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This newspaper page contains 23 articles. Subscribers can read the full text of each article.
Newspaper
Mena Star
Location
Mena, Arkansas, United States of America
Date
May 18, 1898
Page
4
The Chicago Record argues small savers favor security over yield in government bonds and urges a postal savings bank. It suggests if bonds are needed, they should be offered to small earners and funded by taxes, while the piece favors legal tender paper money over higher taxes to finance the war.
Two lives lost to whisky in this county reflecting the dangers of drink and the liquor trade. One man died resisting arrest during a liquor-law case, another drunkard was killed by a locomotive after refusing to move from a track. The piece warns of evil and degradation from intoxicants and the motives of sellers and drinkers.
The piece argues that Mena has abundant brick raw material and urges adoption of better machinery to maximize brick utility. It notes a June 25 county seat vote expected to trigger building a brick courthouse and anticipates a forthcoming college relocation needing substantial brick production.
The article argues that upcoming building projects will boost brick demand and that local yards could produce top quality brick with improved machinery. It cites Carthage Missouri’s shift to advanced brick plants as a model, noting material is available locally to achieve export quality brick for outside walls.
The article denounces French policy toward Spain and Cuba, noting the Lafayette incident where a French ship was allowed into Havana, sparking U S hostility. It warns France could face severe consequences if it forces conflict, citing Arkansas Gazette on Franco-Spanish finance and shared Latin ties.
Polk county homesteaders are told not to pay $5.00 for final proof notices, as the Star will publish them for $2.50. A Missouri editor quips that the paper will not issue another issue until Spain is defeated, signaling wartime sentiment.
The Hot Springs News claims a splendid wheat crop and tenfold increase in acreage over last year. It urges an enterprising firm to build a flour mill in Hot Springs or Mena to boost local prosperity, noting farmers should plant more wheat and fewer cotton. Voters on June 25 will decide the county seat at Mena and also pledge to plant more wheat next fall.
A new bond, signed by the Arkansas Town site company, alters the text from county courthouse and jail and buildings to county seat. By Judge W S Stin nett’s consent, the new bond will replace the old with the county clerk, removing fears of owing the courthouse to Mena if the county seat moves.
The Star announces W R Blocksom as candidate for county clerk and ex-officio recorder of deeds of Polk County. Blocksom, a bright young businessman, owns the Blocksom brick block on Mena Street and operates a gentlemen’s furnishings store in one room. He is described as careful, competent, and thoroughly reliable, with county interests deemed safe in his hands if elected.
The people of Polk county reject a gift offer of a new courthouse and a block of ground on Saturday June 25, choosing to stay away rather than accept the proposal.
A police officer’s duty includes using force to stop a resisting suspect, yet those who make a living by breaking the law must learn the risk and gravity of disobeying legal authority. The statement emphasizes accountability for lawbreakers and the seriousness of enforcing custody.
It costs less to keep clean than it does to be sick and pay doctor bills, and those who will not clean up their closets, back yards, stables, latc should be made to do so.
A wartime tone pervades a local notice noting the ongoing battle cry Remember the Maine. It also mentions a horticultural meeting scheduled for Monday afternoon May 23 at the mayor's new Janssen street office.
The mayor and council are praised for their work to ward off litter and maintain a clean city this coming summer.
Citizens vote on relocating the county seat to Mena on June 25. Officials urge turnout as the move could shift administrative focus and local governance.
We offer to prepare all papers for final proof and will publish the legal notice in the Star for 2.50. Bring your documents to this office and we will provide the legal publication at the stated price.
Dispatches from Hong Kong praise Dewey while reassuring his safety and prestige after a recent fight. Elsewhere Spain faces cabinet resignations and Sagasta gains control as Spain prepares for continued war. In Alabama a man named John Lee fatally shot three men after mocking Spaniards. The Spanish gunboat Callao entered Manila Bay, surrendered after Dewey’s fire, and will join his fleet for river operations.
Chicago plans electric taxicabs by May with fifty cabs in service citywide. Designs include regular hansom, victoria hansom, and weather cab. Cabs nine feet long carry two motors and storage batteries, enabling forty miles per charge and seventy five to one hundred miles per day with quick recharging.
The Populist ticket lists R. T. Connally as representative, W. S. Stinnett for county judge, Charley Wilson for sheriff, A. P. Alexander for county clerk, Cage Philpot for assessor, J. J. Mershon for treasurer, and J. O. Gates for surveyor, as reported from last Saturday’s primaries.
The Polk County Horticultural Society holds a meeting in the mayor’s new office on Jangsen Avenue, Mena, Monday at 1 pm. Strawberry growers are urged to attend and report this year’s results. FS Fosven and A W Sr Jon serve as secretary and president. Prickly Ash Bitters marketed as a spring remedy, blood purifier and supporter of digestion, sold by F. G Savage and Jackson Drug Co. 202.
A jumble of short notes reports state politics, local farm concerns, and regional events. The Arkansas pieces mention a state convention planned in Little Rock, county politics in Polk, and Mena's growth. crop prices and food production loom as staples, with multiple towns referenced including Magnolia, Mammoth Springs, Conway, and Lee County.
Fred Fanston, hero of Cuban campaigns, is appointed colonel on General Miles staff. He hoped to return to his first regiment soon, but the War Department eyed his front line advice as valuable for the force. He will serve with General Miles and awaits a possible reassignment.
J H Crambaugh, the lively stool agent of the Pittsburg and Gulf, arrived Friday with a train carrying 2,000 sheep from Louisiana to Kansas for grazing. This shipment marks the 179th headland sent from Louisiana over the Pittsburg line since the first of last month.
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