The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1919-12-24
BEDDING
Especial to The Ttmes.)

that the 1ounchtng of planets on one side of the sun would cause the de- struction of the world last Wednes- day so worked upon the mind of AL win Johnson Of Georgetown that he became 8 rav1ng maniac on the day of anticipated doom. Before sunrise that morning and while the tenpera- ture was several degrees below zero he went to the house of a neighbor clad only in his night attire and shouted warnings to them to prepare for the approaching smash. Being re- fused adn1ittance there he returned to his own home and continued his out nouring of lamentations. Becoming increasingly violent he Iunged with a knife at one of the friends who was trying to quiet him and inflicted a slight cut He next made an effort to stab himself. but was overpowered and bound before he could do further harm. Daring the day he was placed in the Westport sanitariuTn, but on ac- count of his violent behavior the man agenlent refused to keep him and on Saturday he was trAnsferred to the hospital for the insane at Mtddletown where he still remains with slight pros poets of recovery Johnson is about S5 years of age and has a wife and three children, The prophecy regard ing the earth'S destruction had been preytng on his mind for two or three weeks before the final breakdown and he talked of little else either at homo or among his associates in the GikberI &s Bennett factory.
 There are fears that the yearly income of $500, which the Mark Twain Library has been receiving during the past five years from the late Andrew Carnegie Is lot to 1t as the regular seIni-annual tnstaIment was not received in July and wheth- CT payments will be renewed depends upon the decision of the directors of the Carnegie Foundation. A final discontinuance of the Carnegie dona- ton would be a serious matter for the Library as 1t has no endowment fund, all of the s6,OO0 given for the institution by Mark Twain during his last illness having been expanded in erecting the library building. Soon after its completion Albert Bfgelow Paine, one of the trustees, wrote MT. Carnegie asking his aid towards tha ubrary's maintenance. The former Steel King replied that he consider ed it a privilege to help so worthy an object and that his assistance would take the form of 8 $500 yearly allow ance. It was the general supposi- ton at the time that there had been created 6 trust fund of s10,000 in 5 per cent. bonds, thus insuring the income as a, permanency. From MT Burton, who was MT. Carnegte's sec retary and who came to Bedding about a month ago to inform him self as to the 1ibrary's condition, It was learned that this supposition was erroneous It seems that the library was one of a long list of institutions which were the subject of regular donations from the many rniIlioned philanthropist, a list often revised jn the way of additions and elinninations Some of these mere objects were the subjects of bequests in the Carnegie will, but the Mark Twain Library was not so rem embered. Mir. Bur ton said the library had not been erased from the memorandum list. however. and that the failure to pro- vide for the July payment was ap- parently due to MT. Carnegie's illness at the time. The former secretary said he should recommend to the Foundation directors q continuance of the grant and the library trustees are hopeful that his good offices will prove effective.
 The severe weather conditions have caused a suspension of construction work on the trunk highway, although
  ton. The work so far done in- cludes the blasting away of the ledge near the lower end Of Putnam Park. The local firm of Osborn & Barnes have also stopped work on their biz road building job at Salisbury LAtchfeld county, and also upon their Job 1n Orange. The former is near ly finished. There has already been expended upon it 3, sum considerably above the contract price, but the contractors are saved from loss by a percentage allowance on the actual outlay, a contingent arrangement provided owing to the uncertainty as to final conditions in the price Of la bor and materials
 The annual report Of the trustees on the Mark Twain estate has been filed in the Bedding Probate court, It ShoWs total income for the year of about S75,010, an increase of several thouSa nds from former years The largest single item is S37, ,730 represent ing publication royalties paid by liar per Bros. on the Mark Twain books. In former years the revenue from tbis source was $24,0 900. The beneficiary of the entire income is Mrs. Clara Ga bTflowttsch, only surviving child of the ] late author
 i A good sized congregation attended the Christmas carol service held last Friday evening at the Episcopal church which had been beautifully decorated for the season with small Icedars and pines placed about the chancel. Their dark background was relieved with red berries and the i chancel space lighted by 100 candles, the rest of the interior being left in shadow. The various musical selec- tfons were finely rendered
 ! George Banks, who recently died in l Bridgeport aged about 75. formerly l conducted, in Pleasant Valley, the business of manufacturing buttons and other articles of use and orna- ment, the raw material being cattle
 horns His partner in the business was his brother-in-law, the late Ste phen Sanford, and the valley was then 8 thriving industrial community whose glories in that respect have long since departed. MT. Banks left Bedding about 45 years ago to seek health res- toration in the West and subsequently engaged in farming in wyoming and Colorado. He located in Bridgeport about ten years ago A wife and a granddaughter survive him, the death of his three children having preceded his own.