Decatur County Journal
Leon, Decatur County, Iowa
June 02, 1898

A PRECOCIOUS 5-YEAR-Old.

A precocious 5-year-old, who is visiting in the city, was engaged in conversation by one of Leon's gilded youth and in answer to questions the little one would invariably say "yes ma'am" or "no ma'am". On being asked why she said "ma'am", she said she saw he had his hair parted in the middle.


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Friday, June 1, 2001
 

The Davis City Advance, Davis City, Iowa
Thursday, June 11, l898

Mena, Ark., May l5th, l898

Editor Advance: Dear sir and friend:

After three months residence in the sunny south I can say that I like it here. The climate and water seems to agree with us. I am glad to hear that the old Advance is on foot again. May she never die, and prosper always is my wish. I haven't seen much farming land here yet, but I would like to own a good one. A heavy frost got all our peaches but other fruit is all right. Our local fruitmen have been shipping strawberries since April 28th. We vote to move the court house and jail here to Mena, on June 25th. The town is on a very rocky place, but is about l,600 feet above the sea level and plenty of good springs all over town.

We, the Populists, are to open the campaign Saturday, May 28th, at Jamison Park. It is believed by well informed men that we will carry the county again entire this fall. The old twins each have a ticket in the field and the demies have the officers in. The county clerk got in by only l vote last year. Well get the boys together and don't stack your arms or "co-operate" any more, for God's sake. It is tough on us down here where they count the votes. See? I hope that Gammon, Bobbitt, McDaniels, and some others will help to push the car along, they surely see that, democracy only means to swallow us as a snake would a chicken by "co-operating." We have a fine People's Party club here in town. I wish that some of my friends could hear the leaders of democracy talk down here. They would not want any co-operation in their's then. Arkansas is a Democrat State and all the leading papers at the capital are Gold Democrat. Give Robb a bone and he will quit growling. If McCaull, Millsap, Stockton, and Co. need something to hold down their eyelids, I will send you a few of our diamonds for them. Make the old Advance go straight at 'em, and drop a few schrapnel shots right in their camp. Mention J.K. Jones' bond bill to them for me.

-- R. L. GORE.

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September 18, 2003

 

Leon Reporter, Leon, Iowa
Thursday, June l6, l898

Pursuant to a joint call issued by the Committeemen of the Democratic, Populist and Free Silver Republican parties, the members of the three parties met at the court house in Leon Saturday afternoon for the purpose of selecting delegates to attend the congressional and judicial conventions to be held at Creston today.

The meeting was called to order by county chairman, E.J. Sankey, and Prof. J.T. Pence, of Lamoni, was chosen as chairman, and O.E. Hull, of Leon, secretary.

On motion a committee consisting of E.J. Sankey, Robert McCaull and Dr. C.A. Ray were chosen on resolutions.

A committee of two from each party was then named to select delegates to the judicial and congressional conventions as follows:

Democrats -- James D. Burns, W.H. Fulton.
Populists -- W.E. Gammon, John Garber.
Free Silver Republicans - Dr. C.A. Ray, James Early.

The committee on resolutions presented the following report which was unanimously adopted.

RESOLVED, By the Democracy, People's party, and Free Silver Republicans of Decatur County in convention assembled, that we affirm and adopt the platform adopted in Chicago in l896, in every line and letter and declare it to be the constitution of true democracy and specially reaffirm our demand for the free and unlimited coinage of both gold and silver at the present legal ratio at l6 to l, without waiting for the aid and consent of any other nation. We demand that the standard silver dollar shall be a full legal tender, equal with gold for all debts public and private, and we favor such legislation as will prevent for the future the demonetization of any kind of legal tender money by private contract.

RESOLVED, We denounce the setting up of a single gold standard as the policy of aristocrats, and despots, unjust to our wealth producer and dangerous to our free ballot as a direct attack on the constitutional rights of the citizens of Iowa and we call attention to the hypocrisy of their boastful demand for a free ballot and a fair count as in contrast with their amendment of the Australian Ballot Law, whereby they have robbed the people of Iowa of their right to cast a free and untrampled ballot.

RESOLVED, That we approve the course of the Government of the United States in the present war with Spain and urge the most vigorous prosecution thereof to the end that peace may be speedily restored, the patriot Cubans made free from Spanish domination and be permitted and aided to establish a government of, for and by the people of Cuba and Spanish domination be forever removed from the Western Hemisphere.

The committee to select delegates reported the following names and their selection was ratified by the convention:

DEMOCRATS -- V.R. McGinnis, O.E. Hull, Marion Woodard, E.J. Sankey, James D. Burns, Pat Griffin.

POPULISTS -- W.H. Bobbitt, J.W. Long, B.F. McDaniel, W.E. Gammon, S.T. Robertson, Robert McCaull.

FREE SILVER REPUBLICANS - A.H. Latta, Wm. F. Shields, M.J. McCaull, D.F. Lambert, Dr. C.A. Ray, James Early.

On motion the delegates present at the convention were authorized to cast the full vote of the delegation.

On motion the convention then adjourned.

 

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Leon Reporter, Leon, Iowa
Thursday, June 16, 1898

We are permitted to publish this week the last two letters from W.S. CHANDLER to his wife and family in this city.

Lake Bennett, May l8, l898
Dear Wife and Children:

I am going to the post office tomorrow and I haven't heard a word from Leon since I left home, and you don't know how I would like to hear from home. I would like to hear how father is getting along, also DR. LAYTON and OPHIA CLARK and if MCCLURE was still alive. I would like to know if ELMER is around home and what he is doing, and I would like to know how things look on the farm, particularly the orchard and how the calf looks. I would like to know how LAURA and BLANCHE are getting along.

I am well and have a good appetite. We had a burying the other day. Some men got drowned opposite our camp, and were buried on a lonely island out in the lake; a nice place. The weather is getting warm, but there is plenty of snow on the mountains yet. The ice has begun to break up, but it will be 4 or 5 days before we can start down the lake.

This is a long, lonely trip for a man to make. I am just a little old for it, but I am having the best of health so far, but ther worst is to come next winter. But of course I can stand if my health keeps as good as it is now.

I wish I could have sold the west 30 acres of land, and then the 40 next to town would be all that I could have tended. I hope you will get along and have no trouble until I get home, and that will be as soon as I can make a small stake. Old man SYLVESTER is well and is doing well. He has a blacksmith shop and works every day. All the rest of the boys are well. There is nothing new to write about, so can't write a very long letter.

There is no one coming out of the Yukon, and so we don't hear much gold news. There are thousands of men on the trail, and some women, but not very many. I don't hear much war news up here.

Tell OKIE CLARK that I tried some of his bacon the other day and it tasted good. I hope to get a letter from you or from MR. HURST tomorrow, as I wrote to you and him on the 1st of April, and told to direct to Lake Bennett. Have you heard from MILLER lately and how are they getting along?

Tell ELMER and the girls I wish they would go out to the graveyard and fix up the boys' graves, and cut down the weeds around them. How is CHARLEY's folks? I would like to see the baby but will have to wait awhile.

When you write, direct to Fort Selkirk, North West Territory, via Victoria. Tell CHARLEY to write me a long letter and direct to same place, and if not called for in 30 days, to send to Dawson City.

Well, I will close for this time. Hope to hear from home soon. Hope you are all in the best of health, and hope I will make enough to fix up my affairs and get home once more. Tell BILL MOORE to write.

--W.S. CHANDLER.

Bennett Lake, North West Territory,
April 28, l898

Dear Wife and Children:

I have some spare time this afternoon and so I will drop you a few lines to let you know I am well. I have not heard from home since I left, and so you may know how anxious I am to hear from you all. I wrote you a letter when I was at Bennett, and hope you will be lucky enough to get it. Now, if you get this letter, direct to Tagish House North West Territory, though I hope to get away before you get this and I an answer; but I might not. We have our boat just about done, and JOE JOHNSON is planing the boards for a canoe. We thought it would be a good thing to happen to have a canoe in case anything would happen to our boat. I think that the dangerous part of our journey is before us, and it may be the last days of this month before we can leave here, though I hope not. The lakes and rivers are frozen solid yet, 2 and 3 feet thick. Teams go right over the lakes anywhere. The ground is covered with snow, though some days it thaws a little. There are lots of people up here, going to the Klondyke country, and if one out of every thousand make a strike, it would be as much as I expect. It is a mad rush, and one-half of them don't hardly know what they are going to do when they get there.

A man had better stay at home if he has anything at all. If I had just 40 acres of land, and one house and lot, it would be better for me to be at home, for this is the wildest country I ever saw. I haven't heard but one bird this spring. Nothing but mountains and snow, though I still hear there is lots of gold down the Yukon, and as I have got so far on the road, I intend to stick to the trail. But I have given up one thing; I shall be satisfied with less gold than I thought I would when I left home. HURST said a man ought to set his stakes for about fifty thousand, and it struck me about right at that time, but I have been struck since, and I think a great deal less will satisfy me.

Don't think that I am homesick, for I don't know what it is to be homesick on this trip, because I know there is just two things for me; one goes down and the other goes up. I am lying in my tent all alone and I think of all these things, and just write them because they are facts, plain and simple. This is a healthy country where I am at now, but it is so cold it could not be otherwise. I have not had a clean shirt on for five weeks. I think I will change May l, l898. I would like to hear how the war cloud was looking, though I think we will get a paper Monday, though they are always two weeks late.

Tell ELMER to take good care of the orchard and grape vines. If you got my other letter, I hope you will tell me all about the farm. If any person asks you if you have heard from me, tell them you have, and if they want to know what I have to say, tell them what the frog said: "No place like home." I feel well, and have the best appetite I have had for years, but can't cook very well. I hope you are all enjoying good health. Don't think for a moment that I am homesick, or anything of that kind, for I am not. I am hoping for the ice to break up so we can start, and I hope I may be lucky enough to get out of the Klondyke in one year from the time I started from home. Has LAURA got a school? When you write, direct, via. Victoria, B.C.

Well, I have written you not all that I can think of, for I have seen enough to make a small history, but can't write it on this small sheet. When I hear from home then I can write better and more. Have not had any butter for a month, and am clear out of tobacco. Well I have to get some wood for night. Hope to hear that you are all well and doing well. Write as directed. When I leave here, I will inform you, so you will know about writing. Good bye, one and all.

--W.S. CHANDLER.

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