NEWS: Items from the Cambria Freeman, March 27, 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 27, 1903 ATTACKED BY ROBBERS Thomas Morris, James Barnes, and Charles Harris were lodged in jail on Tuesday afternoon, having been committed by Squire W. A. Donahey, of Barnesboro, to answer to a charge of assault and battery preferred by John G. C. Bearer of Spangler. About 11 o'clock on Monday night Mr. Bearer who had been a member of the coroner's jury holding an inquest on the body of Peter Magulick, returned to his home and at once went to his barn to attend to his horse for the night. There he found three men who requested the privilege of sleeping in the barn, to which Mr. Bearer consented providing they would light no matches. While Bearer was working around his horse, one of the men struck him without warning and shouted, "Hands up!" Although taken by surprise, Mr. Bearer succeeded in freeing himself from his assailants, getting out of the barn and was followed to the house, where, on reaching, he gave the alarm and his assailants disappeared. On Tuesday morning a warrant was issued and about noon Constable Yeager, assisted by several people, succeeded in capturing the three men who are believed to be professional tramps and they are now safely lodged in jail. FATAL ACCIDENT An accident in the Sunshine mines at South Fork last Thursday resulted in the killing of three men, the fatal injury of one and the serious injury of several others. The names of the killed are Anthony Border, Joseph Swank, and Frank McLain; fatally injured, John Coolbaugh. The accident occurred at the completion of the day's labor when the men were leaving the mines. The men were in the habit of riding out of the mine on the mine cars, notwithstanding, it was expressly forbidden by the company. On Thursday evening the men mounted the cars as usual, there being 20 of them coupled together. Three hundred yards from the main entrance is a lift. Just as the cars were reaching the highest point in the main way, the coupling between the second and third car broke and the cars on the rear end dashed backward down into the dip 200 yards. At the first switch they were wrecked and caused a fearful mix-up. Border and Swank were dead when taken out. McLain died an hour later. Those who had been fortunate enough to jump from the runaway cars ran to the outside and told of the accident. Help was quickly rushed to the men buried beneath the immense pile of wreckage which filled the 6-foot heading for a distance of 20 yards. The first man found was Swank, who was horribly mutilated. Border and McLain were the next taken out, the former dead. The Sunshine mine is owned by W. W. Haupt, of Philadelphia, the South Fork Coal company and others. About 350 men are employed in the mine and it has a capacity of 800 tons a day. LOCAL AND PERSONAL Mr. H. A. Bitters, of Barnesboro, paid Ebensburg a business visit on Tuesday. Mr. Valentine Weakland, of Cambria Mines, was a visitor to Ebensburg on Tuesday. Mr. E. C. Parrish exhibits a fine line of Easer cards in his store window on High street. Mr. William Hopfer, of Carroll township, was in Ebensburg on business on Thursday. A sixteen-year-old son of Mr. Ellsworth Rowland of Blacklick township is ill with smallpox. Ex-Sheriff Joseph A. Gray, of Spangler, and Mr. Charles Adams, of Carrolltown, spent Tuesday in Pittsburg. Herman F. Wentz, of St. Lawrence, this county, has been appointed a substitute letter carrier at the Altoona post office. New porches will be added to the residences of M. D. Kittell, Esq. and Mr. Robert Scanlan, both of the West ward, this spring. Mr. James M. Thompson of this place will put a handsome new front in his store building this spring and build an addition to the rear of the store. Landlord Kimball of the Metropolitan Hotel of this place and District Attorney Stephens of Johnstown were spectators at Indiana county's license court on Tuesday. Because they failed to comply with the vaccination laws, a number of pupils have been expelled from the public schools in Altoona and an indignation meeting of parents has been called. Mrs. Robert James has purchased a half lot fronting on Lloyd street, in the West ward of Ebensburg from Miss Annie J. Breese and will erect a residence thereon during the coming summer. The tax rate for the coming year has been increased from 4 to 4® mills for the coming year by the county commissioners in order to provide funds for the erection of a number of proposed new bridges. Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Schwab and their daughter, Miss Gertrude, arrived at their home in Loretto on Thursday of last week, all in good health and glad to greet their old friends and neighbors after several months absence in Europe. A Windber woman recently stowed currency amounting to about $200 in the kitchen stove for safe keeping during the night. Next morning without thinking she built a fire in the stove and the money was not thought of until it was consumed. Editor W. R. Thompson, of this place, today (Thursday) sold his two lots of ground fronting on Horner street in the east ward, to Mr. Thomas G. Davis, of near Beulah, the consideration being $1,400. Mr. Thompson recently purchased the lots from the estate of Charles J. Owens. The Grand Lenten Entertainment held at Vintondale on Thursday evening of last week and also at the Church of the Holy Name, in this place on Tuesday evening, was well patronized at both places and the amounts realized which was for the benefit of the respective churches amounted to quite a neat sum. The station house at Carrolltown Roads was broken into on Sunday night and several trunks were broken open and rifled of their contents and two satchels were carried off. One of the trunks broken open belong to P. H. Grade, the well-known salesman of Pittsburg. Entrance was gained to the building by prying open the door. The Cambria County Telegraph and Telephone company with headquarters at Cresson has decided to improve and extend its service. Its lines take in all the towns in central and northern Cambria county and about May 1st the work of building trunk lines between Cresson and Altoona, Patton and Ebensburg and Ebensburg and Johnstown. The new lines will bring this place in closer touch with many towns in the county. On Monday Sheriff Elmer E. Davis and Deputy William Piper went to Pittsburg, the one taking to Dixmont Asylum one Tom Benson, the Hastings foreigner who cut this throat several months ago but was saved by the doctors and the other accompanying to the Polk Institute for Feeble-Minded, a young man named Frank Koontz. Koontz and Benson are each about 25 years old. A large blast was put off a few days ago by workmen employed by D. F. Keenan, subcontractor on the construction of the extension of the P. R. R. from Dilltown to Blacklick. When the blast let go a large rock weighing 300 pounds was hurled clear across the creek, alighting upon the roof of the frame dwelling house of Thomas Dayton, crashing through both floors and embedding itself in the soft clay in the cellar. It made a large hole and it is a wonder it did not cause the total collapse of the house. There was in the house at the time a young lady and a boy about 14 years of age. They were not in the room through which the rock fell and escaped unhurt, though badly frightened. Mr. Dayton will ask damages. The miners' convention in Altoona finally came to an end last week after being in session almost two weeks. The sessions were long drawn out on account of the miners and operators being unable to reach an agreement on the wage scale. They finally got together with the result that the miners get an eight hour day and an increase in wages. It looked for a time as though the disagreement would result in an extensive strike, happily such an occurrence with its deplorable results have been avoided. Eight hours have been won at a heavy pecuniary sacrifice by the miners. To the persistence of the men the operators have yielded in the matter of hours, but to get this the men made a concession on wages which it is estimated would have been worth a million and a half dollars a year in the aggregate. The men have the right of all men everywhere to get as good a wage as they can, but it would have been much more sensible on their part to work nine hours a day and get the higher wage scale. The dead body of an unknown man was found last Friday morning in the west bound tunnel at Gallitzin. Both of the man's feet had been crushed off and it is thought that he had been jolted from a train on which he was riding.