This Paper and the
NSW YORK WEEK
LY WORLD on9 year
fjf $1.20.
VOL 28
COUNTY BONDS.
AN ISSUE OF $40,000 ORDERED BY
THE COURT.
J Judge Ikcler filed the following
opinion last Saturday:
In the matter of the
application oy pcuuun
In the Court
of Quarter
Sessions
of the County Commis
sioners to issue bonds
for the payment of the
present county indebt
edness. The petition sets forth a funded in
debtcdness of $20,000 due, also $34,
coo damages to the owners of the
river bridge at Catawissa, $66,500 es
timated cost of the construction of
the county bridge across the river at
Hendershott's ferry, as per contract of
November 25, 1893, and $7,000 due
sundry persons, making a total indebt
edncss of $127,500.00, less total assets
due from collectors of $11,770.00,
leaving a debt unprovided for of
$"5.73-0-
On the 23d day of May, 1891, with
in four months after the present board
of commissioners entered upon their
official duties, and upon their petition
setting forth an indebtedness of $20,
000 we approved of the issuing of
county bonds to pay the same. That
debt had been contracted by a former
board of county commissioners for the
erection of the late addition to the
court house, which addition and build
ing was at that time partly constructed
and it was alleged in their petition that
that sum was required for its comple
tion, fitting and furnishing. That debt
still exists, no doubt owing to the in
creased avenues of expenditures, and
the continued low rate of county taxes,
from which cause also the increased
debt of $7,000 arose.
The debt of $34,000 was incurred
Nov. 9th, 1893, and that of $66,500
on the 25th day of the same month
and year, and there is no allegation or
pretense that any of the latter named
sum is due and payable.
The grand jury at this session of the
court have recommended "that the
"county commissioners and county"
"auditors at their next meeting to"
"settle and audit the accounts for the"
"year, make provision to reduce, or"
'fix a special rate or percentage for"
"the county treasurer at any time"
"when an unusual large sum of money"
"is to be handled by said officer, as"
"for instance in erecting a public"
"building, bridges, etc., that the rate"
"be commensurate with the duties of"
"his office."
In this recommendation we heartily
concur, and the present Treasurer by
paper filed in this case on Nov. 1 1.
1893, has signified his willingness and
offer to take a commission of one per
cent on such sum as may be necessary
to relieve the public business from
present conditions. Cut a few days
remain until January 1st next, when
the present board of county commis
sioners and the county treasurer will
go out of office and new ones come
in and the annual auditors' settlement
of the county accounts take place, and
in view of the faci and of the recom
mendation of the Grand Jury, the
graver duties and responsibilities of
the incoming officials, such as the fix
ing of the Treasurer s commissions,
the valuation of taxable property and
occupations, and the rate of assess
ment, in order to meet aud success
fully provide for the payment of the
present indebtedness, we deem it pru
dent to withhold full approval of the
present application. The time, or
different times that the proposed large
issue of bonds should be made to fall
due and payable is an important mat
ter for the officers to consider and fix
who must provide by taxation the
means with which to pay and discharge
the same.
Can it be successfully maintained
that it would be wise and beneficial to
the county at this time to borrow
ir.oney to pay upon the undue and
unperformed contract for the building
of a river bridge at Hendershott's
ferry? With the knowledge we have
of that contract, admitting that such
knowledge is quite limited, we think
it would be improper and prejudicial
to the best interests of the tax payers.
We are informed by the county
Treasurer in his paper filed of
record in this case that there is no
money in the treasury with which to
pay jurors and witnesses who are in
attendance at court, and costs due
parties, witnesses and officers in com
monwealth cases, and with his promise
to handle the funds which mav be de
rived from the negotiation and Sale of
wnns which are hereby directed to
iDsue anci in order to relieve the county
officials from the present stringency,
and pay the ordinary and current
county expenses and bills due, and to
Pay Off and Hiichnriri" th rnnntv in
debtedness due to The stockholders of
ine river bridge at Catawissa, con
cemned as a toll bridge and accepted
by the county to be free at the sum of
$34,000, we authorize and approve of
the issuing of bonds accord i
prayer of the petitioners as to time of
coming aue ana rate of interest and
to the extent of forty thousand dol
lars in denominations of not less than
one hundred dollars ($100) nor more
than one thousand dollars and the
money derived from the issue, sale and
negotiation of said bonds shall first be
applied by the said commissioners to
the payment and discharge of the debt
now due and owing to the stock hold
ers of said Catawissa bridge, and the
balance of the said forty thousand dol
lars allowed and to be derived as
aforesaid shall be applied by the coun
ty commissioners solely and exclusively
to the payment of the funded debt of
twenty thousand dollars as shown by
the certified statement of the county
commissioners hereto attached.
Neither the Court, the county com
missioners nor the two together pos
sess the power to authorize the using
of valid bonds for the defraying of or
dinary current expenses or for the pay
menl of debts contracted therefor.
The bonds issued under the order
shall not be. sold at less than their par
value. In making this order we do
not wish it to be understood that we
will be unfavorable to the issuing of a
proper amount of bonds for the erec
tion of a county bridge across the Sus
quehanna river at Hendershott's ferry,
at the proper time, but believing that
the amount herein approved will re
lieve the county officials from their
present financial embarrassment so
that they can appropriate and apply
the incoming money due from collec
tors to the payment of current ex
penses and be for the best interests of
all concerned, the foregoing order for
the issue of bonds to the extent of
forty thousand dollars is made and ap
proved. By the Court.
7 II. 0. A. NOTES.
Next Sunday afternoon W. H.
Brooke will conduct a Christmas song
service in Association Hall. The ser
vice will be a pleasing one, the music
lively and the talks short and bright
The ladies auxiliary will tender a
reception to the young men of Blooms
burg on New Year's day. Light re
freshments will be served from 1 to 5
p. m. In the evening J. C Hitchner,
the "Mark Twain' of the Wyoming
Valley, will give his humorous lecture,
"Tid-Bits." A programme of music
has been provided for the afternoon
and evening. Don't fail to heir Mr.
Hitchner, admission free. Read the
following from the Scranton Times :
"Throop is still laughing. The reason
is our humorist friend, Joseph Hitch
ner, delivered his humorous lecture,
"Tid Bits," there last evening. Joe's
labors have met with reward wherever
he has gone to speak. He gets his
audience laughing at the beginning,
and if you would not laugh at his talk
which you have to you will at the
way in which he delivers it, "Tid Bits"
is composed of humorous stories,
which make you laugh at the ridicu
lousness of them, jokes, and with now
and then a piece of good advice. His
description of the life of a young mar
ried couple is extremely funny, and if
all newly married couples would follow
out his advice there would be no scan
dalous divorce cases. Mr. Hitchner
has all his life been engaged in the
cracker business baking Hitchner's
cream crackers, and cracking jokes.
We are proud of Joe, and have just
reason to be, for the way he made his
audience laugh at Throop was enough
to convince anyone that there was fun
in "Tid-Bits." And if anyone doubts
it, just hear him once. We have heard
him two or three times and wani to
hear him some more. Mr. Hitchner
has gained an enviable reputation as a
humorist, and we are beginning to feel
jealous of our neighboring towns be
cause he will not deliver his lecture
here. It ever he does we will guaran
tee him a fu'l house."
With the new time table on the B.
& S. R. R. it is expected to have the
railway postal cleric make two instead
of one round trip each day, thus giving
the people much better mail service
than at present. Another good feature
is the Reading connection to and from
Philadelphia and intermediate stations.
In order to accommodate thi Millville
trade on Saturday it has been arranged
to have a train leave Bloomsburg,
(Saturdays only) at 6:10 a. m. for
Orangeville, returning reach Blooms
burg 7:55 a. m. A'so an evening train
will leave Bloomsburg for Orangeville
at 7:30 p. m. (Saturdays only), return
ing reach Bloomsburg 8:30 p. m. These
trains will give the people of Blooms
burg and Millville an opportunity to
visit the respective .places and return
the same day.
Theta Castle, K. G. K. attended
services at the Evangelical churrh on
Su ulay morning last.
BLOOM S13U KG, PA., FRIDAY, DECEMBER 22.
THE LUNGER CASE.
To the Editor of The Columbian 1
A false and villainous article was
published in last week's issue of the
Republican, relating to the recent
case of Commonwealth vs. the Kline
tobs and Remleys. For th. sake of
Justice, and in behalf of the Grand
Jury, who only found a true bill for
"assault", the lowest offence indicta
ble under the law, and of the traverse
jury, which decided the case, we feel
obliged to make some answer to this
article.
The Republican says, "that the
proof throughout was that these young
men tormented and insulted Miss
Lunger from the church all the way
home." We are shocked at this state
ment. The writer was either ignorant
of the proof, or willfully and malicious,
ly misrepresented it. Of the five
other young men and women who
were eyewitnesses to the conduct of
the defendants ; who were with the
party and were the only disinterested
witnesses to the transaction, all of
them, in their testimony, positively
and unqualifiedly contradicted Miss
Lunger, and averred that all that was
said and done by the defendants ap
peared to be in sport, and was assent
ed to, encouraged and participated in
by her, even to the taking of the arm
of one of the defendants who accom
panied her to her home. They testi
fied point blank that the treatment of
Miss Lunger was no worse than that
accorded the other young ladies, and
was absolutely void of abuse, insult or
rudeness.
Moreover, these witnesses were not
called on the part of the defence, but
their evidence was ihat of the prose
cution itself. So that to have convict
ed these boys, the jury would have
been compelled to disbelieve five
sixths of the commonwealth's own
case, and all the disinterested witness
es. A verdict of "guilty" could not
have stood according to law.
Evidently the jury did not wish to
p'ace any costs upon the misguided
and mistaken mother, since they first
returned a verdict with the costs even
Iv divided between the county and the
defendants. But upon being told by
the Court that such a division of the
costs could not be made under the
law, they again retired, and after sev
eral hours of deliberation, divided the
costs between the Prosecutrix and de
fendants. For so doing they should
not be censured. Newspaper corres
pondents and editors should be care
ful how they criticise and comment
upon the conduct of jurors acting un
der their oaths and with the sworn in
formation of the facts before them.
And when jurors, as in this case, obey
the obligation of their oaths and rend
er a verdict strictly according to the
evidence, every fair minded man
should, in conformity to law, good
order and fair dealing, scorn and re
sent their censure. Justice hisses like
an adder, at the very name of the au
thor of this article, which may some
day recoil upon him.
We do not wish to enter into a
newspaper controversy, realizing as we
do the advantages possessed by an
Editor over an individual in disputes
of this character ; but if our state
ments are denied, we challenge a pub
lication of the evidence not garbled
parts thereof and will cheerfully
abide the result.
Very respectfully,
Fred Ikeler,
Charles C. Evans.
The Bloomsbursr & Sullivan R. R.
Co. will issue a new time table in
effect January 1st, 1894. It would be
well for natrons ot the railroad to care
fully note the same, as some very rad
ical changes trom present time taoie
will be made. We understand the
early morning train from Jamison City
and the late evening train from Blooms
burg for Jamison City will be discon
tinued. Train now leaving Blooms
burg at 8:35 a. m. will after Jan. 1, '94
leave at 7:25 a. m. for Jamison City;
returning leave Jamison City at 9:10
a. m., arrive at Bloomsburg 10:40 a.
m., making connections both with D.
L. & W. train for Scranton and P. &
R. train for Philadelphia. Train now
leaving at 2:35 p. m. for Jamison City
will after Jan. 1, 1894, leave at 4:10
p. m. This will be the last evening
train north. Train now leaving Tami-
son City at 5 p. m. will leave at 6
p m.
Hess Bros', large show windows cer
tainly have on their holiday attire.
One of them is filled with diamonds,
gold watches, sterling silver and fine
jewelry, and the other contains a fine
assortment of plush case goods. A
mechanical figure of a coy little maid
en calls the attention of people passing
by tapping on the glass.
Five per cent will be added to all
unpaid taxes in Hemlock township
after Dec. 31, 1893.
BRIEF MENTION.
About People Ton Enow.
R. R. Little Esq., went to Phila
delphia on Tuesday, on business.
Miss Helen Harman, of Norristown,
is visitivg her relatives here.
Mr. E. C. Wells is able to be out
again, after an illness of several months.
Mrs. C. Watson McKelvy spent
several days in Philadelphia this week.
Dr. and Mrs. G. Stuart Kirby, ot
Mauch Chunk, came up on Monday
to visit their relatives here.
Invitations are out for the marriage
of Mr. Ira Brown and Miss Laura
Brockway, on December a6th.
Domer Geisinger of Espy, an em
ployee of this office, is laid up with
the grip this week. His place is
filled by Edward Corell.
John R. Sharplcss Esq., intends to
locate in Hazleton to practice law.
William Macill Esci.. a vountr lawyer
of Danville expects to open an office
in uioomsburg.
Mr. and Mrs. E. L. Appleman, of
Welliversville, have issued invitations
for the wedding of their daughter,
Fannie Udella, to Mr. W. Ernest Utt,
on New Year's Day.
Col. A. D. Seely, of Berwick, was
in town on Monday. He is a mem
ber of Governor Pattison's staff, an
earnest democrat, and a good fellow
all around.
Oscar Alexander has purchased the
J. B. Robison property at the corner
of Third and West streets. He will
make some improvements and occupy
it as a home.
DIRECTORS' MEETING.
The adjourned meeting of the school
directors of Columbia county was held
in the High School building, Blooms
burg, on Saturday, Dec. 16th, to hear
the report of committee appointed to
investigate the rumors concerning the
moral character ol County Superinten
dent W. C. Johnston. The meeting
was called for one o'clock, but in the
absence of the secretary the body was
not called to order until fifteen min
utes of two, when Geo. C. Fenster
macher, of Berwick, was selected as
secretary pro tem. The minutes and
list of townships with names of direc
tors being in possession of secretary,
who was yet absent, County Superin
tendent Johnston offered a list which
he had, and by permission called the
roll. The responses showed 67 out of
168 to be present, being but a little
over one third of the number of direc
tors. Immediately upon call of the
roll the president, Dr. F. W. Redeker,
of Scott township, announced the pur
pose of the meeting and called for the
report of the committee. The report
was read by Dr. Vance, of Mt. Pleas
ant township, and stated that the com
mittee had before them voluntary wit
nessesthat they had no power to
subpoena any one, but that the evi
dence obtained, a copy of which was
attached to the report, was sufficient
to justify the current rumors, and they
recommended that the report, together
with the evidence be submitted to
State Superintendent Dr. Schaffer for
consideration. Immediately upon tak
ing his seat a motion was made and
duly seconded that the report be
adopted. A lively discussion then en
sued with C. C. Evans, Esq., and J.
W. Kurtz, of Berwick, and M. C. Mc
Collum, of Espy, defending Superin
tendent Johnston, while J. C. Brown
and J. R. Townsend, of Bloomsburg,
and Dr. A. B. McCrea, of Berwick,
stood firm for the adoption of the
report. The subject of reading the
evidence obtained was the theme for
much debate, one of the committee
objecting to its being read j he, how
ever, waived his objection and Dr.
Vance read the evidence entire. After
a little more war of words, a motion
was made that a yea and nay vote be
taken. Mr. Fenstcrmacher, who was
appointed secretary pro tem, wr.s asked
to read the list from the memorandum
of Supt. Tohnston, and Secretary G. Y.
Mourey tallied the vote, which resulted
in 26 for adoption of the report, and
41 for rejection.. The report being
rejected a motion was made that the
committee be discharged, when the
meeting adjourned until the next an
nual session.
Creasy & Wells have purchased a
tract ot timber land in Jackson twp.
from Iram Derr. It contains 600
acres and is covered with pine and
oak. The price paid is $15,000. They
have also purchased a large tract this
side of Northumberland, and another
at Eyers Grove. Mills will be located
on these tract?, and it will take many
years to cut all the timber.
1893.
A GRAND BOON !!
CLOTHING
More Reductions !
Greater Sacrifices !
In spite of the dullness
of the season the steady
outflow of Clothing from
. the Lowenberg Clothing
Store has been marvel
ous. '
-But there
Thousands
Worth of the most desirable Goods. This seasons' most Stylish
STORM COATS,
OVERCOATS
AND X SUITS
They must be sold, in a short time
no matter what they bring.
-A GREAT MANY-
Elegant Mens' Suits
that cost us 14 and IS dHars g fr 10 dollars.
ELEGANT
hmm Storm Overcoats
Worth 2 dollars go for 1Q
lars go for 011.75.
A great many Overcoats
go for about Fifty cents
on the Dollar of the Mar
ket Value of the Goods.
Such enormous Reductions in Elegant
Qlaft&log, Unto
and FkbiIsMoqo
never before heard of in this or any other section
of the country,
MTJFFLBRS
-
11
the nicest line of goods at half the original prices.
Eiegant Childrens' Suits and
Overcoats, the nicest kind of goods
to Ibe sold, no matter what they
cost.
Come and see for yourself just how much
money you can save by buying at
Mil
JJU V JJJLVUJJUU u
NO 62
-TO
BUYERS.
still remains-
a Dollars'
dollars. Some worth IS dol
AND -
UJUUUJ.UU oALb.
AMICflEFS
1