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Newspaper
Oak Park Vindicator
Location
Oak Park, Illinois, United States of America
Date
Feb 12, 1897
Page
2
The Vindicator publisher asks subscribers who do not receive Saturday issues by carrier to report to the post office for pickup. The notice seeks to reduce complaints and improve delivery service by directing affected readers to collect papers at the post office on Saturdays.
Editorial notes discuss population trends in Germany and Prague area, proposed railway branch from La Gaangee to Prankolin Park, and city finances. Mentions Katharine Be. Chapman’s illness in Jacksonville and Lady Aberdeen’s convocation address in Chicago. Notes Nicaragua canal bill stalled in Congress with ongoing wrangling and expected fight.
Debate over President Cleveland's veto threat and Senate opposition centered on a clause that would split spouses. The conference report was rejected and the bill rewritten to address objections while keeping restrictive aims intact. The revised measure is seen as more humane yet retains its key limitations.
A mild sensation arose in Washington as Representative Murray a colored Republican from South Carolina proposed to enter a protest against counting South Carolina's electoral votes during the joint session of Congress this week to tally and officially declare the presidential vote. The protest apparently would not succeed.
Backed by Republican leaders a protest forms around South Carolina's new constitution which disenfranchises illiterates. The event is viewed as a passing incident with limited lasting impact.
The British Pacific Railway company applies to Parliament for a charter to build a railroad from Victoria British Columbia to Winnipeg via Butte Inlet with a branch to Hudson Bay and another branch down the Columbia river to the U S border. The St Mary’s River Bridge Company seeks a Dominion charter to build an International bridge at Sault Ste Marie with power to amalgamate with a Michigan-incorporated company.
Hugh McMillan of Chicago drowned at Santa Paula Creek in Ventura California where the rising tide and sandy bottom create a dangerous spot. The editor's wife narrowly avoided a similar fate years earlier due to a skilled driver. McMillan, a Chicago resident at 424 Superior Street, was a brother of ex Senator T C McMillan and owned a large ochre mine in the country.
Rep Gillette of Massachusetts introduces a bill titled A bill to regulate interstate transportation of property owned or manufactured by unlawful combinations. It permits seizure and confiscation as contraband if such property moves to or from a state where it is forbidden. Penalties include a fine up to $20,000 or up to five years in prison, or both.
The funeral service for George Royal a veteran railway man and engineer who died after paralysis at his Ridgeland home was held Sunday. The body went to Orengo Indiana for interment. Royal widely known from coast to coast and in 1878 left active railroading to become western manager of Nathan Manufacturing Company. He helped connect railroad employees and officers and aided in resolving long standing strikes in 1888 and 1901.
The Cicero town division into eighteen precincts raises a question whether primaries should use old thirteen or new eighteen divisions. The Township Republican Central Committee must decide. The writer favors using the new precincts to set a precedent for future changes as population grows.
Phillips buys fifty five acres in Proviso township along Nes Plaines river near Riverside and Me buys thirty acres to make eighty five. He sells to Charles Springer and Granville Kimball sub division lots plus three hundred trees in Riverside village. Chicago and Naperville Stone company, led by Phillips, buys forty seven acres at McCook station to build a crushing plant for street and concrete use.
News from New York reports Ferdinand Danton great grandson of Jaques Danton plans to wed Viviane Marat great granddaughter of Jean Paul Marat. They met at a Paris statue unveiling and hope to marry in spring despite family tensions and differing fortunes.
The son failed when he went to Paris to register as a Frenchman. The prospective bridegroom and his father will go to France to placate the old gentleman.
The piece notes campaign activity in Cicero and Oak Park Ridgeland area with candidates for four year trustees Sam 7 Att ridge Eleventh and Richard Coombs Fifth. It highlights possible opposition to Collector Rearden, potential races against Trails for president support, and mentions candidates for Supervisorship Assessor and Magistrate positions, praising Magistrate William Amerson of Austin.
The piece rails at Mr Attridge accusing him of partiality and opposition to local corporations while praising some outsiders. It accuses him of stirring faction, siding with the Austin Pleat Light and Power Company against Oak Park Water Gas and Electric. It suggests his public stance may be a blunt, harmful form of municipal reform.
The Board of Election Commissioners redistricted Austin, creating eight teen precincts from thirteen. Precincts shift north east and west blocks, with old Eleventh becoming No 1 and new Seventh formed from parts of Fifth Sixth and Seventh precincts. Several boundary lines track Willow avenue Chicago avenue Forest avenue and the C N W Ry.
The text announces precinct reassignments: west of Wesley Avenue becomes the new Tenth, old Twelfth north of Madison becomes Twelfth, old Third north of Madison becomes Thirteenth, areas south of Madison become Fourteenth, old Eighth north of Ogden becomes Fifteenth, south of Ogden becomes Sixteenth, old Ninth becomes Seventeenth, and old Tenth becomes Eighteenth. A plat reissue will show corrected street names after polling places are set.
A Cicero town board debate unfolds over an ambitious elevated railway proposal from the Austin promoter. The plan seeks twenty four miles along Cicero streets with a five cent fare and high speed, prompting memories of prior Lake Street schemes and calls for affordable transport.
A mass meeting at Hoerher’s Hall on Blue Island Avenue organized the Southwest Side Businessmen’s Association to unite traders and property owners in opposing department stores. Senator M. Salomon spoke on restricting large stores, promoting home merchants, and limiting child labor while outlining goals to educate workers, protect members, and regulate credit.
The association discussed selling for cash only and buying in large cash quantities. The plan was suggested to the West ciation but deemed impractical, though used elsewhere with success. No member could fully endorse it, and cash sales with cash purchases was seen as the only solution.
Police in the Austin district report twenty eight destitute cases. The scheme hires men for a half day of work daily in exchange for three quarts of beans three pounds of pork coffee and potatoes or flour. Provisions valued at about five dollars per man for four days will be issued via station in Clyde. Four men cleaned town hall walks Wednesday. A meeting of interested ladies will review expenditures and plan continuation.
Fritz Schultz aged 14 of 862 Twenty-second Street Chicago died after being run over by a North Western train while jumping on cars. His father Otto Schultz and a group of physicians examined the vault at Waldheim to check if the boy was kicked off the cars. no clear signs were found. The family seeks higher settlement, and a court suit may be avoided if a settlement is reached.
Charles Champlin of 1938 West Lake Street Chicago writes that he is moving away from Austin and cannot afford to continue the paper. He praises the Vindicator as essential during his Austin residence and wishes the paper long-term success.
The piece portrays Maceo as a martyr and calls out treachery by Spanish forces led by Weyler. It praises Cuban resolve and resistance, urging continued defiance and sacrifice for freedom. Poetic rhetoric emphasizes honor, patriotism, and the call to avenge shed blood.
The advertisement touts Bucklen’s Arnica Salve as the best remedy for cuts bruises sores ulcers salt rheum fever sores tetter chapped hands chilblains corns and all skin eruptions. It guarantees satisfaction or money back and lists prices and multiple drugstores including Lovell’s Oni Park and Traill’s in Austin.
A writer in the Illustrated American argues slang is amusing mainly for its clever use. The repeated phrases like you understand me irritate listeners and devalue simple conversations. Slang spreads from students to siblings, and one must know the terms to remain connected to youth.
A Geneva report notes steel jacketed bullets at a Switzer land rifle meet were deflected by nearby telegraph and telephone lines. In Thun, four parallel cables with 8,000 volts shifted bullets 24 yards off a 260 yard range and magnetized them. On a 3,000 yard artillery range the electromagnetic field projected 200 yards ahead and 40 yards to the side, bending projectiles 14 degrees.
Artist A H Thayer reports that light colored undersides in birds and small mammals help conceal them from enemies. He presented experiments at an American Ornithologists Union meeting showing a ground colored object is visible from close range, while white undersides blended with the ground reduce shadow visibility and enhance camouflage.
A New York Herald item lists various superstitions considered unlucky. Entries include entering a house with the left foot, riding behind a bob tailed horse at a funeral, sneezing at a new moon, sneezing before breakfast, and telling dreams before drinking. It notes an Austrian belief about a white horse, cow, cat, and umbrella affecting social association.
Report notes strong aversion among paupers to entering workhouses. In Antrim county six workhouses with capacity for 5,000 have only about 1,000 occupants, illustrating entrenched reluctance to seek relief in poorhouses.
A Cincinnati Commercial Tribune fragment recalls a playful office exchange as a junior worker defuses a suggestive mood by offering a piece of sponge cake from his lunch. The quip follows a remark about a vamp hustling away.
A Yonkers Statesman item hints at rabbits being prepared for dinner by "the girls" in the kitchen. The cheeky exchange notes the line Splitting hares, delivering a wry glimpse of domestic life in a brief humorous report.
A montage of short items from 19th century pages notes jack rabbits selling at a cent in Abilene Kansas, British army clothing returns valued at £50,000, a Chicago romance over a hat, bicycle admissions at Fairmont Park, England’s lady commercial travelers, and technical quirks from locks to city markets. It also mentions a Kansas City barber act, Springfield Massachusetts door electricity, a London Figaro exchange about fools and beauties, California orphans, Arizona placer miners, and Prescott gold.
The Austins beat Austin High School indoors Friday night with Kellogg on the mound and Crafts Decker and Oliphant delivering strong batting. The Oaks venue hosted a Saturday night indoor game where the Austins edged Illinois cycling club 5 to 4 in a solid contest.
In Austin this Valentine season, shops display hearts and satin cards in many shapes and prints. From violin verses to comic cards, valentines entice owners and passersby while children cheer and beg nickels for love or mischief, as trades celebrate with colorful displays.
A Washington Star anecdote describes a crowded car where giggling girls poke fun as a polite man gives up his seat to a lady and to an elderly gentileman. The six year old and others tempt him with playful demands and the scene ends with him walking five blocks in the rain to escape the laughter.
Instructions outline materials and steps to make decorative photograph frames using crinkled paper, large rolls for frame covers, small butterfly rolls, glue, cardboard, glass, and ribbon. It covers cutting front and back pieces, avoiding glare of the photographer’s name, applying paper, and assembling a stand.
Amusing tale from a rural parish about a vicar who praised foreign missions in church. Later in a village shop a local woman confronts him with a half crown marked as given last Sunday, accusing him of pocketing it.
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