&.» pe ’ed that he had talked with x + RR eee EEE PEE EEE EEE ms Pa . Bubscription Rate $2.00 a Year in Advance, Otherwise $2.00 — Thursday, July 2sth, 1921 Inquest Into Death of Elma Tp. Farmer Who Died Under Peculiar Circumstances ADJOURNMENT MADE TO AUG- Bth., TO AWAIT ANALYST'S RE- PORT ON CONTENTS OF STOM- ACH. ( » Coroner Dr. J. P. Rankin's jury em- panelled to inquire into the circum- stances surrounding the death of Wil- liam Strickert, Lot 21, Concession 16, Elma township, who died on Satur-} day, July 16, under :peculiar circum- stances, assembled at, Monkton on Monday afternoon. the members of the jury were Ed. Broughton, James Smith, C. Wettlaufer, Henry Feltz, F. Debus, Wm. McClory, Chas. Wick. Coroner Dr. Rankin presided, G. G. McPherson,K.C., acted for the Crown, and F. H. Thompson, K.C., appeared | in the interests of the Strickert fam- ily.’ High County Constable J. Kirby was also present and Mr. J. Murray acted as clerk. The hall in which the inquest was held was filled to capacity. A num- ber were present in the capacity of witnesses, but the ‘majority assembl- ed out of morbid curiosity. The evidence of sixteen witnesses was taken and the inquest was ad- journed until Friday, August 5, at 3 p. m., to await the arrival of the re- poft of the analysis of ‘the stomach of the deceased man ‘which was sent to Toronto for examination. As the evidehce was adduced a most sordid case was presented and ‘the jury will have some difficulty im arriving at aj verdict. The first witness called was Dr. Kidd of Atwood, who {read p report of the post-mortem examination made by himself and Dr. Nicklin, of Milver- ton. Dr. Kidd, in the course of his evidence, stated that in his opinion death was caused by strychnine. Dr. Nicklin, of Milverton, who as- sisted with ‘the post-mortem -exain- ination, agreed with Dr. Kidd as to the cause of death. Dr. Nicklin stat- Strickert shortly after making the post-mortem exxamination, but she had revealed nothing that would throw light on the cause of death. Mrs. William Strickert, widow of the late William Strickert, was the next witness called. She stated in her evidence that she had been mar- ried about 24 years and had eight children, four of whom were at home. She had lived with her husband dur- ing these twenty-four exception of one year when she had some trouble with her husband. In answer to questions asked by the Crown, witness stated: “At the time I left my fhusband we jhad & quarrel. He beat me, and I had him: before Magistrate Terhune at Listowel. This was about three years ago. A year later he prom use me better and I went back to live with him. He \ EVERYBODY'S COLUMN Ten cents a line for first in- sertion, with minimum charge of 50c. Subsequent insertions five cents a line with minimum charge 25c. {FOR SALE | Bayne rubber tire buggy, ike buggy ‘with ‘cushion tires, steel tire buggy, three year old colt and set of single harness. Messrs. Zurbrigg & Bender. tin PIGS'FOR SALE ~* 34 young pigs for ‘sale. Apply -Al- vin Clark, between 3rd. and 4th. of Wallace, one block west of the grav- el, R. R. No. 1, Listowel. itp. LOST In Listowel, or on town line east, quite a while ago, important part for Magnet Cream Separator. Finder will be rewarded on returning to Mr. Elias Bassett, Listowel. tin . TEACHER WANTED, For 8S. 8S. No. 5, Wallace, helding ist. or 2nd. class certificate, salary $1000.00. Apply to Clarence Vines. RR. NO. ‘1, Listowel, or by Moles- wofth phone. . tfnp. ‘ELECTRIC REPAIRS Hiectric motors and transformers repaired and rewound. Workmanship | guaranteed. It is cheaper to rewind than it is to buy mew ‘goods. We sol- icit enquiries. Winter & Finlay, El- ectrical Engineers, Shelburne, Ont. IMPORTANT i Dominion, Provincial and Munici- pal Bonds “for sale, yielding up to 7%. Prompt delivery, Come in and see how well we can supply your re- quirements, J. W. Scott or T. Te Hamilton, office ovér Bank of Mont- real, Listowel. tfnp SE ee ee ee oe mE FS + + WARNING + + —— + < The throwing of talcum * +. powder, lamp black or other + % such destructive _materials, + + will not be tolerated during * + the Old Boys’ celebration,and + & offenders. will positively be * + prosecuted. Committee. * “b rs.{ touch it. They told me this after he years, with the/® ‘| of the Strickert’s; August Strickert, P| J. M. used me pretty fair until about three} ROOF hen I discovered that occurred shortly after, weeks prior to his death.”’ Crown — daughter being in trouble. “Ss did. h Stratford: When he came back, he said nothing. I could get nothing out of him. About three days later, my daughter told me. She nad been go- ing with a young ‘man for about two years and I told William (her late husband) that he should go and see this young man. She (her daugh- ter? was listening up the stove pipe and next day stated that he (her father) was trying to get out of it too easy and that it was he and mot the young man in question who /was to blame. My husband never denied that he did it. I gave him a setting out, a middling fair setting out. He never owned up or never denied that he was responsible. This row occur- red about bed time, 9 o'clock. That was the only row we had. A few days 'Jater he was sitting in the orchard -and seemed troubled.”"’ wn—‘Did you know of any strychnine in the house?” Witness—‘‘No.” Did you have any property before ni neds wmarried?”’ ~ “No.” “After you were married ” “Yes, after we were separated, .I bought a house in Monkton. ° in Milverton for \the mice. It was only a little, and I burned the bottle. That was the only strychnine we ever had. ,He bought none to my know- ie 4 - “Do you know of any strychnine o \told you of your], " years ago I bought some strychnine; Weineday Night AND CARRIED AC- ROSS THE STREET. trical storm after damage.- A large section of the roof on the McKeever barn, street, was blown across the street, smashing in a door at the fire hall, and partially blocking the street. Another large section from the rear was blown off, but flopped over on the rd section. This extra weight, quite possibly prevented the while roof from being carried away ‘ r. and 3 ~ As it was, their part was aiso threaten- ed, and a large opening was made in- to the bedroom occupied by some of the children. The telephone wires in that locality were, as a result, a tangled mass, but repair wark was promptly pro- ceeded with, and the street was soon cleaned up. "ahr 3 The ‘warehouse of J. W. Sangster, recently badly damaged by fite, also suffered further from the wind,. a large section of the roof being blown out on to the street. Quite a number of trees and parts of trees about town were blown down, including a large elm on the property of Mr. J. W. Scott. Considerable ‘damage was reported in the country, particularly to the corn and oat crops. The storm was not of long dura- tion, but was most terrific, and ac- Listowel and vicinity was visited elec rut A. Stephenson’s bush, near Listowel. companied by very vivid flashes of lightning. ; “Big Guns” Not -_At Farmers Picnic garnet nage a ’ i The United Farmers of North Perth held their annual picnic in Mr. . Saturday afternoon. Notwithstanding | that farmers were busy haying and harvesting, about six or seven hun- dred were present. Great disappointment was ex- pressed | when Mr. W. S. Shearer, the president, announced that he had re- ceived a telegram the day before from Hon. Peter Smith, stating that neither he nor Hon. F. C. Biggs, who were, billed to speak, could find it convenient to be present. No rea- son was given by the chairman as to the cause of their inability to attend. Addresses were given by Mr. M. H Eduational Director of the 'U. F. O., Toronto; Miss Agnes McPhail, York county, and Mr. R. J. MeMillan; of Seaforth. The latter two speakers were'very loud in their denunciation of the old-line parties, and strongly advised the develop- ment of class-consciousness. among farmers. Mr. McMillan urged that, when the nominations of candidates took place for the coming elections, farm-~ ers be given the preference over manufacturers, newspapermen, pro- fessional men, and others not tillers of the soil. If farmers wanted to pre- vent themselves from going down as serfs and slaves of the big interests, it was absolutely imperative that they unite and vote together as one body. * : , ina bottle in the barn?" Py He told the two smallest children that there was a bottl t ry containing tea and to to was dead. He told the children not to tell us. A short time before his death he separated the milk and then went into the garden. When he came ‘ any supper. He got a pail of water and I told him to look ‘at Johnny's foot and Johnny sai legs were shaking. © Suddenly he fell floor. I called to my daughter ta doctor. 1 asked him if he wanted a doctor and he said he was Welcome Home! Old Boys and Girls Glad to Have You Drop Into The Office phoned for the docto ‘ py 2 was lying on the floor writhing. and foam was coming out of his mouth. He would stiffen up and ‘then relax. He was in convulsions, which lasted about 20 minutes.” race Coroner—‘‘You didn’t see him take ything?”’ *“*No.”” : oh “Could he have taken anything and you not know it?” ‘yes. He was in the garden, but we could not find anything around there. We have no poison in the house that I know of.” Other witnesses heard were Pearl Strickert, John Strickert, Viola Stric- kert, John Gill, merchant at Monk- ton; Samuel Petrie, ruggist of Milverton; Edward Smith,\ neighbor p =] brother of the deceased; Mrs. Aug- ust Strickert, George Curry, Edward Pilky, and John Schwindt, another neighbor. J Mutual Fire Insurance Co. Directors’ Meeting A meeting of the directors of the Elma Farmers’ Mutual Fire Insur- ance Company was held in the agri- cultural hall, Atwood, on (Tuesday, July 19th. All the members ef the board were present but Messrs Shear- er and Ross. ee The president presided and signed the minutes of the last meeting after same had been read, considered, and confirmed. Claims for losses by light- ning were paid-as follows: J. J. Car- gon, Mornington, sow killed $65.00 Carson, Mornington, cow killed $75.00, Victor -Schiltzauer, heifer killed $30.00, Henry O. Seh- enck, Ellice, horse killed $25.00. Ap- plications r insurance were ac- cepted amoufiting to $139650.00. The meeting adjourned till Tues- day the 16th August 1921, to meet again at the usual time and . place. * fs 5B Hammond, ‘Secretary. SPECIAL DELIVERY TO COST TWENTY CENTS Ottawa, July 23.—On and after August 1, 1921, the fee for the spec- jal delivery of letters in Canadian cities, as provided for in Section 14 of the official Postal Guide, shall be 20 cents for each letter, in addition to the ordinary postage charges. The charge at present is 10 cents. The fee may be prepaid by two Canadian ‘special delivery stampa, value 10 cents each, or by one spec- ial delivery stamp and Canadian pos- tage stamps to the value of 10 cents, or wholly by Canadian postuge stamps to the value‘of 20 cents, in which case the words “special deliv- ery” sttall be legibly written across the upper left-hand corner of the address. For lanterns, flags and bunting try Schinbein’s. Let us fill your tank with high- grade gasoline, which will give you Three Are Fined _ ~ Under The 0. T. A. FELTY KEESO GIVEN ADDITION- AL PENALTY FOR NOT TELL- ING THE TRUTH. Charged with a breach of the Ont- ario Temperance Act, Felty Keeso, engineer @t ja local factory and« an old offender, appeared before Masgie-. trate Hamiltgn ‘Tuesday afternoon, and though ‘pleading otherwise, was found guilty land given the option of a $800 fine with costs, or ninety days fn jail. i He decided to hand over the three hundred. Two others, William Keeso, 2 nephew, and Tom Bartja, were each fined $100 and costs on pleading guilty to @ like offense, but entered under a different clause of the Act, that provides ‘for, # lower minimum. William Fullarton, a fourth party, was to have appeared on a similar charge, but rather than face the music, skipped out. He will get his later when back [for ‘the ‘Old Boys’’. The court was lenient in the casey of William Keeso and Tom Bartja because of their previous good rec- ord, and more severe with Felty Keeso, @ ‘frequent offender, because his story in defense, was in the mag- istrate’s opinion, far from the truth. Mr. Keeso is fifty-two years age, old enough, his worship thought,| to know better than to flagrantly break the law. “Mr. Keeso,is an old offender. No one (in town dtnows the law better than he does and he comes into court and ‘tells @ that no magistrate in the Dominion could believe.’ remarked Magistrate Hamilton. ' Among the witnesses were Leonard Orth, farmer of the second of Eima. whose thome the quartet visited "at four o’clork Sunday morning; M* J. Morrison, Listowel, whose car they hired; William Coates of Elma, coun- ty constable, to whom Orth turned over a partially filled bottle of whis- key found in a bedroom; and Gar- field Martin, who lives across from the Orth home. According to the evidence, the four men left Listowel ‘by motor a- bout ten v’clock Saturday night and after. proceeding beyond Atwood had trouble with the ball-bearings in a front wheel. They ‘were just out on a ‘pleasure jaunt, with mo place in par- ticular to go, they said, and on later passing the Orth farm, stopped to take some wire from a fence to do some further repairing. Mr. Felty Keeso explained the visit to the house at four o’clock in the morning, by stating that he wanted a match with which to light his pipe. Another witness said the matches wére wanted for light to examine the repair to the car. And when the door opened, so Mr. Felty Keeso stated, greater mileage. Porteous & Elli- “son. Mra. Orth threw her arms eroun Fullarton and insisted that he~ re- is just big, and is ndét out of propor- Huge Steer Starts! On Show Circuit ASHFIELD TOWNSHIP MONSTER SOLD FOR 85,000—GOING TO BIG FAIRS. | Wingham, July 24.—Sir Douglas Haig, the huge steer which weighs 8,570 pounds, has “gone on the stage.” Sir Douglas ‘has been taken from the quiet pastures on his farm home in Ashfield township’and start- ed on tour-as a show for his new owners, Messrs. Martin and - Bland, who purchased him for $5,000 from Chas. Stewart. Sir Douglas has been playing to large houses at, the Wing- ham rink, and will be taken this week to Walkerton to show the re- turned old boys how ‘big “‘they grow ‘am’”’ in Huron county. ; From there he will be taken to all the Ontario fairs, including the Na- tional Exhibition at Toronto and the Western at London. If he proves 4 success he will be taken to Chicago, and may even go “‘abroad to Eur- ope” if his new owners can get him a passport past the British embargo. Sir Douglasis no freak animal. He is well bred, almost’pure bred. He tion at any stage. Hundreds of Bruce and Huron people ‘have seen him ‘during the past year in his pas- ture. Hereafter it may be necessary to pay to see him. Sir Deuglas wasn’t brought up much different from any other calf. Like Topsy he simply “growed,” only he “growed” bigger than the rest. For ns in white shoes or any kind of shoes, go to Walters’. Going on a holiday ? Then don't forget to take a kodak with you. Good assortment at C. A. Lee's Studio, also films and other photographic supplies. Remember also that we develope films. main, and gince he was agreeable, they came away without him. It was late Sunday morning that the ‘hus- band decided to interfere. He hunted up a neighbor and jon investigation about eleven o’clock found fhis wife de@wnstairs and Fullarton asleep up- stairs with w partially filled bottle nearby. Mrs. Orth, recently marmed, is 2 demented person and ‘her unfortun-| ate condition calls for confinement to an institution where she would be given attention. Of late she has been away from home @ great deal of the TRAVELLED .OVER PAVEMENT: F. 'RNED VIA OfT- TAWA. The editor, with a party of nine, comprising two car loads, returned Saturday from an enjoyable sixteen | days’ motor trip to Quebee City and beyond, going via Niagara Falls through New York state, to Montreal, and from Montreal to Quebec on the Canadian side, over the provincial| highway, in-this way having paved a the entire distance from the ‘alls. Not so good roads were nthe. Cat-| ed on the return trip down the Can- adian side, and that between Mont- real and Ottawa was especially bad. There is certainly justification for! the expenditure of large sums of money in improving the roads of| Ontario, but Biggs’ policy of tearing | everything up at one time, makes unpleasant for the travelling public! this year. | Frequent detours are nedessary.; Often one has to drive over stretches! of coarse, sharp crushed stone that! are hard on tires, and occasionally| encounter hills that are next to im- passable, on account of grading oper-| ations underway. In or mors; cases, we are satisfied that bad spots, ; that could be filled in with little; labor, were purposely left as traps to motorists so that the handiest chap) with a team, could make some easy | picking. Pulling out stalled motor-} ists is quite a lucrative business in| some parts. | Some people refer to travelling over pavement for hundreds of miles, | as being monotonous, but our party} didn’t find it so. There were lots“Of) ups and downs, and winding roads} through ‘picturesque localities, the beautiful scenery of which was the more enjoyed because of the splen- did roads that made riding a com-, Motorists travel fast on the New York highway. The speed limit in! rural parts is thirty miles an hour. | put considerable latitude beyond, this is allowed. And within bounds) of reason, fast travel is comparative- ly safe on the long stretches of road-! way, for there isn't the same con-, gestion of traffic as is sometimes the! case between two large centres, such) as on the Toronto-Hamilton highway. But there are reckless individuals, the world over, and just this side of | Ogdensburg we passed a large Chal-| mers car, overturned on the roadside. | Of nine passengers four were killed, Sncluding the driver, his wife and| motherinlaw. The car was geared up. to travel 107 miles an hour. To the stranger touring New York. there is little reason for accident) ' through not knowing the road. All a-| long the route the motor league has | ing of sharp turns, railway crossings, | steep hills, etc., and these are well} worth while, for no one knows how | many lives they may have been re-) sponsible in saving. ; | The signs through Quebec, where they are possibly more needed, - cause of numerous “S’’ curves and| other dangerous points in the road. | are less conspicuous, and usually bear the word “danger,” in small letters on a small board, which is a! big contrast to the big “stop”. signs! with letters two or three feet high.! state, at the points of greatest dan-; ger. We passed. one young ‘couple | from Chicago, wh@ failed to motice the danger sign and in taking an ai - hg curve too fast, got off the road, smashed a fence post and put front wheel out of business, causing a day's delay. It pleases us to notice that in con- nection with the road making now being done in this country, danger- ous curves are being eliminated where possible, in'‘some cases at great cost, but lives are more precious than money and any expenditure in mak- ing the roads safe is a wise one. For our party, who were seeing Quebec for the first time, there was much of unusual interest. The nar- i] row farms, commmonly four, five and even ten miles in depth, the great network of fences, the prim- itive methods of farming. the vil- lages, barns and all painted in white; the beauty ‘of landscape, the striking- ly fine Catholic churches that dot the country, and ——— other features of extraordinary nterest, lent fascination to the trip. In Quebec there are farmers who still use oxen instead of horses and! the editor got a splendid snap of al typical old farmer who was using) one of these beasts for raking his! hay. He couldn’t speak a word of) English, but the pleased -expression | on his face, was indication that he ap-| preciated having his picture. taken. | One-horse carts takes the place of] wagons. Quebec is famous for its large fam-; ilies and from time to time the farms} have been divided up among the | children, until in many cases ,they/ | are of small proportion. But in price, of this, cultivation in parts co ered| on the trip, was no more intensive | than én Ontario, in fact not 80 much. time, wandering about the country and streets of Listowel. The evi ce @& Felty Keeso was that Fullarton had a hottle of whis- key but didn't give him any to drink, but that of the two others was to the contrary. The bottle, they said, had been passed round at different times, and everybody had a drink. / so. Crops were poor and rain badly| needed, but aside from this there: was seeming indication of a lack of! ‘an aggressive spirit of industry. Con-| \trary.to what might be expected. | much of the land is still in a rough state and a large proportion is allow- ed to go into pasturage. crops, etc., the church collects a tithe, and this has something to. do ALL THE WAY FROM NIAGARA) explaining why so much land is | ALLS—RETU But the church doe appear, to suff placed quite conspicuous signs, warn-\_ that the tourist sees in New York}: On all grain’ , Aud for pasture. be ering for opt funds, for the most imposing and costly structures in the towns and. villages are the Catholic edifices, th Asan ory which are usually of a most beautiful was that at St. where SO many cures are repo: to have taken place, and the church of the Notre Dame at Montreal, which has a seating capacity of 10,000, and the interior of which is of indescrib- able beauty. At “St. Ann” are piles of crutches left behind by the “cured”, bearing cards with their name, address and disease of which they were healed. We noticed the mes of sevéral from Ontario points, but none from Listowel. Sunday, with the French, is a great holiday. Going to St. James Method- x ist church, Montreal, in the morning, ‘we were met with laod after load of pleasure seekers in gaily decorated vehicles. They \were a hilarious lot and out for a Wig time. The kind of © conveyance didn’ make any differ- ence, so long as ‘they got there. To the visiting motorist, the streets of Quebec, narrow winding and often with steep inclines, pro- vide a new experience, and observ- ance of traffic regulations seems generally lax, undoubtedly due to the unusual conditions. Ottawa, Canada’s prettiest city, with its parliament buildings, beau- tiful drives and lovely homes, can yet take a pointer from Listowel. On the main street they still have those unsightly telegraph voles, the like of which were discarded here years ago. Including ferries anda delightful forty-five mile motor boat trip through the Thousand Islands, the party covered close to 2000 miles. ! Camping equipment was carried and some charming spots secured for pitching tent. Both cars taken were 1921 Maxwells, which though heavily laden, one carrying the equivalent of eleven passengers 142 pounds in weight, stood up well and gave no trouble. ‘ “Old Boys” Good Thing For The Painters The past few weeks have heen busy days for the painters. The old boys’ celebration is sure proving a boon for them and if they haven't made a good hau! it isn’t be- cause they haven't had all the work they could do. The citizens have been slicking up in fine style and when the old boys and girls return, they'll find a smart, fresh looking own. Many of the business blocks have been brightened with paint, and a great number of private residences. The library ‘has also been given @ much needed coat, and the Arlington hotel is now receiving a like applica- tion. Mr. N Bean, the painter, madé a splendid job of his business block, and the butcher shop of Mr. Kennedy, adjoining. Editor Dewar Of The Harriston Review, Dead Harriston, July 24.—B. H. Dewar, editor of The Harriston Review, pas- sed away this evening at 8.20, }aged sixty-nine years, ‘death being due to cancer, of which he was ill only a few days. was in the newspaper business practically all his life, having spent thirty years in jthis town. He estab- lished The Review. He was also in newspaper work in Hillsburg, Prin, Arthur, and on The Guelph Herald. He was an Anglican and a Mason, a man of most upright character, who always stood for what was right. One son survives, who is on his way from Montana. Mr. Dewar was an original writer and commonly penned articles of rare humor. Lumber, cement, shingles, lath, tile, coal and wood. R. T. Kemp & a tfnp. HOUSE FOR SALE Six rooms, modern, on nice lot with zood garden. Well located. Apply Box X, Banner office. ROOMS TO RENT A number of rooms over Banzley's Clothing store, suitable for offices or for dwellings. Apply to J. H. Mc.Don- ald. tfnp. debe ete tebe? “ + - + NOTICE + ~ ee + + During Old Boys’ week, “* + motorists are requested not *% + to park their cars on Main *% + rect from the library to the + + C, P. R. tracks, on Mill street + + from the Grand Central stab- * + les to Main, and on Wallace * ‘+ street down to the Queen’s ho- * + te, Your co-operation app- ‘+ reciated. J.. W. Sangster. * chairman of license and by- * laws’ committee. + + tootestoetenfentenlentonfeoheotoafestontonfostenjoniedferdoniesieeiorter rate