HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1935-12-26, Page 2THURSDAY, DECEMBER- 20, 1935
Jjeach
Fine Serial Fiction in a new form. .... Three Prize Short Stories (of four *
instalments each) by a master story-teller. . They’re Rez Beach at his beet
THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE
FIRST INSTALMENT
Rose Morris was at once the rich
est and the prettiest girl in Dover,
Michigan. She drove a sleek, fat
little pony hitched to a marvelous
wicker dogcart, the envy of every
child in town, and to Jimmy Rowan
she represented all that- was both
desirable and unattainable.
Ry the time he was fifteen he was
hopelessly in love with her and he
caived hearts and arrows on all the
trees in his yard and initialed them
his undying love. He never wrote the
passionate misspelled love notes
and in words of fire he told her of
his undying devotion. He never the
notes, of course, and his declaration
were only whispered to the empty
air, for his still remained “the Ro
wan kid”; his people were desper
ately poor and he was cursed with a
sensitive pride.
Jim was surprised one day to hear
that Mr. Hiram Morris had “gone
out of business” and was leaving
for the West. What that meant the
boy did not know, but he under
stood that the Morris fortune was
not what it had been. Rose and her
mother remained in Dover, They
lived on much as usual and they re
fen ed vaguely to those large inter
ests which kept Mr. Morris away
from home. But the pony was gone
and so were the high-stepping bays.
It was while Jim was working his
way through .college that they
quietly moved away. The Morris
house sold for barely enough to pay
the mortgage. |
Borne people endure poverty
cheerfully, others wjth a grim stoic
ism; the majority of people who are
born poor accept it with a fatalistic
resignation and never look forwqjrd
to anything else.
Jim nowan was unlike any of
these. He loathed poverty; it Was
unendurable. It had kept him from
knowing Rose Morris. He swore he
would make himself rich for her
sake. In time this became a fixed
idea with him and he quit college
and went to work, savagely. It took
him quite a while, however, to real
ize that riches are not come by in
a. hurry and that he was getting no
where.
He bad lost track of the Morrises
completely—there was no use of
keeping in touch with them—but he
still had his day-dreams, he still
thought of himself as Rose’s prince
•who sooner or later would search
her out and seat her upon a throne.
Depression seized him occasionally
when he saw how (hopeless was the
task he had set for himself.
At such times he grew desperate
and he told himself that no price
was too great to pay for success;
he longed for some opportunity of
becoming suddenly rich and vowed
that he would sell his soul for such
a. chance.
The chance came finally, or it
seemd to come, with the news of
the Klondike discovery. Jim joined
the first rush to the Yukon and he
arrived in Dawson 'City with the
firm determination to make a for
tune somehow, anyhow. Here .again
however, he learned that money was
not to be had for .the asking.
Placer mining was a hazardous
undertaking, with the odds a thou
sand to one against success. Educa
tion counted for little in a country
where men were judged on a pick-
and-shovel basis and paid for the.
actual work they did. Jim saw that
here was not the place in which to ■earn a fortune; here was nothing}
but speculation, chance, a gamble
either with men or with nature.
In order to beat the game one
had to risk all, then double his win
nings and risk ? them again and
again. To gamble here was not a
sin, it was the daily practice of
everybody. Men gambled with
death when they hit the trail; they
gambled again When they staked
their labor and their time against
Nature’s bedrock secrets, only they
took longer chances than when they
heaped their chips on the roulette
table or dropped their “pokes” on
the high card. There was this dif
ference, too; Nature seldom played
fairly, whereas there were many
square gambling houses in Dawson.,
Jim Rowan fitted himself to his
new surroundings and adapted him-,
self to a new code of morals. He
played as other men played, except
in one respect; he nevgr played for
Dr. Wood's
r *
NORWAY
PINE
SYRUP;
the excitement or for the fun of it,
he played only to win. He played
for Rose Morris. He tried specula
ting in claims, but he was unlucky:
his only winnings came from the
manipulationg of Dawson City real
estate or at cards, and the time
when he found himself the owner
of a huge Front Street saloon and
gambling house, together with a
nickname of the Alaskan flavor.
Perhaps a score of people knew
him as James Rowan, but to the
thousands that went in and out of
his place he was “The Michigan
Kid.” That was the way he even
signed his checks, for the name had,
brought him luck, and superstitious-
ly he clung to it.
Life flowed at a furious pace in
those early days. Reputations were
made in a night; in six months they
were hallowed; in a year they had
become legendary. There were many
celebrities in the Yukon country'
the mere mention of whom evoked
tales of sensational exploits on the
trail, at the mines, or at the gamb
ling tables; the one perhaps best
known of all was “The Michigan
Kid.” He it was w<ho best typified
the composure, the steady nerve, the
recklessness of his profession.
>A hundred stories were told about
the Michigan Kid and some were
not pleasant, for it required a ruth
less man to hold down the job that
Jim 'had takgn, but most of them
had to do with his luck. That luck
became a byword, finally: men bles
sed with some extraordinary good
fortune were apt to boast that they
had “Michigan’s luck.” “Michigan’s'
luck” became an Alaskan phase.
More than once Rowan took stock
Behind locked doors they played for hours
of his winning^ and realized that he
had nearly attained the goal he had
set for himself, but invariably Fate
intervened to prevent him from quite
■reaching the quitting point. Time
crept along. The cycle of life for
placer camps is brief.
Dawson grew, flourished, began
to die; representatives of big com
panies appeared and bought up tracts
of property; they talked of huge
dredging and hydraulic projects.
Some of these newcomers .were
possessed of the gambling 'fever and
they tried their luck against The
Michigan Kid’s. Rumors spread of
big games in the back rooms of the
Kids’ place, games where the sky
was the limit. One man in partic
ular scoffed at “Michigan’s luck”
and prophesied that he would “get”
the Kid—send him out of the coun
try broke. This was a Colonel
Johnson, a great engineer and min
ing promoter who represented a
London* syndicate. He and Rowan
met, finally, much as famous duel
lists meet, and behind locked doors
they played for twenty hours..
What the stakes were nobody
knew, but they must have been enor
mous, and luck must have run the
Kid’s way, as usual, for Colonel
Johnson rose finally, stepped out in
to the hall, and killed himself.
That at least was the story which
was made public, and which the au
thorities accepted. Certain spiteful-
minded persons whispered knowingly
that this story was all a fabrication:
that ‘Michigan’s’ luck had finally
deserted him and that the shot had
been fired inside, not outside the
Shivers and Sneezes
Then the Cold Begins
You feel chilly; sneeze a few times; nose starts
to run; then comes the cold which, if not attended
to immediately, shortly Works down into the bronchial
tubes, and the cough, starts.
On the first sign of a cold , get a bottle of Dr.
Wood’s Mor way 1’ine Syrup.
Yon will find it to be a prompt, pleasant, reliable
and effectual remedy for your trouble, f Al.,/
It has been on the market for the past 44 years.
Don’t experiment with a substitute and be disap
pointed. Get "Dr, Wood’s.”
room.
Ugly minors such as these flew
through the streets but whether they
reached the ears of the Kid nobody
ever knew. Perhaps they did. Per
haps that was why he sold his place
two weeks later and without so much
as saying good bye to anybody he
caught the next downriver boat.
1When Jim Rowan closed the
door of his steamer stateroom be
hind him, he closed it, as ihe thought
upon the Michigan Kid and every
thing that had to do with that no
torious character.
When the first bend of the river
had hidden Dawson City from view
he drew from his pocket a wallet,
and from this he carefully extracted
a .blurry, time-yellowed picture of
Rose Morris. It was a picture he
had clipped from a Dover newspaper
on the day Rose graduated from the
local high school and it showed her
as a girl in white with a floppy hat
and a sash of ribbon around her
waist. It was perhaps the one and
only personal possession that he had
never risked losing at some time
or other. He gazed at it now for
quite a while.
■He wondered if Rose were still
alive. If so, she must have grown
into a beautiful woman, yes, and a
good woman——here the gambler was
speaking. No doubt she was mar
ried. He pondered this thought de
liberately and it awakened a feeling
of regret too indefinite to be called
a pang, for long ago he ihad realiz
ed that it was not the flesh-and-
blood Rose Morris that he worship
ped, but an idea and an ideal. Of
course he proposed to find her—that
was the one thing he had in mind—
but what would happen when he had
found her was another matter.
When he boarded the steamship
at St. Michael he saw no familiar
faces, and inasmuch as his name
meant nothing to his fellow pas
sengers, he felt a great 'relief. Al-,
ready he ihad begun to realize, as
he had not realized in Dawson, that
whatever The Michigan Kid may
have stood for on the upper river,
back home that name would stand
for something altogether different.
Back Home! 'The words possess a
peculiar significance for men who
have not been “outside” in more
than 'five years. Nobody but the
homeward bound Alaskan could in
the least appreciate them.
At Nome the ship hove to for 24
hours, and Rowan went ashore to
see what the place looked like. Here
again he passed unnoticed, and he
was greatly cheered by the fact. If
he could walk the streets of an Alas
kan gold camp without being recog
nized, it argued that he would have
no difficulty whatever in the big
world outside.
His attention was attracted by a
poster which advertised* an informal
rally of all the citizens of Nome who
hailed from Michigan. The meeting
wag to be held that night for the
purpose of general goodfellowship
and acquaintanceship and with the
ultimate view of organizing a Wol*
verine Bociety. Jim decided to go.
It turned out to be a pleasant ga
thering. A glad-hand committee
was at the door to introduce Stran
gers arovund; there was a program
of entertainment, with refreshments
promised afterwards,
Jim Rowan grinned. Here was Old
home stuff. He wondered what
these pleasant-faced men and women
would think if they knew that he,
the unobtrusive visitor, was The
Michigan Kid, the most notorious
“sporting man” in all the north.
He heard his name mentioned dur
ing the evening—when a Judge from
Lansing delivered a speech euolgiz-
ing the home state and referred to
the Kid as “that unsavory character
of the upper Yukon who has brought
odium upon the fair name of our
birthplace.” Again Jim grinned.
Well, he had the money anyhow.
One has to pay something for suc
cess.
Nowhere did he hear a name or
see a face that he knew, with per
haps one exception-—the face of an
old man who sat in a quiet corner.
It was a bearded face and the man
was poorly dressed. He wore rub
ber boots and overalls and a faded
threadbare mackinaw that hung
loosely from his stooping shoulders.
HJs hair was thin and grey and he
coughed a great deal.
Jim studied the old fellow’s profile
and decided that he had probably
seen the man across the gambling
table or the bar—a river of derelicts
like this one had flowed in and out
of his place during these recent
years. He had about put him out
of his mind when the man rose to
leave. Then Rowan started, leaned
forward: his eyes fixed themselves
upon the stranger’s bearded cheek.
(Continued next week.)
W. C. T. U.
The December meeting of the
W.C.T.U. was held in James Street
church. The devotional part of the
meeting was led by Miss Hogarth.
Mrs. Pearce, the president, then
took the chair. Minutes of the last
meeting were adopted as read.
Treasurer, Mrs. W. G. Walker pre
sented her report. Some contribu
tions had been received during the
month^jind some fees paid. It was
reported that Main St., Caven and
James Street Sunday 'Schools had
received their posters and will be
placed where they can be read by the
boys and girls. The 'Salvation
Army officers also will see that they
are placed in their window of the
citadel where the public will be able
to peruse them. These posters deal
with subjects suited to the needs ol’
our day, when the wet element are
pushing their wares and especially
trying to win the youth of our age.
The chairman of the School Board
was approached with the request
that they be placed in the day .schools
The chairman of the Public Library
Board was also interviewed with the
request that some Temperance pub
lications be placed on their reading
table. The next meeting will he
held on the 3rd Thursday at 1.3 0
pan. at the home of the president
when outpost members are expected
to attend. After discussion as to
1'Uther methods of work the meeting
was adjourned with prayer.
Mrs. Gassaway—So your husband
has been deceiving you, has he?
Mrs. Gnaggs—Yes, I’ve been giv
ing him a dime every day to ride on
the bus, and now I find out that lie’s
been walking and spending the
money.
AGRICULTURAL REPORT OF
HURON COUNTY PRESENTED
Three New Herds Added to One Ac
credited Division; Quality of, Ser
ies Could Stand Improvement,
Agricultural Representative Tells
Huron County Council
■GiODE'RICH, Dec. 7—The hearing
of reports of standing committees
and Boards occupied most of the af
ternoon session of Huron County
Council on Thursday.
Ian McLeod, Agricultural Repre
sentative, was present and his report
proved interesting to the rural mem
bers.
Dealing with the livestock divis
ion, Mr. McLeod, pointed out that
there were 56 stallions1 enrolled in
the county during the yiear. Of that
number four were classified as be
ing iSo. 1 horses; 11 as No. 2; 35
No. 3, and (6 No. 4. It would appear
Mr. McLeod said, that there is1 con
siderable room for improvement in
the class of sires to be found in the
county?.
There were no meetings held for
the purpose of discussing Rot Fly
control ,but an article was prepared
for the county newspapers and a
lesgon on this subject was; sent to
all rural school teachers. It is es
timated that approximately 4,700
horses were capsuled last winter for
the eradication of bot larvae.
Cattle Division
“One meeting >of our Cattle Feed
ers’ Association was held during
the year. 'The opening of the cattle
market to the United States has
more'or less curtailed the operations
of the Provincial Cattle Feeders'
Association ofi which our organiza
tion is a part. Firo.m, a check-up of
tihe amount of powder sold by deal
ers in the county last spring, I
would estimate that approximately
15,0010 head of cattle were treated
for Warble control. This is consider
ably less than a year ago. , A news
article dealing with t/hie treatment
and a warble fly lesson was sent to
each rural school teacher.
New Agricultural Herds
During the year three herds were
added to the number of accredited
herds in the county and they were
divided among the different breeds
as follows: /Short horns, 18; Aber
deen Angus, 1; Hereford, 1; Hol*
stein, 5; Jersey, 5; Ayrshire, 2;
Guernsey, 1.
“Sheep: One community/ dipping
tank was installed during the year,
makling of total of 45 tanks in this
county. I assisted at two dipping
demonstrations in which 450 sheep
were dipped.
“Swine: 'One meeting of the
executive of tile ’County .Swine Pro-
.ducers’ Association was held. Dur
ing the year twelve farmers have
entered the Bacon Litthr Competition
7 in the A series and 5 in the B ser
ies. In the first series of last year,
Huron -County entrants won 4‘th,
6th, 7th, 8th, 9th and 14th and two
Side. in the second series. The total
number of hogs marketed from the
countyi for the eleven months ending
September 30, 193'5, was 49,857,
which is approximately 13,000 less
than for the same period a year ago.
Statistics show that the percentage
of selects for this period was 35.89
and 51.16 per cent, graded as bat
ons cr slightly over 87 per cent,
within the two tejj grades.”
Poultry Diseases
Quite a number -cf calls were, made
during the year for the purpose -of
identifying poultry diseases, and
parasitic infection. Of the number
of birds examined, the majority have
T. B. -or internal parasites.
Mr. McLeod dealt with a number
of other topics such as drainage,
fertilizer experiments and spray ser
vice, He reviewed the splendid work
done by the school fairs of the
county, telling of the championship
contests which haye been reviewed
■previously.
A. T. Cooper secretary/ of the Hu*
ron 'County Mothers’ Allowance Com
mission gave a detailed report ,of
the work of the organization dur
ing the year. The Board is now
composed of J. M. Roberts, chair
man; A. T. Cooper, Clinton, secre
tary and Frank! R, Hewson, of Wing
ham, Miss Laura Jeckell, of Exeter
and Mrs. M. A. Reid, Seaforth.
The fact that so many new ap
plications have been received since
.the Legislature met and the change
in the Act whereby a mother with
one child under sixteen could receive
an allowance had occasioned increas
ed secretarial work.
The number of 'families receiving
the allowance in the county is 101
and the allowances range from $15
to $45. Mr. Cooper added;
“Yom will be interested to .know
that for the year ending October 1,
1934, the Province paid $3,026,155.-
07 ’half of which was paid by the
counties. During the same time
there was paid out in Huron County
$23,675, the county’s share being
$11,837.50.”
Home Expenses $17,032
The expenses of Huron ■ County
Heme aggregated $17,032.74. The
receipts for the first quarter’ were
$1,384.44; second quarter, $2,963.-
80; third, $3,000.3’0; fourth, $6,
2'26.12; and from the county treas
urer $'3,618,70. This information
was contained in the report, of the
House of Refuge Committee. After
several repairs had been made dur
ing the year the general condition of
the House is good. Commendation
of, the work of the (Superintendent
and Matron was expressed in the re
port of the committee, of which
Reeve Bowman is chairman.
The Financp Committee, Mur
dock Matheson, chairman, recom-
mened payment of bills from
municipal clerks for making out Old
Age Pensions applications-, also rec
ommended that no action be taken
in the account of $15.00 of Dr. Col-
quhoun for taking a patient to By
ron iSanitorium, and the payment of
a number of accounts.
The report of the Property Com
mittee, George H. Elliott, chairman
described the repairs made during
the year to the Court House and
Registry Office. In the latter a new
filing, system has been installed,
payment for which is to be made in
two annual amounts, namely, in
January, 1936, and January, 1937.
It is anticipated that receipts will
more than take care of the payments
mentioned.
A double garage was erected at
the county goal, a portion of the
material for which was donated by
the goaler, Mr. Rey/nolds.
The committee reeommented that
no action be taken in the request of
J. A. Snider of the Goderich Dairy
to place a sign, on the Court House.
Motions Presented
McNall-Matheson-—'That the Good
Roads Committee use the usual pro
cedure to keep the roads open.
'Eckert-Matheson—'That by-law 18
of 1'934 be changed to read indigent,
incurable insane, instead of incur
able, tubercular. Tabled.
Archibald-Eckert—That this coun
cil sincerely regrets the removal by
death of William 'Crozier, late Reeve
of Seaforth, and that the clerk be
requested to convey to the members
of his family the sympathy1 of this
council. Carried.
Archibald-Turner—That in future
all deligates or individuals wishing
to have a hearing, before County
Council make arrangements, before
hand at the clerk’s Office as the
routine of county business will be
continually interallied if such indiv
iduals or delegates are allowed to
sipeak at any time they may. arrive.
Carried.
■Bryans-Grain—That we, the mem
bers of this council wish to express
bur thanikp to. iMr. Cardiff for his
treat of apples. Carried.
iMcNall-Matheson—*That the Coun
ty Roads Commission use the usual
procedure to keep the roads clean.
Carried.
Bowman-Eckert—'That F. Walls
who has been a resident of Huron
for the past two years be admitted
toi Huron' County Home, and the
Warden sign the application, and
that the Inspector get proof of his
age for Old Age Rendons, Carried.
McNalLScott-—That John Cowan
of the village of Blyth. be appointed
a County Constable. Recotntnond*
ed.
Exeter aJiiurH-AuHiprate
Established 4873 and 1887
at Exeter, Ontario
Published every Thursday morning
SUBSCRIPTION—-$2.00 per year in
advance
RATES—Farm or Real Estate for
sale 50c( each insertion for first
four insertions. 25c, each subse
quent insertion. Miscellaneous articles. To Rent, Wanted, Lost, or
Found 10c. per line of six words,
Reading notices 10c. per line.
Card of Thanks 50c. Legal ad
vertising 12 and 8c. per line. In
Memoriam, with one verse 50c.
extra verses 25c. each.
Member of The Canadian Weekly
Newspaper Association
Professional Cards
GLADMAN & STANBURY
BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS,
Money to Loan, Investments Made
Insurance
Safe-deposit Vaults for use of our
Clients without charge
EXETER and HE NS ALL
CARLING & MORLEY
BARRISTERS, SOLICITORS,
LOANS, INVESTMENTS,
INSURANCE
Office; Carling Block, MJiin Streep
EXETER. ONT.
J. E. JACKSON, M.B., L.M.C.C.
(Tor.)
Physician and Surgeon
Phone 26
Office: At his residence on Main St.
just South ,o’f the Chevrolet Garage
General Practice—Night or Day
calls given prompt attention.
Successor to Dr. Browning
Dr. G. F. Roulston, L.D.S.,D.D.S.
DENTIST
Office; Calling Block
EXETER, ONT.
Closed Wednesaay Afternoons
Dr. H. H. COWEN, L.D.S.,D.DS.
DENTAL SURGEON
Successor to the late Dr. Atkinson
Office opposite the Post Office,
Main Street, Exeter
Office 3 6w Telephones Res. 3 6j
Closed Wednesday Afternoons
JOHN WARD
CHIROPRACTIC, OSTEOPATHY,
ELECTRO-THERAPY & ULTRA
VIOLET TREATMENTS
PHONE 70
MAIN ST. EXETER
ARTHUR WEBER
LICENSED AUCTIONEER
For Huron and Middlesex
FARM SALES A SPECIALTY
PRICES REASONABLE
SATISFACTION GUARANTEED
Phone 57-13 Dashwood
R. R. No. 1, DASHWOOD
FRANK TAYLOR
LICENSED AUCTIONEER
For Huron and Middlesex
FARM SALES A SPECIALTY
Prices Reasonable and Satisfaction
Guaranteed
EXETER P. O. or RING 138
USBORNE & HIBBERT MUTUAL
FIRE INSURANCE COMPANY
Head Office, Ftarquhar, Ont.
W. H. COATES President
SAMUEL NORRIS Vice-President
DIRECTORS
F. MCCONNELL, JOHN T. ALLISON
ANGUS 'SINCLAIR, JOHN
HACKNEY
AGENTS
JOHN E'SSERY. Centralia, Agent
for Usborne and Biddulph
ALVIN L, HAIRRIS, Munro, Agent
for Fullarton and Logan
THOMAS SOOTT, Cromarty, Agent
for Hibbert
B. W. F. BEAVERS
Secretary-Treasurer
Exeter, Ontario
GLADMAN & STANBURY
Solicitors, Exeter
Between Midnight and Morning
Ye that have faith bo look with fear
less eyes
Beyond the tragedy of a world /of
strife,
And. know that out of death and
night shall rise
The dawn of ampler life,
Rejoice, whatever anguish rend the
heart.
That God as /given you a priceless
dower,
To live in these great times and
have your /part
In Freedom’s crowning hour.
That we may tell your sons who- see
the light
High in the Heavens—-their herit
age to take-—
“I saw the 'powers of Darkness put
toi flight,
I saw the Morning break.”
. /Sir Owen Seaman