NEWS: Items from the Cambria Freeman, March 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, March 20, 1903 COURT PROCEEDINGS The following cases were disposed of in court last week in addition to those already reported in the FREEMAN: Commonwealth vs. Thomas Sweet and Mary Sweet, Jr., larceny and malicious mischief and Commonwealth vs. Mary Sweet, assault, were tried together. In the larceny and malicious mischief cases, the court directed verdicts of not guilty, but left the question of costs open for the jury who placed the costs on the defendants. In the assault case the jury acquitted Mrs. Sweet, but required her to pay the costs. Commonwealth vs. Edward Smith, assault. Jury find defendant guilty. Commonwealth vs. Al. Rummel, mayhem and assault and battery, E. D. Sprange, prosecutor, was settled. Commonwealth vs. John Michaeloski, keeping a bawdy house. Jury find defendant not guilty but that he pay the costs. Commonwealth vs. Julia Forgetta, larceny by bailee. Jury find defendant guilty. Sentenced to pay the costs, a fine of $25, return the money stolen and eleven months in the county jail. Commonwealth vs. Charles Howard, larceny. Jury find defendant not guilty. Commonwealth vs. Laura Myers, keeping a disorderly and bawdy house and violation of the liquor laws. Jury find defendant not guilty but that she pay the costs. Commonwealth vs. James B. Clark and Jacob Cramer, conspiracy. Indicted quashed. Commonwealth vs. Walter Dowling, false pretense. Jury find defendant not guilty and that the prosecutor, Elias Moses, pay two-thirds of the costs and the defendant one-third. Commonwealth vs. James Hunt, robbery. Jury find defendant not guilty. Commonwealth vs. Emma Guthridge, assault and battery. Jury find defendant guilty. Sentenced to pay a fine of $15 and costs. The following entered pleas of guilty and were sentenced: Sampson Smith, felonious assault and pointing firearm; James Leis, prosecutor. Smith is a colored man and fired over the head of another man in Gallitzin borough. Leis, who is a constable, making the information. Smith was sentenced to pay the costs and a $25 fine and serve eight months in jail. C. B. Rose, aggravated assault and battery, was ordered to pay the costs, $50 fine, and serve two years and two months in the penitentiary. David Shrader, who was charged by Susie Shaffer with a serious offense, was ordered to pay the costs, a $50 fine, $1 weekly for seven years. The $50 fine, which is addition to the usual sentence in such cases was imposed because Shrader had fled the county, when the indictment was first drawn up. Commonwealth vs. Louis Held, assault and battery. Defendant plead guilty. Sentenced to pay a fine of $20 and costs. Commonwealth vs. Frank Koontz, surety and carrying concealed weapons. Nolle pros entered. Commonwealth vs. Joe Love and Charles Smith, carrying concealed weapons, assault, felonious assault and pointing fire arms. Jury find Love guilty and Smith not. Sentenced to pay the costs, $50 fine, and one year and one month in the penitentiary. Commonwealth vs. Lewis Stroup, mayhem, Defendant plead guilty. Sentenced to pay the costs, further sentence being suspended. Third Week Court met on Monday morning at 11:30 with Judge O'Connor present and Judge Kooser, of Somerset, here to assist in disposing of the cases on the trial list. S. J. Fitt & Co. vs. The Pennsylvania railroad company, trespass, was tried before Judge O'Connor. Jury find for plaintiff $493.94, which is $258.31 less than the amount claimed. Matthew Dohavan by Rev. J. J. Deasy vs. The Prudential Insurance company, trespass, was tried before Judge Koozer. After hearing the evidence the court directed a verdict for the defendant. Hugh Jones vs. Owen J. Jones, trespass, was tried before Judge Kooser. After proceeding with the evidence the case was settled by both parties. The case of Samuel Hammond vs. The Gardiner Shingle company, limited and A. M. McClain was continued. Commonwealth vs. George Lazar, causing the death of Steve Valastick, by striking him with an axe on the evening of February 3, 1903. Valastick had come home from Johnstown on the evening he was hurt and stopped to quarrel with Lazar, who was working about his home in Portage township. The racket became general, Valastick's son coming to the rescue of his parent, and the two making it so hot that Lazar was compelled to retreat. He grabbed a pole axe and undertook with it to scare Valastick away. The latter was a very large man and instead of being frightened at the demonstrations of his neighbor, he chased him and axe down the road. About 50 feet from Lazar's gate he looked around and saw that the big Hun was about to overtake him and then he swung the axe. It struck Valastick on the left side of the head and he fell like a log. After his body had lain in the road for some time it was picked up and taken to his house and later sent to the Johnstown hospital, where he died February 28th. The jury after being out for three hours on Wednesday afternoon brought in a verdict of not guilty. LOCAL AND PERSONAL March thus far set an example that early days of April may well copy. Dr. A. J. Miller of Loretto was a visitor to Ebensburg on Thursday. Rev. Father Deasy, of Gallitzin, was a visitor to Ebensburg on Monday. Mr. Augustine H. Nagle, of Patton, spent several hours in town on Wednesday. Mr. A. Schrift, of Croyle township, was a visitor to Ebensburg on Wednesday. Mr. Peter Parrish, of Barr township, spent a few hours in town on Thursday. Mr. John McGough of Allegheny township was a visitor to Ebensburg on Thursday. Mrs. A. J. Gutwald, of Gallitzin, visited relatives and friends in Ebensburg last week. Mr. Albert J. Nagle of Clearfield township was a visitor to Ebensburg on Wednesday. Mr. Geo. H. Roberts, who spent the winter in Philadelphia and New York has returned to Ebensburg. Schettig Bros., the hardware firm of this place, purchased a fine horse from Mr. Ira Bloom on Tuesday. Mr. Robert Ferguson of this place has taken up his residence on his farm in Croyle township near Summerhill. A marriage license was issued in Hollidaysburg, last week, to Richard Garfield Davis of Ebensburg and Sarah M. McGregor of Altoona. Mr. Philip J. Huber, of Carroll township, has sold the coal under his farm to Rembrant Peele of New York. It is understood that the purchase price was $80 per acre. C. Anstead has resigned his potion with M. & E. Farabaugh at Carrolltown and moved his family and effects to the Anstead homestead in Barr township where he will engage in farming. Amedia Wrend, an Italian laborer, 23 years old and working at Ebensburg, was admitted to the hospital Saturday for treatment of an injury to his right hand. While at work in a stone quarry at Amsbry he was hurt in blasting. [Altoona TIMES] The annual readjustment of salaries of clerks in first and second class post offices throughout the country has been completed and will go into effect July 1st. By the new adjustment the clerks will receive a material advance over the old rate. Thursday night of last week thieves entered the Pennsylvania railroad station at Glen Campbell, ransacked and broke the ticket case and succeeded in getting away with about $20 in cash. Suspicion attached to several strangers seen around the town the day before. Messrs. John Springer and Joseph Dunman, of Barr township, who left about a month ago on a visit to the state of Oregon with the intention of locating if they liked the country, returned last week and have come to the conclusion that Pennsylvania is good enough for them. On Monday night the baggage room at the depot in this place was entered by thieves and one trunk and several satchels were broken open and despoiled of their contents. Most of the plunder carried away consisted of clothing. The entrance was effected by prying off the hasp that secured the door. The dwelling house of Theodore Neelan in Barr township was burned to ashes on Monday evening, March 9th, about 5 o'clock, together with most of the furniture and clothing of the family and a lot of potatoes and apples. The fire originated from a defective stove pipe. There is no insurance and the loss is a severe one. Jules Walles, an Italian, of Wehrum, was arrested on Friday last and taken to jail at Indiana to answer to charges of assault and battery with intent to kill and carrying concealed weapons. Jules was courting a Miss Wolflensky of that place, and on Friday he gave the girl the choice of marrying him or being killed on the spot. Miss Wolfensky cried for help and a policeman arrested Walles as aforementioned. On Saturday on an affidavit made by J. G. Lloyd and Joseph Davis of Ebensburg, and presented to the Court by S. L. Reed, Esq., a preliminary injunction was issued by the court restraining the officers of the Ebensburg Agricultural Society from leasing the property or otherwise encumbering the same. At a hearing in court on Monday, the injunction was dissolved and the bill dismissed. Between one and two o'clock on Monday morning, Mr. William Makin, who is night watchman at Mr. Web Griffith's saw mill at Beulah, was somewhat startled to behold a bear perambulating through the fog yard. Mr. Makin had a lantern with him and was quite close to Mr. Bear who did not seem to be much alarmed and marched off at a leisurely gait. It is supposed to be the same bear that was seen in that vicinity last fall. John Swartzentruver, engineer at the Stineman mines at South Fork was waylaid by an unknown man near the brick works one night recently. Mr. Swartzentruber received a number of cuts on his forehead and nose but he beat off his assailant with a piece of lead pipe and the miscreant escaped. The cases against Albert Itell, of Portage township, this county, Dr. Edwin S. Cooper and Mrs. Della Talbitzer, of New Castle, and Dr. J. R. Hahn, of Edenburg, charged with causing the death of Minnie Williams, of Conemaugh, were tried at New Castle last week. Albert Itell pleaded guilty and related all he know concerning the criminal charges, which relieved him from a formal trial. The case was given to the jury on Friday evening and after being out sixteen hours found a verdict acquitting Mrs. Talbitzer and finding Drs. Cooper and Hahn guilty. A motion has been made for a new trial. John Shippen, a blacksmith employed at the Piper mines at Lilly, worked for several years during spare hours in an effort to invent a trolley for electric street and mine cars that would not leave wires. Fellow workmen laughed at him and said he would never gain the desired end. John only laughed back and "allowed" that some day he might strike it. Recently he had his device patented and he has refused an offer of $40,000 for his invention. Other firms on being shown the device have raised the bids, with the chances that Shippen will strike a good bargain for the sale of the patent in the near future. Engineer Roy Spispler and Fireman E. D. Buckle, of Altoona, were injured in the wreck of an engine at Kittanning Point at midnight. While running along at a fairly good rate of speed the locomotive ran into another one, was thrown from the track and wrecked. Engineer Spispler was caught between the engine and tender and had his left foot crushed and sustained numerous body bruises. Considerable trouble was experienced in removing him. Fireman Buckle sustained lacerations of the head and contusions of the left hip by being thrown from the engine. Both men were taken to the hospital where it was found necessary to amputate Engineer Spispler's foot.