharge his superintendent, q
man named Joseph Sullivan. and thor
oughly competent and Trustworthy,
the property would be destroyed BY
fre a. By other methods. Mr.. AcSert
paid no attention to this letter, which
waa followed In the course OF time by
three 0thers Of the same threatening
chaxKcter. each D being anonymous,
and e6ch demanding the discharge Of
ne superintendent, Sullivan. The
tnreo letters followed each other 1t
intervals Of Tour or nve days. A. sui
The Miller press. [volume] (Miller, S.D.) 190?-current, 1916-12-14
An Agreement. AZ Lass

Silas fed before his irate wife. and
seeking the first shelter that presented
itself, crept under the bed. from whencs
after a short time, ~ peered car susly
eut
Seeing bis wife standing near by.
with an uplifssd broom. he shouted:
"Mirandy. / think it's about time
somebody was boss In this house,
Christian Herald.
Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-09-09
THE WASHINGTON CONFER
ENCE.

The conference minutes of 1906.
pages 81, SO and 70, contain the
following respectively: A resolu-
ton was offered relating to paying
Our board at conferences. 1t was
laid over until the evening session.
The resolution offered at the af-
ternoon session, relating TO the
payment CT board at the sessions Of
the annual conference was read
and on motion of Daniel Collins
was laid on the table. Be it re-
solved that the District Superin-
tendents apportion throughout
their districts all amount equal to
three dollars per charge, the same
to be known as Annual Conference
Support, and paid over to the
church entertaining the confer
ence.'
Page 81 Of 1910 minutes contains
the following: Resolved, That it
is the sense of the conference that
Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-09-09

Colored people everywhere, and
lovers OF honest sport III all races,
will hear with regret that Howard
Drew, onetime worlds champi on
Splinter, is paralyzed, and will
most likely never enter into another
running race. Drew is gentle
man, was always clean when deal
ing with his opponents, and was
the pride of both Harvard Univers-
ity and the University of Southern
California, and his enforced drop
ping out of the running game at
this stage of his highly triumphant
career is serious handicap to him
and those who admire his great
prowess as one of the greatest run
ners the world has ever known.
Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-09-09

The question, when is white not
white? would have graphic illus
tratlon III the case Of the young
girl who was arrested on the Cum
berland Valley Railroad not long
ago charged with a violation of the
Virginia separate car statute. She
was taught she was white, brought
up by and in a white family; had
gone to white church all her life
and she belle we'd she was white.
She unerderwent a medical test as
to her color which, had some med
dlesome Matties kept silent, could
not have been ascertaind, but as
the know alls remembered that her
mother was white and her father
could pass for white,' the test
proved a bowling success. Howev-
er she was fined $500, and the
prosecuting attorney of Frederick
county imposed the brand of niger
on her and authorized her to keep
out of the white church. What a
ttavesty on the religion of Jesus,
that perfect gentleman, the son of
God.
"All men are equal in Gods sight,
There is no black and there is no white,
There is no high and there is no low,
There is no friend and there is no foe,
And the fires of hell burn just as bright.
For the rich or poor the black or white"
Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-09-09

At the time that the Hon. Daniel
willard was elected to thu PreSi-
dency of the Baltimore and Ohio
Railroad, the Pioneer Press maze
the prediction that as railroad
president, he had few, if any supe-
riors. and that he would bring the
famous old B. & O. up TO the very
highest standard of efficiency along
all lines. He has done this, as
everybody knows, and as proof Of
the correctness of Our estimate of
the man, it is only necessary to
take a casual view at the vast corp
Grafton which claims his careful
attention. Aside from the person
al supervision given his own road
Mr.. Wizards opinions regarding
railroad matters are sought by men
in his particular walk OF life from
every section Of the United States.
and no matter how weighty the
question at issue, the executive of
whom we speak is a1iably there
with counsel fraught in wisdom
and calculated to show that his Wis
ion is not at all narrow. Even in
the recent negotiations between the
railroad presidents and the Chief
! Executive of the Nation, President
Wizards contentious were those
of the master mind whose ultimate
conclusions were arrived at with
the idea of serving the railroads
likewise the employees, and last,
but not least, the public. whose in
tereSts are paramount to those Of
both the employer aud the employ
Pioneer press. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1882-19??, 1916-09-09

It is with U"''" y .1"''.,n &C r'~o.,
ure that the H;~~"o; r-""s r"'~S
the successful ir'roA..~'' OF co..
ored labor fror, the SSo~'h into 49,"
Connecticut tobacco fields. Best
of all, the grade of our people, gen
orally, who went North to help
harvest the staple product of the
Nutmeg State were way above par,
and reflected great credit upon
themselves by their gentlemanly
bearing both on and off the job.
Many of them we're college boys
bent on saving money, and in not
a single instance can it be said that
any of them were untrue to Tie
trusts imposed. OF course, as is
natural, and almost always i.vari-
able, a few undesirables got into
the neighborhoods where they were
working, and made themselves
somewhat Objectionable, bu. these
gentry were given to understand
that their room was better than
their company SO their stay was
short. SO we'll did the colorcd
boys please the Connecticut tobac-
co growers this year, that all who
want to can go back next summer,
and many like that section SO we'll
that they will remain there through
out the year. Most important of
al, in connection with this new
field of labor which has been opened
to Negroes, is the shattering of
time-honored tradition that none
but foreigners could harvest tobac-
co in Connecticut