Abilene Daily Reporter (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 173, Ed. 1 Friday, February 26, 1909 Page: 1 of 8
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ABILENE DAILY REPORTER
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ARILKNK XINIKAX
WATKK -
At
JOE'S
Katidy
Kitchen
JOI'S
XANDY KITCHEN
YOLUMJC XIII
ABILENE TEXAS FRIDAY EERRUAHY !28 10.
NUM11ER 478.
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BOY'S HIURITY
AT
XEADS TO TRAGEDY IN WHICH
THE BOX'S FATHER CHARLES
NICHOLS IS SLAIN.
ASSAULT BY OFFIGEB ALLEGED
TarcHt Speaks to Officer About It
t Quarrel Ensues and Shooting FoU
lows Alleged Slayer Allow-
j cd TIircc-Tlioiisanil Bail.
Because Walter Nichols a sixteen
- year old boy of Grandfalls Ward
? county Texas had a good time at a
show his father Charles 1L NllcholB
Is deauV and Robert Barker a consta-
' ble of Grandfalls must answer to the
cha'rge of killing the elder Nichols
Rev J. F. NlcholB of this city ar-
rived home this morning from Grand-
falls Ward county to which place he
was called Sunday by a telegram In-
forming him of the tragedy in which
his brother Charles H. Nichols was
fatally wounded.
The message to the Rev. Mr. Nichols
had been so long In transmission that
the wounded man was dead before it
-was delivered. Tho tragedy occurred
" ' about 11 o'clock last Saturday morn-
' ing and Mr. Nichols .died at about the
same hour Sunday morning. Rev. J7
F. Nichols left hero for Grandfalls on.
the 8:21 Texas & Pacific train Sunday
night. From him fuller particulars
of the tragedy were obtained.
The incident which JaUsed ill-feeling
to exist between Charlie Nichols
and Bob Barker occurred some ten
f days or two weeks before tho tragedy
according to the account given by the
'' Rev. Mr. Nichols of this city. Charlie
. Nichols who was both a farmer and a
carpenter was absent from his home
' in Grandfalls engaged in the building
-gpfa hotel ;in (Pqcoa county when a
. show visited Grand Falls. His son
Walter aged sixteen went to the show
1 accompanied by a number of other
Grandfalls boys and they all had a
- Jolly good time laughing and shout-
ing at the funny features of the per-
formance as boys will.
The Rev.Mr.NIchols states that Bob
Barker who was a constable called
' Walter Nichols out of the show and
. told him he was going to take him to
the alaboose. The boy wanted to
know the constable's object In doing
- that and the officer told him that it
was for "cutting up" at the show
Young Nichols Is reported to have told
the constable that if ho had violated
any law he was willing to pay' a fine
for having done so but that he did
not want to be taken to the calaboose
or probably said that he didn't pro-
pose tq be taken.
The constable Is said to have be-
. come enraged at this and struck and
knocked down the young man. Wit-
nesses to the affair Interfered and the
boy was allowed to go home. But
the following morning Constable Bar-
ker swore out a complaint against
Nichols aVid this was followed by a
complaint against the ofllcer charging
him with assault.
Everybody Jn the little village of
Grandfalls discussed the trouble be-
- tween the constable and the boy and
predictions of further trouble were
made. Tho Rev. Mr. Nichols of Abi-
lene says that he was told that Con-
stable Barker purchased a new six-
shooter and told his friends it was for
Charlie Nichols saying that Nichols
couldn't talk to him about the affair
at all
Charlie Nichols arrived home from
Pecos pounty last Saturday morning
;- and had been in Grandfalls but a little
time when he dropped Into the bank
lie was discussing church matters
with the banker when Esquire Moore
Umo In. Nichols and Moore walked
oatof the bank together and stopped
on the street talking about the affair
In which the former's son was a par-
ticipant. While they were thus engag-
r ed Constable Barker came along
Nichols is said to have addressed
"Barker asking hjm why he had beaten
his bay up the way ho did and telling
him kja conduct was very unbecoming
in as officer of the law. A quarrel
ensued the "lie" was 'passed tand
blows followed. Barker sprang back
drawing his gun
'l am going to kill yw" ta the ex-
preseioa credited to Barkr and he
tafaa ftrla at Nichols ' The first
shot went wiU. Tfc second struck
Nichols and h Ml. The third missed.
PERFORMANCE
WtfWWW . Oftftftftftftftftft
rn v f1 r P rw frt 9 r F - f r r JW
B TEXAS IjKAGUE FHOHLEM
ft PUZZLES ALL CONCERNED.
ft Special to Tho Reporter
ft HOUSTON Feb. 28 Tho
ft Texas League muddlo seems to
ft bo apparently becoming more
ft puzzling than ever and no so-
ft lutlon seems possible Until the
ft managers of tho various clubs
ft meet Monday either here or In
ft. Austin for tho purpose of work
O Jng out the destiny of the
ft League. MorJtz Kopporl of
( Galveston today-declared that
$ ho was through with baseball
8 and will sell his franchise at
8 the earliest posisble opportuni-
sm ty. Temple Is tbday trying to
8 raise funds for joining the
Q League and has until late Sat-
8 urday to announce decision
O Beaumont la now rfcady to drop
8 out claiming that it is playing
8 Second fiddle to Temple
0 8 8 S & 8 8-8 &8$8$03l
Esq. Moore was Bwlngjng onto Bar-
ker all the time and finally succeeded
in stopping his shooting; but it was
too late; Nichols had been mortally
wounded.
Tho Rev Mr. Nichols of Ablleno
says that Barker was given an examin-'
ing trial before a justice of the peace
and was admitted to bail In the sum
of 3000 which Barker had not been
able io fill when Mr. N'Jchols departed
for home.
Chas. P. Nichols was forty-threo
years of age. He leaves his wife and
seven children. Ho was a successful
-farmer having a good farmfour miles
from Grandfalls and also was a car-
penter of ability. He had made a
profession ofreligion on December il
just two months to a day before his
death. He had joined tho Baptist
church and was waiting for his broth-
er the Abilene minister to come and
baptize him.
Baratow is the county seat of Ward
county In which Grandfalls the scene
of the tragedy Is located and tho trial
of Bob Barker wll lbe held at that
place. The Rev. Mr. Nichols stated
th(s morning that he expected to en-
gage counsel In Abilene to assist In
tho prosecution bf hjs brother's slayer.
Ifyou enjoy a good amoke have one
on us Cut out the coupon In this pa-
per and take it to your dealer and get
a 5 cent Vanity Square Cigar abso-
lutely free. Cigar Department of H.
O. Wooten Gro. Co.
PROF. BECKWITH
Teacher of oratory at Baylor Univer-
sity who gives an entertainment
at Simmons College tonight
at 8:00 O'clock
REPORTED CONFERENCE OF
RAILROAD MAGNATES FALSE
Special to The Reporter.
SAN- ANTONIO Ferob. 26. It was
announced at "Camp'Harrlman" to-
day that .there would be no conference
between E. H. Harrlman and Presi-
dent Mclntyro of tho S.A. & A. P
railway.
Enjoy a nico smoko at our expenso
Cut out the coupon In our ad la this
paper and present It to your dealer
and receive a Vanity Square G cent ci-
gar absolutely free Cigar Dopt. H.
O. Wooten Gro Co.
A WOMAN WITNESS IN GOULD
DIVORCE CASE GlYEN TERM
Oy Associated Press.
NEW YORK Feb. 20 Mrs. Ben Teal
who testified in tho Howard Gould di-
vorce case was found guilty of at.
tempted subordination of perjury to-
day and sentenced to one year In the
penitentiary.
STEPHENSON HAYING A IIAKB
SIKGK OF IT IN WISCONSIN
MAPI80N WJ. Fab 28-Whlle
the certificate of election ta pn th
'way from Washington favoring the
toetloiL of Senator Stephenson th
litlturs contluuM to ballot on hta
or etajotlBff that Stephenson's
slsetiofl ww Ml)
JOINT MEETING OF THE
FARMERS AND BUSINESS
MEN OF TAYLOR COUNTY
The Joint mooting of tho Farmers
Union of Taylor county and tho bus-
iness men of this city which has been
widely advertised was called to order
this morning at ton o'clock by Homer
D. Wade of Stamford.
Homer D. Wado was chosen
L
chojrmau and J R. Keeling as Sec-
retary of the meeting Mr. KeoHngsa
local secretary of the Farmers Union
of .this county. There wore perhaps
one hundred people lit tho hall when
tho meeting was called" to order and
bforo dleven o'clock this number had
increased to one hundred and sixty-
eight by actual count. Among thoso
present vere Stato Commissioner of
Agriculture Ed R. Kone and Joo .E.
Edmonson state lecturer of the Farm-
ers Union of the State of Texas be-
sides a score of other out of towi
guests. y
Address of Wclcbmc ;
Col; W. M. Lacy president of tho
Twenty Five Thousand Club of thts
city delivered tho address of wel-
come. He stated that he was glad to
see so many .farmers and businessmen
present at this meeting and was Burp
that mjuch good would result from the
conference. Col. Lacy cautioned tho
farmers of tho country especlallly to
guard against letting politics creep In-
to their union and Into their work.
"The time has cbmo for all to work
and pull together" said Col. Lacy
"and for every one to work for the
common good of every ono else. The
Tralnmens' Union the Typographical
Union and all other unions that have
been organized here havo resulted In
much good. If a trainman feels that
he has been wronged In any vay by
the railroad company he is now given
a hearing and the matter settled lrop
eny vvny not tno tamer navo me
same sort of same branch of govern-
ment. The Farmers Union has enough
members and is strong enough at
present but is not yet closely enough
prganized. Yet it has resulted in un-
bounded good in the way of advanced
prices already
"If wo get better prices for farm
products then we will have better
schools churches and educational fa-
cilities generally and I'll tell you as
a rule the farmer is as well educated
as any of the business men. Tho farm-
er is no longer led around by tho nose
by the merchants and cotton men as
he was formerly. He makes other
crops besides cotton and by selling
these at the proper time can hold his
cotton for bettor prices and In fact get
along very well without old King Cot-
ton. I want It understood that I am
the friend of the farmer In every way
and on behalf of the' Twenty Five
Thousand Club and tho citizens of Ab-V
Hone I wish to welcome every visitor
In the city who Is hero to attend tho
meeting."
Here Chairman Wade made a few
explanatory remarks and Introduced
Rev W. P. Crow of Abilene who re-
sponded to the address of welcome.
Rev. Mr. Crow said that formerly
thero had been In existence a feeling
of estrangement between the farmer
and tho business man but that now
thero Is no such feeling. To offset
tlUs feeling was exactly what tho
Roosevelt Country Llfo Commission
was formed for and for seeing that
tho farmers get the proper amounHor
their products
"In 1890" said Rev. Crow "I re-
member bringing a bale of cotton Into
town and the best I could get on It
was three and one-halt cents. I sold
t'iat six hundred pound bale of cotton
for twenty-three dollars which wos
about ten less than It cost to produce
Some cotton buyers are nothing more
than cotton scalpers. Tho farmer can-
not como direct to one of these men
and get tho full market price offered
f.ir his co'ton. He has to dovotv u
rued portion tof a day driving about
tho streets and seeing tho different
buyers to And out what tho best ho
can get I. Therefore I want to place
myself on record as favoring anything
that will promote harmony and make
for the general good of the whole
country and its citizens. What Is good
for the one ta also good for the many
"Ttw farmer and business man must
learn to have full confidence In each
other and the merchants should espe-
cially eacoursge htfbsr prkes for all
kinds of farm produetf It will make
tverythlnf they sell brine in
more
money and nmko the country richer.
Every merchant knows that the more
money that passes through his hands
the more money ho will make.
"I long to seo the day como when
tho farmer can como to town buy ev-
erything he needs and soma of tho
luxuries wrlto out a check for tho
amount and go home with everybody
satisfied. Whon tho farmer can bring
in his produce to any merchant and
get full face valuo this Will como to
pass nnd not before.
"Another thing that tho fnrmor
ought to pay more attention to is di-
versification but wo will leavo that
for further discussion. I want to
make n plea for stronger organiza-
tions and better trade relations."
At this pqint Col. l.acy made a few
explanatory remarks and introduced
both Commissioner Kone and Stato
lecturer Joe E. Edmonson. Chnlrman
Wade announced that the Commission-
er was being saved for tho afternoon
session Mid introduced Mr. Edmond-
son Mr. Wado also reminded tho nu-
dlenco that tho farmer who brought
wood to town with a falso bottom In
Jils wagon Was doing jlo better than
tho merchant whb In turn gavq tho
farmer Bhoit measure in tho goods ho
sold him or votked off Inferior grades
at high prices.
IvdinundBou Talks.
"I have een giving the subject 'In-
tensified Farming" said Mr. Edmon-
son "but I would a great deal rather
discuss diversification of crops. Any-
how they arc along tho same lines and
what is true of the one is truo of tho
other.
r" Mr. Rrirtinnsnn nnnkn fnr tt wlilln nn
ti' i ...' . ' - m i- ?i''
xntensmeu larming nnu men torn oi
his experience In keeping out of dobt
while farming. He urged the farm-
ers to procuro hotter seed as sighted
figures to proye that they would pay
even nt enormous prices for the seeds.
Mr. Edmondson ended wth a short
talk on diversified farming and hand-
led the subject In a thoroughly practi-
cal manner.
Following Edmonson H. B. Cook
nnd W. A. McKeo each made short
talks on tho subjects handled by Mr.
Edmonson and gave his plans nnd
Ideas a general endorsement
A comlrattee on reaoltuloiis was
then selected consisting of the follow-
ing: H. B Cook chairman W. A. Mc-
Keo of Jones county H. H Allison
Morgan Weaver and O. P Thomas.
Tho committee was instructed to bq
ready to submit their report when tho
afternoon session convened nnd ac
cordingly the chairman adjourned tho
meeting until .twd o'clock in tho after
noon.
Afternoon Session.
Tho meeting waB called to order by
Chairman Wade nt two o'clock Bharp
and tho first speaker on tho program
O. D. Mcllroy was called on to tell of
his experlenco and make a short talk
on diversification.
Mr. Mcllroy chose for his subject
"Practical Diversification" and outlin-
ed for tho farmers a thorough and
practical way of going about dlversl-
fylng He pointed out that cotton
would always be king in tho south but
that the other crops could bo bo used
as to help king cotton command a
higher prico.
Following Mr. Mcllroy there was a
general discussion In which quite a
number participated. After this
Judge Ed. R. Kone was called on
Mr. Kone stated that other speak-
ers who had preceded him notable
among thorn lecturer Edmonson had
already covered the facts In the
speech that ho had outlined and that
they had done better than ho would
have done However tho Commission-
er launched forth Into a tine discus-
sion of diversification arid the bucket
shop and cotton gambler who en-
deavor to ruin tho farmer for their
own Interests. Judge Kone stated
that he had known wholo families to
labor from one Christmas to another
without suMlolent food and half cloth-
ed all serving king cotton and cotton
selling for les than the cost of pro-
duction Following Judge Kone there was a
general dissuasion and a number of
short talks by different farmers and
business men present after whtah the
WaSttttKHfi
LEGISLATIVE PRISON
COMMITTEE REPORTED.
JEFFERSON CITY MO Fob O
20. Tho commlttco ttom tho B
Stato Legislature appointed tt
for tho purposo of lnvcstlgat- $
Ing conditions prevailing In tho $
Missouri penitentiary today re $
turned Us report. Tho Com-
inlttee recommends that ono of 0
tho buildings bo rnzed to tho ft
.ground ns uhflt for habitation. &
$ In tho women's department 8
rings Woro found on tho walls S(
of tho cells seven feet from tho $'
floor on Avhlch women were
strung up by tho linmls and 8
wrists for punishment. Tho O:
prisoners dcclnred that they ft
wore only given a bath whon ft
they entered tho prison and ft
whon thoy left It. Tho roport ft
crcalod something of a Bensn- ft
ft tlon. ft
ftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftftft
following resolutions wOrq Introduced
and adopted as read: .
To the Fanners nnd Business Men's
Meeting:
Your commltteo on resolutions bog
to report as follows:
First. Wo congratulate the . town
man and the country man upon the
disposition shown to work together
for the mutual advancement of tho
general Interests of tho country and
for a better Understanding and closer
relation between nil classes.
Second. We hoartlly ondorso the
principles of diversification Intensi-
fied farming and proper caro and selec-
tion of soods. Wo point wltb gratifi-
cation to tho facts well established
that the Ablleno Country lands will
grow successfully mllo maize kafflr
corn broom corn sorghum wheat
oats barley rye millet Spanish "pea-
nuts as Well as all kinds of garden
and orchard products In addition to
the BO-callod King of all crops cotton
which beyond question produces a
better average yield In this section
than In any other part of tho stato.
But wo also call attention to tho fur-
ther fact that there Is more clear
money to bo made lh raising mllo
maze and kaftlr corn at tho present
prico for these products than In cot-
ton at ten cents per pound; that broom
corn will yield one-half to one ton
per acre In this section and that It Is
worth at this time over ono hundred
dollars per ton. That tho Spanish pea
nut yields 50 to 100 Ihishols per ncre
that nil klndu of fruit nnd garden
truck mako largo average yloldB and
bring good prices at nU times and
therefore we urge upon our farmers a
greater diversity of crops to tho end
that no oiie crop shall bo grown 'to
such proportions ns to result In de
pressed pricos of that product and for
tho furtljor reason that such plans
plnco money In tho farmoi-tj' hands at
dlfforont seasons of tho year and thus
obvlato tho need of a credit system.
Wo call attontlon to tho fact that prop-
ositions nro now offered to cstnbllsh-
packorieB and crcnmorles In Ablleno
as soon as tho necessary raw mate-
rials art? furnished In sufllclent quan-
tities to justify the Operation of tho
plants and wo thoreforo advocato the
planting of moro hogs and moro dairy
cows to the end that theso enterprises
as well as cotton mills to manufacture
low grado cotton Into cotton bagging
twine and sacks all to bo furnished
materials on which to operato and
wo propoao as a slogan for this sec-
tion "A smoko houso on evory farm
and a string of smokestacks In every
town."
Wo endorse the request of tho Gov-
ernor and tho Commissioner of Agri-
culture for an Increased appropriation
to coyer expenses of support and tho
maintenance of the A. & M Collego
for a more thorough distribution of
the documquts gotten out by that instl
tutlon among our farmers
Wo heartily endorse every reasona-
ble and legitimate means calculated
to promoto educational Interests In
the rural districts and urge that no
lot-up In this movement should bo
allowed until- the farmer boys and
girls have every facility now offered
for the best advantages of tle public
schoolB consistent with tho rapid pro-
gress our state nnd people are making
along that and other linos.
Wo strongly urge tho establishment
Of adldtlonal experimental stations In
different sections of Texas and espec-
ially do wq ask for tho establishment
of at least two such stations in Cen-
tral West Texas
We endorse most heartily the bills
Introduced by Senator Bryan and Leg-
islator Barrett for the establishment
of two "h stations' and also for the
establishment of a West Texas Normal
School and we most cordially con-
gratulate Senator Bryan upon the pas.
sse o( what is kaowa as tk "Stale
Cotto Mill iU;i prxp400rt
OF
THE LEGISLATURE
MEMUEHS OK ROTH SENATE AND
THE HOUSE ENJOY VERY
STRENUOUS S E S S ION
PURE FOOD LAW BROUGHT UP
Action on Tills Well Known Contra-
vorsy Postponed; Hr. Fred Mayer
of Mississippi Believers na
Address to the Members.
Speclnl to Tho Reporter
AUSTIN Fob. 2(5. Tho Houso thi
morning discussod thq proposed re-
duction of membership of tho Legisla-
ture with Increased pay but postponed
action till next Wednesday. This ta
ono of tiio platform demands.
The Puro Food law nnd soft drinks
bill woro also brought up and discuss
cd but final action was postponed.
During tho hour set apart for tho dis-
cussion of tho tuberculosis question.
Dr. Fred Mayer of .Mississippi said ho .
Vns ''inrormbd that Toxns packing
houses culled their cattle before Fed-
eral Inspectors could o.xamlno them
which brought Worthnm and Fltzhugh
to their feet Instnntly demanding Ma-
yor's authority for such a sorloua
charge Mayor referred them to Dr.
Brumby Stato Health Officer and tho
Inttor said he bollovod tho Btatcmont
was truo adding howovor that ho had
never bqon nblo to secure enough evi-
dence to present to n grand Jury.
In tho Senate.
Tim Sennto today refused to consid-
er HOlsey'B bill prohibiting legisla-
tors congressmen and senators from
accepting employment by public ser-
vice corporations. Tho Sonato Judici-
ary commlttco today failed to roport
on tho anti-racing moasurq the vote
bplng five for nnd tlvo against. Stur-
geon tho odd momber refused to
vote.
Proponed Insurance Dill.
Representatives of' the Fraternal
Beneficial Association drafted n bilL
which they expect to Introduce In the
Houso and Sennto today. This bill.
If passed will allow1 them moro froo-
dom and take much of tile authority
from tho Commissioner of Insurance.
Tho Association scokB moro privileges
In making rntos They want this
measure passed Instead of tho ono
which Commissioner Lova drafted and
which Is now pending bofpro tho Sen
nto Committee
manufacture of low grado cotton by
iionltentlary convicts Into cotton bag
ging nnd wo plqdge ourselves to lend
co-oporatlon to mako this enterprise
nsucceBB in all reasonable ways that
wo can.
Wo hereby oxtond our sincere
thanks to Hon. Joo F. Edmonson state
lecturer of tho Farmors Union of
Texas and also to Judge Ed R Kone
Commissioner of AgrlcuUuro.for their
presence with us on this occasion and
for their valuablo talks and sugges
tions.
Resolutions regarding bucket shops
and future dealing;
Whereas some sixteen years ago
Congress investigated tho question of
fnturo dealing In cotton and whereas
the roport or tho commlttco was la
part as follows: "Whllo such dealing?
sometimes produces abnormally high
prices and other times abnormally lojv
prices for a period tho general ten-
dency was to depress pricos to a con
slderable extent on tho average and
tho commltteo reports that Congress
not only has tho power to abolish
thorn but Is In dnty bound to do so."
Therefore be It resolved that we hear
tily ondorso tho bill Introduced In
Congress by Hon. l L. Henry believ
ing thnt In Its operation It will not
Interfere or offoct any legitimate sale
or contract whoro actual delivery ta
contemplated. Bo It furthor resolved
that wo recommend either as an
amendment to this bill or a new one a
law making It compulsory upon the
purchaser or seller of a contract caH-
Ing for tho future dellvory of cotton to
apecify the grade or grades bought o
sold for future delivery and the num-
ber of bales of each grade so con-
tracted for.
We heartily endorse the proposition
of a eottoM mill for Ahtteiw sd we
pledge ourselves to lead every Malstt
auce in our power to oraU a local
company MMopoe4 at town aen audi
(Continued m iHsje
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Abilene Daily Reporter (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 13, No. 173, Ed. 1 Friday, February 26, 1909, newspaper, February 26, 1909; Abilene, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth315504/m1/1/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Abilene Public Library.