The Topeka state journal., 1921-12-10

The writer of these notes first be-
came acquainted with Joseph F. Men
denhau, of Cove county, on his hrst
visit to Cove City. He came TO thS
county from Illinois in 1855, ana
bouesteaded. Later after proving up
on the claim he moved to Cove City,
From this time he has taken an az
tive part in all community matters,
as well as county. district ana state,
affairs. He served two terms as coun-'
ty treasurer An lncldeht worm re-
nnembering was in the primary cleo
ton for his first nomination. He won
ont bv one vote His Democrat op-
Donent was Jake Tustin. HIS son ana
MendenhalFsN daughter were Keeping
company during the campaign while
the two nominees We're nsiltIls toi
the office of treasurer. The Menden-
halls own abount ! s sections of land
in the county They raised a large
family of children, and they are doing
their part to improve the county. Be
sides he has dealt largely in cattle
and hogs. 1t is good to be acquainted
with active men like Mendenhall, and
among his acquaintances your CORE
spendent is pleased to be classed.
Young Andrews, barely out of his
teens, was night man at Sharon
Springs on the Union Pacific, an hon
orable, upright young fellow and the
making of a good citizen, peradVen-
ture he should meet no temptation too
strong to- withstand. Among the
varied packages and parcels of freight
and express matter left in his care
and keeping was a carton of cigar
cites. The Great World war had
taught him the habit. The temptation
was too much for him He opened
the carton and purloined a few spikes
with which to while away the lonely
watches of the night. OF course the
theft was discovered. The young man
lost his job with the Union Pacific
and was hailed into district court His
mother had died years before and his
fathers whereabouts were unknown
but his faithful old grandmother came
with him to ask for leniency for the
eulprit whose guilt was admitted.
County Attorney Ward arose and ad-
dressed the court:
May it please the court: Here is
the accused. He is guilty. L doaI
want to punish him, and yet it must
be done 1t is up to you, your Hon
Or"
Judge I. T. Purcell reasoned with
himself The amount of the theft
was but a trifle. 1t was a first Of
fense and except for the habit there
would have been no temptation and
consequently no crime. He looked at
the boy and then at the old grand
mother and seemed to see a way out
"Y oung man, stand up. You are
guilty. You have committed an Of
fense which has caused you to lose
your position with the railroad and
at the same time it has earned for
you a five years job in the reforma-
tory at Hutchinson. 1t is the least
I can do for you and that is your
sentence. In all my life have never
smoked a cigar, to say nothing of
| cigarettes, but I understand that the
habit once formed is very hard TO re-
sist. I believe that if you had not
hod IooI, 17a4
mitted no offense. Is it so?"
at is, your Honor"
81 shall not send you to Hutchin-
son, however. Ingtead you are pa
rolled to the care and counsel of your
/ grandmother You are to obey her
commands and follow her advice.
More than that, you are to quit smok
ing That is a part of your punish
ment. Can you do it?"
Il can, and will"
And he did. Some weeks later he
| said his punishment was pretty Sc
we're but he intended to keep his prom
Use. A year later he said that Judge
Purcell was making. man of him.
Two years have gone by. The young
man is married and doing well.
c. H. Benson is one of the institu-
tions of Trego county! and has been
ever since he landed in Ogallah and
| that was in 1885. For a time he ran
| a country store and kept postoffice
! for Uncle Sam. Better vet; he got
/ married, quit the store, threw over
| the pOstoffice job, bought land and
went into farming, but kept in touch
with public affairs by serving as town
| ship trustee. His farming was sue
cessful. He bought more land and
did more farming. In the meantime
the only child of the family, a son,
prepared for county high school. and
"Charlie' broke into county politics
by being elected county clerk where
he is now serving his fifth successive
I term. Just now some of his friends
are saying that he would make q good
member of the legislature but at least
an equal number think that a faithful
and efficient county clerk should be
kept right on the job. Mr.. and Mrs.
Benson are very highly esteemed peo-
pie. Their son, Judd Benson, is
senior in *. L.
The thrifty town of Rexford, Thorn
as county, has adopted the community
lowing letter from one of her pro-
gressive women, will show:
If YOU are wang to meet some
real live progressive people, you need
go no farther than Rexford, little
northwestern Kansas town.
There you will find the real con-
munity spirit. They can boast of
community preacher, a community
doctor, and a community club.
When a Sunday school, from an
attendance of ten or twelve. grows to
one of two hundred persons in two
months time. it would be considered
a success. The church attendan 20
was even worse than the Sunday
school, and nosy the little church VIII
not hold the. crowds, SO the services
are being held in the hall instead.
Two churches - struggling along
with the cheapest kind of ministers
possible to hire. Finally one gave up
the struggle, the other keeping up
sem eway. somehow.
A community club was organize 1,
and it was decided Rexford needed
a real minister, a broadminded, well
educated man. ard the only way to ar
ford that kind was to organize a COM
munity church.
Everv one was deIighted with tie