The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-02-18

E. e Donly. county treasurer of
| Sherman county. breaks all records
in serving the people of his county in
office. He served as register of deed
for five terms. two terms as county
treasurer, and one term as probate
judge.
Railroad projects under considera-
ton in central and western Kansas
recall the history of similar move
ments all thru the sixties, seventies
and eighties. AS soon as the Kansas
Pacific was built from Kansas City
to Denver, new activities began for
| branch lines, cross roads and corn
! letting lines. In 1885 Russell county
as well as many others from the
| southeast to the northwest section of
the state. were stirred by visions of
| a railroad from the lower Mississippi
and Gulf of Mexico far to the north
| west. It was one of the forerunners
| IF the Gulf & Aurora Borealis road
| of the nineties. The Fort Smith,
| cJme out of Arkansas cross Indian
| territory and traverse Kansas. 1t
was planned to cross Russell county
diagonally from southeast to north
| west, striking Russell and perhaps
Bunker Hill and making a city of the
inland town of Fairport on the Sa-
line river. After a hot campaign in
November and December. 1886. u
county bond issue of $135, 900 was ear
ried by a majority of 155 in d vots
of nearly 1000 in Russell county. The
election was held December Fl, 1885,.
Two days later the Russell Record,
| which had been supporting the bonds,
came out with two pages printed III
red ink. Numerous cuts were included
| with roosters of victory and caTica-
lures of the defeated crowd. At once
| maneuvers began to. have the county
officials issue the bonds to the rail-
| road promoters. Joseph b. Hines
was county clerk at the time, and with
him representatives. of the railroad
| were especially inportunate. One
night they harangued Hines far irto
the night on his duty to issue the
bonds. 1t was in the old courthouse
where the city library now stands.
But Hines refuted all their argu-
ments. He parted every thrust. re-
sisted all cajolery and Establishment.
Finally when threats of legal coercion
were resorted to he replied, Until the
! Fort Smith, Kansas & Western rail-
road is actually built thru Russell
I county l will sign no papers to issue
bonds" And he did not. The road
was never built. The county was
saved the trials of many counties in
the west that issued bonds first, and
when the roads were hot built, tried
this time a branch line of the Union
| Pacific was built thru the northeast
ern part of the county parallel to the
main line, but to this day no other
railroad projects have made much
Roadway in the county.
Good many friends of E. ]. Garner
in the Sixth district will be pleased
| to know that he is with them again.
He left that section of state several
| years ago and located in Okla hona-
He is now in Norton. and is director
of Publicity Kansas Wheat Growers
ASSOCIATION. He is well known in
newspaper circles. He started in that
work with the Downs Times. From
there he went to Almena and started
paper in 1885. In 1890 he moved
to Norton and established the first
Populist paper in the Sixth district
the Farmers Advance. From Nor
ton he drifted to Logan, and pub
lished the Republican three years
then to Solomon and from there to
| Bennington. He likes Kansas better
than Oklahoma. It won't surprise
him if he returns to the newspaper
field. he says. He claims the organ
ization- of which he is director of pub
licity. is promoter of the 100 pei
: cent compulsory pooling plan of CO.
operative marketing, and is getting g
strong foothold.
Fifty-year wedding anniversaries
l are so common that Mr.. and Mrs
5 W. C. Cochran of Beloit, have beaten
this record four years. They have
: just celebrated their fifty-fourth wed
2 ding, February IL, 1922. Their ages
| are 81 years. They came to Mitchell
county in 1870, and took up a home
stead not far from BeIoit at which
Z time buffalo, antelope and indians
were more numerous than white set
, tiers. To them four children were
born. Mrs. Ida Bartheson. living in
Beliot; Ora Cochran lives in Corona
ton, Alberta, Canada; ]. p. Cochran
: resides in California, and Mrs. Eta
) Felt in SCOTS Bluff, Neb. Or this
; pleasant occasion Mr.. and Mrs. Coch-
: ran were highly entertained by Ir.
5 and Mrs. Bartheson at their pleasant
home in BeIoit The writer of these
) notes esteems the friendship of the
Cochrans, whom he has known for half
a century. They retired from the
farm some years ago. moved to Be!oit.
and here is where they will live the
remainder of time, surrounded by the
best of friends who wish them many
more years of pleasant happiness.
s William Walker, Jr., the retiring
r postmaster of Goodland, having served
eight years, must be popular Demo
Graf, from the fact he filled the same
position when Cleveland was presi-
! dent, and made good both times. Be.
G tween the two terms he served Sher-
5 man county as sheriff, making good
in that office. too. He took an active
e part in the yearly county seat contest
between Eustis. where he was engaged
: in business at the time. and Goodland
e When the vote was taken. and Eustis
: lost he threw away his fighting uten-
sis and moved to Goodland. and has
= engaged in the implement business or
n a large scale, and has met with great
n financial success. He also carries or
| farming on a large scale. Your cor
{ respondent met Billy Walker or
Q his first visit to Eustis. and is glad
:, 10 say that our friendship has Iasted
, | thru all these years. He VIII be II
= | Topeka, Democrat day. February %.
? Col. Dan. Dyer of Smith Center. wa
, a Kansas Day visitor. Since his re
l. turn home the announcement is mad