Time Machine trip to May 1893

 

Kaukauna Times – May 1893

By Lyle Hansen

May 5, 1893

The bridges are being newly planked this week and the new street sign boards have arrived and will be put up shortly.

 

Thousands of people are now on the ocean bound for the United States and the reason for the exceptionally large influx of future citizens is that the new immigration law goes into effect tomorrow. Those who leave port after May 3 will be subject to the new rules. The new system requires additional questions at Ellis Island and will come under the control of the new board of inspectors. Ten thousand Italians have left Italy on eleven ships.  

 

Gobbled by the Standard – Toledo, O., April 28 - Today the Standard Oil Company gobbled up its only important competitor in the northwestern Ohio oil field, the Manhattan Oil Company. The price is said to be $30 million.

 

 An Employees Damages - Washington D.C. May 1 - The question of liability of a railroad corporation to an employee for damages received while in the service of the company is one to be settled not by the local law in the state where in that cause of action role is applied but the general law upon the subject was the substance of a decision by the Supreme Court of United States today. The circumstances were John Brewer of firemen employment of the Baltimore Ohio Company was injured in a collision. Brewer claimed his injury was due to the negligence of the engineer and brought a suit. The United States Supreme Court issued a judgment, the sum of $6700. The railroad company appealed the decision. The injury of Brewer was simply one of the risks assumed by him when he entered the company's service. The peril was known and yet with this knowledge and without protest he voluntarily rode on the engine with the engineer.  

The Great Fair is Open – Chicago, Ill., May 2 – Early this morning an army of workmen took up the tangled ends where they left off last Saturday and the exposition is now complete.  The skies were sullen and bleak, and a chilling mist filled the air but to Chicago, the weather condition counts for naught as early the people were stirred. The bustling restless spirit of the great west was bounding today throughout every part of the great city.

 

A dog poisoner is playing havoc among the dogs on the north end of the city. It is reported that eighteen on one street departed from the earthly scene of their high revels to the happy hunting grounds.

 

It would seem that the electric railway project is not dead yet. A paragraph in the Milwaukee Sentinel says, “Duluth and Milwaukee capitalist will visit Neenah to decide upon the practicality of constructing an electric railway between that city and Kaukauna.”

 

May 12, 1893

A Bungling Job – For several years the officers of the town of Kaukauna have been trying to close up a crossroad near the Tuttle farm on the road leading north of the city. They closed up the road by stretching three strands of barbed wire across it but nothing else as to barricade or nothing whatever to call the attention of the driver to the fact. Barbed wire is a dangerous thing whereupon it is placed and when stretched across the main road the consequences should have been seen by anyone of common sense. Last Sunday, Thomas Ellingbeau along with two ladies went for a drive down the road and returned after dark not knowing the road had been blocked with barbed wire. The horse ran into it at quite a lively gait and had his throat cut so badly that death ensued immediately. The occupants were thrown from the buggy and the buggy was damaged considerably. The placing of barbed wire across the road was a great piece of carelessness on the part of the town officials and the town will in consequence have to pay for all damage that occurred.

 

A sea serpent was killed by Massachusetts fishermen with a bomb lance. The monster was entangled in wire traps at Beach Point. The creature is shaped like a huge eel, being 29 feet 8 inches long and 4 feet 6 inches around.  The mouth is large and furnished with five rows of saw-like teeth, two on the top and three on the bottom. Along the back of the serpent a fin extends the entire length from head to tail. 

 

Tony Chopin’s spouse swore out a warrant for his arrest last Thursday night for drunkenness. Mrs. C claimed he left the home that morning with $85, only $35 of which was found on his person when arrested.

    

May 19, 1893

Concord, N.H. May 16 – Frank Almy, who shot and killed Christy Warden on July 17, 1891, was hanged today in the prison yard. Upwards of 150 people were present when Anthony was let up the scaffold. The officers quickly strapped his arms and legs, and a hood was hastily put over his face. The Sheriff placed the hangman's knot under his left ear and touched the handle. The drop fell heavily, and the body went through the trap. To the horror of the spectators his feet struck the floor below and his knees bent under him. The officers on the scaffold pulled his body up several feet off the ground and he was strangled to death.

 

Arthur Walsh has a 90-pound snapping turtle on exhibit at his barbershop. He captured the monster while fishing last Sunday.

 

Peter Killian and Fred Reichel got into an altercation on Beaulieu Hill last Sunday and agreed to retire to some secluded woodland spot and “have it out”. Both were full of the “elixir of life” and, but two blows were struck, Reichel hitting Killian and Killian hitting the ground. Upon Killian's request the dispute was satisfactory settled at Squire Wirtz court Monday

 

Idiots are Barred - Washington D.C. May 14 - An important new ruling has been made as to the admission of idiot immigrants when accompanied by their parents into the United States. It bars an idiot absolutely and the fact that the idiot might have a private fortune or relatives simply able to provide for his wants cannot be taken into consideration any more than it might be taken into consideration an application for a person suffering from a contagious disease.

 

Uncle Ned- “Oliver what are you going to give little sister for her birthday present?” Oliver – “I’m going to ask Papa to get her a football and I'll show her how to play.”

 

The Supreme Court has declared the Geary Exclusion Act is constitutional, and every Celestial in Uncle Sam's domain must now register or pull out. It is estimated that there are in United States 100,000 Chinamen of whom comparatively few have complied with the provision of the act.

Got His Money – An order of $1272.72 in favor of George Luckow was drawn by the city clerk Wednesday under instructions of the council and paid to Luckow, this being the amount awarded him by the court as damages for injuries received by falling through a defective sidewalk. This will be a very healing ointment for Luckow’s wounds. To the city officers it should be a lesson for the future.

 

Robert Abrams, of Oshkosh, obtained a judgment of $650 last week against the Milwaukee, Lakeshore and Western railroad. In 1890 he shipped three horses from Harrison to Oshkosh. They were delayed on the route without food or water and died.

 

May 26, 1893

Peter Feller, the north side hardware merchant took part in an incident last Monday that he will not care to repeat. Just as he stepped into the small building which stood on the brink of the bank back of his store, the building tipped over and rolled down the hill, with Mr. Feller inside. Mr. Feller says he was knocked almost unconscious, not realizing what had happened. He was quite bruised but fortunately no bones were broken.

Wrecked in a Fire – The Lake Shore officials had quite a lively experience while on their farewell tour over the road last week. On Saturday last, while returning from Ashland they attempted to pass over a section of the road near Buckbee which was surrounded by forest fires. The smoke was so intense that the truck could not be seen ahead of the engine. Engineer Watson was in charge of locomotive and hesitated about trying to pull through, but the officials gave orders to proceed so this relieved him of all responsibilities and he opened the throttle. The rails had warped from the heat and scarcely had the engine and cars started when they left the track toppling over on their sides. No one was injured seriously, a very fortunate escape. The car valued at $18,000 took fire but the crew extinguished the fire. It was a narrow escape for all concerned.

Susan B Anthony thinks we are on the verge of an era of unmarried women. Our civilization, she says, is changing. Daughters cannot be supported at home as there is nothing to busy them. The women used to spin and weave, make carpets and soap, but now that is done by them in the factories. Young men do not make enough money to support their wives and there is such a craze for dissipation among them that the woman would rather go into a store for almost nothing than to marry.