|
NEWS OF THE DAY.
Excavation
is being made this morning for a new building near the place
where the old Sun hotel burned down a few weeks ago.
- September 11, 1893,
Dallas Daily Herald, p. 4, col. 4.
- o o o -
THE COURTS.
CITY COURT.
Ed. C.
Fish, for riding a bicycle on the sidewalk, was mulcted in a
fine. This is the first case of the kind on the court record.
- September 11, 1893,
Dallas Daily Herald, p. 8, col. 3.
- o o o -
[No Heading]
"Nothing
but the best, and everything as represented." In these words,
you read the secret of the success that has attended the efforts
of L. F. Loughlin, proprietor of the Live Oak grocery, 381 and
383 Elm street. From a modest beginning, 14 years ago, Mr. Loughlin
has enjoyed a constantly increasing business, necessitating,
first, the erection of the fine three-story brock, No. 381 Elm
street, and this summer the erection of the handsome brick store
room, 383 Elm street, with an elegant basement under same, and
the two ground floors connected by a great archway, making, with
the first class fixtures, electric fans and other modern equipments,
the most complete and commodious grocery house in the state.
The demand for pure wines, whiskies, brandies, etc., by a large
number of his best customers, for table and medical uses, has
caused Mr. Loughlin to add one of the finest lines of these goods
ever carried in Dallas, which he will sell at popular prices.
Mr. Loughlin enjoys a trade so extensive as to necessitate the
purchase of goods in very large quantities, so large as to enable
him to sell at about such as smaller dealers have to pay for
goods. Read his advertisement.
- September 14, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 2.
- o o o -
NEWS OF THE DAY
The roof
has been put on the Episcopal church in course of construction,
at the corner of 9th street and Grand avenue, Oak Cliff.
Congressman
Abbott is said to have remarked on the occasion of his last visit
to this city, that if the people of Dallas wanted a clock placed
in the tower of the new government building, he would secure
it. Mr. Abbott need waste no time about it, the people of Dallas
are unanimous about it.
- September 14, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 1.
- o o o -
NEWS OF THE DAY.
The Oriental hotel is being connected
with the gas mains to-day.
- September 15, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 1-2.
- o o o -
[No Heading]
The Queen
City railway company will to-morrow run three of the six new
cars lately received by them. The new cars are novelties in some
respects and will add greatly to the comfort and convenience
of their patrons.
- September 16, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 1, col. 6.
- o o o -
FREIGHT WRECKED.
_______
FREIGHT TRAIN GOES
THROUGH
WHITE ROCK BRIDGE.
________
A Deadhead Killed,
Travel Obstructed
and Some Groceries Mixed Up.
The Inquest Held by
Justice Skelton.
As stated
in the TIMES HERALD yesterday, Justice Skelton went to White Rock
creek bridge to inquest the remains of the man who was killed
in the wreck of westbound freight No. 15, engine 206, on the
Texas and Pacific. In one of the pockets of the deceased was
found a certificate of membership in the Knights of Labor, numbered
1196. It gave his name as R. J. Champion of Yantis, Wood county,
Texas. The deceased was a tall man, about 38 years old, with
a light mustache and dressed rather shabbily. On his person were
found papers which would indicate that he was engaged in manufacturing
some kind of soap. The justice's verdict was in accordance with
the facts, and the remains of the deceased, who was supposed
to be stealing a ride when he met his death, were turned over
to Undertaker Linskie for interment.
Engineer M. Gilmer states that
the accident resulted from a kink in the track at the approach
to the bridge, which cause the fourth car from the engine to
jump the track. This car, by dragging on the bridge, which was
100 feet long, tore it to pieces. The engine and the foremost
cars passed over safely, but fourteen cars were dumped into the
bed of the creek, which was eighteen feet below the level of
the bridge. A dozen of the cars were piled on top of one another,
filling up the creek. M. Gilmer had his ankle sprained, L. T.
Love, one of the brakemen, also suffered a severe sprain of one
of his ankles, but the conductor, W. N. Davis, was uninjured.
Brakeman Love says he stuck to the train until he saw it piling
up in the creek and he then jumped off, in doing which he observed
a man falling from the track. The next moment, a car which was
laden with lumber, rolled over on the man, crushing the life
out of him. The remains of the man had been taken out from under
the car by the time Justice Skelton arrived.
A wrecking train went to work at
once clearing away the wrecked cars. It is thought that the bridge
will not be rebuilt sufficiently for trains to pass over it before
the evening. Until then, it is said that the Texas and Pacific
passenger trains will be dispatched over the Missouri, Kansas
and Texas via Greenville and Mineola. Among the wrecked cars
were a car load of sugar, a car load of soda and a car load of
lumber. Most of the cars was destined for Dallas.
- September 16, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 1.
- o o o -
[No Heading]
The steam
heating work in the courthouse was done by Mr. D. Kavanaugh,
except the radiators, which were furnished by Younger and Fonberg
of Kewanee, Ill. The radiators got to leaking and Mr. Kavanagh
had the Kewanee people to come and make good the work. There
is no flaw in Mr. Kavanagh's work, as the item in this paper
of yesterday might be construed to assert.
- September 16, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 2.
- o o o -
[No Heading]
The application
of W. C. Howard for a receiver of the Todd Milling company property
was refused by Judge Tucker to-day.
- September 18, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 1, col. 5.
- o o o -
ASHES AND RUINS.
_______
All That is Left
of the Ran-
del Cafe.
______
BURNED LAST NIGHT.
_______
SEVERAL MAIN STREET
LAND-
MARKS WRECKED BY FIRE.
________
Incendiarism Believed
to Have Been the
Cause-One Lodge Missing-The
Property Losses and
Insurance.
_______
At 2:30
o'clock this morning, fire was discovered in the two-story building
known as Randle's Cafe, corner Main and Martin streets. The first
floor of the building has been vacant some time, but the second
was in use for apartment purposes. The building was constructed
of such inflammable material that the fire spread with considerable
rapidity and made short work of the job.
Ben Newitter, it appears, was the
first of the occupants to awake. He found the flames covering
the entire structure. All the other occupants awoke about the
same time. There was no time to carry or throw out furniture
and clothing; it was a case of escaping with life.
Mrs. Luda Brown, the landlady in
charge of the apartments, stated to a TIMES HERALD reporter
that she was aroused by the alarm of fire, and when she got out
of bed, the carpet was so hot that it was uncomfortable to stand
on it. She ran out into the hall and was grabbed and rushed down
stair in her night clothes by some one. She made her way to the
St. James hotel, where the women got some clothes for her.
The front rooms of the cafe were
occupied by Dr. C. b. Beard's Ensor Institute for the treatment
of alcohol and morphine habits, and his assistant, Mr. L. C.
Mayes, rushed down stairs in his night shirt. Dr. Beard, judging
from the heat of the floor, concluded there was no time to be
wasted in going down a flight of steps, and he accordingly jumped
out the window, spraining both ankles and sustaining spinal injuries.
J. W. Sparrow, clerk at Atkins'
drug store, also leaped from the window, breaking both the lower
bones of his left leg in three places.
The two injured men were carried
to the St. James hotel, where they received surgical attention.
Other occupants were J. T. Miller,
a clerk at D. Brin's; Roy Ochiltree, a clerk in the local freight
office of the Texas and Pacific railroad; Harry Lewis, proprietor
of Lewis' saloon; a transient man of the name of Watkins, who
has not been heard of since the fire, and in regard to whose
escape from the building, Mrs. Brown entertained doubts; Jim
Roach and Ben Newitter, and Warwick, bartender at the Coney Island.
The occupants of the building lost all of their clothing, jewelry,
etc.
E. C. Reeves of Kaufman, who is
undergoing treatment for the whisky habit, lost his grip, clothing
and watch. He happened very fortunately to be spending the night
with his brother in East Dallas.
Mrs. Brown, the land lady, estimates
her loss on furniture and other household effects at $1,500.
She had an insurance policy for $500 on them.
Harry Lewis lost an extensive wardrobe
of clothing and a large amount of jewelry and silverware that
had belonged to his deceased wife, valued at $1000 or $1500.
But, it is the loss of some pictures of his wife and a number
of intrinsically trifling articles that reminded him of her that
he feels more than he does the loss of the more valuable things.
The building was totally destroyed,
and three buildings adjoining on the east, all one-story, were
damaged. The first of these was occupied by H. Goldstein, a pawnbroker.
The roof and front of this and his stock of goods were destroyed.
Mr. Goldstein estimates his loss at $4000. He had $800 insurance
on his fixtures, but none on his stock, as the insurance companies
would not write a risk on it. In addition to the entire loss
of his stock, Mr. Goldstein says that he is responsible for a
large number of pawn tickets that are out. This building was
owned by Major I. G. Randel, as was also the cafe.
The building adjoining Goldstein's
on the east was lately vacated by Gen. Gunner's book establishment
and had remained unoccupied. This and the next one, occupied
by W. S. Bryant, a pawnbroker, as a business place and home,
were one-stories and owned by W. B. Nason. The roof and wall
paper were destroyed on both of them, but the damage is fully
covered by insurance. Mr. Nason had $1000 insurance on each of
his buildings in the Phoenix of Brooklyn, represented by I. Reinhardt
& Son.
Mr. Bryant's property suffered
from the combined effects of fire, water and thieves. He carried
a portion of his goods and household effects out into the street,
where thieves helped themselves to whatever suited their fancy.
In this way, fifteen or twenty first-class revolvers were lost
in the shuffle. Mr. Bryant estimates his loss at $1000. He carried
$3000 on his stock and household effects.
Major Randle had $7500 insurance
on the cafe building in the New York Underwriters, the National
and the Lancashire, $2500 in each and $1000 on the one-story
occupied by Goldstein, in the St. Paul.
Major Randle on yesterday leased
the cafe building to Wm. Neimeyer for a variety theater.
The cafe was built by Capt. Orr
about fifteen years ago and was long occupied by him as a carriage
warehouse.
The fire is believed by all the
occupants of the cafe building and many others who were heard
to express themselves, to have proceeded from an incendiary origin,
and thus gravely hinted that they were so minded. Several persons
said that a slender hack driver who works at night told them
he was the first one to see the fire, when it was no larger than
a man's hand, in the cellar in the rear of the cafe. He says
the flames spread so fast they appeared to envelope the building
at once.
Flying sparks kept the chemical
engine engaged in nipping the incipient conflagrations in the
rear of Henry Pollack's trunk store, F. M. Smith's shoe store,
Waller's drug store and Goldsmith's dry goods store on Elm street.
Bill Niemyer says he went to work
yesterday fitting up the cafe preparatory to opening his theater
on next Monday night, and that he lost about $100 worth of scenery
and material, which the carpenters were working on.
The insurance men are complaining
of the tardiness with which the alarm was turned in. It appears
that the first intimation the fire department had of the fire
was the sight of the light of the blaze. An earlier alarm would
have enabled the department to have arrested the flames sooner
than they did. It is difficult to locate the blame, as it is
the business of nobody in particular to turn in alarms.
The insurance men also insist that
merchants ought to be made to keep their premises clear of paper-boxes
and other combustible trash.
Major Randle, who was seen by a
TIMES
HERALD
reporter, said that he knew nothing of the fire until he came
down town this morning. He referred the reporter to Mr. Addison
for valuation of the property and the amounts of insurance. Mr.
Addison gave the amount of insurance, but not the value of the
buildings.
- September 21, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 3-4.
- o o o -
NEWS OF THE DAY
Joe Swope
informed a TIMES HERALD reporter to-day that the Shriners have made
arrangements for the most imposing street parade ever made by
the order in Texas. It will take place on October 21, during
the State Fair, and each Shriner will be mounted upon a camel.
Many Shriners will make their annual pilgrimage to Dallas at
that time, and large delegations are expected from Denver and
New Orleans. Hella temple will eclipse all previous efforts.
- September 22, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 3.
- o o o -
TRINITY NAVIGATION.
______
The Plan is Feasible
and the Subscrib-
ers Should Pay Up.
President
Keating of the Trinity Navigation company stated to a TIMES HERALD reporter
to-day that all snags and obstructions in the river between this
city and Magnolia, had been removed, and the river bed is in
first class condition. The snagboat Dallas has made the run of
100 miles, and the company is more than satisfied that navigagion
is feasible. Six or eight locks and dams would have been constructed
long ago had it not been for the financial depression the country
is undergoing. The river is now in the finest possible condition
for the work and President Keating urges the subscribers to the
stock of the company to furnish the means to push this the most
important enterprise ever started in Texas. The river between
Dallas and Bois D'arc island is as clean as a whistle, and the
directors are delighted with the condition of affairs.
- September 23, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 4, col. 3-4.
- o o o -
THE COURTS.
JUDGE CLINT'S COURT.
One week
from next Monday, Oct. 2, Judge Charles F. Clint will begin the
first term of the criminal district court of Dallas county.
- September 23, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 4, col. 3-4.
- o o o -
Clearing Out the
Well.
For several
weeks past, the artesian well at the court house has been clogged
and the daily flow disappointing. A contractor has been engaged
to sink his drill and remove the obstruction in the pipe.
- September 23, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 4.
- o o o -
NOTICE.
Notice
to Creditors and Note Holders-The Central National Bank, located
at Dallas, in the state of Texas, is closing up its affairs.
All note holders and others, creditors of said association, are
therefore hereby notified to present the notes and other claims
against the association for payment. Jno. A. Barnard, cashier.
Dated, August 14, 1893.
- September 25, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 5, col. 2.
- o o o -
A TRAMP'S MISTAKE
_________
HE INSOLENTLY TRIES
A BLUFF
THAT DOESN'T GO.
_______
He Attempts to Frighten
a Boy Into
Cooking Him a Hot Supper and
the Boy Gives Him Hot
Shot Instead.
Jim Leeper
and his son, John, run the county tank, located between Miller's
ferry and Hutchins. Saturday evening, Mr. Leeper came to town,
leaving his son, aged 16 years, in charge of the place. About
dusk, a dilapidated looking tramp appeared at the door and asked
if there was anybody at home. The lad told him that he was alone,
where upon the tramps became very insolent and profane. He told
the boy that he must have a hot supper at once for himself and
his friend, indicating that the latter was not far off.
The boy went into the house as
if to prepare the super, and in a moment, came out with a shotgun.
The tramp reached for his hip pocket, when the boy let him have
a load of shot, and as he ran, fired the other charge into him,
which brought him down. The unbulldozable youth then became frightened
and ran to the nearest neighbor's to get some one to summon a
doctor, but when he and the neighbors reached the scene of the
shooting, the tramp had either left of his own accord, or been
carried away, for not trace of him could be found.
- September 25, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 4.
- o o o -
CRIMINAL DISTRICT
COURT.
_______
Will Begin Next
Monday With Over Six
Hundred Cases.
The first
regular term of the new criminal district court will begin next
Monday, Charles F. Clint being the judge. There are over 600
cases on the docket, of which 150 are ready for trial. It is
estimated that it will require two days on an average to the
case, at which rate it will take over 1200 days, exclusive of
the Sundays, to clear up the docket; that is, if there are no
rehearings, nor new trials. In this estimate, no account is taken
of the new business to come up in the meantime. There will be
four terms of this court per year, and as many separate grand
juries.
The scira facias dockets of the
fourteenth and forty-fourth judicial district courts have been
transferred to the criminal district court of Dallas county,
and the docket will be called next Tuesday. The first week of
the term will be devoted to the disposition of scira facias cases.
- September 26, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 3.
- o o o -
Added
January 26, 2004:
DALLAS' NEW HOTEL.
________
A BRILLIANT ILLUMINATION,
WIT-
NESSED BY MAN, LAST NIGHT.
_______
A Chat With the
Manager, W. J. Alden.
The Oriental Will Be Formally
Opened on Monday,
October 9.
Hundreds
of persons were attracted to the vicinity of the magnificent
Oriental hotel last night by a brilliant illumination of the
massive building from cellar to dome. It was a sight that was
pleasing to the citizens of Dallas, and as late as 11 o'clock,
crowds visited the building and promenaded the sidewalks. The
new electric plant and other machinery was being tested preparatory
to the opening of the palatial hostelry on October 9.
A TIMES HERALD reporter was detailed to visit the Oriental
this morning. He found Mr. W. J. Alden at his desk, as busy as
a man could be, issuing orders to a small army of upholsterers,
furniture men, plumbers and laborers, and at intervals glancing
at the contents of a huge mass of correspondence and dictating
answers to his stenographers. He was told that the TIMES HERALD desired
to say something concerning the hotel, its opening and its future
prospects, and he, at once, replied:
"The illumination last night
was for the purpose of testing our electric light plant and other
machinery, and it was a gratifying success. Three powerful dynamos
furnish the light for the building, and the plant is in charge
of A. M. Kinsel of Hot Springs, who will be chief engineer and
electrician. We have put in a complete laundry, which will be
superintended by Mr. E. R. Nichols, formerly of the Brown hotel,
Denver. My chief clerk will be T. L. Belden of Chicago, a gentlemen
of wide experience who has been connected in his time with a
number of the leading hotels in the country. John S. Kelly, formerly
of the Leland, Chicago, and more recently, with the Metropole,
Denver, will have charge of the bar and billiard parlor, which
is the most complete and costly in its furnishings in the south.
There are 204 guest rooms in the building, all equipped with
furniture of the latest designs. We have expended $80,000 in
cash in furnishing the Oriental, and claim that no hotel in the
south is its superior, so far as convenience and elegance go.
W. E. Goggin will be steward, and the chef is Robert Myer, and
the head waiter, W. L. Carey of Denver, also arrived the other
day with a full corp of trained waiters. The tonsorial and hair-dressing
departments will be in charge of E. F. Houde."
"What date has been decided
upon for the opening?" was asked.
"Monday, Oct. 9, and I am
making preparations now for a grand reception and a hop in the
evening. Gov. Hogg has been invited to favor us with his presence
and Mayor Connor and other officials of the city and county have
been pressed into service. Invitations, reading as follows, will
be sent out: 'Yourself and ladies are cordially invited to attend
the opening of the Oriental hotel, Monday, Oct. 9, 1893; reception
and convert 8:30 o'clock p. m.' In addition, a general invitation
will be extended to the citizens of Dallas to attend and participate."
"What is the outlook for business
at this time?"
"Most flattering. The Oriental
will enjoy a lucrative tourist trade from the north and east.
A Tourist rate will be made. Mild winters, pure artesian water,
salubrious climate, and conveniences in hotel life that cannot
be excelled anywhere are powerful inducements."
Mr. John S. Kelly then took charge
of the reporter and showed him about the hotel. The engine room
and electric light room, laundry, barber shop, bar and billiard
parlors, offices and the parlors and suites of rooms on the second
floor were visited. In furnishings, nothing has been overlooked,
and the most carping critic would stand tongue-tied in contemplating
the luxuriousness of the surroundings. Neither the Ponce de Leon
of Florida, nor the Kimball of Atlanta can approach it in interior
adornment, convenience, [or] design.
- September 27, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 3-4.
- o o o -
OUR NEW POSTOFFICE
_______
THE MAIN CONTRACT
WILL BE
COMPLETED JAN. 1.
______
The Old Building
Will Be Rehabilitated
and Made a thing of Beauty -- What
Superintendent Knight
Has to Say.
Jeremiah
O'Rourke, supervising architect of the treasury department, advertised
in the TIMES HERALD for sealed bids for the extension of the low-pressure,
steam-heating and ventilating apparatus, etc., for the postoffice.
The Washington dispatches announced recently that there was a
balance of $3,000 of the amount appropriated for the building,
and to ascertain what disposition was to be made of this sum,
a TIMES HERALD reporter was detailed to call upon W. A. Knight,
superintendent of construction, and obtain a few pointers.
"The addition to the building
and extras exhausted $100,000 of the original appropriation"
said Mr. Knight, "and the work is not complete, by any means."
"What disposition will be
made of the residue?"
"Well, there is the big clock
to be placed in the tower. It will be of the latest design and
of great service to the people of Dallas. A petition, largely
signed by citizens of Dallas, requesting that a clock be placed
in the tower, was forwarded to Congressman Jo Abbott. He carried
the petition to John G. Carlisle, secretary of the treasury.
The weight of Mr. Abbott's endorsement won the consent of the
secretary and the clock will go in. It will cost a snug sum itself.
"What other improvements are
to be made?"
"The advertisement in the
TIMES
HERALD
is an answer to that question. The cost of a steam heating apparatus
and boiler is no trivial affair, and must come out of the sum
appropriated. The main building and the extras, as I have stated,
cost $100,000, and the main contract will be completed January
1. Office expenses, the plans and other incidentals, make a neat
sum in the aggregate, and the old building must be remodeled
in conformity with the new building or annex. The stone work
will be repointed, the woodwork repainted and revarnished and
other improvements carried out. When completed and all improvements
contemplated are carried out, the Federal building will be a
source of pride to the people of Dallas."
- October 17, 1893,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 8, col. 4.
- o o o -
1894
A FOUR-FACED
CLOCK.
______
IT
WILL STRIKE THE TIME IN THE
FEDERAL BUILDING.
______
The
Sound Will be Heard in Lancaster.
Supt. Knight Talks of the Progress
of Work on Uncle Sam's New
House in Dallas.
In
speaking of the work on the new addition to the federal building,
Superintendent of Construction W. R. Knight, this morning, said:
"The work that is being pushed now is the plumbing, gas
fitting and ventilating flues. The building proper is almost
ready for occupancy, but it will take some time yet, until all
will be done. We are working on the tower extension. Owing to
the placing of the clock on the tower, we are compelled to take
down part of the steeple. We will build an 18-foot extension.
The clock that will be placed on the tower is being made by the
Seth Thomas Clock company. The dials, of which there will be
four, will be six feet each in diameter, and at night, will be
illuminated by gas jets. The bell of the clock will weigh 2000
pounds and will ring loud enough to be heard in Lancaster.
"The steam heating and ventilating
plants will cost about $8000. We are trying to have them finished
by the end of this month. We are doing a great amount of repairing
in the old part of the building, and by the time all is finished,
about $100,000 will have been spent, but we will have a good
substantial building."
- January
9, 1894, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 2, col. 3.
- o o o -
A
PYTHIAN TEMPLE.
_______
THE
FOUR LODGES TO JOIN IN ITS
CONSTRUCTION.
______
It
Will Be Located on Main Street, Will
Be Three Stories High, and Cost
$50,000 -- Thriving
Lodges.
The
Pythian fraternity of this city will shortly break ground for
a magnificent temple, somewhere on Main street, between Akard
and Martin, the precise spot not yet decided upon.
The building, which will be of
stone band brick, will be 50x100 feet and three stories high.
The first floor will be divided into two twenty-five foot stores.
The second floor will be fitted up for offices, and the third
floor will used for lodge rooms, armory, etc.
The structure will cost $50,000,
which amount will be raised by the four lodges of the city.
A few evenings ago, lodge No. 70
raised $3,775 at a single meeting, two members giving $500 each.
All the Pythian lodges of Dallas
are in flourishing condition, numbering as they do among their
membership may of the foremost business and professional men,
and they could almost, any night, raise the amount of money necessary
to erect such a temple as the one in contemplation.
- January
17, 1894, Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 2, col. 3.
- o o o -
Work on the Hospital.
Ten wards
of the new hospital are completed with the exception of the tin
on the roof. Had it not been for the cold snap, this part would
now also be finished.
- January 26, 1894,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 4, col. 2.
- o o o -
Public Fountains.
A great
petition is being signed to have the United States government
sink an artesian well and erect handsome drinking fountains on
the postoffice lots. This numerously signed petition is as follows:
To the Hon. Jo Abbot.
We, the undersigned citizens of
Dallas, Tex., most respectfully request that you use your influence
to have a six-inch artesian well sunk upon the postoffice government
lot in this city with pipe connections to supply three drinking
fountains for the use of citizens, also, to place the drinking
fountains of neat and ornamental design at the most suitable
points on each of the three streets surrounding the lot, which
would be of great value and convenience to our people as well
as ornamental to the grounds.
- April 11, 1894, Dallas
Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 7.
- o o o -
AT
THE PARTING
OF THE WAYS.
_______
NOTHING TO POINT
WHICH STREET
TO TAKE.
_______
Dallas Thoroughfares are as
Nameless as
Cow-trails--What Will the City
Council Do?--Chairman Kel-
ly Favors Painted Signs.
The great
confusion in locating streets, resulting from the absence of
all indicatory signs, presents an obstacle that, while easily
surmountable by an ordinance, nevertheless overturns the equilibrium
of one's equanimity and brings wrinkles to the brow and grey
hairs to the head when in search of any particular point in a
network of unnamed streets. This unhappy condition has existed
in the city ever since it was a frontier trading post, with the
exception of a few stray intervals. It has been at least six
years since the last street-naming effort was made, and as the
movement did not extend entirely over the resident portions of
the city; as the number of residents and streets have greatly
multiplied, and as the improvements and changes in fence lines
have almost reduced the street signs to a scattered and battered
few, guide marks are a greater necessity than ever before.
Everyone who has had occasion to
locate residences and even places of business, is cognizant of
this fact, and realize that public comfort would be greatly increased
by decorating the streets with their names.
The members of the city council
are beginning to realize the importance of this improvement and
their official body has the question under consideration. Alderman
Kelly, chairman of the street and bridge committee, offered a
resolution calling for street signs over a year ago, but it got
strangled, it seems, by some committee. The matter lay quiet
until about a month ago, when it again was brought under the
consideration of the council. This time, it seems to have met
a kindlier fate. The council instructed the secretary to advertise
for bids; and these bids were opened at the last council meeting.
The bids were referred to a committee of tellers composed of
Aldermen Smith and Lawhon. It remains to be seen what their report
will be. The city council, at its meeting to-morrow night, should
act effectively.
Mayor Barry was seen in his office
this morning, but said the did not care to express himself just
yet.
Alderman Kelly, chairman of the
street and bridge committee, said that, in his opinion, a little
money invested in street signs would be a good thing for the
city. "As it is now," he said, "when a man is
driving over the city, half the time he doesn't know what street
he is on."
Mr. Crutcher, secretary for the
council, said that the lowest bid was 7 cents per sign. Some
of the aldermen, he said, favored putting the street signs on
bois d'arc posts in the resident portion of the city, owing to
the fact that when nailed to fences, they were lost whenever
a fence is torn down--a frequent occurrence.
- May 7, 1894, Dallas
Daily Times Herald, p. 4, col. 4.
- o o o -
HE
WANTS
THE COURTHOUSE.
_______
SUIT TO THAT END
TO BE FILED.
________
John Neely Bryan
Says There Was a
String on the Deed His Father
Gave the County to
the Lot.
John Neely
Bryan, Jr., gives out that he is about to institute legal proceedings
for possession of the county courthouse property, on the ground
that the purposes for which it was deeded to the county by his
father, John Neely Bryan, Sr., have not been strictly carried
out.
____
Away back
about 1850, when Dallas was on a footing as regarded population,
business and prospects with Lisbon, Lancaster, and two or three
other places in the county, the question of the location of the
county seat came up. And the competition among Dallas, Lisbon
and Lancaster, for the courthouse, was sharp and spirited, and
the chances were, for some time, decidedly in favor of Lancaster.
But, John Neely Bryan, who was, at the time, President of the
Board of Commissioners, wishing to see Dallas, his home, win,
deeded to the county, the land on which the courthouse is located
and other town property, aggregating ninety-six lots, on condition
that the court house be located here.
______
Now comes
John Neely Bryan, Jr., son of John Neely Bryan, Sr., and claims
that the deed by which his father conveyed the property to the
county for the court house, expressly stipulates, that if the
property should ever be used for any other purpose or purposes
than for a county court house site, such use shall operate as
a forfeiture of the conveyance and the property shall revert
to his heirs.
The deed in question is on file
at Austin and no copy of it is on record here, but Mr. Bryan
has recently been to Austin to examine the instrument, and after
such examination, he feels warranted in bringing the suit.
When the new courthouse was completed,
the County and District Clerk's offices were removed from the
old stone Clerk's office on the southeast corner of the lot,
into the new building, thus leaving the old stone building vacant
and the Commissioners' Court, with an eye to business, rented
the second floor of the building for lawyers' offices and the
ground floor for a restaurant. Subsequently, the second floor
was filled up for the grand jury to hold its deliberations and
investigations in, and the lower floor was leased to a wholesale
leather house, and for some time, a young man has run a news
and cigar stand in the rotunda of the courthouse. This letting
of the stone building and of space in the courthouse for business
purposes, Mr. Bryan regards as a profanation of the temple of
justice and ground for the revocation of the deed.
_____
Since Mr.
Bryan has threatened to sue for the recovery of the property,
the County Commissioners have had the matter under advisement.
They have notified the young man with the news and cigar stand
in the rotunda of the court house that he must vacate on January
1, 1895. But, the leather people have a lease on the stone building,
which does not expire until next May, and unless the Commissioners
will make it to their interest, they are not likely to vacate
until their time is up.
_______
Mr. Bryan
has not yet filed his suit, but his friends say he will do so
very shortly.
- December 17, 1894,
Dallas Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 3.
- o o o -
1895
LANDMARKS ARE
PASSING AWAY.
______
The Cave on Commerce
Street
Was Once an Ice House.
______
Some Thought it
Was a Storm House,
Others a Cellar -- A Fine Livery Stable
to be Erected on Its Site by
Sanger Brothers.
One by
one, they pass away. The old residents of Dallas, behold with
feelings of commingled regret and pride, as the progress of civilization
sweeps over the Queen City, the extinction of their beloved and
familiar haunts, to be replaced, however, with the grand and
imposing structures that place Dallas in the foremost rank of
the beautiful cities of the Union.
One by one, the old landmarks,
whose sites are ever associated with memories of the days when
Dallas struggled for recognition among the most humble villages
of Texas, are being obliterated.
These were the thoughts expressed, in more beautiful language,
however, as a few of the Dallas pioneers yesterday paused for
a moment on Commerce street to view the destruction by plow and
spade of another of the most familiar landmarks.
On Commerce street, just west of
the Hermann building, and huddled beneath a few time-worn oaks
and china trees, has long been viewed a brick-lined cavity in
the earth, resembling the entrance to a deep cave. It is useless
to describe this place, as it is familiar to every old resident
of Dallas. The old-timers, have gazed on it with a kindred feeling,
as a last vestige of the Dallas of long ago. The new-comers and
visitors beheld the quaint-looking place, and for many years,
have wondered what it was. Some have said it was a storm house;
others, that it was a peculiar old-time cellar to a once-magnificent
building, long since destroyed by fire, and divers have been
the opinions of the 59,900 out of the 60,000 inhabitants of Dallas,
as to what this quaint and curious structure really was? who
built it? when was it built? and, for what was it built?
Well, this question was answered
by the hoary-headed Dallasites as they stood in line before the
shattered structure yesterday.
About thirty years ago, when Dallas
was in its infancy, Mr. Charles Kahn owned the land in question
and had the cave constructed. It was an ice house, and the only
source from which the few residents of Dallas then had of procuring
ice. The ice was gathered there from Long's Lake, when it was
frozen and kept for use during the hot summer months. Ice was
then sold at 25 and 50 cents a pound, and ice cream was worth
a dollar for a saucer. What would some of the $40 Dallas dudes
have done, had they been living in those days?
On this old landmark, is now busy,
a corps of workmen, plowing up the earth and carrying away the
bricks of the old ice house, to build on the same lot, a magnificent
livery stable for Sanger Brothers. The structure is to be 200x50
feet and two stories high. It will reach from Commerce to Jackson
streets, and, Mr. Sanger says, will contain some of the finest
rigs ever seen in the city.
- July 15, 1895, Dallas
Daily Times Herald, p. 6, col. 1-2.
- o o o -
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