A REQUEST

   

The Cortland Democrat, Friday, August 3, 1888.

A Request.

   Only about three weeks remain before the time of holding the State Firemen's Convention in our village. Already the assurances are such as to warrant us in saying that it will be the occasion of the largest gathering of people ever witnessed in Cortland.
   Our citizens take a just pride in the growth and prosperity of the village and should put forth every effort to make it as attractive as possible.
   For a long time the several committees have been at work perfecting the arrangements for the same. Much work remains yet to be done.
   We ask the hearty co-operation of all citizens in this work. Let homes be beautified, decorated, and made attractive. Let the streets be put in order, let places of business be trimmed and decorated, in other words, we want our village "dressed up" in her best clothes.

   Cortland enjoys an enviable reputation abroad of being a beautiful and thriving village of which reputation her citizens are proud, Let us fully sustain that reputation.

   The eyes of the people are turned toward us now.

   The Firemen who are to be present on that occasion come from this State and adjoining States and the British Possessions [Canada], and are comprised of noble men, who are well worthy of every attention we can show them.

   Other cities have been proud to honor them on similar occasions in a royal way. We feel confident in saying that the parade during the convention week will be the finest spectacle ever witnessed in Cortland, or in the State, and we ask our citizens to aid us in every way possible in perfecting the arrangements for the convention.

   By the Committee.

   DORE C. SMITH, Secy.

Union Fire Alarm Company—$100 Reward.

   Whereas, the wires and machinery of the fire alarm, erected by this company in the town of Cortland, have from time to time during said erection, been maliciously tampered with and injured, and are still being injured. This company will pay the above reward for the detection and arrest of any person caught in the act or known to have committed any act to willfully injure said fire alarm. They will also pay the same amount to any person who has been approached by any party at any time within three months to meddle with, or injure in any manner said fire alarm, providing said person or persons will substantiate their charges under oath.

   P. N. RAMSY,

   President U. F. A. Co.

   NEW YORK, July 29, 1888.

A Great Scheme.

   A meeting of the Republican County Committee was held at the Republican headquarters in the Grand Central Block, at which all the towns in the county, with the exception of Harford, were represented. Hon. A. A. Carley, chairman of the County Committee, presided. The date of Friday, Aug. 17th, was fixed for the County Convention, at which time the delegates to the State Convention at Saratoga will be named and the nominations for the county offices made,

   The idea of fixing the convention before the Firemen's Association is a good one and deserves to meet with success. The candidate can, and doubtless will be on the ground early Monday morning and remain during the entire week. He can thus receive very many of his constituents from the "rooral deestricks" who will come in to see the big show, and can explain to them personally, the necessity of his election as they tarry together over the red lemonade or the more potent lager. The disappointed aspirant for political honors will also have the advantage of knowing that there is no further use of his dropping any wealth among the crowd, and will thereby escape the expense and worry which he would otherwise be obliged to undergo.

   The only ones who will suffer from this arrangement are the ones who will be counted on to vote these gentlemen in. They will be obliged to get along with one entertainment where but for this coup d’etat, there might have been three or four or possibly a half dozen. However, as we said before, it's a great scheme and should be crowned with the greatest success.

HERE AND THERE.

   Dr. G. W. Hull quotes the price of good teeth at $6 per set, in his card on our first page.

   The bed of Railroad street [Central Avenue] from Main to Church is being lowered about sixteen inches, preparatory to being macadamized.  The material used in macadamizing will be crushed stone.

   In our notice of last week of the portrait of Dr. Frederick Hyde, which was purchased by the trustees of the Idiot Asylum, we omitted to state that the very excellent work was done by Eugene Powers, of this place.

   It was rumored on the streets yesterday, that the latest accession to the ranks of our friends, the enemy, was the saffron hued gentleman who presides over the washee washee opposite the republican headquarters. One by one the clans rally to the support of their Indiana benefactor. [This item refers to a real/imaginary Chinese-American who owned and operated a laundry in Cortland. It appears he was a supporter of Harrison for President—CC editor.]

FROM EVERYWHERE.

   Gas has been struck at Waterloo at a depth of 1,586 feet.

   Buffalo’s new directory places the population of that city at 258,560.

   The colored citizens of Ithaca will conduct an emancipation celebration August 9th.

   Eli Austin had a leg broken at a railroad crossing in Elmira a few months [ago.] July 5th he was run over and killed by the same train at the same crossing.

   Mike Conley, the Ithaca Giant, has challenged Jem Smith, the English pugilist, and the latter has accepted. The fight is to take place on the continent and the stakes to be from $5,000 to $10,000 a side.

   Work has begun on the proposed tunnel at the "zig zag" between Sidney and Walton, on the Ontario & Western railroad. The length of the tunnel will be 1,420 feet. The earth taken from the cavity will be used in filling up the trestles on the road.

  

  

Suicide at Preble.

   Lafayette Knowlton is a farmer living in Bennett Hollow, about 1 1/2 miles from the village of Preble. His family is composed of himself,  wife, her son Henry Parks, aged 21 years, by her first husband,  and a girl, 18 years of age, named Mary E., he had adopted from the Cortland County Alms House, four years ago, since his marriage with his present wife. She had been previously adopted by a family named Beebe, but Mr. and Mrs. Beebe both died and the girl was placed in the Alms House where Mr. Knowlton found her.

   She was in good health and spirits last Sunday, the 29th inst. She arose that morning and went about her household duties as usual. After breakfast she went, at about 9 o'clock, to the milk room to work. Soon after Mrs. Knowlton heard a noise like a fall and hastening to the milk room she saw Mary lying on the floor in spasms.

   Mrs. Knowlton was at once impressed with the thought that she had taken poison and asked her what she had taken. The girl as soon as she could speak, at first denied having taken anything but soon admitted that she had taken poison and begged her mother to give her something to save her life, saying she thought she wanted to die but she did not.

   The mother at once gave her some coffee and some salt and water, then she ran and called her husband who was out in the field. When he reached the room she had vomited and lay on the floor unconscious. He took her in his arms and carried her to the sitting room and laid her on the lounge and dispatched Henry Parks in haste for the family physician who soon arrived. He gave her some stimulants and she rallied so as to tell him what she had taken and where the balance of the drug was. It was found to be strychnine in the original bottle in which it was put up by the manufacturer, properly labeled and wrapped in the original blue wrapper, upon which the druggist's cost mark and selling price were plainly marked.

   In answer to the doctor's question she said she took as much of the poison as would make a pill the size of a pea. The doctor administered such remedies as are indicated in such cases but without the desired effect. She lingered in great agony until about 1 o'clock P. M., and died.

   Coroner Bradford was notified who summoned the following jury: J. D. Haynes, R. Van Buskirk, O. Pratt, R. Egbertson, A. V. H. Cummings, J. A. Gay, A. Van Denberg, John Ackles, A. Francisco. After the jury had viewed the body Dr. Hunt and the Coroner made a thorough and careful post mortem examination and no evidence of any disease was to be found.

   Mr. Knowlton and his wife were sworn. They related substantially the above facts, also that she had been corresponding with a man in Michigan, who had advertised for a wife, and they had opposed her corresponding with him. Last week she received a letter from him asking her to become his wife. Under her pillow was found a letter addressed to "Dear Father" which expressed much love and affection for him and the other members of the family, containing no word of reproach, except toward herself. She said perhaps she had not done as well for them as she ought; also a request that he send the enclosed letter to C. W. Hugill. the Michigan correspondent, stating it would be the last request she should ever make, that her soul would go to her maker, stained by the darkest of crimes, that of self murder.

   The enclosed letter, referred to by her, was a reply to Hugill's last letter. She did not reply to his proposal of marriage for further than after expressing her love for him, she said things had changed and she should never see him.

   After the examination of these witnesses the inquest was adjourned to August 6 at 10 o 'clock A. M.

   REPORTER.

Suicide at Virgil.

   Horace Henion. a respected and prosperous farmer living about four miles southeast of Virgil, on Snyder hill, committed suicide by hanging last Monday night. During the forenoon he had been engaged with work around his house and in the afternoon started for a back lot in which some cattle were pasturing, saying he was going to dig out a spring for them.

   As he did not return during the evening his wife became alarmed at his absence and went to the neighbors to start someone in search and on Tuesday morning he was found in a barn belonging to A. T. Dickerson. He had fastened a rope to the pole and jumped from a wagon standing in the barn. His neck was broken in the fall.

   Coroner Moore was at once notified, but decided on his arrival that no inquest was necessary. The body was then turned over to Undertaker Crain of Virgil, for burial which took place Wednesday noon.

NEIGHBORING COUNTIES.

   TOMPKINS.—A black snake which measured five feet in length was killed by John Burns in the marsh at Fall Creek, near Ithaca, one day last week.
   The State Chemist has been testing the brine from the Ithaca test well, and states that a superior article of salt can be made.
   As we go to press we learn that the wife of Ben Dutton, the prime actor in the Dryden tragedy [attempted murder and suicide—CC editor], is in town with a man to whom she is very anxious to be married. They have gone to the minister's. Wonder if they will attend Dutton's funeral?—Groton Journal. 
   Ithaca offers to give to the proprietors of the Remington Type Writer business, which is now carried on at Ilion, a plant once owned by the Ithaca Organ Company, but now lying idle. The plant is estimated to be worth [$69,000.] Ithaca also agrees to exempt the property from taxation for a term of years and to transport the machinery from Ilion to Ithaca, set it up, and get it in a condition to run, making all necessary repairs throughout the building.