Bastrop Advertiser and Bastrop County News (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. [122], No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 2, 1975 Page: 2 of 32
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Raatrop ("Texas) Advertiser. October 2. 19 75
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AND BASTROP COt'NTY NEWS
E8TAKI.ISHED MARCH I, J86S
I'UHI.iSHKI) EVKItY THURSDAY AT BASTROP. TKXAS 78802
AMY S. STANDIFER, EDITOR
R. E STANDI PER and SON. PUBLISHERS
Entered as Second Class Matter at the Post Office at Bastrop.
Texas, Under Act of March 3, 1897.
HERITAGE
OUR PAST
u
76
u
BASTROP COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
*********************************** ******J
MEMBER |975 ASSOCIATION
Piney Creek Philosopher Wants
Right To Depreciate Himself On
Income Return Like Quarterbacks
Editor's note: The Piney
Creek Philosopher on his
Johnson jjrass farm on Piney
thinks he has discovered a
possible tax loop hole.
Dear editor:
These days, if you want to
keep up with labor manage
ment news you naturally have
to read the sports pages and
that's what 1 was doing the
other nitfh! when I ran across
an item that made me sit up
straight.
According to it, owners of
professional football teams can
depreciate the cost of quarter
backs. That's right. Say they
pay $500,000 for a quarterback.
They then estimate he'll last
for, at the most, depending on
how much bigger and faster the
blitzing linebackers get. about
five or six years, give or take a
few knee operations and broken
ribs. So, they depreciate the
cost on their income tax
return.
While some people may be
outraged at this, I think it's a
splendid idea and if I can think
of his name I'm going to write
our Congressman and ask him
to introduce a bill letting
everybody in on this.
For example, say you're 50
years old and it has cost you a
minimum of $2000 a year in
food, clothing and shelter to
reach that age. (You can't
figure in what it has cost you to
see $500,000 quarterbacks play,
your subscription to Playboy
and things like that.)
All right. That's $100,000
you've got invested in yourself,
subject to annual depreciation
on your income tax.
Now comes the ticklish part.
Do you elect a quick write • off,
say 10 years, or do you string it
out over 15 or 20 or even more?
Suppose you feel good and
drive carefully and decide to
depreciate yourself over 20
years. That means you can
write off $5,000 a year on your
income tax. Sure beats that
$100 Congress allowed us last
year. Make a joint return,
depreciate your wife, and wind
up with the government owing
you.
Changing the subject, con
sidering how the CIA has been
opening mail willy nilly, how
the FBI and the Secret Service
have ignored clear • cut warn
ings about individuals who feel
like shooting a President, how
Washington can't for the life of
itself figure out an energy
policy, how our foreign policy
makers seem to believe selling
arms to all sides is the way to
secure peace, how the Russians
continue to out smart us when
it comes to buying grain, how
the big cities are going broke,
considering all these atid a few
more you are probably thinking
lit, do you sometimes get the
feeling that this country is
being run mainly by incom
petents?
Yours faithfully,
J. A.
>n your income lax.
***********************
A BICENTENNIAL FEATURE
(The following article is
taken from the Historical
Edition of the Advertiser 1935.
Due to the length of the article,
it is being carried in two parts.
Part I appeared in last weeks
edition of the Advertiser and
Part II appears below. The
Heritage "76" Committee ol
Bastrop welcomes contribu
tions to the column. If you
would like to have an article
published relating to the
History of Bastrop. Bastrop
County, or their people, please
file copy with the Bastrop
Advertiser. The Heritage
Committee reserves the right
to edit for authenticity or
condense all articles submitted
for publication.)
McDADE LYNCHING8
CREATE EXCITEMENT
IN EARLY DAYS
By Jeptha BitHngsley
(Mr. Billingslev was assisted
by Mrs. Emma S. Webb of
Elgin, who helped gather, as
nearly first hand as possible,
and arrange the material used
here. The facts were carefully
and finally checked by H. N.
Bell, Sr., former sheriff of
Bastrop County.)
Deputy Sheriff Sid Jenkins
and Will Bell returned to
McDade and Joe Simms stayed
with the bodies. The wagon to
earry the dead bodies arrived in
about one hour. The wagon
belonged to Jack Nash and was
driven by Pat Murphy. At the
arrival of the wagon, Pat
Murphy viewed the bodies,
exclaimed, "Bejesus, if Thad
had been a foot higher, he
would have been a living man
yet." The hands of the men
hung were tied behind them,
and a loop had been slipped
around their necks they were
strangled to death.
Before these bodies were
brought to town, however,
three brothers belonging to the
notch cutters gang arrived
from their home in the country
and went to Milton's store. Tom
Bishop sat on a bench outside
on the store gallery, and one
of the boys stopped to talk to
This Week In
Our History
««•
818
OCTOBER 2:
The Connecticut aaaembly banishes all Quakers from the territory
I 1656) . . Major John Andre, the British adjutant general caught
with the goods on Benedict Arnold's treachery, is hanged at Tappan,
N Y. (1780) . . Stripper Fanne Foxe, Cong. Wilbur Mills' night-
club playmate, dives into Washington's Tidal Basin after traffic viola-
tion. And the Tidalgate Scandal is on (1974) , . .
OCTOBER 3:
I he public use of tobacco is strictly
Massachusetts Bay court says (1632)
congress voids the 1824 Constitution
and futures on (1835) . . . Now
f '-xas. successful at revolution,
at Columbia (1836) . . . The
tax, inflates postage, stamps to
a no-no, a new ruling by the
. . . Santa Anna's subservient
T exans have staked their faith
see what happens, little Napoleon:
convenes its first congress as a republic
War Revenue A^t doubles our ipcome
} cents (1917) . . .
P. O.
BOX 457
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OCTOBER 4:
Over in the Bra/os Bottoms, they open Texas Agricultural and Mechani-
cal College, a great land-grant college And that's no joke! (1876) . .
Russia beats us up with Sputnik 1, but in 10 years we'll outiitter thern in
space with 503 payloads to their 248. and hold a 26-21 edge in inter-
planetary craft ( 195 7) . . .
OCTOBER 5:
husetts reorganizes, rle< ts John 1 lanco' k governor and forms the
Minutemen (1774) Gen. William Harrison whips the British and
Indians in Northwest ■ Battle of Thames, killing famed Tecumseh in the
melee (1813) I rumart urges us to go without meat and eggs to
«ivi* grain for f.urope. But how will that help? (1947) . . .
OCTOBER 6:
1 he attorney general rules that prohibition also means no liquor sales
on foreign ships in our 3-milr limits, nor on US ships anywhere (1922)
I he first talkies i he J.t// Singer" with A1 Jolson — shows
to the public in New York (1927) . . .
OCTOBER 7:
King (jeorge issues ban against any new American settlement west of
the Ohio River (1763) . , Our Stamp Act Congress lists our rights
and grievances in petition to the king (1765) . . , Tokyo Rose (nee
I) Aquino) nets 10 vears for her war propaganda from Japan (1049)
Don Larson pitches Yankees by Brooklyn, 2-0, and how! No hits,
no runs, no base runners. Perfect for the World Series! (1956) . .
OCTOBER 8:
1 he flames flash out from a barn at 558 De Koven St. Mrs.
O I eary s gut the heart of Chicago for 24 hours and < ause $2 mil-
lion in damages. Are you gonna believe a milk cow did it? ( 1871 ) . . .
HlfSSifESSE
of Kflotrou
BASTROP, TEX A
him; the other two went inside
where Milton was. The one
outside said, "Some folks in this
town are accusing some folks of
things they didn't do," and
kinda stepped up closer to
Bishop; the latter whipped out
his ifun, but the young man
grabbed for it, and in the
shuffle, the gun went off and
struck him in 'he thigh of the
leg. He ran; but in the
meantime Milton had ordered
the other two brothers out of
the store because of the
remarks they made, and almost
at the same time, the shot was
heard outside. The boys rushed
out to assist their brother, and
Milton grabbed his ever ready
gun behind the door. Imme-
diately, the bullets began to
whiz, and shots were fired right
;ind left. Two of the brothers
were killed one had his head
shot off and the third, though
wounded, made his escape but
was later captured and was
taken into custody and was
placed in the county jail by
Sheriff Jenkins when he
returned to Bastrop that day.
A third man was shot and
killed that day. His name
was Griffin and he was a
brother of Mrs. Black, who
lived in McDade. When he
heard the shots fired that
morning, he ran out of Milton's
Saloon, and endeavoring to
separate the combatants in the
melee, he was shot. He was
immediately rushed to the
home of Mrs. Black. His
brother, upon hearing of the
young man's death, came to
town and brandished a pistol in
the air, declaring he was going
to kill everybody in sight for
the foul murder of his brother,
but somehow friends subdued
him and no further killings took
place at that lime.
The shooting of these two
gangmen took place right there
by Milton's store, and after the
smoke cleared the bodies were
picked up and placed in one of
the stores where they lay for
some little time awaiting the
arrival of relatives to claim
their bodies. The bodies of the
three hanged men were also
later brought into town, and if I
remember correctly they were
brought to the same store
where the other two bodies
were. I don't recall that they
stayed there any length of
time; but certainly they and
none of the five dead men were
lying on the depot platform".
The curious of course - and
most of us are, stood around
and viewed the bodies and
talked over the previous night's
and the morning's happenings.
Nobody was anxious to have
more killings, innocent or
otherwise, in the little town
when the friends of the
deceased would come for their
dead one, so the bodies of all
five of them were moved to an
old vacant house some distance
away from the stores, and there
they remained until relatives
came to take away the remains.
Incidently, I happened to be
present when the wife of one of
the dead brothers arrived.
They live quite a piece out in
the country, and it was some
little time before she came. She
knelt down sobbing beside the
dead form of her husband and
prayed one of the most
beautiful prayers I have ever
heard.
For some days thereafter the
residents of McDade lived in a
tension. Parents would not let
their children out of their sight,
and some folks deliberately left
town, to be gone until matters
had cleared up. Louis Bassist,
who later moved to Elgin, was
one of the latter. He had been in
this country only three months,
and the gruesome tales and
killings he had heard tell of, and
the constant sight of quickly
whipped out guns and pistols
filled him with a feeling that is
Hid You Know That
a) YKAKM AGO IIIM WKKK—
Hay Hurst, oli driller of
Bastrop and Houston (now
living in Alaska) was the
winner ol the $45.00 prize
money
Tower
night.
given
Theatre'
away at the
on Thursday
Mrs I.illian Waugh has
resigned her position as
secretary of the Bastrop
Chamber of Commerce accord
ing to Cecil bong, president.
Drivi* n Grocery
indescribable. Such wild un
civilized life was so new and
strange to him after being
accustomed to the strict
military conduct of the citizens
in the city he lived in while in
Germany, that he was at a loss
as to what to do about it all. At
any rate he took the first train
out of McDade that Christmas
Day, and went to Elgin where
he stayed a week before
v i turing back to resume his
wor!. >n the P. Bassist Store.
People who were at all
subject to superstitions were
sure a curse was on the town
and its inhabitants, and that the
ghosts of the dead men would
be certain to put in their
appearance. That night a lady
living near the house where the
five dead bodies lay, became
very sick and her husband
called to Sam Billingsley, who
lived nearby and asked him to
fetch the doctor. Folks had no
telephones there at that time.
Sam lived until recently in
McDade. and was always a man
who was willing to aid a friend
or neighbor; so with some
trepidation he agreed to go. It
was necessary to pass the death
house on that cold bitter night,
and Sam's heart involuntarily
beat faster. Instinctively, he
looked toward the house, and
what should he see but a
wraith - like form enveloping
almost the full height and width
of the open doorway.
Needless to say, Sam s
footsteps quickened and later
when returning with the
doctor, he kept as far away
from the building as he could.
He wasn't sure whether or not
he had seen a departed spirit of
any of the five desperadoes or
the one innocent victim of the
previous night and days
melange. Next day, however,
the ghost visit was explained. A
huge dog with broad white chin
and chest w as observed in town
and he recognized it as the
animal belonging to one of the
slain brothers. Jt was the dog
who was keeping vigil the night
before beside his dead master's
body.
The "necking party" quieted
things down around McDade
for several years and people
could carry on business without
fear of hold ups.
DID YOU KNOW
McDade was settled in the
early 1840's by planters from
the Old South. James McDade,
for whom the town was named,
arrived before 1860, but as a
settlement, it ranks third with
Smithville and Bastrop. In the
early days it. was the leading
commercial center of the
county. At that time it was
known as the Tie I ity- A stag*
and freight line was operated
between it and Bastrop and
Austin, and it was the shipping
point for freight and cotton to
and from Smithsille. Bastrop
and Austin between 1871 and
1886.
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OFFER GOOD ON ALL GALLONS OF LUCITf
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ftbitf l$| * 0 per yal I (or
of LUCITI ' pwrchitud
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Standifer, Amy S. Bastrop Advertiser and Bastrop County News (Bastrop, Tex.), Vol. [122], No. 31, Ed. 1 Thursday, October 2, 1975, newspaper, October 2, 1975; Bastrop, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth238537/m1/2/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Bastrop Public Library.