Western Kansas world. [volume] (WaKeeney, Kan.) 1885-current, 1917-01-13
Judge RuppenthaI of Russell
County Urges More FIex-
ible System.
WOULD HELP The uTIGANTs
The Jurist Would Eliminate All JUS
tees of tie Peace and Abo1-
ish Probate Courts

]. G. Ruppentha1, judge of the dis
trict court of Russell county, would
abolish all the probate courts and jus
tees of the peace, giving all of this
works to the district courts and then
would change the district courts so
judges could be transferred from one
to the other and equalize the work.
He also would permit court to be held
any place in a county where itswould
save time and expense to litigants in
the county.
1T should be sufficient if every Iiti-
CANT could find one court of general
jurisdiction open always for the pro-
lection and enforcement of rights, the
prevention and redress of wrongs and
the punishment of public offenses,'
wrote Judge Ruppenthal. Instead,
we have one supreme court with seven
justices, "a district courts with SO
judges, los probate and juvenile
courts, 5000 or more justices of the
peace, hundreds of police courts, and
also quite number of city courts
with one Judge each. The supreme
court unquestionably is needed in its
present size and form for appeals.
But no one can contemplate seri-
ously without dismay if he wants JUS
e-speedy, cheap and sure-the ar
ray of thousands of judicial officers
to whom is committed trials of cases
in the first instance.
zone court of general jurisdiction in
each county should be provided, with
an appeal to the supreme court. The
trial court should have sole and COM
plete jurisdiction of all cases, except
for a few original proceedings in the
damus and special proceedings"
X X
Sues Parsons Gas company.-The
trustees of st. Johns Episcopal church
have filed suit through their attor-
neys asking $4,000 damages from the
Parsons Natural Gas Company The
edifice was demolished by gas explo-
sion September Is. 1t is charged the
gas company was negligent in fixing
a leak.
Hunters Hand Shot Off-Frank
Armstrong, an Atchison business man,
shot off his right hand with a shot
gun while hunting rabbits near Mus
cotah He WIS returning to his auto
mobile when he slipped and the gun
was discharged.
Woman Died From Tetanus.-Mrs.
Charles Youngquist, mother of six
children, is dead at Lindsborg from
tetanus developing from wound in
her foot made by rusty nail last
summer. She treated the wound her
self and was apparently recovering.
Her death came after the sudden de-
ve1opment of lockjaw.
Hurt in Auto Accident.-Erie G.
Schneider is in a critical condition in
an Atchison hospital on account of in
juries received when his motor car
overturned near Effingham. The base
of his skull was fractured and his left
arm broken. Two other men in the
car at the time, Charles Brown and
Martin Woodland of Effingham, were
slightly injured.
Kansas Boy a War Hero.-Frank c.
Mitchell. Horton boy, is in the Brit
ish army and has won honors on the
battle field for bravery. He was
awarded recently the British disting-
uished conduct medal.
x
Oil Sand Near Emporia.-O1 sand
was struck in a test hole on the Glot-
felter farm, three miles southeast of
Emporia. Work was shut down to
prevent caving while waiting for cas-
ing, which was ordered from Okla
homa The Buffalo Oil Company has
leased the G1otfelter farm.
X *
Dynamite In Wreck.-Eight cars
of Missouri, Kansas & Texas freight
train dropped from 20-foot trestle
eleven miles east of Columbus recent
ly, and although one of the cars was
loaded with dynamite, there was no
explosion The train, a local freight.
was making about thirty miles an hour
when it hit the trestle. The engine
and fourteen cars had passed over
safely when gasoline car jumped the
track and the car of dynamite and six
others, most of them loaded with coal
and cement, followed. The dynamite
had been saturated with gasoline.
x
Woman Pioneer Dead.-Mrs- Sfna
Rivers, go years old, resident of
Kansas for more than fifty years and
of Jefferson county for the last thirty
eight years, died on her farm near
Perry Christmas day
X
Killed Many Rabbits.-One thousand
men surrounded eleven square miles