VOL. X. NO. 34-.
~7
{''This Is the Place
c'Toßuy Your jewelry s
C Nothing ill Town to Compare With S
! the Quality that We _ are Giving j
You for the Low Price Asked. S
v Ouality and moderate prices iiuikes a force that
S irresist bly draws into our store the best patronage r
I of this se ti n. Many years here in business, always 3
S Willi n full line of goods above suspicion; chosenC
'Willi a care and judgment commensurate with its !
\ desirability and adaptability to refine taste, makes }
r our store a sale place to invest. C
*> [\gn;iirwork done on short notice and
\ teed, by skilled workmen. Your orders appreciated. \
i RETTENBURY, >
<, DUSHORIi, PA. The Jeweler. ">
l^^/~\sS\s~\ J . A. AaAAAM
CGL- i~- .Sj
HARDWARE
No Place Like this Place
For Reliable
STOVES and RANGES,
COAL OIR- WOO D
HEATERS;
ONE OP WINTER'S GREAT DELIGHTS.
House Furnishing Goods, Toois of Every
Description, Guns and Ammunition.
Bargains that bring the buyer back.
Come and test the truth of our talk.
A lot of second hand stoves and ranges for sale cheap.
We can sell you in stoves anything from a fine Jewel Ease
Burner to a low priced but satisfactory cook stove.
Hot Air, Steam and Hot Water Heating and
Genera! Repairing, Roofing and Spouting.
Samuel Gole^Msfeore^a.
The Shopbell Dry Good Co.,
313 Pine Street,
WILLI AM SPORT, PA.
Some Stylish Dress Fabrics.
Come in aid see tl err. Thev were bought for you.
Whatever your dress to. ds thoughts m i> be you can find
here.
BROADCLOTHS WOOL li.VTISTK
We show in all the new shades. Meets till the requirements I'oa home or
II FN li 11"TT \ evening dressee. \V'e have both dark or
evening shad s.
Silk finished wool Henrietta in ael the ].;s('l*Kl A L <MIKPH
popular chade-f. A favorite colored wool material, yet it.-
OKAY SUITINGS expensive.
We have pisl opened a new lot of gray SILK AM* WtHIL * KEPL
materials lor Coat?. Suits which we think Dark shades lor the street, or light
an' the best in the city. shades for ihe house dr*sses.
BLACK GOODS
An abunJanc. of hai dsome fabrics in the new st
weaves.
STYLISH WINTER GARMENTS FOR WOMEN.
There's hardly a day goes by but what we cna sh AV
you something new in the Cioik room.
LA D! KS COATS TAILOUKDSUITS '
Some of tlie most sty!ill cloth ('out of In a new variety of laiest styles, made
I lie season have jnsi heen received. up of the most popular materia's.
WALKIN'O SKI UTS CIIILDIIKN S JACKI'TS
We have the hest Skirt value you find In plain coloree and fancy mixed ma
in whese- popular fabrics, well made tenuis, made in various stylss. A huge
and moderately priced. assortment to choose from.
Subscribe for the News Item
LAPORTE, SULLIVAN COUNTY PA. THURSDAY, JANUARY 4, 1906.
THE GRANGE
Conducted by
J. W. DAKROW. Chatham, N. Y.,
Preas Cvrresi»m<hnt Kcw Tirrl: State
Grange j
THE YOUNG PEOPLEj
HOW THEY MAY BE INTERESTED IN
GRANGE WORK.
Yalual>l<> SuKKCHtioiiN Given For the 1
Organization of Juvenile Uritnft'eN.,
but SueeeHN Will Depend on Th«w
In rhitrK<' —A l.aiiMint; illifli.) I.nil. ,
The juvenile grange is fast becoming
au important factor in tiio grange |
work, particularly so in Michigan anil
in one or two of the New England !
states. There are now fifteen juvenile i
granges in Michigan, eight having been
organized since Jan. 1. Incidentally
we may add that the same state has or
ganized thirty-six subordinate granges 1
and six Pomona granges this year. 1
Miss Jennie Ituell, secretary of the
Michigan state grange, writes that she
has been gradually converted to ju
venile grange work by seeing it carried J
on in several granges for several years, i
"Where a good leader adapted to the i
work of tiie children can be secured,"
she says, "work of inestimable value j
may be done with the country children '
through the juvenile grange." Ida L. J
Chittenden, who has been in charge ot j
the juvenile grange work in Lansing. |
Mich, says in a recent letter that many j
inquiries have been coming to the state |
officers as to the best way of organiz- \
iug and conducting a juvenile grange. |
She gives the following suggestions;
The master of any subordinate grange !
or any deputy is "authorized and em- i
powered" to organize a juvenile grange
within his juris
diction. All chll- j
dren over eight
&S? and under four- ;
M * '' (111 ° H i
" «t granges have
V /la, y made the age 1
S I limit over sev- !
J en by perm is- j
.U "wfeL I si "» «he state j
master) and!
JfiK. WK whose parents
qfflk JUL. are eligible to a j
?; subordinate!
' 'Msim' grange may be i
come members i
of a juvenile i
EDMUND VALENTINE. MeJu . j
bership fees are 15 cents; quarter- !
ly dues ."> cents. Officers are elect- I
ed semiannually. A matron who is !
a member of the subordinate grange
under whose jurisdiction it has been :
organized sllall be elected by each ju
venile grange. Twelve charter luein
bers are necessary to organize, four of
whom must be gil ls. When any sub- !
ordinate grange desires to organize a
juvenile grange it may send applica- ,
tion to the secretary of the state grange
for permit, charter and rituals, includ
ing with application $1.50 to pay for i
same. Juvenile granges take the name I
of their subordinate grange with the
number to which they are entitled in
tilt- state record. The officers on their |
election sli uld at once memorize their S
respective parts in the ritual and at j
least once each month go through the i
degree work, whether there are any j
candidates for initiation or not. This i
is necessary in order that the officers
be kept familiar with the ritualistic j
service.
The success of the juvenile grange ]
depends very largely upon the matron
who is selected by the subordinate j
grange having the juvenile grange iu j
charge. She must be one adapted to !
the work and not easily discouraged, j
The choice of officers ft*. ;he juvenile j
organization is decidedly important, i
and no office is more important than
that of lecturer. One who lias been for j
some time interested in the Juvenile
grange work in Maine says that to make j
a success of the work of the children's j
grange it should meet somewhere be- j
sides and not at the same time with
(he subordinate grange with which it |
is c onnected. There is great need of a
revised juvenile grange ritual, and the
matter of its revision is now In the :
hands of a committee of the national I
grange. It!.■! also advisable to have
this movement placed under the super- |
vision of a committee of the state j
grange, and a special deputy should be j
appointed for this particular branch of j
work.
Edmund Valentine was the first mas- j
ter of Capitol Juvenile grange. No. 7, !
Lansing, Mich., which was organized ;
in June, 1902. He served in this ca- j
pacity for one year, during that time j
doing excellent work in the ritualistic \
service and developing unusual execu
tive ability for one so young. In May, i
1804, at fourteen years of age, he, with
live others of his associates in the j
juvenile grange, joined the subordinate
grange. This Lansing juvenile grange 1
now numbers forty members, with au
average attendance of twenty-four.
New York Stale Granite.
The New York state grange will meet
at Geneva on Feb. 6-10. K. J. Cook is i
chairman of the local committee.
I
) Mystery Surrounds the Mur
der c! Sarah Whitmire.
. Much interest lias centered on the
\ mysterious murder of Mrs. Sarah
Whitmire near Muncy Valley on the
night of December 2(1. As yet, no
i clew has b t n found with which any
i substanti d evidence chii be establish
ed. The County Commissioners met
shortly alter the tragedy occured and
ottered lor the capture ami con
, vicfion of the guilty part, believing
1 that the one who committed tiie
crime could be easily found.
There seem"d to be no organize?!
efforts oil tl '> part of any one for
I ibis considei. < ii, to establish evi
dence and bring the guilty party to
justice. The Commissioner* met
again and increased the reward to
SSOO. All who have been suspected
of the crime have bcon able to prove
an alibi. One arrest wus made hut
for want of evidence the party was
released.
Before Ihe coroner's jury Thurs
day night following the murder the
story of the discovery of the murder
and something of the circumstances
surrounding it, were ollicially told
by a haif dozen or more witnesses.
The inquest began about live o'clock
after the following jury had been
empaneled: (Jenoral bigger, Daniel
Taylor, Jefferson Sccules, William
'l'ayor, JacobStackhou.se and George
Meyers. I'ntler the direction of
Coroner Mellenry a post mortem ex
amination of the woman's body was
made, and the wounds on the head
elicited the opinion of Dr. Mellenry
that there were, iu all probability,
two persons engaged iti the killing.
There were three distinct features,
and in his judgement, these had all
been made with the sticks of stove
wood found iu the house. A fact of
value to those upon whom devolves
the task of ferreting out the perpe
trators of the crime was the discov
ery that upon one of the sticks of
wood was found several short light
colored hairs, evidently those of a
man. I'pon this fact is based the
t.i'ory that Mrs Whitmire had
wrested the bludgeon from her as
sail tut and had succeeded in ti-ing
it effectively upon him before either
himself or his companion rendered
her senseless.
Kdward Watts, (lie boy who rode
from Straw bridge to Muncy Valley j
with the Rev. S. B. Bidlack, testified j
that after they had driven past the j
house he heard a shout, but thought j
nothing of it, its be concluded it was
somebody on their road home who
was hallowing for sport. This sound
is now thought to have been either
theeryoftne woman or that of one
of her assassans.
Charles 1 topper, one of the tannery
men who accompanied Charles Flick
to the house, was a witness at the
inquest and tlescrihi d the ; p. earame
of the reoni and the body .is found
by them.
The evidence of Charles Flick,
who found the woman dyinj on the
lloor, was to the effect that he had !
seen Mrs. Whitmire during the day
and told her that he would be back
to her house that night to stay, but
that, in all probability, ii would be
late before he arrived. ••I'll give
you the old Jerry Whitmire signal,"
he told her, "striking the house
three times with a board, and then
you'll know it's me and you can let
me in." Flick, when be reached
the house about 11 o'clock Wednes- ]
day night, crossed the creek on the j
foot bridge, whacked three times
against the litt.e bond h ivel, but j
got no response. Then he discovered i
that the door was open, walked in, !
struck a match and lotin I himself
standing at the edge of a pool of
blood, with the woman's body pros
trate on the floor,almo>t at his feet.
She was moaning. But stopping
neither to endeavor to have her
speak or to do aught else be tied from
the place toward town, a mile and a
half away, for help.
It was almost midnight Thursday I
when the coroner's jury formulated
a verdict, which was to that Mrs. j
Whitmire had come to her death at
the hands of some person or persons!
unknown to theju.y.
The funeral services oil Sunday,
at the little In use where the murder
was committed, ciystallized the sen
i tiinent which has been growing
I
j since 1 lie deed shocked the cointnun
i ity. The Kev. Mr. Bidlack demand
led in no uncertain way tli.it justice
lie meted out to tin; perpetrator of
the crime. After the services were
over several persons suggested that
that would have been the time for a
popular subscription for a fund to
hunt down the trinity party. One
man Volunteered $25 if such a move
ment could ho started. The service
was scheduled for 8::i(> o'clock. More
than !")(( people gathered at the little
house—three persons for every one
who could irowd into the place, and
they stood there in the cold until the
services were over. After the fune
ral tiie remains were taken to Cnity
ville, a distance of ten miles, where
services were held in thechurch. It
was packed to the doors with another
big throng outside. Here Mr. Bid
lack preai bed again, and then inter
ment was made beside tiie grave ol
Mrs. \\ liitmire's late husband.
\N ilson Crawford was arrested on
Saturday evening Dec. ;ll>th by J.
\\ . Laird constable of Davstlsuu
township, and lodged in jail until
Wednesday, when he had a hearing
before Justice J. C. ('avail in the
Court Room. lie was charged with
the murder of Sarah Whitmire who
was killed in her own home in Dav
idson township on the evening of
December 20th. The information
was made by J. \V. Laird and Fred
Tepel. A large number of witnesses
were in attendance. At the hour
appointed Attorney 11 ill appeared
for the Prosecutors and stated to the
Justice of the I'eace that he had ex
amined the evidence for the prose
cution and was satisfied there was
not enough proof to justify the com
mitment of the prisoner for trial in
court, and asked the Justiceto dis
charge him. The Justice of the
Peace then discharged iiim. From
conversation with some of the wit
nesses it appears there was nothing
at all that could be collect evidence
egainst him.
Bivins- Miller Nuptials.
A very pretty wedding in which
LaPolie people will be especially
interested occtired at the winter
home of the bride in New York ('ity
December 27, liJOo, at •"> 1\ M. when
Miss Charlotte Miller, one of our
most popular young ladies, was
united in marriage with Mr. Percy
A. Bivins of Toledo, Ohio, also
well known here. The ceremony
was performed by the Rev. E. 15.
l'owell, formerly located here, now
pastor of the Walnut St. Baptist
Church of Jersey Shore, Pa.
The parlors and dining-room
were beautifully decorated in red
and green, including holly and
evergreens, in harmony with the
season together with lillies-ol'-lhc
valley, white roses and carnations.
The bride was attired in a most
beet niing gown of white Brussells
net over white silk. The brides
maid wore pale blue mull over
while siik. The groom and best
man were attired in the convention
al black. Only a select company
of the immediate relatives were
present.
Mr. and Mrs. IJivius left the
same evening for Lake wood, N. J.
where they will spend a short time
after which tliey will make theii
temporary home at Toledo, Ohio.
The many friends of the newly
wedded couple including the News
Item unite in congratulations and
best wishes for their happiness and
prosperity.
Miss Lnla Croman, daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. S. K. Croman, of
Cemetery street, and W. Russel,
Kepner were united in marriage on
the afternoon of December 21, lUOS
at the home of the bride's parents.
It was a decidedly pretty wed
ding, and was solomi/.ed at 5:150 P.
M.in the presence of about twenty-!
j live guests. The Rev. L. M. Bra-'
dy, of the M. E. Church, officiated. 1
Following the ceremony an clab
j orate wedding dinner was served.
The bride was the recipient of a
host of presents. Mr. and Mrs.
Croman will reside in Penn town
ship.—llughesville Independent.
75C PER YEAR
New Officers TaKe Oaths.
On Monday of this week F. Jf.
McCarty, Boyd I'. Bennett and
| Michael McDonald, recently elected
Commissioners of Mulli van county,
; met at the Commissioners office and
| having given bonds and being duly
sworn entered upon trie duties of
their office. Tin; Board organized
by electing Michael McDonald Pres
ident, William I*. Shoemaker was
appointed Clerk for the ensuing
three years, Thomas J. Ingham was
appointed County Solicitor, Andrew
J. Hack ley WHS appointed Janitor.
The new Commisssoners have
shown good business judgment in
making their appointments, as they
selected men who will not fail to
give prompt and efficient service in
their respective offices.
County Auditors (J. R Wilcox,
Harry Botsford.aud John M. Wright
met at the Court House on Monday,
and having been duly qualified
commenced auditing the accounts of
County Treasurer Lee 11. Gavitt.
They will no doubt tind business
enough to engage their attention for
several weeks.
Frank H. Farrell having given
bond as required liy Act of Assembly
has taken possession of the Treasur
er's office and commenced business.
BERNICE.
Last week's items
Mr. and Mrs. 11. I*. Webber are
visiting their parents at Dunmorc,
Pa-
Miss Rockwell who has been
quite ill for some time has been re
moved to the hospital.
Mr, Pattern who was injured in
the mines some time ago has re
turned home from the hospital and
is now walking with the assistance
of a cane.
Miss Edith Harner of Scrantoi»
is spending her Christinas vacation
with her parents at Mildred.
Patrick White of Wyoming is
spending his Christinas at Mildred.
John Ilarner of A reel la and
Edwin Edward of Wyoming is
spending their Christinas with
their parents at Mildred.
! lie Christinas Exercises in the
Presbyterian church and in the K.
of L. hull for the Lutheran church
was well attended and the reci
tations were well rendered.
Did'ent we stir up a hornet's
nest about the janitorship. which
we believe will be useful infor
mation to the taxpayers and it is to
bad that some are playing second
fiddle.
The Kpiiworth League convention
for the lower end of this county was
held at Muncy Valley on January 4,
with the following program:
The Young People and their Mas
ter Teacher of the Twentieth Centu -
ry, Hev. E. (}. Baker; Organized
Powers Essen lia I to Established Re
ligion: The Eph wort h League Or
ganized, What Is It;' What Can it
Do? Rev. T. F. Ripple. The Offi
cers—Their Duties ami Opportuni
ties: The Members—Their Duties
and Opportunities, Charles Sypher;
How May We Conduct Successful
Devotioanl Meetings? R *v. G. W
King; The League—lts Service to
the Pastor, Church and Community,
Rev. Benjamin G. Welch; Epworth
League Helps, general discussion;
The Glory of Soul Winning, Rev.
G. W. King; The Book of Books,
Rev. J, 11. Mortimer.
Salisbvry-Grvvcr Wedding.
A very pretty wedding occured at
Roaring Branch, on December 27,
when Mr. Elon Salisbury was unit
ed with Miss Mury Gruver at the
home of the bride's parents. The
groom is a prominent young man,
and at present is engaged as princi
pal of the Eagles Mere schools.
The bride is a graduate nurse and
has followed hi r profession in the
I larger cities. Guests were present
at the wedding from Willlamsport,
Philadelphia and New York. We
join many others in extending best
wishes to Mr. Salisbury and his
bride.