NEWS: Items from the Cambria Freeman, February 20, 1903, Cambria County, PA Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by Patty Millich Copyright July 2008. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/pa/cambria/ _________________________________________ Cambria Freeman Ebensburg, Pa. Friday, February 20, 1903 A RUNAWAY TRAIN An east-bound freight train got beyond the control of the crew on the eastern slope of the mountain on Sunday morning and ran away. As it ran over the icy rails it gained speed and at 6:50 o'clock, one mile east of Allegrippus, it crashed into another freight train. Two trainmen were injured and an engine and eighteen loaded cars were piled up over the four tracks, blocking all traffic for several hours. Wreck crews were called to the scene and they immediately set to work to clear the tracks. The first was cleared at noon and the others were cleared and open for traffic at 5 o'clock in the afternoon. The trainmen injured were Conductor P. W. Rattigan and Brakeman Charles A. Smith. The former resides at Conemaugh and the latter at Johnstown. Both men jumped on seeing a collision was inevitable and both were fortunate as to the extent of injuries sustained. Rattigan when he jumped went over the bank and sustained a contusion and sprain of the right ankle and body bruises. Both were taken to Altoona and admitted to the hospital. LOCAL AND PERSONAL Next Sunday, February 22d, is Washington's birthday. Rev. Father Deasy, of Gallitzin, visited Ebensburg on Thursday. Mr. Matthew Zahm, of Johnstown, visited friends in Ebensburg on Tuesday. Mr. John Nidemyer, of Chest township, was a visitor to Ebensburg on Thursday. Mr. J. G. Lloyd, of the Ease ward, is confined to his home by illness. We hope he may soon recover. An eight-year-old daughter of Mr. Oliver Evans, of the West ward, is very ill as the result of a bad cold. Mrs. C. T. Roberts, of this place, left on Monday evening for Pittsburg to visit her daughter, Mrs. Thomas Siviter. Charles Grother, condemned to death in Monroe county, has asked permission to help build his own scaffold. Mr. John A. Schwab and family, of Loretto, who are now in Europe, are expected home about the middle of next week. Wednesday night was the coldest night this winter, the mercury getting down as low as 12 degrees below zero early Thursday morning. Ex-Associate Judge Thomas, of Cambria county, is the guest of his daughter, Mrs. Bertram, Sixth Avenue and Twenty-third street. [Altoona Mirror] At a meeting of the School Board, held Monday evening, it was decided that all pupils be required to produce a certificate of successful vaccination before March 1, 1903. Mr. Harry Owens, formerly of this place, who was married in Pittsburg on Wednesday morning, arrived here on Wednesday evening with his bride for a brief visit among friends. With a capital of $400,000,000 the Pennsylvania railroad can be counted as one of the greatest and richest organizations in the world. It is a remarkable example of success attained by good management. Mr. Anthony Sill, a well known citizen of Allegheny township, was severely injured one day last week by being thrown from his wagon near Wildwood Springs, while returning from Gallitzin. A freight wreck near Wilmore early on Monday morning blocked the tracks and delayed trains. Robert S. Stalnecker of Macungie, Lehigh county, aged about twenty-five years was injured in the collision, receiving a compound fracture of the left leg. He was taken to the Memorial Hospital at Johnstown for treatment. The meeting of the county auditor's to have been held at the Court House today (Thursday) for the purpose of examining into a supposed error in the auditor's report has been continued until Monday next on account of illness in the family of Auditor Gittings and the death of a brother of Auditor Farabaugh, the particulars of which we failed to learn. Dr. J. T. Fuller, who some eighteen years ago was a practicing physician in Ebensburg, but since that time has been traveling largely over the world in various pursuits, was a visitor to Ebensburg on Thursday. Among other places visited by Dr. Fuller was South Africa, being there during the Boer war as a correspondent of the New York WORLD. His present residence is in Pittsburg. Deeds were filed at Indiana last week in favor of J. L. Mitchell for twenty-six tracts of land, purchased in the eastern part of the county. All the tracts are located in Cherryhill township except two and they are in Pine township. The purchase includes over 2,800 acres and will mean the distribution of over $56,000 to the landlords, who receive $25 per acre for the coal alone. Col. William Jennings Bryan delivered a lecture in Altoona on Friday night on the subject, "The Value of an Ideal." In it he advocated among other things the election of United States Senators by a direct vote of the people. A reception was tendered to Col. Bryan later at the Eagles' eerie. He refused to discuss Judge Parker of New York as a presidential possibility. Judge Martin Bell, of Blair county, specially presiding on Monday in a Clearfield county case, granted an injunction restraining the firm of Wertz & Kephart, coal operators, from running under the town of Houtzdale, Clearfield county. It was alleged by the municipal authorities that the foundations of the town were being weakened and the personal safety of the inhabitants endangered by the mining operations. A carload of insane soldiers from the Philippines passed over the Pennsylvania railroad en route to Ft. Myer, near Washington, where they will be given treatment. Dr. H. H. Brotherlin, assisted by Dr. Findley, at Hollidaysburg, on Saturday, extracted a bullet from a wound in the head of Lundro Francisco, an Italian prisoner, confined in the jail on a charge of attempting to rob the post office at Gallitzin in the latter part of January. Francisco was detected in the nefarious work and before being taken he attempted to commit suicide by shooting himself in the head. Edgar M. Claybaugh, whose wife committed suicide at McKeesport two months ago, Sunday night attempted to take his own life in Altoona by swallowing poison. He was removed to the hospital and is expected to recover. He was at one time a prosperous druggist of Altoona, but suffered business reverses. He then went to McKeesport where he conducted a drug store until his wife took her life when he returned to the Mountain City. Mrs. Kate Begley was arrested Monday at the home of her mother, Mrs. Dias, in Ferndale, charged with stealing silverware from the Mountain House of this place. Six silver spoons bearing the name of M. J. Stoltz, proprietor of the Mountain House are said to have been found in the Dias home, and Mrs. Bagley was locked up. Mrs. Bagley was employed at the Mountain House. Her husband was some time ago brought to the Ebensburg jail to serve a term for trying to kill his wife and mother- in-law. Nothing has been learned of the whereabouts of Mrs. Mary Thompson, wife of William Thompson, who disappeared from her home in East Latrobe at an early hour Friday morning. It is said she rose at 5 o'clock and putting on a wrapper and slippers went out, leaving her husband and child sleeping. Mr. Thompson was awakened by the sound of the door being closed and got up. Mrs. Thompson is 26 years old. The couple have been married about six years and have had two children, one of whom died last summer. The school building located near St. Benedict, Carroll township, was destroyed by fire about 1 o'clock on Tuesday morning of last week. The origin of the fire is not known as the flames had gained considerable headway before being discovered. The building was a new one, consisting of two rooms. There was no insurance. The school board Met and decided to continue school next Monday. The old building will be used for one room and a house in St. Benedict has been rented and fitted out to finish this term. Jesse Eckenrode, aged 22 years and a brakeman on the Cambria and Clearfield division of the Pennsylvania railroad, narrowly escaped death in a wreck at Gallitzin at 5:40 o'clock on Monday morning. He is at the Altoona hospital, with a crushed pelvis, and though his injury is serious, it is not necessarily fatal. He was a member of a crew taking a train of loaded coal cars off the Cambria and Clearfield division to Altoona. At Gallitzin the two engines hauling the train cut off and ran ahead for water. The weight of the train was too heavy for the helper to hold and it started down the grade toward Cresson and collided with a train following. Two engines and four cars of the first train were wrecked. Eckenrode was breaking on the wrecked cars and was caught and squeezed between two of them. He was speedily removed and taken to the hospital. There was a slight wreck on the branch at Cresson Wednesday night. The late train for Vintondale ran into a freight train disabling the locomotive. No person was hurt. On account of the prevalence of that dread disease, cerebro spinal meningitis, the public schools at Blairsville Intersection were recently closed and will remain so until all danger is at an end. Large gangs of men are reported at work from Gallitzin to Petersburg, along the Pennsylvania new doubletrack route, and the line is progressing rapidly. It is expected that freight trains will be moved east over this line by May 1st and perhaps earlier. Plans are also being perfected for handling freight extensively in the new yards at Hollidaysburg. NEW BITUMINOUS WAGE SCALE The bituminous wage scale for the year beginning April 1st, 1903, was signed for the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and western Pennsylvania by representatives of the operators and the United Mine Workers of America at Indianapolis last Saturday afternoon. The miners, numbering 300,000 will get advances ranging from 12® to 22 per cent. President Mitchell of the United Mine Workers says the average is 15 per cent. The operators say that it will add from twenty to thirty cents a ton to the cost of mining coal, and on an average of twenty-two cents, will add $19,000,000 to the cost of production in the four states. The scale signed in Indianapolis will be the basis in fixing the scale for the twenty mining states. The district conferences, at which the district operators and the miners sign the scales, will be held before April 1st. A HALT ON THE NEW COUNTY A meeting of the citizens of Ebensburg and vicinity for the purpose of taking steps to oppose the dismembering of Cambria, Somerset, Westmoreland and Indiana counties, in order to create a new county to be called Conemaugh, with Johnstown as the county seat, was held at the court house in this place on Tuesday night. Although there was very little public notice of the meeting it was largely attended and the people of this vicinity are unanimous in their opposition to the project. Following are the minutes of the meeting: On motion of T. L. Gibson, S. L. Reed, Esq., was nominated and elected President of the meeting. T. H. Hasson, Esq., and W. R. Thompson were elected secretaries. A Committee of five including President, was appointed by the Chair to communicate with Assemblyman Thomas Davis on the subject, draft a protest and to put copies of the same in circulation over the county for signers. The Committee named are: Wm. Davis, Esq., T. L. Gibson, W. R. Thompson, T. H. Hasson, Esq. A Financial Committee of two, Messrs. A. W. Buck and Webster Griffith, was appointed by the chair. Committee of Five was given authority to make all arrangements. Adjourned. After drafting a protest, which has been printed and is being put in circulation for signatures, the Committee of Five selected a committee consisting of Col. S. W. Davis, J. W. Leech, Esq., Webster Griffith, S. L. Reed, Esq., T. H. Hasson, Esq., J. F. McKenrick, Esq., T. L. Gibson and others who went to Harrisburg on Thursday morning to appear before the House committee and oppose the passage of the New County bill. The measure which is simply a scheme to create a new lot of offices at the expense of the people is almost unanimously opposed by the taxpayers of the county residing outside of the limits of Johnstown, while a large proportion of the people of that city are opposed to the scheme as being useless and unnecessary and recoil from the idea of being taxed in addition to their present high rate for the purpose of providing public buildings for a new county which will only benefit a few attorneys and officeholders.