VOL. M NO 14 ITEMS CONDENSED. TMK HI '('KM WERE TAME Anion !>" nrl, who farm* llipen*tall*_j_sjmid II tin l HMqurlHlfiM river, IMMI Wtffil tame ilnrh« Unit Ito used »• decoy* for wilil iliirkn. «>ii Morday two .voting Inivn of ('olimbli made their fir*t trip on the rt**>r for wlleii* il le to our citizen*. Each year are addeil new volumes represent ing the best thought of the nge and affording with the hooks already on hand a range of read itig that finds but few patallels. Add to this the excellent care that is taken 'of the books and the courtesy that is shown to patrons and we have in the i Thomas Heaver Free Lihtary an in ' stitution that our town may justly feel pouud of. Following i< the report of the lib rarian. Miss Bird, for the year em braced netweeu .Inly lW'.i anil July j 1910: The number of bonks circulated foi the year, !17,U2,'1; number of books J mended, 4,.'132. ' New bonnwets registered during the year, I Hi) Number of new hooks received,cata logued, labelled, etc. 890, Catalogue cards made aud tiled, ? 18. Amount of fines received for the year, $72. 14; expenses, tin.7o: fines handed to secretary, ♦'.'5.44. Magazines sent to the bindery to be bound or repaired, 102. Covers are now lemoved from all the books aud the entire library has been put under the Browne system of circulation. FORMER RESIDENT DEAD Word was received in this city yes terday of the death at Salt Lake City, Utah, on Tuesday, of William Park Alexander, a former resident of Dan ville. Death occurred suddenly fol lowing a stroke of paralysis received about two months ago. Mr. Alexander was born on a faim near Mooresburg coming to this city when a boy. For several years he was connected with tho Company Store, ; afterwards into the grocery s business. lie continued in this bnsi- ! ness until he left for the west thirty years ago. After residing iu a number of places he finally settled iu Salt j Lake City. He is survived by his widow,fomer- 1 ly Miss Catharine Cross ley. of this vicinity, two daughters, Mary and j Martha, both at home, and four sis- i ters, Mirk City, cousin of the groom. Miss Lillian Gra ham, sister of the bride, will he maid of honor. The Rev. Z M. Gibson, pastor of the Presbyterian church at . Itoxhoro, Philadelphia, will be best man. A wedding dinuer will be served, after which the newly wedded couple will leave on a ttip to Niagara Kails. On next Wednesday the R"V. Mr. Mc Kinney and bride will arrive ill Dan ville and will take up their residence in the manse of tho Grove Presbyter ian chinch, Bloom street. TOKEN OF ESTEEM The Rev. Mr. McKinney entered up ont the pastorate of the Grove Presby terian church, September Ist. He lias already became very popular with the congregation, demonstrating marked ability and exemplifying sound Christ ian principles. To show its apprecia tion the congregation Saturday night Oil the eve of bis depatture from Dan ville presented Mr. McKinney with a purse of one hundred dollars. To as sist him in preparing for house keep ing bo was alsr tendered a "kitchen shower" in which were comprised 138 useful articles. On next Thursday,the 10th inst. the installation of the Rev. Mr. McKinney will take place at the Grove church, at 7 :30 p. m. On Friday following tho 11th inst,. the congregation will tender a recep tion to the pastor aud bis bride. DIED IN FAR WEST James Garfield Batemau a native of Dauville aud a son of James Batemau of Mt. Oarmel died Saturday morning at New Westminster, British Colum bia. No particulars have been obtained by the family other than that the • young man was admitted to a hospital on August Bth in a delirious condi tion. He never regained his health - and death came on Saturday. Mr. Batemau was a young mau with a bright future. He was born at Dau ville Nov. 8. 1881. Ho was graduated from the Mount Carmel high school, from Phillips Exeter academy aud from Cornell university. He was by occupation an electrical aud mechani cal engineer and an architect. Several years ago he went to the far West,aud was prospering. Survivors are the father, James Batemau, of Mt. Carmel; brothers, Johu M., of Chicago; William C, of Mt. Carmel; Joseph, of Sparland, 111* inois; Alfred,of California;and sister, j Margaret, of Mt. Carmel. The body lias been shipped east,aud interment will take place in this city i at a time to be announced later. MARRIED 45 YEARS Mr and Mrs. Dauiel Koch celebrat | ed their 45th wedding anniversary at their home at McKees Heights yester- j day. A turkey dinner was provided by the childreu. Among those present were the fol- j lowing iu which are included four ( generations: Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Andrews and daughter Marguerite, of j Montgomery: Mr. aud Mrs. Robert i Kisner, of Muncy; Mr. and Mrs. Aug- I ust Heideureioh aud daughter Martha, i of Strawberry Ridge, R. F. 1); Mr. and Mrs. George Sheldon, of Hughes- j ville; Mr. aud Mrs Roscoe Moore, of j Exchange; Mrs. Minnie Andrews and ( [ daughter Beruice and Bernadine, of I Muncy. John Dewald, of Hughesville. I CAUGHT THEM.—At the very be- j ' ginning of Montgomery county teach- ; | er's institute Tuesday the teachers i were trapped by the lecturer, Dr. N. j V. O'Shea, of the University of Wis- i | cousin. Ho was talking [on anticipa- j tion of the mind, and pointed to sev- | eral words on a chart and asked the i teachers to lepeat theui. This was j done with seeming correctness, but he j soon convinced the teachers that the ] words were badly misspelled. He said 1 that it was like the boy who said that j a furlough was a donkey, because he I had once seen a picture in which a soldier was ridiug a donkey, and the I inscription beneath was: "A soldier j riding homo on a furlough. " Buried YeUerday. Q The fuueral of Mrs. Mary Keiuer, whose death occurred Sunday night took place from the late residence, Hemlock street, yesterday morning The pall bearers were : Edward Leamy, • Felix Mouahan,Michael Ryan, i Reillev, William Fallon, and Thorna" 1 Tooey. GREETED BY i TOWNSPEOPLE Webster Grim and Thomas 11. Gree- I vy, candidate fur Governor and Lieu tenant Governor, respectively, on the , Democratic ticket, accompanied lyl new«|iaper correspondents and leading Democrats of this Sect ion, paid i brief visit to Danville yesterday, The jiarty took dinner at the lleil ilens House, where later the two can- \ didates met a large number of Dan- j ville people. An hour or more was spent iu hand shaking. It was 12.80 o'clock when Mt. Grim aud party ar rived at Danville At 2:15 they de parted, proceeding to Lewisburg, where a short stop was made. From Lewis i burg tliev went to Shamokin, where last night a Democratic mass meeting was held. FOUR AUTOMOBILES The party, which travelled in four automobiles,besides the candidates for , Governor and Lieutenant Governor, contained the following: R. L. Mc- I Pray, correspondent of the Philadel phia Record; George D. Herbert of Harrishurg. also » newspaper corres ponded; Hon. John G. McHenry, Percy Brewington, Will Leslier, of Benton; James H. Mercer, W. C. Johnston, William Chrismau, I). Ben sliotT, J. W. Wright, C. B. Ent and F. L Deutler of Bloomshurg. About a hundred people shook hands with the candidates during their brief stay iu Danville. Mr. Grim as well as Mr. Greevy made a very favorable im pression. He is a man of about middle life and of fine pesence, which, with a frank,open countenance aud unaffect ed cordiality, had tho unmistakable effect of attracting people. As he shook hands with the party leaders here he ; made inquiries concerning the politic al outlook but no addresses were de- ! livered by any of (lie party. CONDITION OF THE RIVER. The condition of the river water Sunday was intolerably bad. Upon being boiled it was hardly fit for use, possessing an odor aud taste that is hard to djscribe, although to many it suggested the presence of chemicals, j Several persons about town claim that i they were rendere I sick by the water. ! No ono seems to be able to explain j what causes the river water togo bad in this way periodically. The theory ! entertained by the mass of people, j however, is that the water is impreg- ; nated with chomicals from the ho*- ) pital for the insane. The idea of drinking water treated with chloride j of lime is repugnant to many people and they are very suspicious as to its j effects. It happened that among those who discovered that the water was bad aud , unfit for use Sunday was a member of the board of trustees of the hospital for the insaue. The gentleman, how ever, is by no means convinced that 1 the source of the pollution lies at the j hospital. He quotes a learned article appear- I ing in the "Municipal Journal and Engineer" for September setting forth j the advantages of the hypochlorite dis- | infection or of what might be more familiarly described as the chloride of lime treatment for purifying water. According to this article no injury ; or unpleasant effects can result from the chloride of lime used in purifying tho effluent at the sewago disposal plant at tho hospital. Professor G. A. Heulett is quoted to show "that giv ing all possible credence to injurious actiou, if ten pounds of chloride if j lime or bleaching powder per million were added to the water, it is theor etically possible that there should be j present in the water after treatment free chlorine to tiie extent of is 4 parts I in a trillion parts of water. Admitting this,to obtain a medicinal dose of free chlorine as large as has been admiuis tered in cases of typhoid fever it would j be necessary for an adult to drink a | gallon of water so treated each day j for 7,180 years." So much for theories. What chiefly i concerns the people of D iuvillo is the ' fact that tho river water is periodical ly,if not all the time, bad. It should not be a difficult matter to ascertain the cause, if a thorough investigation ' were set on foot. The remedy is an- \ : other matter. U. OF P. GRADUATES The graduates of the University oi , [ Pennsylvania residing iu the North- j i umberland district will hold their an- : i nual banquet in Sun bury tomorrow. ' Dr. J. B. Cornett ot the University j | faculty who will address a meeting of , j the medical society will be the guest j | of the evening. ; Among those who will attend the banquet are tho following from Dan ville : Drs. E. A. Curry, H. B. Mere dith, J. E. Robbins, W. H. Krick baum, G. B. Free, J. B. Gearhart, I. H. Jennings, C. R. Herrington, A. B. ! Vastine, W. V. Oglesby, Esq., aud i Hon. R. S. Ammerman. THE COAL DIRT CASE ON TRIAL Court convened at 10 o'clock venter tiny morniUK with President Judge (5. Kvnnx find Aesnrtate* llltf and Wpllltpt on tlit* bench. Tim case of Mophte <>. Kckman **. tin* t ,<• 11ivrti mul | Wilkes Itarre Coal company, an nrtion in trespass, Immedlatclv went on trinl The ease liao hrt ii«ht out n most ■ notable arrav of legal tab nt. The plaintiff is lepresented by Hon. 11. M. Hinckley, Edward Havre Uearhart mid L. C. Mensch. At tht> defendant's table are seated former Judge I'' \V. Whpfiton and A. 1. W i Hiatus, of l.nz ptnp county: Daniel W. Kaerclier, of Fottsville and William Kase West of this city. Seated at thp table also is H O. Mason,laud agent of the Lehigh & Wllkeg-Harrp Coal Co. Among othprs representing the de fendant present at the trial is Edward J. Newbaker, superintendent of the Lehigh it Wilkes-Harre mines. The first witness called was Sophie ; O. Eckman, tie plaintiff. Sue is the i willow of Ooi. C. W. Kckman and J owner of the farm described in the statement of the case. She purchased the farm in 1 Willi and the veai follow ing moved onto the place. Lying bet wren the railroad and the river is about twenty-five acres of laud, which before the alleged injury yielded fine crops. 11l December 1801, in February 11 o»-J, and again in 1004, heavy floods occurred, which left a ! deep deposit of coal dirt on the great- i er part of 11> tract, raining the soil atid making it impossible to raise any- \ thing like a full crop. F. W. NVheaton i conducted the cross examination There are i:it» acres in tlio farm. The j witness was born and raised on the farm and she recalled several great floods fin the North branch. Principal among these were the floods of 18'!f> and 187:!. The flood of February, 1 s»0\;. i was higher than the one in December preceding. The flood of 11)01 brought j the highest water. It was the last ! three floods which, it was alleged, | brought down the coal dirt and ruin- j ed the tract of lowland between the j railroad and the river. The second witness called was Wil liam (r. Yetter of Citawissa, survey- i or and engineer, who ou July 11», lilOii, | made a survey, which was reduced to j a blue print and offered in evidence ' yesterday. The tract alleged to be i damaged contains 1!) six-tenths acres. J. O. Brown of liloomsburg, survey or and engineer, was the next witness. On October 28, 11)10, he made a sur- | vey, which was later reduced t ) a blue j print. The latter was also offered in j evidence. Mr. Brown's survey in part j was based on the one made by Mr. ! Yetter. Clarence Cleaver, formerly assessor I of Mayberiy township,was an import ant witness. He explained that while at some spots on the tract there seem ed to be no coal dirt at other places it j lay six inches deep. At still other I places, where hollows occurred, the | deposit of culm was a foot or more in thickness. The witness testified as to the value of laud before and after the floods occurred, which, it is alleged, deposited the coal dirt. The assessor's books were offered in evidence. Tuesday's Proceedings. Two days have already been occupi ed by the plaintiff's side of the coal dirt esse brought against the Lehigh and Wilkes-Barre Coal company by Mrs. Sophie (J. Kckman, and when court adjourned yesterday afternoon one witness still remained to be heard. It was 3:;!0 o'clock when,on proceed ing to call an important witness, and the only one for the plaintiff that re mained to be heard, it was discovered that he was not on hand. A couMilta tion followed, when it was agreed tiiat court should adjourn and that up on reconvening, at i> o'clock this morn ing, the remaining witness should be heard,after which the defendant should open its case. A large number of witnesses were examined yesterday. The attorneys for the defendant were very vigilant and the witnesses were held down to what was relevant and material. The cross examination in the main was conduct ed by former judge Wheaton anil was very searching. The testimony adduc ed was Thomas Elmes. who in IBDT farmed ou shares the tract on the Eckman farm alleged to be damaged by coal : dirt, testified as to the falling off in ; fertility. He fixed the depreciation as ■ it affects the whole farm at S3BOO. i Jonathan Loreman, who ownes a farm adjoining the plaintiff's, was the ; next witness, confirming preceding ; testimony. ' William Vastiue testified as to the depreciation of property due to the 1 presence of coal dirt. Previous to li) 01 the average yield of crops per acre was as follows: wiieat 'io bushels; corn, 100 bushels; oats, 40 bushels; hay, I}s tons. Following H)01 the average yield per acre is put down as follows: corn, 15 bushels; rye. 10 bushels; buckwheat, 10 bushels. The witness estimated the depreciation at $4,000. Mr Vi>llis'« te«t <•..n •bb'rable light on the MtnPPWiery," which *xl«ts in th« rlvof at the farm of tb«> plaintiff and which ha« liern rn|watcdly alluded to in connection with the damage alleged to have been done by the coal flirt. The "Mud Fishery" Is a survival of the days when sliail were caught in the North branch of the Su-qnehuuna. Th>> wit ness described a natural eddy of wide soo|»e occailoned by the |ieculinr li.ima tion of the river lied nt that point. At low wntct the eddy is still iltsceriii- j hie. As the river rises it grows in 5 scope and velocity until high water mark is reached, when it» w ide sweep eiinlraces the submerged low land. The i rotary motion of the water, which in the olden day brought in the shad, it is alleged, under present conditions is just as efficacious in drawing in the culm and depositing it on the land. L. C. Mensch, one of the attorneys in the case, was called to the stand. Since December 1901, the river along I the southern shore below Catawissa creek has contained deposits of coal dirt. Above the mouth of the Cata wissa creek on the other hand, it is alleged, very little coal dirt is seen on the southern shore. The current above Catawissa, the witness explained, is thrown over to the northern sids ot the river by a bend in the stream. The Catawissa creek is subject tn great floods during the winter season. Fol lowing each of these floods the river at the mouth of the creek contains great deposits of coal dirt. William Getty, who was employed on the plaintiff's farm in 1904 and oc cupied the tenant house, was a wit ness. He described the failure of crops and the deposit of coal dirt on the tract, which, he said, came from the I river. He estimated the depreciation at £SOOO. Some of the culm, the wit ness said, came down the Catawissa j creek. Prior to 1904 he observed coal dirt in the river and along the edge of the stream. The witness was on the Eckman farm > when the big ice gorge broke. Culm was frozen fast to the bottom ol' the ice cakes deposited on the land, anil when the ice melted the culm remain ed on the tract. William Kishel was the next wit uess. Since last spring he has lived at ! Rupert. Prior to that time he occupi ed his farm on the high ground op posite Catawissa, where he had an un obstructed view up and down the riv er. He described a curve in the stream above Catawissa and its effect on the current. He has observed the deposits of coal dirt in Catawissa creek. Dur ing the past snnimer during low wat er he took a boat from Catawissa to Rupert; he saw no coal dirt in the river between the two places—"while the bottom of Catawissa creek looked l'ke a coal bank.'t Boyd Trescott, engineer & surveyor, ! representing the plaintiff, who accom- ' pauied the jury on its tour of the coal j field was examined at length. From the mouth of the Catawissa i creek to No. 5 collieiy of the defend ant coal compauy.the distance,he said ; is thirty-five miles. The entire water ! shed embraced in this distance is one I hundred and thirty-five square miles. ' At intervals along the course of the creek are deposits of coal dirt,not only I in the bed of the stream but also on the land along shore submerged dur ing high water. At the No. 5 coal works are enorm- j oils deposits of culm so situated with ' reference to the headwaters of the creek as to be washed into the channel with every heavy rain Witness de scribed the stream and the lay of the land adjacent, the slope aud surface features of the latter being such, it was alleged, as to favor sudden rise of water accompanied with a swift strong current. With every rise of the creek, he said, large quantities of culm aro engulted aud carried down the stream. In cross examination Mr. Trescott was refrerred to a point on the North Branch and asked to describe condi tions. In the vicinity of Nanticoke.be said, there is ctiltn in the river. Be tween Berwick and Beach Haven the channel is clear of coal dirt. This is due, it was explained, to the presence of the dam at Nanticoke which inter cepts the culm. ; (Jeorge Ross was called to the stand. ! While hunting muskrats he passed ov j er the lowland of the Eckman farm. •He testified as to the depth of the de | posits of coal dirt, which at souio places "were up to his boot tops." M. Geary aud William Reruiuger, formerly proprietors of grist mills on the Catawissa creek, testified as to the accumulation of culm in their respec tive null dams. At Mr. Berninger's mill sinco 1901 the deposit has grown until it is''three or font" feet deep and has filled up the dam two-thirds of tho way across the stream. On cross examination the witness admitted that the coal dirt was mixed with sand. Wednesday's Proceedings. The defendant in the famous "coal dirt" case of Sophie G. Eckrnau vs. the Lehigh & Wilkes-Barre Coal Com pany, now on trial, opened its case yesterday forenoon. Immediately af ter convening in the morning Daniel Hubor, of Catawissa, a witness for the plaintiff, absent Tuesday after- KSTAHUBIIKD IN IS5£ nooti.jwns i xhiiihkml. iDer which the plaintiff rested. lion. K. W Wln-nton iMnHtlcly moved for « compul-ory mm suit, rtt itiu authorities tn show flint in such the Imrlrn i. «t« upon the plain tiff to prove what proportlon of the damage sustained by the plaintiff's land has 1m i n caused by culm from the defendant * collieries The case, Ik liik tried, lie Mill, wit susceptible of Minif evidence to show to what extent the defendant company »'»« res|mn»ibl«, yet no tcstimoDV had been adduced that would go beyond the merest "RUM*." HP claimed that the pininti If by her testimony hail shown that other people inside the I.e high A Wilkes Barre Coal company contributed to the culm that came down the river: the hunleti remained with Iter, he instated, to show how much of the enlni deposited on her land came front the defendant's coal operations. Without such evidence the jury would not be able to ascer tain the projmrtionate share of the damage to he borne by the defendant. HINCKLEY'S ARGUMENT Hon. 11. M. Hinckley argued stren uously to overthrow the motion for nou suit. He contended that all the evidence possible had been adduced to show the extent to which the defend ant company was responsible for the damage sustained by reason of coal ■lilt on the plaintiff's farm. He dwelt upou the testimony of Mr. Mensch to show that the condition of the culm banks in ISM'it was the same as in 1903, "only they were larger. " Evidence adduced had shown that the culm banks from It>ol to 1907 were built down to the banks of the stream, which with every rise washed away large uautities of culm. The plaintiff claims that tiie land was damaged by culm that camo down the Catawissa creek. Mr. Hinck ley contended that it was not neces sary for it to prove just what fraction of coal dirt each of the live collieries at the headwaters "112 the Catawissa oreek contributed. Quoting Judge Heudeison in a parallel ease he affir med that the proportion of damage can't be found to mathematical exact ness, but that it is a guess at best. It is the duty ot the jury after hearing the evidence to determine the proportion of damages. NON SUIT REFUSED Judge Evans refused to grant the motion for a compulsory nou suit and at 10:45 o'clock Hon. 112. \Y. Wheaton opened fur the"] defendant, addressing the jury for about I :»If an hour. He said that no depreciation of the laud had teen claimed by the plaint iff until after the liig flood accompany ing the breaking of the ice gorge in 1904. The ice cakes deposited on the lowland contained coal dirt and when they melted the culm remained on the land. The masses of ice came down the North Branch and the coal dirt that did the damage was gathered up at various points. The burden, Mr. Wheaton said, is on the plaintiff to prove thai all the culm on her land came from the defendant's coal works and nowhere else. OTHER COLLIERIES On the Nescopeck creek are collier ies and these from a time prior to 1902 have been sending quantities of culm down into the river; up the North Branch and up the Lackawanna river are collieries from which culm is ! swept into the river. In all theie are from 150 to 200 collieries up the river that contribute to the coal dirt in the stream. L Many of these have been in operation for twenty years or more. • Mr. Wheaton defied any man to stand on the rivei bank at this point or elsewhere and surveying the dejws its of coal and coal dirt say from which mines any of it came. In view of the great number of collieries con tributing he thought the chances are exceedingly slim thai any appreciable quantity of it had come from the de fendant's collieries thirty-five miles up the Catawissa creek. OTHER SUITS There were also offered in evidence declaration of the plaintiff in similar j suits brought against the Cross creek ( Coal Co., the Lehigh Valley Coal Co. the Susquehanna Coal Co., the Scran ton Coal, the Delaware and Hudson Coal Co. The Scrauton Coal company's works and the Delaware and Hudson company's miues] ate on the Lacka wauua river and Mr. Wheaton em phasized the fact that in all the cases j the declaration of the plaintiff is iden j tical with the one relating to fhe case | against the Lehigh and Wiikes-Barre ; coal company now on trial—alleging | damage done by coal diit which came i down from the mines of the defend -1 ant companies and was deposited on J her land. | Among the witnesses who testified . for the defendant yesterday were C. Clyde Moore, A. B. Manning and W. F. Dodge,all'miningengineers. W. H. Dodge, a chemist, was also on the stand. The latter wituess produced an analysis of coal dirt, showing that among its constituents there are no elements that should work injury to growing crops. It was learned yesterdayjthat several more experts are to testify.