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Rev. James Edward Platter
Kansas 1875 Census, Winfield Township, Cowley County, March 1, 1875.
Name age sex color Place/birth Where from
J. E. Platter 28 m w Ohio New York
Nannie J. Platter 28 f w Ohio New York
Houston? Platter 4 m w New York New York
Belle S.? Platter 1 f w Kansas
Margaret Platter 11m f w Kansas
[Added by RKW.]
(This sketch of the history of Winfield is the result of a class project of the Fourth Hour
Senior American History class, in the spring of 1924.)
The First Presbyterian Church.
The First Presbyterian Church was founded in the fall of 1872. Rev. A. R. Naylor came to Winfield in November, having been sent by Dr. Timothy Hill, who was Superintendent
of Home Missions of the Presbyterian Churches of Kansas.
The first meeting was held in the Baptist building on the third Sunday in November. In
1873, the First Presbyterian Church was formally organized with thirty-five charter members. In April, Rev. Naylor was called back to Indiana.
Early in 1877, the church started to build its own building. In September it was dedicated by Rev. James E. Platter, pastor of the church at the time. In 1924 Dr. W. C. Templeton was pastor, and there were about seven hundred active members with a reserve roll of one hundred fifty.
Winfield Courier, June 5, 1873.
There will be services at the Baptist Church Sunday morning at 10 o’clock. Preaching by the Rev. Mr. Platter, Presbyterian Minister.
Winfield Courier, June 12, 1873.
Rev. Mr. Platter, our new Presbyterian minister, preached a very able sermon at the stone church last Sabbath.
Winfield Courier, August 7, 1873.
The Presbyterian Church will hold service in the building one door south of the Lagonda House, on next Sabbath at 11 a.m. and 8 p.m. All are invited to attend. Members of the Presbyterian Church in Cowley County are earnestly requested to make themselves known to the pastor. S/ J. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
Winfield Courier, September 4, 1873.
Rev. James E. Platter will preach in the Methodist church at 11 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. on next Sabbath.
Winfield Courier, October 2, 1873.
The Rev. J. E. Platter will preach in Hudson’s building on Main Street next Sunday at 11 o’clock a.m. and 7 p.m.
Winfield Courier, November 13, 1873.
The Presbyterian church (Rev. Mr. Platter, pastor) will hold service next Sabbath in Mr. Jackson’s building three doors south of Lagonda House.
Winfield Courier, November 27, 1873.
Rev. J. E. Platter will preach next Sabbath in Mr. Jackson’s building, three doors south of the Lagonda house, at 11 a.m. and 7 p.m.
Winfield Courier, January 9, 1874.
Rev. J. E. Platter will preach in the Courthouse next Sabbath, at 11 p.m.
Winfield Courier, February 13, 1874.
MARRIED. KAGER. WRIGHT. Married on the evening of Feb. 5th, 1874, at the home of the bride near Arkansas City, Mr. E. B. Kager, of Winfield, to Miss Ada Wright of Arkansas City.
Many of the friends of both bride and bridegroom were present, and everything went off in a manner to reflect much credit to the Rev. J. E. Platter, who performed the ceremony, and to Mrs. Wright—mother of the beautiful bride—who feasted the welcome guests with a rich repast, prepared with excellent taste and artistic skill. After the supper, and before the guests had retired from the table, Mr. Platter, in behalf of the friends of the happy couple, presented them with some fine presents as token of friendship and esteem, followed by some very appropriate and fitting remarks. At a seasonable hour, the guests dispersed, and the happy pair took their departure for their new home at Winfield.
Winfield Courier, February 20, 1874.
The Presbyterian Church holds a communion service next Sabbath at 11 A.M. in the courthouse. Preparatory lecture on Saturday afternoon at the same place. Preaching in the evening. J. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
Winfield Courier, March 27, 1874.
Through the agency of the Real Estate firm of Curns & Manser, D. A. Millington, Esq., sold half of the block upon which his house stands, to Rev. James E. Platter. Mr. Platter intends to erect a fine residence upon his new purchase this spring.
[ITEMS FROM THE “TRAVELER.”]
Winfield Courier, April 17, 1874.
Ordination and Dedication. The exercises at the liberal church last Sunday were interesting and well attended. Prof. Norton was ordained according to the Congregational order in the forenoon. In the evening, Rev. Mr. Platter conducted the dedication exercises.
Prof. Kellogg gave an interesting history of the origin, nature, and progress of the enterprise, announcing that the church had been built without foreign aid, had but a small debt, and was in a prosperous and hopeful state. Mr. Platter preached a sermon appropriate to the occasion. The church is a neat and tasteful edifice, finely and completely finished, and is in all respects an honor to its founders.
Winfield Courier, April 17, 1874.
The Presbyterian church holds service next Sabbath in the Courthouse morning and evening. J. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
Winfield Courier, April 17, 1874.
To Builders.
BIDS will be received until Wednesday, April 30th, for the erection of a brick dwelling house in Winfield. The building is to be 26 x 32 with a one-story wing 14 x 14. Plans, specifications, and conditions of contract at Curns & Manser’s. J. E. PLATTER.
Winfield Courier, May 8, 1874.
Rev. James E. Platter has let the contract for building his new residence to Messrs. Stewart & Simpson for the sum of $3,700. Had Mr. Platter searched the country over he could not have found more able, honest, and energetic men to build his house than the firm of Stewart & Simpson. Life-long contractors and builders, they are just the men to build quickly, cheaply, and well.
Winfield Courier, May 22, 1874.
MARRIED.
SWAIN - LEFFINGWELL. At the residence of the Rev. James E. Platter, by the same, May 21st, 1874, Mr. John Swain to Miss Emma Leffingwell.
Accompanying the above notice, was a beautiful bride’s cake, and a choice lot of Havanas, for which Mr. Swain and his fair bride have the unified thanks of the COURIER force. The happy pair have settled down like sensible people at home, and began already the arduous task of paddling their own canoe. They have our best wishes for their future. Reader, are you will wallowing in the slough of single cussedness? Go right off and do likewise.
[ITEM FROM THE TRAVELER.]
Winfield Courier, June 5, 1874.
One of our painters has been called to Winfield to paint Rev. Platter’s new house.
Winfield Courier, July 24, 1874.
The Presbyterian church holds service in the courthouse next Sunday. Subject of sermon in the evening: The vice of Gambling. JAS. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
I CANNOT LOCATE PAPER/DATE WHERE THIS CAME FROM. MAW...
We have observed the Rev. J. E. Platter has been keeping hotel at his residence for a long time, but did not know he liked the business. But it seems he does, for he has bought the Occidental, of Wichita, for $6,000; a hotel which cost four or five times that amount of money.
Winfield Courier, August 28, 1874.
The new house of J. E. Platter is enclosed, and presents a very neat appearance. It is undoubtedly the handsomest residence in the county and is a credit to the builders, the owner, and to the city.
Winfield Courier, September 18, 1874.
The Presbyterian church holds communion service on next Sabbath at the close of morning sermon. The meeting announced for Saturday afternoon will be omitted.
J. E. PLATTER.
Winfield Courier, September 18, 1874.
We, the undersigned citizens of Winfield, agree to attend a public meeting to be held in this city, to take into consideration the desirability of organizing a Literary and Scientific Association, having in view the establishment of a Library and Reading-Room, the employment of public lecturers, the encouragement of literature, and otherwise promoting moral and intellectual improvement. Said meeting to be held at the Courthouse, at 7 o’clock p.m., on Tuesday, September 22, 1874.
(Signed) D. A. Millington, W. Q. Mansfield, E. S. Torrance, V. B. Beckett, M. L. Robinson, John E. Allen, James E. Platter, E. C. Manning, T. H. Johnson, A. H. Green, Wm. Bartlow, A. H. Hane, J. B. Fairbank, J. W. Curns, G. S. Manser, and M. L. Read.
Winfield Courier, September 25, 1874.
Proceedings of the Meeting of the Winfield Literary and Scientific Association.
A meeting of the citizens of Winfield was held at the Courthouse September 22, 1874, for the purpose of organizing a Literary Society.
W. Q. Mansfield, M. L. Robinson, J. C. Fuller, Rev. Mr. Platter, Rev. Mr. Rigby, W. W. Walton, and E. B. Kager were appointed a committee to prepare a plan of organization to present at a future meeting to be called by a committee.
We hope all the citizens will take an interest in this society for such an institution, well sustained, can be made a source of much pleasure during the winter, of great and lasting profit.
Winfield Courier, October 9, 1874.
Rev. James Platter has returned from Presbytery.
Winfield Courier, October 22, 1874.
Old reliable Capt. Monforte is putting the finishing touches on the graining in Rev. Platter’s new residence.
Winfield Courier, October 29, 1874. Rev. James E. Platter has moved his family into his new brick residence.
Winfield Courier, November 5, 1874.
From our Special Correspondent.
COFFEYVILLE, KANSAS, October 24th, 1874.
There are larger business houses here than in Winfield, but no private residences to compare at all with Rev. Platter’s, Capt. Davis, or Capt. Lowrey’s.
Winfield Courier, November 12, 1874.
A public meeting will be held at the Courthouse on Monday evening next, Nov. 18, at 7 o’clock, for the purpose of receiving the report of the Committee, appointed to draw up a constitution, etc., for the Winfield Literary Institute. All are invited. J. E. PLATTER, Secy.
Winfield Courier, December 3, 1874.
[Cowley County Acts to Aid Sufferers Injured by Grasshoppers.]
The Relief Committee of this county has organized by electing Rev. John McQuiston as Secretary, and Rev. N. L. Rigby for Treasurer. Rev. James E. Platter was elected President by the meeting. All persons in the county who are destitute should apply at once to the president or secretary of the Cowley County Relief Committee at Winfield.
Winfield Courier, December 3, 1874.
ACTION! ACTION!!
To Township Trustees, and Others Interested in the
Relief of the Destitute.
At a meeting held at Winfield, Nov. 30, a County Relief Committee was appointed to cooperate with the Central Relief committee of this state. This committee hopes to receive aid for the destitute to be distributed throughout the county. You are requested to see that a public meeting is called in your township at your voting precinct on or before the 10th of December to appoint a committee of three to cooperate with us in receiving and distributing aid. The names of such township committees to be reported to the county committee before December 15th. JAS. E. PLATTER, Chairman. J. McQUISTON, Secy.
[CENTRAL RELIEF COMMITTEE FOR COWLEY COUNTY.]
Winfield Courier, December 3, 1874.
The citizens of Winfield and vicinity assembled at the Courthouse on Monday evening, Nov. 30th, 1874, for the purpose of organizing a central relief committee for Cowley County.
On motion A. S. Williams was chosen chairman, and J. W. Curns, secretary, of the meeting.
On motion the following persons were appointed as a central relief committee for Cowley County, to act in conjunction with the state central relief committee: Rev. S. E. Platter, Chairman; Rev. N. L. Rigby; Rev. J. McQuiston; Hon. T. R. Bryan; Hon. H. S. Silver.
On motion the Cowley County Central Relief Committee was instructed to immediately issue an address requesting that local relief committees be organized in each township in the county, and that such committees report their organizations to the Cowley County Central Committee, and the amount of destitution which exists in their several townships, as soon as possible.
Motion carried that a copy of the proceedings of this meeting be forwarded to the state central committee at Topeka.
Moved and carried that the publishers of the various newspapers of this county be requested to publish the proceedings of this meeting.
On motion adjourned. A. S. WILLIAMS, Chairman.
J. W. CURNS, Sec.
Winfield Courier, December 10, 1874.
Rev. J. E. Platter will preach at the courthouse next Sunday evening upon the subject of Temperance.
[WINFIELD INSTITUTE.]
Winfield Courier, December 10, 1874.
The opening lecture of the winter course in connection with the Winfield Institute will be delivered at the courthouse on Thursday evening next, Dec. 17th, by Rev. J. E. Platter. Subject, Good Society. A cordial invitation is hereby extended to all citizens, and their cooperation solicited. Lecture free. D. A. MILLINGTON, Chairman.
Winfield Courier, December 10, 1874.
[RELIEF FOR SUFFERERS FROM GRASSHOPPER DAMAGE.]
Recap: Much correspondence took place concerning relief shipments to those in need in Cowley County due to grasshopper damage. Henry King, Secretary of the Central Committee, informed Rev. Platter, Cowley County Chairman, that they could not furnish shipments to individuals due to the railroads refusing to deal with any but persons authorized to act for a community for receipt of goods for distribution to the needy.
Winfield Courier, December 17, 1874.
The Winfield Institute.
The members of the Winfield Institute met at the courthouse last Monday evening and elected a board of directors, consisting of W. Q. Mansfield, T. E. Johnston, D. A. Millington, Rev. J. E. Platter, J. C. Fuller, Rev. N. L. Rigby, J. B. Fairbank, Chas. C. Black, and E. B. Kager. According to arrangement they met last evening and elected from the number a president, secretary, and treasurer, to-wit: D. A. Millington, president; W. Q. Mansfield, secretary, and T. K. Johnston, treasurer.
Among the objects sought to be accomplished by this movement is the establishment of a public library and reading room, and it is the intention of the directors to make all necessary effort to insure success. To this end, therefore, donations of books are solicited from all who are friendly to the enterprise, and of those desirous of becoming members of the Institute. Books will be taken in payment of dues, if desired. Standard works in good condition, on history, theology, science, travel, fiction, and miscellaneous literature will constitute the library; and it is intended to furnish the reading room with a selection of the leading publications, periodicals, and magazines of the day.
Winfield Courier, December 24, 1874.
Rev. J. B. Platter purchased the pelican owned by Leedy and shipped it to a friend in the east.
Winfield Courier, December 24, 1874.
According to a circular issued by the A. T., and S. F. railroad, persons who may have had goods shipped to them, either through the relief society or not, can have the freight charges remitted by getting the certificates of the Township Trustee or County Clerk that they are really destitute. This applies, as I understand it, to this railroad alone. Such persons will have to pay charges on all roads east of Kansas, as these roads refuse to ship anything free except that which comes in care of the Central Committee. Goods shipped to the county committee and marked thus: Rev. J. E. PLATTER, Chairman,
Winfield, Cowley County, Kansas,
Relief goods,
Care E. S. Stover, Chairman, K. C. E. S.
Will be shipped free as far as is known, on all roads in the country. The shippers of goods to those in need can enclose a card stating for whom they are intended and this will be regarded by the committee. Corn, in car loads, unless special arrangements can be made, will not be shipped free but at reduced rates. What those rates are, we have not yet ascertained.
Township Committees are requested to make a canvass of their township and find out what destitution exists. The most satisfactory way is to take a list of families and place opposite their names the amount of money, grain, provisions, and stock on hand. From this the county committee can arrive at a more satisfactory estimate as to the amount needed.
The County Committee will not distribute goods which may come, but will turn them over to Township Committees for distribution.
Township Committees will bear in mind in distributing aid that it is in no case intended for those who will not work when suitable employment is furnished, and that such bestowment of it is in direct violation of the wishes of those by whom it was given in the east. Jas. E. Platter, Chairman.
Winfield Courier, January 14, 1875.
Rev. James E. Platter, chairman of the County Central Relief Committee, informs us that there is now on the road from Wichita to this place 5,000 pounds of flour and meal and three boxes of goods supposed to be clothing. The Committee have already apportioned the flour and meal to the different townships.
Winfield Courier, January 21, 1875.
Rev. James E. Platter, Chairman of the Central Relief Society, has returned from Wichita, where he has been to appoint an agent and rent store rooms for the reception of relief goods sent to this county.
Winfield Courier, January 21, 1875.
If persons in the east shipping supplies to our county would take shipping bills from the railroads and send them to the committee here, we could trace goods which did not come forward in proper time. Simply saying in private letter, “We have shipped this day,” or still worse, “We expect to ship next week, supplies for your county,” gives us no information upon which we can act. Any persons who have railroad receipts for goods shipped as relief will put the committee in the way of helping them by sending them to us. Again, DO NOT have goods marked for individuals care of committee, for in that case, railroads will not ship free. Send them to the committee as heretofore directed and put the individual’s name for whom they are intended INSIDE the box. You can also mark the box “for _______ blank township” (put the name of the township in the blank), then it will go to your township committee. Capt. Harrelson of Tisdale Township will look after the interests of Cowley County at Wichita. J. E. PLATTER, Chairman.
Winfield Courier, January 28, 1875.
A social by the ladies of the Presbyterian Aid Society will be given at the residence of the Rev. Mr. Platter on Friday evening, Jan. 27th. All are cordially invited.
Winfield Courier, February 4, 1875.
The Presbyterian church holds a communion service on next Sabbath morning. Preaching on Friday evening by S. B. Fleming of Oxford. Also Preparatory Lecture on Saturday after-noon at 2 o’clock p.m., at which time parents having children to be baptized will please present them. All these services to be held in the courthouse. J. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
Winfield Courier, February 25, 1875.
LOOK AT THESE FACTS.
Those persons who have busied themselves in passing resolutions and talking against voting bonds to procure seed and feed for the needy are respectfully invited to digest these facts.
From the Cowley County Relief Committee, of which Rev. J. E. Platter is chairman, we learn that thirteen out of twenty-two townships in the county report to them seven hundred and twenty three (723) destitute families, containing two thousand eight hundred and ninety-five (2,895) persons. These are principally small farmers. Neither Winfield or Creswell Townships are included in the list. These people are not only without aid and feed for spring planting, but are destitute of food. It is but reasonable to suppose that in the remaining townships there are at least five hundred and seventy seven (577) families in similar circumstances, making in all one thousand (1,000) families, or about four thousand (4,000) persons. Will those three or four granges who resolved against the relief bonds now turn round and tell us what their plan of relief is, or whether they propose any relief at all for their needy neighbors?
Winfield Courier, February 25, 1875.
Communicated.
CEDAR TOWNSHIP, Feb., 1875.
As to the herd law, I am creditably informed that there are thirteen anti-herd lawmen in this township. We have a voting population of sixty-five, but at our last annual election, we only polled a vote of twenty-three, and according to the law, the thirteen anti-herd law petitioners would settle the question, as far as this township is concerned.
Mr. Editor, we hope you will come out on this question and show these people that without the herd law, we cannot get along, for the abolition of this law practically abolishes or banishes a large portion of our citizens.
We have had some wrangling over our aid matters, but I trust that there has been no bad feeling engendered. In the first place, district sixty-seven of this township organized a relief committee and made preparation to help themselves to any aid that they could procure from the County Central Committee. Our committee reported to the chairman of the Central committee and was accepted.
Soon after this organization, the township organized and wanted district sixty-seven to lay aside their organization. This they refused to do, whereupon some low down sneak, some dirty pauper, some vagabond, went to work to break up the organization of sixty-seven. I will give you a few words from a letter from Mr. Platter, received by the district committee, in order to show you what a low down subterfuge this dirty misbegotten mud-thrower resorted to. Here it is.
“To Committee of Dist. No. 67. Dear Sirs: Complaint comes to us that in Cedar Town-ship your organization embraces so small a portion of your township that a majority of your citizens have no representation. You report to us from only your district, but we judge from the tenor of letters received, you are supposed to act and want to draw appropriations for the whole township. I am sure your neighbors misunderstand. You see and explain to them that you meant no such thing and all work together.”
Good advice, but there is no need of an explanation for no person in Cedar Township thought any such thing. It originated in the lying brain of a miserable liar, who had no business of his own to attend to and had to meddle with somebody else’s business. But enough of that.
The Township Committee, consisting of John Frazee, D. W. Willey, and W. Morgan went to work as men should. District 67 accepted the committee after theirs was annulled, and reported to the township committee for their portion of the hash, and in justice to that committee I will say that there was no discrimination made. They conscientiously distribute all they can get. Yet there are some who grumble. But it is impossible to please everybody, and he who attempts it, will please nobody. Well, Mr. Editor, talk is cheap but it takes money to buy grub.
Since writing the above, I was informed that the township committee have called a meeting for next Saturday night, the 13th, as they are going to resign.
Your correspondent had this letter ready to mail, but decided to wait and see what was done at the meeting.
Since then the committee received about 360 pounds of corn meal and some clothing, which was distributed among the people.
The meeting just spoken of was held at the Day schoolhouse and was well attended. William Callahan was called to the chair and J. W. Belles was appointed secretary of the meeting.
Messrs. Willey and Morgan, of the Committee, were present and tendered their resignations, which were accepted by the people. Sanford Day made a motion that Mr. Frazee be removed from the committee and that there be three new committeemen elected; motion carried.
Mr. Willey was then nominated, but utterly refused to accept. He said he had had all the honors he desired in that line at present.
After considerable filibustering the following gentlemen were elected Committee: Sanford Day, Esq., Mr. Henry Thompson, and Wm. Morgan. I believe there was no fault found with Mr. Frazee, but he had expressed a wish to some of his friends that there would be a reorganization of the township, and that he be released. Respectfully, CHEROKEE.
Winfield Courier, March 18, 1875.
The Commonwealth says: “The name of the relief agent in Cowley County is Platter. The people have about licked him clean.”
Winfield Courier, June 17, 1875.
Rev. Platter drives a new team of grays.
Winfield Courier, July 29, 1875.
Rev. J. H. Roberts preached at the Brane schoolhouse six miles below town last Sunday and Rev. Platter preached to an unusually large audience at the Courthouse at the same hour.
[EXCERPTS FROM LEAVENWORTH TIMES.]
Winfield Courier, September 2, 1875.
Among the improvements going on in Winfield is the building of a Presbyterian Church, creditable to the town. Its dimensions are 40 x 60 feet, with a corner tower 13 feet square. It will be a Gothic structure, with brick walls on a heavy stone foundation, and will cost about $6,000. The pastor, Rev. J. C. Platter, is a young man of fine abilities, a graduate of Princeton, and of most exemplary Christian character, which commends him to every acquaintance. He is wealthy, owning and cultivating several fine farms, and has considerable money loaned out, refusing to take usury. He is married, to the fervent sorrow of the single ladies of his church; for, he is what may be termed, emphatically, a handsome man. With Beecher proclivities, it is hard to tell what woeful disasters might follow in this community. But fortunately, he is not one of that kind.
Winfield Courier, September 2, 1875.
Rev. J. E. Platter will preach a sermon on the Divinity of Christ on next Sabbath morning.
Winfield Courier, October 28, 1875.
Railroad Meeting.
Railroad meeting at the Courthouse Tuesday night, Oct. 26th, 1875.
Meeting called to order for the purpose of discussing the railroad question; organized by electing Dr. Mansfield chairman, and Amos Walton secretary. Col. Alexander stated the object of the meeting to be to work up correspondence with different parties on the railroad question.
Mayor Millington spoke at some length of the necessity of such an enterprise and that action should be taken immediately in order to cooperate with the counties north of us at once. On motion D. A. Millington, J. E. Platter, M. L. Robinson, and J. C. Fuller were appointed as a committee to carry out the intention of said meeting. On motion, adjourned.
W. Q. MANSFIELD, Chairman.
A. WALTON, Secretary.
Winfield Courier, November 18, 1875.
THE RAILROAD MEETING AT ELDORADO.
Last Friday, Nov. 14th, a large and earnest railroad meeting was held at Eldorado. Messrs. Meigs, Channell, McMullen, and Christian, from Arkansas City; Millington and Manning of Winfield, and Holmes and Lee, of Rock Township, were the representatives from Cowley County.
A large turn-out of active men of Butler County were present, and C. V. Eskridge, P. B. Plumb, E. P. Bancroft, and others from Emporia, and Messrs. Danford and Schenk of Osage City, and C. K. Holliday and Lakin, of Topeka, were present.
The meeting organized at 2 p.m. by choosing Neil Wilkie, of Douglass, as chairman. Mr. Bancroft, of Emporia, in a clear and comprehensive manner, presented statistics showing the advantage to the people and company of constructing a narrow gauge railroad in comparison to a wide gauge road.
Gov. Eskridge then spoke at some length demonstrating the ability of the people along the line to build and own a road from Emporia into the Walnut Valley.
Interesting speeches were made by Col. Plumb, D. A. Millington, and others.
Finally the citizens of Butler County present selected eight persons to cooperate with the representatives of Cowley in drafting articles of incorporation for a railroad company. After several hours of conference the two counties by their representatives agreed upon a charter form road beginning at Emporia, and run by the Walnut Valley to the south line of the State below Arkansas City.
The following named gentlemen were chosen directors.
P. B. Plumb, H. C. Cross, and A. A. Baker: Emporia.
J. C. Becker: Chelsie.
T. B. Murdock and A. L. Redden: Eldorado.
E. L. Akin: Augusta.
A. Cox: Walnut City.
Neil Wilkie: Douglass.
J. E. Platter and J. C. Fuller: Winfield.
J. C. McMullen and S. P. Channell: Arkansas City.
The corporation is named the Walnut Valley R. R. Company.
The directors are to meet in Emporia on 23rd inst., to put the enterprise in motion. Of their action, we shall keep our readers posted. If possible, we shall attend the meeting.
Winfield Courier, November 18, 1875.
Union Thanksgiving Service.
There will be Union Thanksgiving service at the M. E. Church house, on Thursday the 25th inst., at 11 o’clock A.M. Discourse by John Blevins. All are invited to attend and participate in giving thanks to the “Giver of every good and perfect gift.”
JOHN BLEVINS,
J. E. PLATTER,
J. C. ADAMS.
[WALNUT VALLEY RAILROAD: FIRST MEETING OF DIRECTORS.]
Winfield Courier, December 2, 1875.
Directors present:
P. B. Plumb, H. C. Cross, A. A. Baker—Lyon County.
A. L. Redden, Neil Wilkie, T. B. Murdock, and J. C. Becker by T. B. Murdock as proxy—Butler County.
J. C. Fuller, S. P. Channell, and J. E. Platter, by E. C. Manning as proxy—Cowley County.
On motion E. C. Manning was chosen chairman and T. B. Murdock secretary of the meeting.
Resolved to construct, equip, and operate a railroad from Emporia and to Arkansas City by Oct. 1, 1877, on most practicable route.
Winfield Courier, December 2, 1875.
In the communion services at the Presbyterian church last Sunday Elder Platter was greatly aided by Rev. S. B. Fleming, pastor of the Presbyterian church of Arkansas City.
Winfield Courier, December 23, 1875.
Elder Platter has a horse-power corn-mill rattling away on his farm nine miles east of town. It knocks 300 bushels of corn into fifty cent meal every day. Viewed from the road, it has the appearance of a mammoth coffee-mill.
Winfield Courier, December 30, 1875.
Some very laughable things occurred at the Christmas tree. First was the children’s voting Mr. Platter out of his speech and then, when Ed. Holloway was presented with a baby and cradle; Baldwin, Pryor & Co. with a jug of “Grange bitters;” and lastly, when Saint received the jumping jack and six babies on a string, three white and three black ones.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, January 6, 1876.
The present population of the city of Winfield is about 800 on an area of 200 acres. It has 221 buildings among which the most prominent are the Courthouse, built in 1873 at a cost of $12,000, of brick with a showy belfry and cupola, probably the best courthouse in Kansas, costing no more than it did. The residence of J. E. Platter ranks next in value but first in beauty, built in 1874 of brick, ornamented cut stone, costing $8,000. The banking house of M. L. Read is a fine brick structure costing $6,000, and the hardware store of S. H. Myton is larger and equally imposing of brick, costing $6,000. The schoolhouse is a substantial stone structure costing $6,000. The residence of Dr. Mansfield, M. L. Read, C. A. Bliss, D. A. Millington, J. P. McMillen, W. G. Graham, W. W. Andrews, S. H. Myton, and many others are good substantial structures and ornaments to the city.
Winfield Courier, Thursday, January 6, 1876.
PRESBYTERIAN.
Of Presbyterian church organizations in the county there are five, viz: One Cumberland Presbyterian church, located on Silver Creek, and ministered to by Rev. Nance. One is a United Presbyterian church and is located at Arkansas City, and was organized by Rev. Mr. Collins, of Lyon County, in the fall of 1872. The other three belong to the Presbyterian church and are located in Winfield, Arkansas City, and one eight miles north of Winfield, known as the Walnut Valley Church. The aggregate membership of the three churches is something over two hundred. Both the Presbyterian and the United Presbyterian churches at Arkansas City have good church buildings, completely furnished and free from debt. The Presbyterian minister who first labored in this county, as far as we can ascertain, was the Rev. A. R. Naylor, who came in the fall of 1872 and remained six months. His first sermon was preached in the Baptist church in Winfield. The Presbyterian church at Winfield was organized January 19th, 1873, and the one in Arkansas City shortly after, by Rev. A. R. Naylor. The Walnut Valley church was organized March 1st, 1874, by Rev. J. E. Platter, who is its present minister, and also has charge of the society at Winfield. At the latter place a large brick church is in process of erection.
Winfield Courier, January 13, 1876.
Under the charge of Revs. Platter and Adams, a revival meeting is in progress in Winfield that excels in interest and results anything ever experienced here. We hope no one will discourage the good work.
Winfield Courier, January 13, 1876.
Commissioners’ Proceedings.
OFFICE OF COUNTY CLERK.
Winfield, Kansas, January 10, 1876.
New Board of County Commissioners met in regular session. Present: R. F. Burden, W. M. Sleeth, and Wm. White.
On motion of W. M. Sleeth, R. F. Burden was elected chairman of the board for the ensuing year.
JANUARY 11, 1876.
Board met as per adjournment. All present.
The following named persons, H. O. Meigs and James E. Platter, were appointed a committee to assist the Probate Judge to count the funds in the County Treasury at the next quarterly statement; and the County Clerk is hereby ordered to notify said persons of their said appointment.
[RAILROAD MEETING: RESIDENTS OF COWLEY COUNTY.]
Winfield Courier, January 27, 1876.
The undersigned, residents of Cowley County, cordially unite in inviting the citizens of said county to meet in mass meeting at Winfield, on Saturday at 2 P. M.,
FEBRUARY 5TH,
to take such action as shall seem advisable upon consultation to secure the construction of a railroad into Cowley County. We desire each paper in said county to publish this call, and we hope that every township will be fully represented at said meeting.
WINFIELD: M. L. Read, S. D. Pryor, N. M. Powers, N. W. Holmes, N. L. Rigby, Thomas McMillen, L. J. Webb, Charles C. Black, J. S. Hunt, W. M. Boyer, John W. Curns, G. S. Manser, B. F. Baldwin, J. H. Land, A. H. Green, W. Q. Mansfield, E. C. Manning, S. H. Myton, J. C. Fuller, A. B. Lemmon, James Kelly, W. H. H. Maris, T. H. Henderson, A. N. Deming, H. S. Silver, J. M. Alexander, Amos Walton, D. A. Millington, J. E. Platter, W. M. Allison, And one hundred others.
[RAILROAD MASS MEETING: WINFIELD.]
Arkansas City Traveler, February 9, 1876.
WINFIELD, February 5, 1876.
Rev. Mr. Platter read a letter from Peabody, asking for delegates to be appointed to attend a meeting there on the 23rd or 27th. A motion of Rev. Platter that the chair appoint delegates was carried, and Rev. J. E. Platter, of Winfield, C. M. Scott, Arkansas City, and Judge Ross, of Rock Township, were appointed delegates.
Winfield Courier, February 10, 1876.
THAT RAILROAD MEETING.
On motion three delegates to the Peabody convention, on the 27th inst., were appointed, to-wit: Rev. J. E. Platter, Judge T. B. Ross, and C. M. Scott.
Winfield Courier, February 10, 1876.
The committee to count the county treasurer’s funds, Judge Gans, J. E. Platter, and H. O. Meigs, performed that duty this week.
EDITORIAL COLUMN.]
Arkansas City Traveler, March 1, 1876.
The Railway Convention.
The Railway Convention held at Peabody, Marion County, Kansas, on the Santa Fe railroad last Wednesday, was largely attended, and every town in the valley from Arkansas City to Junction City on the Kansas Pacific railroad, was represented with the exception of Douglass.
After passing favorable resolutions and appointing several committees, the following delegates were nominated and elected to go before the Directors at St.. Louis to confer with the company, who offer transportation from Topeka: R. C. Haywood and J. E. Platter, of Cowley; G. W. Brown and S. M. Spencer, of Butler; A. G. Richardson, of Harvey; Rev. A. H. Lackey and Frank Doster, of Marion; and Martin Pease and H. Henguernot, of Dickenson. Notice will be given each member of the committee preparatory to starting. After many other matters of minor importance, the meeting adjourned, to meet again on the call of the Chairman and Secretary—Capt. Shannon and John P. Church.
Winfield Courier, April 13, 1876.
Last Saturday was “Arbor Day.” But as the weather clerk paid no respect to the Mayor’s proclamation, it was decided by our citizens, rather than have a “damper” put upon their proceedings, to pay no attention to it themselves. We might say it rained last Saturday, but we have no desire to draw upon your credulity. It didn’t rain; it just “poured down!” The day wasn’t largely observed. The clouds and rain were too opaque for an extended observation. Several of our citizens set out trees. Mr. Lemmon planted twenty—in one hole, Mr. Troup likewise buried about the same number, and Mr. Platter “healed in” a nice lot of maples and poplars. The county officers held a meeting and decided not to adorn the Courthouse grounds until they had some assurance from the county fathers that the public square would be fenced and the trees protected.
[RAILROAD MEETING.]
Arkansas City Traveler, April 19, 1876.
Railroad Meeting.
Last Saturday we had the pleasure of meeting Judge N. B. Cartwell and J. C. Pinney, of Longton, Kansas, and M. S. Manwell, of Greenfield Township, Elk County. They came over to Cowley to work up an interest in, and to organize a local company, for the purpose of securing aid to build a branch of the L. L. & G. railroad from Independence to Arkansas City, via Elk River. After talking with our citizens in a called meeting, of which Major Sleeth was Chairman and Joseph Sherburne, Secretary, a party was invited to attend the meeting at Winfield in the afternoon, where Directors of the local company were elected to meet at Canola, Elk County, today. Rev. Fleming and Wm. Sleeth were selected as Directors, from this place, Rev. Platter and M. L. Robinson of Winfield, and Tisdale and Lazette were to elect one each. There are to be thirteen Directors in all: Six in Cowley, six in Elk, and one in Montgomery. After the meeting held at Canola today, we shall know more of it. The line as proposed, is the one needed most, and would meet with more favor in this county than any other proposed route, as it unites the eastern portion of the county with the west. The L. L. & G. Company gives the assurance that if the road bed is graded and culverts put in, they will iron and operate the road. As is generally known, the above company is bankrupt, but the bondholders of the road give the assurance that with what capital they possess and what can be induced, they will build the line. From present indications Cowley County will lend aid to but one project, and that will be the first practical one submitted to the people.
Winfield Courier, April 20, 1876.
A STEP FORWARD.
Something like business in railroad matters is transpiring to the east of us. A delegation of four citizens from Elk County traversed our county last week in the interest of an east and west road. They had visited parties representing the bondholders of the L. L. & G. railroad, who gave such assurances of aid to the enterprise that the result is we find them at work putting things in shape along the line. On Tuesday of this week a meeting was held at Canola, in Elk County, at which the organization of a local company was perfected. The purpose of this organization is to survey the line, secure the right of way, and procure the voting of local aid to the extent of the law. When the franchises are secured, dirt will fly within 60 days. The road is to start from Independence and run westerly, up the Elk Valley, leaving Elk County in the Greenfield and Canola gap, thence to Winfield, and down the Walnut to Arkansas City.
At the meeting held in Winfield last Saturday to select directors for a local company from this place, Rev. J. E. Platter and M. L. Robinson were chosen to represent this locality in the Canola meeting, and to be put upon the board of directors. Six directors will be located in Cowley, six in Elk, and one in Montgomery County.
Winfield Courier, April 20, 1876.
From the Railroad Meeting.
CANOLA, KANSAS, April 18th, 1876.
EDITOR COURIER: The delegates selected in Cowley County met at this point today with the Elk County men, and a railroad company was organized. L. B. Fleming of Arkansas City was selected as Chairman, and R. C. Story, of Lazette, was made Secretary of the meeting. S. M. Fall, E. P. Young, J. E. Platter, M. L. Robinson, S. B. Fleming, and W. M. Sleeth were the delegates from Cowley County. The title “Parsons, Walnut Valley and Southwestern,” was given the road, and a committee of three was appointed to draft a charter for the same. By vote of the meeting the capital stock was placed $1,500,000 dollars, and shares at fifty dollars each. The road is to be in at Parsons, run west to Independence, thence to Longton, Elk Falls, Greenfield, Lazette, Tisdale, Winfield, and terminate at Arkansas City.
The Elk County delegates speak positively of the willingness of their people to vote bonds for this enterprise.
N. B. Cartmell, J. E. Platter, and L. J. Johnson drafted the charter, which was considered, discussed, and adopted in the evening.
The Board stands as follows: M. L. Robinson and J. E. Platter, Winfield; W. M. Sleeth and S. B. Fleming, Arkansas City; E. P. Young, Tisdale; S. M. Fall, Lazette; A. A. Toby, Canola; H. E. Hitchings, R. R. Roberts, and L. J. Johnson, Elk Falls; J. C. Pinney and N. B. Cartmell, Longton; and Wm. Wright, Elk City, Montgomery County.
The Board adjourned to meet at Tisdale on the 2nd day of May.
If the people of Cowley County want a railroad, now is their opportunity to get one. Quick, vigorous, and unanimous action will place them in such relations with wealthy railroad companies that a road over this line will come speedily. Elk County is alive to its interests in this matter, and success will crown our movement if Cowley County joins hand and heart in it. People of Cowley County, what do you say? X.
[RAILROAD MEETING.]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 3, 1876. Front Page.
Proceedings of a Railroad Meeting Held
At Canola, April, 1876.
The meeting was organized by the election of Mr. Fleming, of Arkansas City, Chairman.
The object of the meeting having been stated, a committee of three was appointed, consisting of N. B. Cartmell and M. S. Manwell, of Elk County, and Mr. Platter, of Cowley, to examine credentials of directors.
On motion, a committee of three was appointed to draft a charter. The committee consisted of N. B. Cartmell, L. J. Johnson, and Mr. Platter.
After careful consideration the charter as reported was adopted and signed by the directors and forwarded to the Secretary of State for record.
The company is to be known as the “Parsons, Walnut Valley & South-Western Railway Company.” The points to be traversed in Elk County are the Townships of Longton, Elk Falls, Wild Cat and Greenfield. The objective points are Arkansas City, via Lazette, Tisdale, and Winfield in Cowley County.
Winfield Courier, May 4, 1876.
Rev. Platter’s family started for the Centennial last Tuesday morning.
Winfield Courier, May 4, 1876.
THE RAILROAD MEETING AT TISDALE.
Last Tuesday the directors of the Parsons’ Walnut Valley & Southwestern railroad company met at Tisdale and elected the following officers: President, J. E. Platter, of Winfield; Vice President, S. B. Fleming, of Arkansas City; Secretary, Mr. Wright, of Elk City, Montgomery County; Treasurer, S. M. Fall, of Lazette. The oath of office was administered to each by Judge Gans except to J. E. Platter, who was not present.
[PARSONS, WALNUT VALLEY & SOUTHWESTERN RAILROAD.]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 10, 1876.
Pursuant to adjournment, the Directors of the above road met at Tisdale on the 2nd inst. All present but Mr. Platter and Mr. Posten. The meeting was called to order by Mr. Fleming, and proceeded to perfect the organization by the election of officers. An informal ballot was taken, after which the following were unanimously elected: President, James E. Platter; Vice President, S. B. Fleming; Secretary, W. D. Wright; Treasurer, S. M. Fall. The officers were then sworn in by Judge Gans, and provision made for procuring the necessary company books. The President, Secretary, and Judge Cartmell were then appointed a committee to visit Kansas City, and interview railroad men in the interest of this road, and report. The local organization is now completed, and ready to accept or make propositions relative to the building and operating of the proposed line.
Winfield Courier, May 11, 1876.
C. C. Harris, O. N. Morris, Rev. J. E. Platter, and several other Winfieldans were in Wichita last Saturday. The six-pavilioned-ten-allied-exhibition, commonly known as a circus, was there the same day.
Arkansas City Traveler, May 17, 1876.
Mrs. Rev. Platter and mother have gone to Philadelphia to spend the summer.
Winfield Courier, June 1, 1876.
Messrs. Platter, Fuller, and Thompson have purchased a header for their extensive wheat fields.
Winfield Courier, June 1, 1876.
Rev. A. H. Croco, a theological student from New York, will occupy Rev. Platter’s pulpit during his trip east.
Winfield Courier, June 22, 1876.
Rev. Platter has gone to Philadelphia.
[KANSAS FARMING NEWS.]
Arkansas City Traveler, June 28, 1876.
Corn in Sumner County is reported growing slowly on account of cold weather.
Rev. Mr. Platter, one of the Winfield city farmers, put his own header into his hundred acre field of fall wheat on the 12th instant.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 9, 1876.
We received a letter from “Scott” last Friday evening, dated Cadiz, Ohio, July 31, stating that he had “done” the Centennial, and was of the opinion that it was “some pumpkins” of a show. Scott met Rev. Platter, J. C. Fuller, and Mr. Hitchcock, of Winfield, in Philadelphia, and saw Col. J. C. McMullen, of this place, in a street car. He also reported the weather cool and delightful.
Winfield Courier, September 14, 1876.
The many friends of Rev. J. E. Platter will be pleased to learn that he will be with them again next Sabbath. He will preach in the courthouse at the regular hours.
Winfield Courier, October 12, 1876.
THAT TIN-WEDDING.
The Social Event of the Season.
Like the gentle dew those little pieces of tin had silently done their work, and on Monday evening at 8 o’clock, Dr. Graham’s beautiful residence was stormed in front and besieged in the rear by the largest party of tin-peddlers ever assembled under an October moon, all loudly clamorous for an immediate entrance.
The Doctor made unconditional surrender, before a gun was fired. What else could he do? The ladies of the party took charge of the kitchen, parlor, and dining-rooms, while the men hung round on the edges and in less than ten minutes the whole house was converted into a modern first-class tin shop. After this animated entree, quiet for a moment was restored, followed by the presents being brought out and subjected to a severe catechizing by Elder Platter and a running cross-fire by the remainder of the enemy, and who, finding that the charges against them were false, and only existing in the imaginations of certain hungry-looking young men that decorated the wall, concluded to release them on the condition that in the future as in the past, the Doctor should build the fires and cut the stove wood, provided always that Mrs. Graham could not be prevailed upon to do it; that he, should promise to keep posted as regards the latest styled bonnet, the latest social “small-talk,” provided that Mrs. Graham did not want to perform that duty herself. These and similar promises were extracted by the inexorable judges, whereupon the minister dexterously encircled them with two glittering rings, pronounced them man and wife for ten years more, amidst a regular round of applause.
Mr. Baldwin then read a poem prepared for the occasion, after which came the presentation of the tin-ware. Capt. McDermott and Dr. Mansfield did the honors in the most amusing manner imaginable. The Doctor’s speech accompanying the presentation of a full set of tin dental tools was highly appreciated. In fact, the speeches of Messrs. Platter, McDermott, and Mansfield were funny, from beginning to end, and could only be appreciated rightly by being heard. We almost wish for space to publish the Elder’s entire marriage ritual used on the occasion. It was the best we ever heard. From this time on we can’t particularize. All we can remember is that about this time supper was announced and following that, in our memory, cold chicken, dust pans, sweet cakes, waiters, graters, egg-beaters, coffee, etc., are so terribly confused and mixed up that we have lived in constant dread, fearing that some hungry individual would mistake us for a lunch counter. Right here we’d like to give the name of every present with the name of the donor. We can’t do it; we are not equal to the task. It’s too big a contract. There were just one hundred and thirteen pieces of tin-ware presented (and more than that many suppers eaten), and that’s all we know about it. We enjoyed ourselves, and if it be found that there was a single person present who did not enjoy him or herself, we insist on having a committee raised to have that person, if it is a him, “shot without benefit of clergy.”
Winfield Courier, December 7, 1876.
Thanksgiving.
This day was quite generally observed by our citizens. There was union service at the Courthouse in the morning which was quite generally attended. In the evening, service was conducted by Rev. Platter at the courthouse and Rev. Rusbridge at the stone church. Several dinners were gotten up for the purpose of entertaining special friends, and we believe nearly everybody in town tasted turkey during the day. The tables of Messrs. Mansfield, Millington, Greenlee, Bedilion, Black, Manning, and many others were spread for many more than the total number, while excellent dinners were served at the hotels and restaurants for regular boarders and their invited guests. There was but little business done in town and our streets wore a Sunday-like appearance.
[CORRESPONDENCE FROM “C”—WINFIELD.]
Arkansas City Traveler, January 3, 1877.
From Winfield.
WINFIELD, KAN., Dec. 23, 1876.
On the evening of the 29th we had a Rail Road meeting at the M. E. Church, which was largely attended by the businessmen of this city, which proceeded as follows. Dr. Davis was chosen chairman and B. F. Baldwin, Secretary. On motion a committee of three was appointed on resolutions, namely M. S. Robinson, E. C. Manning, and Judge McDonald, who reported a set of resolutions in favor of making an earnest effort to secure R. R. communication and recommending the appointment of a committee of five, whose duty it should be to devise some feasible R. R. project and report on or before Feb. 1st, 1877. D. A. Millington, J. E. Platter, M. S. Robinson, Judge McDonald, and J. B. Lynn on said committee, when meeting adjourned to the call of the committee.
Don’t fret the “Wah Hoss’s” but give them peas and let us have a rest. Yours, C.
LATER. Jan. 1st, 1877. Our R. R. committee met this morning and organized by electing J. E. Platter, President, and D. A. Millington, Secretary, and adjourned till this evening. C.
Winfield Courier, January 11, 1877.
Reverends Rusbridge and Platter are holding a series of interesting religious meetings this week at the Courthouse.
Arkansas City Traveler, January 24, 1877.
Messrs. Williams and Rev. Platter will commence the erection of a hotel building on the corner of Main Street and 10th Avenue, as soon as the weather will permit. The building is to be 25 feet wide, 70 feet in length, and two stories in height, to be constructed of brick and stone with cut stone corners. This will be quite an attractive building and a great improvement to South Main street. Telegram.
Arkansas City Traveler, January 24, 1877.
INSTALLATION.
A Committee of the Presbytery of Emporia will meet in the First Presbyterian Church of this place on next Sabbath morning, at half past ten o’clock, to participate in the installation of Rev. S. B. Fleming as Pastor of the Church.
The sermon will be delivered by Rev. Timothy Hill D. D., of Kansas City, Mo. The “Charge to the Pastor” will be delivered by Rev. James E. Platter of Winfield, and the “Charge to the People” by Rev. John P. Harsen, of Wichita.
Winfield Courier, January 25, 1877.
We were happy to meet Mr. Ira McCommon, brother-in-law of Rev. Platter, again upon our streets. He arrived last Monday evening, and expects to remain with us.
Winfield Courier, February 15, 1877.
RAILROAD MEETING.
The taxpayers of Winfield Township are requested to meet at the Courthouse in Winfield on Saturday, February 17th, at 2 o’clock, p.m., to discuss and vote upon the following resolution.
Resolved, That the taxpayers of Winfield Township who are in the meeting assembled, request the members of the State Legislature from this county to use all honorable means to so amend Section 5, of Chapter 107, of the laws of 1876, that counties having no railroad indebtedness may avail themselves of the provisions of that act by a majority vote.
Also, to take such other action to promote the railroad interests of this county as the meeting shall deem advisable.
JAS. E. PLATTER,
D. A. MILLINGTON,
J. WADE McDONALD,
J. B. LYNN.
Members of Railroad Committee.
Winfield Courier, February 22, 1877. Editorial Page.
WHO ARE DISAPPOINTED.
The taxpayers and farmers of Winfield Township are grievously disappointed at the action of Saturday’s meeting. They are no more so than the same class of men all over the county. It is a common cause. That our readers may see that our conclusions are justified, we give the names of the following heaviest taxpayers in town, who were in favor of a change of the law, and who have so expressed themselves: C. A. Bliss, C. C. Black, Dr. W. R. Davis, Col. J. M. Alexander, J. C. Fuller, J. B. Lynn, Dr. W. Q. Mansfield, B. F. Baldwin, D. A. Millington, Rev. J. E. Platter, J. P. Short, S. H. Myton, E. C. Manning, R. Hudson, W. L. Mullen, Wm. Rodgers, Max Shoeb, Ira Moore, J. P. McMillen, J. M. Bair, J. S. Hunt.
Besides these gentlemen there is a large class of smaller taxpayers in town of the same mind. Outside of the city limits four-fifths of the farmers are in favor of a change in the law.
Winfield Courier, February 22, 1877.
A social party will be given by the Presbyterian society at the residence of Rev. J. E. Platter next Tuesday evening, Feb. 27. A general invitation is extended.
Winfield Courier, March 1, 1877.
Rev. Platter preached in Arkansas City last Sunday.
Winfield Courier, March 1, 1877.
The social at the residence of Rev. Platter, given by the ladies of the Presbyterian society on Tuesday evening last, was well attended and was a very pleasant affair. The proceeds, amounting to about $20, were added to the church building fund.
[COMMUNICATION FROM *** AT WINFIELD.]
Arkansas City Traveler, March 14, 1877.
Platter’s and Williams’ building will be pushed as rapidly as possible until completed. W. H. Maris is refitting his store building with a new front, when it will be occupied by T. E. Gilleland’s boot and shoe store. The same gentleman will soon begin to build a stone store building, 25 x 100 feet, on the same block, opposite the Central Hotel. As soon as completed, it will be occupied by J. B. Lynn. Mr. Wm. Newton, from Arkansas City, has opened a harness shop in Mullin’s old stand, where he keeps a full supply of goods in his line. A new store is being opened in Boyle’s old stand by a firm from Council Grove.
Winfield Courier, March 15, 1877.
Programme
Of the Philomathic Society for Friday evening, March 16th, 1877.
1. Music, String Band.
2. Reading Minutes.
3. Election of officers.
4. Vocal Music.
5. Valedictory, F. S. Jennings.
6. Music, String Band.
7. Report of committees.
8. Miscellaneous business.
9. Music, Vocal.
10. Weekly Paper, Misses Dever and Levering.
11. Discussion, Resolved, “That what is, is right.” Affirmative: Messrs. Wood and Wilkinson. Negative: Rev. J. E. Platter and O. M. Seward.
12. Music, String Band.
13. Answers to scientific and historical questions.
14. Report of Committee on Programme.
15. Adjournment.
Music by Prof. Easton’s String Band.
All are invited.
F. S. JENNINGS, President.
O. M. SEWARD, Secretary.
Winfield Courier, March 22, 1877.
The following were the officers elected at the Philomatic society on last Friday evening, for the ensuing term: C. M. Wood, President; M. G. Troup, Vice President; Miss Emma Saint, Secretary; J. M. Bair, Treasurer; W. M. Allison, J. E. Platter, and T. A. Wilkinson, Committee on Programme.
Winfield Courier, March 29, 1877. Editorial Page.
CLEAR THE DECKS!
NAIL DOWN THE HATCHWAYS!!
Prepare for Action!!!
A crisis is upon Cowley County. Danger threatens. Action is necessary. There is no more time for parley. For a long time Cowley has needed a railroad. It is now in condition to secure one or more. But these conditions must not be destroyed.
About two weeks ago gentlemen came to this county from Emporia representing a corporation known as the Kansas City, Emporia & Southwestern railroad company. They said that the company proposed to build a narrow gauge railroad from Emporia to the south line of the State at or near Arkansas City, within eighteen months. That the line would come through Greenwood County and thence west to Augusta, in Butler County, thence south down the Walnut Valley; that Greenwood County would aid the road to the extent of $4,000 county bonds per mile; that the townships in Butler County would do the same; that Cowley would be required to also vote $4,000 in county bonds per mile, and issue the same and deposit them with an agent at New York City before work would commence, and that the amount of bonds to be issued should be governed by the number of miles in the line of survey as made by the company; and further, that in case any lawsuits against the company should delay the progress of the work, the time of the delay should not be counted as part of the time in which the road should be completed. These and many other arbitrary provisions were embraced in the proposition.
The citizens of Winfield and vicinity were consulted by these gentlemen on the question of aiding the road according to the terms, the desire being to submit the proposition at once to a vote of the people. The gentlemen making the proposition were informed that Cowley County did not want to vote aid to their road until it has secured its local aid up to the north line of the county; and further that the county could not afford to give more than $100,000 to a north and south road, because it wanted to stand ready to help an east and west road; and further that the escrow, and other objectionable clauses should be stricken out.
Without coming to any agreement, the gentlemen went to Arkansas City and soon thereafter we find men in every township in the county, from Arkansas City, circulating petitions calling an election on the Emporia proposition without any modifications. All day on Saturday men from the country came to Winfield protesting against the action of the people of Arkansas City in this precipitating such an infamous proposition upon the county.
On Saturday evening the people of Winfield held a public meeting to consider the situation. At that meeting a committee consisting of J. E. Platter, S. C. Smith, W. Q. Mansfield, R. L. Walker, Frank Williams, J. E. Allen. , and E. C. Manning was appointed to pay special attention to the railroad question. That committee held a meeting on Monday and chose S. C. Smith as chairman and J. E. Allen as secretary. After discussing the situation fully and advising with many of our citizens, and also citizens from different parts of the county, and hold several sessions, finally a subcommittee of three—Messrs. Platter, Williams, and Manning—was appointed to go to Arkansas City and endeavor to effect some change in the railroad programme.
On Tuesday that subcommittee, accompanied by other citizens, went to Arkansas City and held a conference with the people there. The committee requested the people of Arkansas City to postpone calling a railroad bond election until the Emporia line, or some other line should secure local aid up to the county line of Cowley. This suggestion was rejected by the Arkansas City people. Then they were asked to agree to a double proposition, voting $100,000 bonds to the north and south road and a like amount to an east and west road, bonds to be delivered when the roads were built, the roads to be constructed within eighteen months. This was rejected. Several other terms, plans, and methods of adjustment and harmony were talked of, but no satisfactory plan could be arrived upon.
It was suggested that the interests of all parts of the county should be considered and that this Emporia proposition had bad clauses in it and that the petitions were being signed without a full understanding of the terms thereof. But no method presented itself whereby the present emergency could be passed without a struggle, and the committee returned home between two and three o’clock in the morning.
Yesterday the committee conversed very generally with the citizens of Winfield and several people from the different parts of the county and in the afternoon held a session and resolved that as the county was likely to be forced into a vote on the question of aiding a railroad at once, hence the Memphis, Parsons & Ellsworth Railroad, Western Branch, company should be called upon to at once present its proposition for the consideration of the voters of Cowley County.
The proper officers of that company will be here this week and submit their plans and resources and purposes to our people and petitions will be put in circulation at once if satisfactory terms can be agreed upon. They are expected on Friday or Saturday. We hope they will be here on Saturday and that as many people as possible from different parts of the county will find it convenient to be here on that day in the hope of seeing and learning all about the east and west road.
[EDITORIAL COLUMNS.]
Arkansas City Traveler, April 3, 1877.
A committee composed of Wm. Allison, Cliff. Wood, Frank Williams, Rev. Platter, E. C. Manning, and Dr. Mansfield from Winfield visited this place Tuesday, March 27, for the purpose of combining an east and west railroad proposition with the Walnut Valley project. A meeting was held in Pearson’s Hall in the afternoon, and a committee of seven elected to meet and confer with them, composed of Amos Walton, James Benedict, Frank Lorry, S. P. Channell, C. R. Mitchell, J. C. McMullen, and C. M. Scott.
The committee from this place agreed to unite the two propositions if they could be voted on at the same time on the same ballot, and if it was not legal to vote for both on the same ballot, then they wanted the Winfield people to vote for the Walnut Valley project first, and our people would give them every reasonable assurance and pledges that they would support the proposition offered, or any definite project from the east.
No positive agreement could be made and the matter was adjourned.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 3, 1877.
Railroad Meeting.
A meeting was held at Pearson’s Hall on Tuesday, March 27th, to consult with a delegation from Winfield on railroad matters. S. P. Channell was elected chairman and I. H. Bonsall, secretary.
Rev. Platter requested Col. Manning to address the meeting, and explain a proposition he had with him for an east and west road; also to inform our citizens of the actions of meetings held at Winfield on railroad matters. He said that Winfield wished to avoid a clash, if possible, and to come to some understanding with this part of the county in regard to railroads. Mr. Millington and himself were sent by the people of Winfield to the eastern part of the State, to see what the prospects were for an east and west line. They went to Fredonia first, and found things too uncertain there to make it worthwhile to wait on the uncertainty; from thence to Parsons, where they found the people holding a conference with Eastern contractors; from there they proceeded to Oswego, and found the situation such as to give no hope of help from that quarter. They then returned to Parsons, and had a full conference with the Parsons men, and found as good prospects for a road from that point as from Emporia.
Col. Manning admitted that a proposition he read for the Parsons road had not been accepted by the railroad company, but that he would make the company accept it.
They returned by the Parsons route proposed, and in their estimation found a good route. The franchise is being worked up as far as the east line of Elk County.
In Elk County the petition had been signed by a sufficient number, but they preferred to change the proposition from township bonds to county bonds, as the recent change in the railroad law made it possible to carry county bonds.
Winfield feels that an election for railroad bonds at this time would be premature, and prefers to wait until the other counties have voted and secured a line to Cowley County.
Rev. Platter thought Col. Manning had given a true version of the case as it now stood, and said that Mr. Hamilton, a civil engineer, wanted Winfield to call an election for the Parsons road. He believed that the present proposition of the Emporia road was such as would not be sustained at all, there being clauses which, in his estimation, could not be changed to suit at all.
He said Winfield wanted an east and west proposition submitted at the same time that the north and south proposition was submitted, and that if Arkansas City wanted a north and south road, she must consent to an east and west road to secure the support of Winfield.
C. M. Scott moved to appoint a committee of seven to confer with the Winfield delega-tion, and see if a compromise could not be agreed upon. After considerable discussion, the motion was seconded, and the following committee appointed: Frank Lorry, of Bolton, Amos Walton, C. R. Mitchell, S. P. Channell, James Benedict, C. M. Scott, and Col. McMullen.
On motion meeting adjourned, to give the committees time to confer.
S. P. CHANNELL, Chairman.
I. H. BONSALL, Secretary.
Winfield Courier, April 5, 1877.
Rev. Platter went to Emporia last Monday. He will be absent from the city one week.
Winfield Courier, April 19, 1877.
Rev. J. E. Platter and Ben Clover visited Elk Falls, in Elk County, as the representatives from Cowley to a railroad meeting this week.
[COMMUNICATION FROM “SAMUEL THOMPSON”—TISDALE.]
Arkansas City Traveler, April 25, 1877. Front Page.
No Parsons Narrow Gauge for Tisdale.
TISDALE, April 16, 1877.
Editor Traveler:
A meeting was held in Tisdale on Saturday, the 14th inst., to take an expression of the people with reference to voting bonds on the Parsons east and west railroad.
With the exception of two individuals, whom we were informed at the time, were promised a station at their doors, the meeting was unanimous against the bonds.
Never were truer remarks penned by man, than those of Rev. Platter, of Winfield, in writing from Philadelphia last summer to the Winfield Courier. He stated that eastern capitalists and railroad companies looked upon the people of Kansas as a people who wished to make their living by their wits, and not by solid industry. So it is at the present time. Some sharpers wish to make a pile by their wits, and not by any honest principle.
As we have no confidence in the company; as we have no certainty that the road would be built even if the bonds were voted, but perhaps bring us into a disagreeable litigation without any return; and as the whole matter seems to be rotten, let us by all means vote it down, and when the time comes to vote bonds for a road, let them at least have a better appearance of value than the present proposition. SAMUEL THOMPSON.
Winfield Courier, April 26, 1877. Editorial Page.
STATEMENT OF THE R. R. COMMITTEE.
The undersigned, a railroad committee chosen by the citizens of Winfield, having learned that certain persons opposed to the projected road from Parsons to Winfield and advocates of a road from Emporia to Arkansas City, via Nennescah, have circulated reports that Messrs. Eskridge and Young, at a conference with the committee holden a few weeks since, offered to so modify their proposition, that county bonds voted in aid of the Emporia road via Winfield should not be issued until a certain part of the road should be built in Cowley County, we positively deny that any such offer has ever been made to us by Messrs. Eskridge, Young, or any other person authorized by them.
They insisted that bonds should be issued and placed in escrow.
We further affirm that this committee never refused to entertain a proposition from the Emporia road, but on the contrary at the very first conference with the representatives of this company, we offered to support $100,000 in county bonds for their road (allowing townships chiefly interested to make up the $20,000 additional), providing the objectionable conditions were withdrawn.
We made this offer in good faith and in no way contingent upon any east and west proposition.
This is much better than the terms they are now pretending to accept from the townships to which they are now making propositions and shows that if bad faith exists anywhere, it is on the part of this company and indicates a deliberate purpose to discriminate against Winfield.
The committee never have withdrawn this offer and the only difference between this committee and the representatives of this road is that we would not give the $20,000 additional and they would not consent to the withdrawal of the escrow and litigation clauses.
Messrs. Eskridge and Young never asked for a public meeting to be held in the interest of this road.
S. C. SMITH.
W. Q. MANSFIELD.
FRANK WILLIAMS.
J. E. ALLEN.
D. A. MILLINGTON, acting for E. C. MANNING.
M. L. ROBINSON, acting for J. E. PLATTER.
[A., T. & S. F. CO. PROPOSITION TO WINFIELD RAILWAY COMMITTEE]
Arkansas City Traveler, May 30, 1877.
The following letter to the Winfield Railway Committee by the President of the A., T. & S. F. Company is what is claimed to be the proposition for a road into this county. Inasmuch as it asks $4,000 per mile in county bonds from Butler County, in place of the $3,000 per mile in township bonds already voted, we do not think Butler County will accept it. And as no depots are specified in Rock and Pleasant Valley Townships, the people thereof will not consider it very favorably. The whole matter rests with El Dorado and the townships of Butler County, and as many of the citizens thereof have already declared their intentions to hold the terminus at the county seat of Butler, we cannot expect much from the present enterprise.
Copy of the Letter.
TOPEKA, May 18, 1877.
Messrs. A. A. Jackson, J. E. Platter, A. B. Lemmon, Committee:
GENTLEMEN: Referring to our conversation this morning, I will say that if you can induce Butler and Cowley counties to cooperate in the following plan, we will build immediately to Winfield, and later to the State line. The conditions are as follows:
The road to be built under the existing charter of the A., T. & S. F. R. R. Co., or under the general law, as we may prefer. Butler County to grant bonds to the extent of $4,000 per mile, instead of the township bonds hitherto voted in said county, amounting to $60,000. Said bonds to run twenty years, to bear interest at the rate of eight percent, and the bonds and coupons to be receivable in payment of all taxes. Cowley County to grant bonds to the extent of $4,000 per mile, similar in character to the above. Said bonds to be delivered to the railroad company in each county, in sections of not less than five miles, as soon as said sections are completed. The railroad company to receive right of way and depot grounds free of charge. The railroad is to be left free to establish its depots wherever in its opinion the business calls for them. The road to Winfield to be finished inside of eight months, and that to Arkansas City inside of eighteen months. We propose to finish to Winfield in time for this year’s crops, but cannot run the risk of losing the bonds in case we are impeded by strikes, or other unforeseen accidents. But we will agree, in case we are behindhand in finishing the road to Winfield, to pay any forfeit named by you for each week of delay, provided you now agree to pay us the same forfeit for each week in case we finish it ahead of the time agreed, and we will make the same agreement regarding Arkansas City.
You understand that this requires the assent of the townships in Butler County that have voted us bonds, as we do not propose to change our bargain with them without their consent.
Very truly yours, THOS. NICKERSON, President.
Winfield Courier, May 31, 1877.
Mrs. Houston, mother of Rev. J. E. Platter, who has for some months been visiting in the eastern States, returned last Friday evening. She was accompanied by Mr. Cooper, a brother-in-law of Mr. Platter, and his wife and daughter, of Cincinnati, Ohio.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 6, 1877.
A charter has been granted to the Elk Valley and Western Railroad Company. Place of business, Montgomery, Elk, and Cowley counties. Directors: M. D. Henry, J. C. Jocelyn, W. W. Woodring, Emery J. Sweet, Geo. B. Dusinberrie, M. S. Manswell, B. H. Clover, Jas. E. Platter, and S. B. Fleming.
Winfield Courier, June 28, 1877.
J. E. Platter, of this place, represented Cowley County in the great narrow gauge convention at St. Louis on Wednesday. He will do Cowley County credit, and a better man could not have been sent.
Winfield Courier, July 19, 1877.
Addresses, upon topics of special and general interest, will be given by Rev. Rusbridge, Fleming, Platter, Wingar, and by D. A. Millington on the 13th of August. Doctor C. E. Pomeroy, President of the Emporia Normal School, will address the teachers and citizens. An examination of teachers on the 30th and 31st will close the labors of the Normal.
[ITEM FROM THE TELEGRAM.]
Arkansas City Traveler, July 25, 1877.
BORN. On Thursday, July 12th, 1877, to Mr. and Mrs. J. E. Platter, a son.
[THE NORMAL INSTITUTE FOR COWLEY COUNTY.]
Arkansas City Traveler, July 25, 1877.
The Normal Institute for Cowley County will open Wednesday, August 1st, in Winfield. Prof. L. B. Kellogg, of Emporia, will conduct the exercises, assisted by Bro. W. Robinson, of Winfield, Miss Ella Wickersham, of Tisdale, and R. C. Story, County Superintendent. G. H. Buckman, of Winfield, will give special instruction in vocal music.
The following gentlemen will address the teachers and citizens upon subjects of interest: Rev. Mr. Fleming, August 3; Rev. Mr. Rusbridge, August 10; Dr. C. E. Pomeroy, August 13; Rev. Mr. Platter, August 17; Mr. D. A. Millington, August 25.
An address is expected from Rev. J. J. Wingar, should he return from the west before the close of the month.
Parties attending the normal will be charged a tuition fee of one dollar. Applicants for certificates will be examined August 30 and 31, fee one dollar.
Winfield Courier, August 16, 1877.
The annual meeting of school district No. 1 was, we hear, rather slimly attended. Rev. J. E. Platter was elected director for the ensuing term. A tax of 13 mills was levied for school purposes for the present year. The number of children in the district of school age is 345. During the last year $700.12 has been paid out in excess of amount in treasurer’s hands, the same drawing an interest of $57.71. The sum paid to teachers was $1,800.00. For the present year one teacher gets $90, one $45, and two $40 each, a month.
Arkansas City Traveler, August 22, 1877.
The following named ministers were present, and took part in the dedication of the M. E. Church building, on Sabbath, at Winfield: Revs. Dr. Pomeroy, A. H. Walter—P. E.; H. J. Walker, Wellington; J. W. Stewart, Oxford; W. H. McCarney, Dexter; J. W. Long, Tisdale; J. P. Harsen, and Jno. Kirby, Wichita; J. E. Platter and P. Lahr, Winfield; J. E. Fox, Hutchinson; C. C. McCabe, D. D.; B. C. Swarts, Arkansas City; E. Nance, Maple City.
Telegram.
Winfield Courier, September 13, 1877.
The Normal Institute.
In addition to the regular exercises, a course of lectures was given by some of the most eminent men of the State and county on moral, educational, and scientific subjects. These lectures were well attended and very highly appreciated. Dr. Pomeroy, Prof. Kellogg, D. A. Millington, Esq., Rev. J. E. Platter, Rev. J. L. Rusbridge, and Rev. C. J. Adams filled the different appointments in this course.
Arkansas City Traveler, September 19, 1877.
The dedication of the Presbyterian Church at Winfield, Kansas, will take place Sunday, September 23rd, 1877. Services: 10:30 a.m. Sermon by Rev. F. S. McCabe, D. D., of Topeka. 10:30 a.m., dedication. 2:30 p.m. Conference, subject, “The Church.” Short addresses by ministers present. 7:30 p.m. praise meeting. All are cordially invited to attend. By order of session. JAS. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
Winfield Courier, September 27, 1877.
Rev. J. E. Platter.
Rev. Dr. McCabe, in his preliminary remarks Sunday morning, paid a well merited compliment to the Rev. J. E. Platter, of this place, and added that he had it in his heart to say much more that might be too unseemly praise to be spoken in the presence of the subject of his commendation. We have it in our heart to say even more than all that the Rev. Dr. could have had to suppress. When Mr. Platter first came to Winfield four years ago we said: “What can that good looking boy do?” We were told that he was rich as well as good looking. We answered, “So much the worse; wealth will spoil any young man in his situation.” But the young man has since labored among us pleasantly, earnestly, successfully. He found his church with scarcely more than a name, he has made it a great power for good. We owe it largely to his persistent energy and his means that we have the finest church building in Southern Kansas. He has made other valuable material improvements in our city and county, has labored with us in promoting our railroad and other enterprises for the general good, he has entered into our social life with his genial spirits, his ready wit, and his large fund of general information, he has become a leading preacher and lecturer, and is now honored, respected, and loved, not only by his own church but by all his acquaintances. May the bright promise of his early manhood be abundantly realized in his after life.
Winfield Courier, September 27, 1877.
Dedication.
The dedication of the new Presbyterian Church on last Sunday was an occasion of great interest. The house was furnished with beautiful and substantial seats, the rostrum with desk and chairs of the most beautiful and appropriate style, and the aisles with carpets. Greenhouse plants and flowers and trailing vines arranged with taste added greatly to the enchantment of the scene. A large Oleander in full blossom was perhaps the most striking feature. There was a full choir, whose performance was excellent. About six hundred persons were seated comfortably and enjoyed the pleasing solemnity of the exercises. The statement of the board of trustees showed that the house had cost about eight thousand dollars, which was all paid up except about twenty-seven hundred dollars, and that some two hundred dollars more than that amount is pledged by citizens, the largest portion of which is immediately due and the balance due in six and twelve months, so the house may be considered as practically out of debt.
The exercises were conducted in a pleasing and impressive manner. The occasional sermon was delivered by the Rev. Dr. F. S. McCabe, of Topeka, which was listened to with marked attention. Rev. Berry, Rev. J. L. Rusbridge, Rev. C. J. Adams, Rev. E. P. Hickock, Rev. S. B. Fleming, of Arkansas City, Rev. J. C. Hill, of Michigan, and Rev. Patton, of Wellington, took part in the exercises of the day. Rev. J. E. Platter conducted the services in his usual graceful manner.
In the afternoon was held a conference meeting in which several clergymen delivered short addresses, and in the evening a sermon was delivered by Rev. J. C. Hill.
Winfield Courier, November 8, 1877.
The Presbyterian Sunday school is fully organized. Last Friday evening officers were elected as follows: Rev. J. E. Platter, superintendent; Henry E. Asp, assistant; G. S. Manser, secretary; T. B. Myers, librarian; Miss Mary Bryant, treasurer; J. D. Pryor, chorister; Mary Bryant, organist; Mrs. Earnest, assistant. The school meets regularly every Sabbath at 3 o’clock p.m.
Winfield Courier, November 15, 1877.
Union Thanksgiving services will be held in the Methodist Church on Thursday, Nov. 29th, at 11 a.m. Discourse by J. L. Rusbridge. All are cordially invited to take part in these services and thus acknowledge the blessings that have come to us from our Father.
J. E. PLATTER.
J. L. Rusbridge.
Winfield Courier, November 22, 1877.
Union Thanksgiving services will be held in the Methodist Church on Thursday, Nov. 29th, at 11 a.m. Discourse by J. L. Rusbridge. All are cordially invited to take part in these services and thus acknowledge the blessings that have come to us from our Father.
J. E. PLATTER, J. L. Rusbridge.
Winfield Courier, September 27, 1877.
Rev. J. E. Platter.
Rev. J. E. Platter. Rev. Dr. McCabe, in his preliminary remarks Sunday morning, paid a well merited compliment to the Rev. J. E. Platter, of this place, and added that he had it in his heart to say much more that might be too unseemly praise to be spoken in the presence of the subject of his commendation. We have it in our heart to say even more than all that the Rev. Dr. could have had to suppress. When Mr. Platter first came to Winfield four years ago we said: “What can that good looking boy do?” We were told that he was rich as well as good looking. We answered, “So much the worse; wealth will spoil any young man in his situation.” But the young man has since labored among us pleasantly, earnestly, successfully. He found his church with scarcely more than a name; he has made it a great power for good. We owe it largely to his persistent energy and his means that we have the finest church building in Southern Kansas. He has made other valuable material improvements in our city and county, has labored with us in promoting our railroad and other enterprises for the general good, he has entered into our social life with his genial spirits, his ready wit, and his large fund of general information, he has become a leading preacher and lecturer, and is now honored, respected, and loved, not only by his own church but by all his acquaintances. May the bright promise of his early manhood be abundantly realized in his after life.
Winfield Courier, January 17, 1878.
Rev. Mr. Platter will preach next Sunday morning on “Future Punishment.”
Winfield Courier, January 31, 1878.
The Murphy Temperance movement will be inaugurated at the M. E. church on Friday evening of this week. Addresses by Revs. Platter, Rusbridge, and others. Let all friends of temperance rally.
Winfield Courier, February 21, 1878.
DIED. A very large concourse of people assembled at the residence of the Rev. J. E. Platter, last Monday, to attend the funeral of his infant child. The services were conducted by Rev. Rusbridge.
Arkansas City Traveler, February 27, 1878.
FROM WINFIELD.
DIED. On the 17th inst., an infant child of J. E. Platter. Aged six months.
Arkansas City Traveler, March 6, 1878.
DEXTER ITEMS.
Wheat in the vicinity of Dexter has never looked more promising than it does at this time.
The stone mill commenced grinding again last Monday week, under the supervision of Mr. Samuel Nicholson, who has rented it of Mr. Platter of Winfield.
Winfield Courier, March 7, 1878.
The quarterly communion service of the Presbyterian Church will be held next Sunday morning, at which time the sacrament of baptism will be administered and new members enter into covenant with the church. Preaching on Friday evening and on Saturday afternoon at 2:30. J. E. PLATTER, Pastor.
Winfield Courier, March 14, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter will address his congregation next Sabbath morning on the subject, “After Conversion, What?”
Winfield Courier, March 14, 1878.
There were seventy-five persons received into the Presbyterian Church last Sunday, sixty-four by profession and eleven by letter.
Winfield Courier, March 28, 1878.
WEST BOLTON.
The silver bill has passed, the bridge bonds carried, and the country is saved. The wheat continues to grow all the same, and the peach trees have donned the full “bloomer” costume.
We are either to have an early spring, or we agree with the Dutchman that even nature “can’t most always sometimes tell.”
Rev. Platter, of your place, has a fine farm in the edge of Sumner (240 acres) which is nearly all covered with a crop of very promising wheat. RUDY.
Arkansas City Traveler, April 10, 1878.
REV. J. C. SHEPARD, of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church of Brooklyn, Mo., will preach in the First Presbyterian Church next Sabbath morning. Rev. S. B. Fleming goes to Winfield to participate in the installation of Rev. Platter as pastor of the church in that place. A Sabbath school concert will be given next Sabbath evening by the scholars of the First Presbyterian Sunday School.
Winfield Courier, April 11, 1878.
On next Sabbath morning, April 14th, Rev. J. E. Platter will be installed as pastor of the Presbyterian Church by the committee of the Presbytery of Emporia at its late meeting in Eldorado. Mr. Platter has served the church for nearly five years, but not until last fall after the completion of the church building was he formally called by the congregation to the office of pastor.
Rev. W. W. Curtis, of Osage City, will preach the sermon.
Rev. A. E. Garrison, of Newton, will deliver the charge to the people.
Rev. S. B. Fleming, of Arkansas City, will deliver the charge to the pastor.
Praise meeting in the evening with short addresses from the ministers present.
Winfield Courier, April 18, 1878.
Installation.
The exercises at the installation of Rev. J. E. Platter as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Winfield last Sunday, were exceedingly interesting. The house was decorated with flowers, a floral anchor at the foot of the desk being a prominent feature. The house was filled to overflowing by a pleased and interested audience. The music from the orchestra was excellent and inspiring. The ceremonies were conducted by the Rev. A. M. Mann, of Belle Plaine, assisted by Rev. Curtis, of Osage City; Rev. Garrison, of Newton; Rev. Fleming, of Arkansas City; Rev. Berry, Rev. Randall, and Rev. Rusbridge. The occasional sermon delivered by Mr. Curtis was historically and geographically instructive, elegant in diction and pleasing to the imagination. The charge to the pastor delivered by Mr. Fleming and that to the church by Mr. Garrison were both excellent.
We feel scarcely less gratification than the most enthusiastic Presbyterian, that this church now so strong and well organized, with a church edifice so capacious, beautiful and pleasant, is favored with a pastor so industrious, estimable, and talented, so loved and honored, so valuable to this whole community as the Rev. J. E. Platter.
Winfield Courier, April 18, 1878.
Cowley County Fair.
A public meeting will be held at the courthouse in Winfield on the 11th day of May, 1878, at 2 o’clock p.m., for the purpose of organizing an agricultural society, and to take into consideration the propriety of holding a Fair during the coming fall. All are invited to attend, and it is hoped that all interests appropriately connected with the enterprise will be represented.
J. E. Platter, B. B. Vandeventer, J. B. Lynn, T. B. Bryan, C. A. Bliss, E. P. Kinne, H. D. Gans, E. E. Bacon, Winfield; J. B. Holmes, W. White, W. J. Funk, Rock; S. M. Fall, R. F. Burden, Windsor; N. J. Larkin, A. Kelly, Richland; Charles A. McClung, J. S. Wooley, Vernon; Dr. Holland, G. Teeter, Beaver; W. B. Norman, Adam Walck, Maple; Dr. A. S. Capper, Ninnescah; Ira How, Liberty; Wm. J. Hodges, C. G. Handy, Tisdale; J. B. Callison, Spring Creek; D. W. Wiley, Cedar; E. Shriver, Sheridan; Jonas Messenger, Omnia; J. A. Bryan, Dexter; R. Stratton, Harvey; S. B. Adams, Creswell; J. M. Sample, D. P. Marshall, Bolton; G. W. Herbert, Silverdale; D. B. McCollum, S. Watt, Pleasant Valley.
Arkansas City Traveler, May 1, 1878.
Cowley County Fair.
A public meeting will be held at the courthouse in Winfield on the 11th day of May, 1878, at 2 p.m., for the purpose of organizing an agricultural society, and to take into consideration the propriety of holding a fair during the coming fall. All are invited to attend, and it is hoped that all interests appropriately connected with the enterprise will be represented.
J. E. Platter, B. B. Vandeventer, J. B. Lynn, T. R. Bryan, C. A. Bliss, E. P. Kinne, H. D. Gans, E. E. Bacon, Winfield; J. B. Holmes, W. White, W. J. Funk, Rock; S. M. Fall, R. F. Burden, Windsor; N. J. Larkin, A. Kelly, Richland; Chas. A. McClung, J. S. Wooley, Vernon; W. B. Norman, Adam Walck, Maple; Dr. A. S. Capper, Ninnescah; Ira How, Liberty; William J. Hodges, C. G. Handy, Tisdale; J. B. Callison, Spring Creek; D. W. Wiley, Cedar; E. Shriver, Sheridan; Jonas Messenger, Omnia; J. A. Bryan, Dexter; R. Stratton, Harvey; S. B. Adams, Creswell; S. M. Sample, D. P. Marshall, Bolton; G. W. Herbert, Silverdale; D. B. McCollum, S. Watt, Pleasant Valley. Courier.
Winfield Courier, May 30, 1878.
SALT CITY, KANSAS, May 22, 1878.
Some new arrivals in the vicinity and improving is being done by some of the old settlers. Rev. Platter of your place is putting up a new house on his farm. He has dug a well and indications are that business will be done on scientific principles. Mr. Berkey has moved into his new residence. Mrs. Donohue is now erecting a new residence on her place west of the town. RUBY.
Winfield Courier, June 20, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter returned from the East last Thursday. He visited Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and other cities. He says the apprehension of trouble and bloodshed from the communists in the large cities is general and deep, that the arsenals have been double guarded, and other precautions are being taken.
In comparing our taxes with those of some other places East, he thinks we have reason to be thankful that ours are not worse. He mentions one case of about $12,000 taxes on certain city property. The property taxed was sold for the taxes and not bringing the whole amount, an attempt was made to sell the owner’s other property in the country to pay the balance of the tax on the city property.
Mr. Platter attended the Presbyterian General Assembly at Pittsburgh as a member and delegate. The proceedings were such as are usual of such meetings, little of which would be of interest to the general reader. The Rev. John Miller, a great scholar and profound thinker of wonderful powers of conversation and debate, was tried for heresy, he having written and stated that Christ had a sinful nature and was not divine, and that the soul of man could not exist separate from the body. He was expelled from the ministry. . . .
Winfield Courier, July 11, 1878.
Real Estate Transfers.
J. E. Platter and wife to H. Bahntge, lot 1, block 110, Winfield, $1,000.
Winfield Courier, July 18, 1878.
Rev. Mr. Platter, Judge Coldwell, and Hon. A. B. Lemmon will lecture to the teachers during the session of the Normal.
Winfield Courier, July 18, 1878.
UNION SERVICE. Rev. J. E. Platter will preach in the M. E. Church next Sunday evening.
Winfield Courier, August 1, 1878.
Miss McCommon, of Chillicothe, Ohio, sister of Mrs. J. E. Platter, is visiting in the city. She expects to remain for several months.
Winfield Courier, August 8, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter is about to build an addition to his house.
Winfield Courier, August 8, 1878.
The Ladies’ Society of the Presbyterian Church will give a Lawn Festival at the residence of Rev. Platter on next Tuesday evening, August 13th. They will serve ice cream and all the delicacies of the season, and will endeavor to make it an enjoyable occasion to all who may favor them with their presence.
Winfield Courier, August 15, 1878.
The lawn social at Rev. J. E. Platter’s Tuesday night was a complete success. The evening was bright and cool, the grounds were ornamented by Chinese lanterns hanging on the trees, the ice cream was excellent, and a crowd of people highly enjoyed the occasion.
Winfield Courier, August 29, 1878.
Real Estate Transfers.
J. E. Platter and wife to Frank Williams, half 12, block 129, Winfield; $3,000.
Winfield Courier, September 5, 1878. School Items on Back Page.
COURSE OF STUDY.
WINFIELD PUBLIC SCHOOL,
WINFIELD, COWLEY COUNTY, KANSAS.
BY GEO. W. ROBINSON, PRINCIPAL.
SCHOOL BOARD.
James E. Platter: Director.
E. P. Kinne: Treasurer.
John D. Pryor: Clerk.
Winfield Courier, September 12, 1878. Editorial Page.
THE BURLINGTON ROAD.
The magnates of the Kansas City, Burlington & Santa Fe railroad arrived sooner than was expected. They came in on Wednesday evening of last week. The party consisted of Mr. Joseph P. Hale, capitalist of New York, Gen. Wm. H. Schofield, of Burlington, president of the road, James Hueston, engineer, and Orson Kent, treasurer. Messrs. Schofield and Kent were accompanied by their wives. The next morning the citizens of Winfield procured teams and took the gentlemen of the party and the gentlemen from Sedan out to several surrounding elevations to view the broad and beautiful valleys of the Walnut and Arkansas. The citizens then met in Manning’s new building, chose R. F. Burden, chairman, and W. M. Allison, Secretary, and were addressed at length by Gen. Schofield. He recounted the many difficulties that he had encountered and overcome in his struggles to build the road, succeeding in completing and putting in operation 44 miles and putting the company in such a condition in which it can now move the work along rapidly. He said they had now arrived at a point that they could promise to build the road to us within a reasonable short time if we shall secure to them the necessary aid, and desired an expression from our citizens.
E. C. Manning, J. E. Platter, D. A. Millington, S. P. Strong, C. Coldwell, J. B. Holmes, and A. B. Lemmon being called upon made short addresses, and the meeting appointed a committee of nine persons consisting of R. F. Burden, of Windsor, E. C. Manning, J. E. Platter, D. A. Millington, of Winfield, S. P. Strong, of Rock, C. R. Mitchell, of Arkansas City, O. P. Darst, of Dexter, W. A. Metcalf, of Cedar, and C. W. Roseberry, of Beaver, to confer with the officers of the railroad in relation to the terms which will be required of this county to secure the building of the road. The meeting adjourned, and committee met and organized by the election of D. A. Millington, chairman, and J. E. Platter, secretary. Gen. Schofield promises to return here within two weeks ready to submit a proposition and will notify the chairman of the committee of the exact time a few days beforehand, when the chairman will notify the balance of the committee by postal card. The distinguished visitors left in the afternoon to return; Messrs. Hale, Schofield, and Hueston went with Mr. Lemmon via Wichita. Anything further that may be developed in relation to this road will be given to our readers as early as possible. We need a railroad and want this if we can get it on reasonable terms in a reasonably short time.
Winfield Courier, September 19, 1878.
BURLINGTON ROAD.
Gen. W. H. Schofield, president of the Kansas City, Burlington & Santa Fe railroad, with Major Orson Kent, treasurer, Major Gunn, engineer, and Hon. T. L. Davis, attorney of Eureka, were in town Tuesday and in conferences with R. F. Burden, E. C. Manning, Rev. J. E. Platter, and D. A. Millington, members of the committee appointed to confer with them in relation to building their road into and through Cowley County.
Gen. Schofield says that the money is now secured to build the road as fast as men and money can rush it along; that the aid required from Greenwood County will soon be forthcoming, and that they will be able in all probability to be running trains to Winfield before the first of September next if Cowley County responds with the required aid; that the company desires to build in a direct line from Burlington via Eureka to Winfield and thence to the state line either at Arkansas City or Caldwell with a view of eventually running through the Indian Territory, and that a million of dollars is ready to invest in the stock and mortgage bonds of the road and in the municipal bonds that may be obtained along the line. He requires that this county soon call an election and vote his company bonds to the amount of $4,000 a mile to be exchanged for the capital stock of the road and that the bonds be executed and placed in escrow with the State treasurer to be forfeited, canceled, and returned if the road fails to be in operation to Winfield by Jan. 15, 1880, thus giving them six months to cover unexpected contingencies.
The committee insisted upon several modifications to the proposition to make it similar to those carried last year for the Parsons and Emporia roads, and that Cowley should not vote until the franchises were secured or the road under contract up to our county line. Some slight concessions were made, but after discussing the subject in its various bearings without coming to an agreement, the gentlemen of the railroad departed to visit Wellington but promising to call for another conference on their return Wednesday evening, where the questions at issue will be further discussed. As we go to press Wednesday we shall not be able to report the result this week.
Winfield Courier, November 7, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter and lady returned from the State Sunday School Convention last week.
Winfield Courier, November 14, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter was quite ill Monday, but has since been improving.
Arkansas City Traveler, November 20, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter, of Winfield, has been quite sick. His many friends here hope for his quick recovery.
Winfield Courier, November 28, 1878.
Rev. J. E. Platter has recovered sufficiently to be out.
Winfield Courier, November 28, 1878.
Mrs. Emily Houston returned from Ohio last Saturday. We suppose the illness of her son, Mr. Platter, hastened her return.
Winfield Courier, January 2, 1879.
Presbyterian Church.
Rev. J. E. Platter, Pastor. Services every Sabbath at 11 a.m. and 7 ½ p.m. Sabbath School at 3 p.m.
Winfield Courier, February 13, 1879.
SALT CITY, KS., Feb. 11, 1879.
Mr. McCommon, brother-in-law of Mr. Platter, has arrived and will succeed Mr. Thompson in command of the Platter farm.
Winfield Courier, March 20, 1879.
The Presbyterian Synod of Kansas has appointed a committee and is taking steps toward locating a Presbyterian college somewhere within the limits of the Synod. Emporia has offered $10,000 toward having it located at that place, and Salina proposes to give $15,000.
Rev. J. E. Platter, who is one of the committee, has offered to donate 20 acres of land adjoining Winfield toward having the college located at this place, and we understand that an effort will be made to get additional subscriptions. With the building of the A. T. & S. F. from the north, the L. L. & G. from the east, and the Mo. Pacific from the northeast, Winfield would be a desirable point for the location of such an institution. Would it not be well to work this matter up?
Winfield Courier, Thursday, May 22, 1879.
Cowley, Sumner & Ft. Smith Railroad Company—Directors: C. C. Burr, Boston, President; W. B. Strong, Vice President and General Manager; Thos. Nickerson, L. T. Burr, G. A. Nickerson, Boston; J. R. Mulvane, Ross Burns, Topeka; G. A. Hamilton, of Belle Plaine, Jas. E. Platter, Winfield, L. K. Myers, Wellington, C. K. Holiday, Topeka; G. L. Goodwin, Treasurer and Assistant Secretary; E. Wilder, Secretary and Assistant Treasurer.
Winfield Courier, May 22, 1879.
The many friends of Mr. and Mrs. Platter planned and executed a neat little surprise on last Monday evening, the occasion being the ninth anniversary of their marriage. The party met at the residence of Mrs. Dr. Black and proceeded en masse to the residence of Rev. Mr. Platter, where, it is needless to say, the company were made to feel entirely at home.
Winfield Courier, January 1, 1880.
NEW YEAR RECEPTIONS.
Mrs. J. E. Platter, on Fuller street, between 9th and 10th streets., assisted by Miss Nettie McCoy.
Winfield Courier, January 22, 1880.
We have observed the Rev. J. E. Platter has been keeping hotel at his residence for a long time, but did not know he liked the business. But it seems he does, for he has bought the Occidental, of Wichita, for $6,000; a hotel which cost four or five times that amount of money.
Winfield Courier, July 15, 1880.
On Sabbath, July 25th, the Walnut Valley Presbyterian church will be dedicated. The new church is located ten miles north of Winfield, and on the Winfield and Eldorado stage route.
The dedicatory sermon will be preached in the morning at 11 o’clock, by the Rev. J. E. Platter, of Winfield.
At night, the Rev. Timothy Hill D. D., of Kansas City, will deliver an address.
Winfield Courier, June 16, 1881.
Rev. J. E. Platter and his mother, Mrs. Emily Houston, received a telegram last Monday from Cincinnati announcing that her brother, Dr. James Taylor, had died suddenly. Mrs. Houston started at once for Cincinnati on the 3:25 train, but Mr. Platter was absent at the scene of the Floral cyclone and did not return until the train had left.
Winfield Courier, August 25, 1881.
Rev. Archie B. Lawyer, with his wife and baby, a wife of Chief Joseph, and three members of the session of Rev. Lawyer’s church, all full blood Nez Perce Indians, were visiting in Winfield yesterday and were chaperoned by Rev. J. E. Platter. We were surprised at the fine, good looks, cleanliness, and excellent apparel of each of these Indians. They are quite well educated and appear well educated. Rev. Lawyer is thoroughly educated and quite a talented preacher among them.
Cowley County Courant, December 1, 1881.
CHARTER FILED.
The following charter was filed yesterday in the office of the secretary of State: “Winfield Building and Loan Association,” capital stock $200,000.
Board of Directors for the first year: J. E. Platter, R. E. Wallis, H. G. Fuller, J. F. McMullen, E. P. Greer, A. D. Hendricks, J. W. Connor, A. B. Steinberger, C. A. Bliss, J. A. McGuire, and I. W. Randall. Commonwealth.
Cowley County Courant, December 22, 1881.
We note the arrival of Mr. J. O. Taylor and family, who have rented the Read property on Elm Row, with the view of locating permanently. Mr. Taylor is a cousin of Rev. J. E. Platter.
Cowley County Courant, March 23, 1882.
The Wichita Times, speaking of one of Winfield’s popular preachers and one who has, perhaps, more admired than any other one man in Southern Kansas, says: “Rev. Platter of the Presbyterian Church in Winfield has been in our city a week assisting in a series of meetings at the Presbyterian Church. Rev. Platter is a man not over thirty or thirty-five years of age. This we guess. Yet it is hard to guess at his age as he is a well preserved man in the prime of manhood. Handsome, jet black hair and mustache, full chest, straight as an Indian, and of a commanding appearance. He would make a splendid looking Knight Templar in uniform. As a speaker, he has a mellow voice and an easy delivery. But there is a feeling all the while as if he were not doing his best. It seems as if there was a reserve force that he hesitates about calling into line. He does not let his voice out, does not put as much oratorical power into his sermons as there is in the man. In a word, Platter’s sermons are not a full expression of the man. There is a much more powerful sermon left unsaid than is ever spoken out to the people. We judge that sometime in the past somebody has drilled too much caution into the preacher. He wants to loosen up the brakes, and let the train move along. Let the people hear that sermon that you always keep back behind your large bump of cautiousness. Now, in that criticism we do not mean to say that Platter is not a powerful preacher; on the contrary, he is as pleasant and instructive a preacher as we have heard for many a day. There are no poor preachers in the Presbyterian Church.”
Arkansas City Traveler, April 26, 1882. Editorial Page.
NEZ PERCE.
The Courier job office has printed a “Memorial to the President of the United States, from the Synod of Kansas of the Presbyterian church, asking for the restoration of the Nez Perce Indians to their home in Idaho Territory.”
This memorial was prepared by a committee appointed for that purpose by the Synod, consisting of Rev. James E. Platter, Rev. Samuel B. Fleming, and Rev. J. Wilson, and is as well written and as neatly printed as any pamphlet we ever saw.
It covers the whole ground and shows from public documents and the reports and statements of officers of the army and Indian department that by the treaty of 1852 the Nez Perce were entitled to that territory in Idaho, which they considered their ancestral home; that the whites came to want to occupy their territory for speculative and other purposes, and that the treaty of 1866 was proposed, which would remove them to a reservation; that a portion of the tribe known as Joseph’s band refused to sign the treaty ceding their portion of the territory to the United States, but remained thereon, as they had the right to do; that the unjust attempt to drive them from this land brought on what was known as Chief Joseph’s war; that they fought bravely and finally surrendered under the stipulation that they should be sent back to Idaho; that instead thereof they were sent to the Indian Territory, and that sickness, caused by the change of climate, has reduced their number from 950 to 320; that now they are entirely supported by the Government, while in Idaho they were, and the rest of the tribe are, self-supporting; that they have only the longing desire to return to their old home; that the Nez Perce have always been loyal and peaceable and are very far superior to most of the Indians in morals and intelligence. In conclusion, it makes a most powerful and convincing appeal on their behalf and we hope it will have the desired effect. Courier.
Winfield Courier, July 13, 1882. The Presbyterian Church of Winfield is among the strongest of this denomination in the state, having 194 members; 250 children attend its Sunday school and receive instruction from 20 teachers. Its church building, which is now entirely paid for, is constructed of stone and brick and is 42 x 62 feet in size, with a tower at the corner 14 x 14, surmounted by a spire containing a bell. The main audience room occupies the whole upper floor, while the basement story is divided into three different rooms, which are used for different purposes. The building cost $8,000 and the furniture $1,500. The church is fitted with stained glass windows, hard wood pews, handsomely carpeted, and furnished with a fine organ. Rev. J. E. Platter has been with this church for eight years.
Winfield Courier, January 4, 1883.
The Presbyterian Church of Winfield is among the strongest of this denomination in the state, having 194 members; 250 children attend its Sunday school and receive instruction from 20 teachers. Its church building, which is now entirely paid for, is constructed of stone and brick and is 42 x 62 feet in size, with a tower at the corner 14 x 14, surmounted by a spire containing a bell. The main audience room occupies the whole upper floor, while the basement story is divided into three different rooms, which are used for different purposes. The building cost $8,000 and the furniture $1,500. The church is fitted with stained glass windows, hard wood pews, handsomely carpeted, and furnished with a fine organ. Rev. J. E. Platter has been with this church for nine years.
Winfield Courier, August 24, 1882.
A Tree Guzzler. A Mystery Explained.
Rev. J. E. Platter has under the kitchen wing of his house a large cistern, sunk deep in the earth and thoroughly constructed of hard brick and water lime cement. For the last two years that cistern has exhibited strange symptoms of incontinence, the water gradually falling therein when none was being taken out for use, or falling more rapidly than could be accounted for by the amount used out of it. Several examinations failed to discover any leak or imperfection in the walls, and the phenomenon remained a mystery though increasing in its effects. Some five weeks ago the cistern was full of water, containing enough to last the family six months, but last Thursday the water in it was found to be nearly exhausted and a most thorough examination was instituted, which resulted in the discovery that inside the cistern one side below the middle was lined with strangled roots of elm spread upon the wall like clinging vines and running down to near the bottom of the cistern. Roots had penetrated through the thick hard brick and cement wall from the outside and had been drinking the water from the cistern for two years, and probably had caused more or less leakage at the point of penetration. It had been observed that an elm tree standing some twelve feet from the cistern had been making a tremendous growth for the last two years, and speculation had been indulged in as to whether its position near the north side of the house was the cause of its phenomenal growth, but no one suspected it was stealing its nutriment from the cistern. It was decided to cut away its roots and protect the cistern from it by large thick flag stones set edgewise around it and well cemented in. We doubt if this prohibition will prohibit. The tree knows where the liquor is kept and it will get at it by some means, even if it has to bore through walls of rock and cement several feet thick. As an evidence that the nutriment obtained by the tree was not wholly moisture, we will mention that the water in the cistern had the coloring matter all taken out of it and was clear and pure.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 13, 1883.
DIED. Rev. J. E. Platter Dead.
Rev. S. B. Fleming received a dispatch Monday last from Winfield stating that Rev. J. E. Platter of Winfield was dying, and immediately went to him. Just as we go to press, we learn that Rev. Platter breathed his last at noon yesterday. Rev. Fleming will probably not return to the city for several days.
Winfield Courier, June 14, 1883. DEATH OF REV. J. E. PLATTER.
Winfield Shrouded in Mourning.
A Noble Citizen Gone.
DIED. It is with unspeakable sorrow that we announce the death of Rev. James E. Platter, the pastor of the Presbyterian Church of this city, which occurred at his home in Winfield, on Tuesday, June 12th, 1883, at 1:40 o’clock p.m., of malarial typhoid fever, aged 36 years, 8 months, and 24 days.
On the 8th day of May, in apparently sound health but overworked, with his mother, Mrs. Emily Houston, he left home to transact some business of hers in Cincinnati, Ohio. On their arrival at that city, he was attacked with what was called malarial fever, but we presume it was typhoid, and was confined to his bed for about two weeks. Improving considerably he was able to get out, transact his business, and return home to this city, where he arrived on the evening of May 30th. The next day he suffered another and more violent attack of the fever, which increased in virulence until the evening of June 11th, when his delirium became a violent and most alarming paroxysm, which after two or three hours was succeeded by another paroxysm, less violent because of exhaustion, after which he gradually sank for about ten hours, when he expired.
He leaves a very interesting family consisting of a wife, two boys, Huston [?Houston?] and Robert, aged 12 and 3 years, respectively, and two girls, Belle and Maggie, aged 10 and 8.
JAMES EDWARD PLATTER was born in Ross County, Ohio, near Chillicothe, September 19, 1846. He is the son of Christey and Emily Platter. His father was a substantial and intelligent farmer of that county, but died when James E. was three years old. His mother is living in the person of Mrs. Emily Houston, and is well known to our citizens for her many kind and noble acts while she has been a resident of Winfield.
In 1855, when the subject of this sketch was nine years old, the family moved to Xenia, Ohio, where he attended the public schools. From infancy he was dedicated by his mother to the ministry, and his education was ordered in that direction. In due time he entered the Delaware College in Ohio, completed the course of studies, and graduated in 1867. He then took a course in theology at Princeton Theological Seminary in New Jersey under the celebrated Charles Hodge, D. D., and graduated in 1870. He was a studious and bright scholar and always stood high in his class.
In 1870, after leaving Princeton, he married Miss Nannie McCommon, who now survives him. The same year he accepted his first charge at Sandy Hill, New York, where he preached until the spring of 1873. His wife had then become so weak and delicate in health that he frequently carried her upstairs in his arms, and it was believed she could not survive another winter unless a change of climate to some dryer and more salubrious atmosphere should be resorted to. He promptly gave up his charge, where he was much beloved and admired, and to which he had become much attached, and alone started west to look up a suitable location. His first intention was to visit the Colorado mountains, but on arriving at Kansas City, he met a man who had settled at Winfield and who induced him to visit this place. He arrived here in May 1873, became satisfied that this climate was the one he wanted, found the field open for his services as a clergyman, and decided to locate here.
It was then that we first met him. Though 26 years old he was boyish looking, handsome, compact; bright black eyes and hair, very interesting in appearance, though in no way remarkable as a preacher. But he had energy, ambition, and true impulses, and we were very favorably impressed with him from the first. He brought his family here in July of that year and settled down to his work. Small as that work then looked, it was a large one, in fact, no less than the founding and building up of a Presbyterian Church in the wilderness, and to make it the large, wealthy, and flourishing church it now is, and help build up a highly civilized, wealthy, and prosperous community around him. We do not know whether he then dreamed of all he was subsequently to achieve, but we do know that he went to work with vigor, sagacity, and perseverance. We remember that he started off by preaching to a small congregation of a dozen or two, in any building he could find partly enclosed or temporarily vacant, acting as his own janitor, sometimes borrowing seats for service and returning them next morning. Soon his church was organized and began to grow. He was always doing the heavy work and inspiring others by his example.
In 1874, the grasshopper year, when disasters were discouraging others, he had unbounded faith in the future of this county, and was investing thousands in building the magnificent residence which has since been his home, and in farm and other improvements, while some were laughing at him for thus squandering his money. He even then planned the costly, beautiful, and grand Presbyterian Church building which adorns our city, and which was erected in the following two years, his mother and himself being the heaviest subscribers to the fund. As illustrating his unselfish devotion, we mention the general distress that followed this disastrous year of 1874, in which he was the chairman of the relief committee, and devoted his time and energies for months to the arduous work of receiving and distributing relief supplies, a work the magnitude of which is too little known to be fully appreciated.
But we will not enumerate further. Suffice it to say that he has been prominent or foremost in all the schemes and plans for public improvement and the advancement of the social, moral, educational, religious, and material interests of this city and county. Great as has been the growth of this country, his growth has been even greater and more rapid. In ten short years he has become one of the most influential preachers in the State, with an influence that is felt far beyond the limits of his State. Though not considered specially brilliant as a pulpit orator, he has become really a great preacher, and some of his sermons—one of which, delivered to the Kansas Synod in 1881, in particular—are pronounced equal to the best that have been produced, and all are singularly marked by sound judgment and clear cut, practical sense, put in such a way as to command attention and do the most good. He has grown in every way, but most in the respect, admiration, and affection of the people who have known him.
He has always taken a decided stand for the right and battled against the wrong, and it is a singular fact that while he has mingled in all these conflicts which have arisen and has dealt heavy blows, yet they have been delivered with such care and judgment as to secure the most good, and yet preserved the respect and good will of all. He had the happy faculty of always saying and doing the right thing at the right time. In social gatherings and on special occasions he was always in demand. Many are the hearts that have blessed him for the healing balm of words fitly spoken, giving consolation, or pleasure, or courage, or hope. He was brave and true, strong and ambitious, gentle and affectionate, grave, yet bubbling with humor. There was no pretense about him, he was just what he appeared to be; a loving husband and father, a noble and generous friend, a most valuable citizen—a great man in all the elements of true greatness. His affection for this people and devotion to this work was such that, while he has never asked or hoped to receive more than a mere nominal sum as his salary as pastor of this church, he has often declined flattering offers to accept charges in more opulent cities, and within the last few months has declined an almost princely salary to accept the pastorate of a church in one of the large eastern cities. Secure in the affections of this people, he felt that here was his home and field of labor, where he could be most useful.
If he had a fault, it was in doing too much work and overtaxing his faculties. This we think, whatever his disease may be called, was the prime cause of his untimely death. He had for a long time been doing the work of three men. Besides his regular pastoral and church work; besides his labors in behalf of the Nez Perce Indians and other oppressed people, he had matured an elaborate plan to remedy the evils of having a great number of vacant churches all over the country waiting to find someone to call, and a great number of preachers, without charges, in other parts waiting to be called or traveling about hunting for situations, growing out of the Presbyterian policy of letting each church elect its pastor. This plan embraced the appointment of a Presbyterial committee which should have charge of all the churches of a whole presbytery, supplying preachers to vacant churches, and situations for preachers without charges. This was a bold and daring innovation to present to so conservative a church as the Presbyterian, yet he presented his scheme to the Synod of the State with such clearness and power that the old shell began to crumble and the policy of the whole church is likely to be completely revolutionized. The Emporia Presbytery adopted the plan and made its author its chief executive, that is: made Mr. Platter Chairman of the Committee of Home Missions of the Emporia Presbytery. This had entailed upon him a vast amount of work outside of his city and county. Even the correspondence connected with this work was more than one man ought to have done.
For the last nine years he has been our nearest neighbor, and we have learned to admire, honor, respect, and love him, how much we cannot tell, nor can we express the poignant grief in which we write: Dear friend! Noble heart! Great teacher! Sweet spirit! Farewell!
We cannot forbear to mention our wonder and admiration of the heroic fortitude with which the stricken and bereaved wife of the deceased has borne up beneath this crushing blow. Delicate and gentle as she is, one might well have feared the result of this trying ordeal. Mrs. Garfield is not the only gentle and heroic woman.
Arkansas City Traveler, Wednesday, June 20, 1883.
Death of Rev. J. E. Platter.
Rev. James E. Platter, late pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Winfield, died in that city on Tuesday, June 12th, 1883, of malarial typhoid fever, aged 36 years, 8 months, and 24 days. The funeral services were held at the Presbyterian Church at 1:30 o’clock of the 14th and were attended by crowds of sorrowing friends who followed the remains to their last resting place in the cemetery.
The deceased gentleman has been a resident of this county since 1873, and the general love and respect in which he was universally held will be seen by the following tribute to his memory, published in the Winfield Courier of last week.
“Suffice it to say that he has been prominent or foremost in all the schemes and plans for public improvement and the advancement of the social, moral, educational, religious, and material interests of this city and county. Great as has been the growth of this country, his growth has even been greater and more rapid. In ten short years he has become one of the most influential preachers in the State, with an influence that is felt far beyond the limits of his State. Though not considered specially brilliant as a pulpit orator, he has become really a great preacher, and some of his sermons—one of which, delivered to the Kansas Synod in 1881, in particular—are pronounced equal to the best that have been produced, and all are singularly marked by sound judgment and clear cut sense, put in such a way as to command attention and do the most good. He has grown in every way, but most in the respect, admiration, and affection of the people who have known him.
“He has always taken a decided stand for the right and battled against the wrong, and it is a singular fact that while he has mingled in all those conflicts which have arisen and has dealt heavy blows, yet they have been delivered with such are and judgment as to ensure the most good, and yet preserved the good will of all. He had the happy faculty of always saying and doing the right thing at the right time. In social gatherings and on special occasions he was always in demand. Many are the hearts that have blessed him for the healing balm of words, fitly spoken, giving consolation, or pleasure, or courage, or hope. He was brave and true, strong and ambitious, gentle and affectionate, grave, yet bubbling with humor. There was no pretense about him, he was just what he appeared to be; a loving husband and father, a noble and generous friend, and most valuable citizen—a great man in all the elements of true greatness. His affection for this people and devotion to this work was such that while he has never asked, or hoped to receive more than a mere nominal sum of his church, he has often declined flattering offers to accept charges in more opulent cities, and within the last five months, has declined an almost princely salary to accept the pastorate of a church in one of the large eastern cities. Secure in the affections of this people, he felt that here was his home, and field of labor, where he could be most useful.
“If he had a fault, it was in doing too much work and overtaxing his faculties. This we think, whatever his disease may be called, was the prime cause of his untimely death. He had for a long time been doing the work of three men. Besides his labors in behalf of the Nez Perce Indians and other oppressed people, he had matured an elaborate plan to remedy the evils of having a great number of vacant churches all over the country waiting to find someone and a great number of preachers without charges, in other parts waiting to be called or traveling about hunting for situations, growing out of the Presbyterian policy of letting each church elect its pastor. This plan embraced the appointment of a Presbyterial committee which should have charge of all the churches of a whole Presbytery, supplying preachers to vacant churches, and situations for preachers without charges. This was a bold and daring innovation, to present to so conservative a church as the Presbyterian, yet he presented his scheme to the Synod of the State with such clearness and power that the old shell began to crumble and the policy is likely to be completely revolutionized. The Emporia Presbytery adopted the plan and made its author its chief executive, that is made Mr. Platter Chairman of the Committee of Home Missions of the Emporia Presbytery. This had entailed upon him a vast amount of work outside of his city and county. Even the correspondence connected with this work was more than one man ought to have done.
“For the past nine years he has been our nearest neighbor, and we have learned to admire, honor, respect, and love him, how much we cannot tell, nor can we express the poignant grief in which we write! Dear friend! Noble heart, great teacher! Sweet spirit! Farewell!”
Winfield Courier, June 21, 1883.
DEATH OF REV. PLATTER.
It is with sincere feelings of sadness that we chronicle the death of Rev. Jas. E. Platter, pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Winfield, and one of the owners of the Occidental Hotel in this city. Rev. Platter died at his home in Winfield on June 12, 1883, at noon.
Our readers will remember the deceased as having conducted a series of meetings in the Presbyterian Church here and making frequent visits to our city in connection with business and friendship.
Mr. Platter had gone to Cincinnati on business, and while there, took down with malarial fever. He insisted on coming home when hardly able to sit up, and it is thought that exposure was the cause of his death.
He was a warm friend of Rev. J. D. Hewett, who is now in Scotland. In fact, the two men were bound together with a devotion equal to David and Jonathan.
Platter was a gentleman of the highest Christian character and a zealous man in the cause of humanity. His zeal was governed by knowledge. It was not the fiery fanatical of the shallow minded bigot, but that cool, calm, and mighty manhood which has the government of self as the basis of all reform. During the prohibition fight in Winfield, Platter conducted himself with that chaste and holy spirit which should govern the disciple of Christ. There were no flaming speeches and threatening denunciations. In fact, Rev. Platter was as near the New Testament ideal of a Christian gentleman as we ever knew on earth.
His own life was the beacon light which shone on all with whom he came in contact. Good health, strong body, well balanced mind, comfortably situated so far as this life was concerned, and yet prepared for the life beyond the stars. The feeble, sickly, miserable men who want to die and to whom death would be a blessing seem to live on while the strong men fall down and die after a few days of illness. It is strange that death should touch the men who are best prepared to live. Wichita Times.
Winfield Courier, June 21, 1883.
Death Of Rev. J. E. Platter.
Winfield Shrouded in Morning.
A Noble Citizen Gone.
[Republished by request.]
THE FUNERAL.
In accord with a proclamation issued by the Mayor, all business houses were closed during the funeral.
At twelve o’clock on Thursday, an hour and a half before the time set for the services, the Presbyterian Church was crowded with mourning citizens. The pulpit and windows were profusely decorated with flowers and floral emblems, over a background of somber black. At two o’clock, preceded by the mournful toiling of the bell, the casket was borne up the aisle to the foot of the pulpit by the deacons. The funeral address was delivered by Rev. Hill of Kansas City, amid most impressive silence. Short words of hope and condolence were spoken by Revs. Kelly of Wichita, Price of Wellington, Hendry of Emporia, and Cairns of Winfield, and then the members and citizens filed past the casket and through its plated glass took a last look at the familiar features of their dead pastor and honored friend. After the long lines of people reaching down the aisles and out into the street had filed past, the casket was again taken up, borne to the hearse, and the funeral procession, over a mile in length, moved out to the north cemetery where the hands of many sorrowing friends had strewn flowers, and the grave was lined with green leaves and embanked in nature’s choicest offerings. After a short and feeling prayer, the casket was lowered, and with hearts bowed down in silent grief the mourning citizens returned to their homes, and thus ended the earthly career of our noblest, best, and kindest friend—the one man in all our acquaintance who was most like the Master he so zealously served, kind, forgiving, earnest, but always firm for the right—words are far too weak to express the grief the people feel in such a loss.
Winfield Courier, June 21, 1883.
A Card.
To the Citizens of Winfield and Vicinity:
DEAR FRIENDS: It will be impossible for us to meet you and thank you personally for the tender sympathy and the kindness you have shown us in our mutual affliction, so we take this opportunity of expressing to you our gratitude. From the first of our anxiety and sorrow to the present we have experienced a succession of kindnesses from you all that has alleviated the severest pangs of our sorrows and brightened our darkest moments. These expressions of your love for him who has gone from us, have been to us bright evidences of your appreciation of him as a pastor, friend, and citizen. We have left our beloved one at rest amidst the flowers of your love and the leaves of your sympathy. In his own words, “You have refreshed another weary pilgrim on his way.”
Affectionately yours,
MRS. JAS. E. PLATTER,
MRS. EMILY J. HOUSTON.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 27, 1883.
In Memoriam.
At a service held in the Presbyterian Church last Sunday morning, June 24th, in memory of the late Rev. J. E. Platter of Winfield, the following resolutions were adopted as expressive of the feeling of the church and congregation in this great bereavement.
WHEREAS, It has pleased God, in whose hands are the issues of life and death, to remove from the earth to his heavenly home the Rev. James E. Platter, a missionary to this church in the days of labor and trial in the development of this new country, and a faithful minister of the word therefore;
Resolved, That we the session and members of this church and congregation, cherishing as we have done, a high respect for this servant of God, not only as one who has, by earnest zeal and indefatigable labors, advanced the cause of Christ in our midst, but as one whose conduct has ever been that of a Christian gentleman, do hereby express the deep sorrow which his removal has awakened in our hearts and our kindliest sympathy with our sister church of Winfield, which by this inscrutable Providence has been deprived of his pastoral care, his wise counsels, his earnest labors, and Christian fellowship.
Resolved, That we tender our deepest sympathies to the sorely bereaved family of our departed brother, commanding them to the covenant care of Him who is able to sustain in every trial.
Resolved, That a copy of these resolutions be furnished the family of the departed, the church of Winfield, and also our city papers for publication.
By order of congregation.
Winfield Courier, July 5, 1883. Administratrix’s Notice.
In matter of Estate of James E. Platter, deceased.
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the undersigned Nannie J. Platter was on June 10th, 1883, by the Probate Court of Cowley County, State of Kansas, appointed and duly qualified as Administratrix of James E. Platter, deceased.
NANNIE J. PLATTER, Administratrix, J. E. Platter.
Winfield, Kansas, June 21, 1883.
Winfield Courier, July 26, 1883.
EXTRACT.
From a Sermon Delivered by Rev. S. R. Fleming, at the Presbyterian Church in Winfield, Sabbath Evening, July 1st, 1883.
Now, my hearers, will you bear with me for a moment longer, while I lay my tribute upon the new made grave of my nearest neighbor, in the work of the ministry, in our own loved church—one whom I had learned to love, I knew not how much, until it became my sad and painful duty to minister at his dying bed; one with whom I had stood for nine years, in the work of the Gospel ministry, in this new and rapidly developing country, and whom I respected and loved as a dear brother and noble servant to God. To say that his demise has been to me a dark and inscrutable Providence is but feebly to express the emotions I feel. The bitter cup has passed, its contents have been drained to the last bitter dregs, and faith, falteringly, reverently, is trying to say, “Thy will be done.” And while we “veil our faces,” and bow in submission to the orderings of Him who “doeth all things well,” it is but meet and proper that we cherish with gratitude “the memory of the just.”
I first became acquainted with Bro. Platter in a students’ prayer meeting, held in “Old Seminary Building,” at Princeton, New Jersey; and it is very gratifying to me, now, to recall that my very first impressions of the man were such as to lead me to conclude that whatever else might be said of him, he had an ardent attachment for everything which contributed to the advancement of the “Redeemer’s Kingdom.” And subsequent events have proved, when thrown into more personal relations with him, in the active work of the ministry, that my first impressions were the correct ones. Though a more intimate acquaintance, in later years, led me to admire him for other noble qualities of head and heart, yet in those prayer meetings, the glimpses I gained of the man but foreshadowed what seemed to be the great ruling motive of his life, “To glorify God in the extension of His kingdom.” And when near the last of his earthly life, when brain and heart and hand grew weary, and those moments of delirium which preceded his dissolution came on, his own words, as he imagined himself to be before the Board of Home Missions, pleading for what he deemed would be for the best interests of Christ’s cause in the bounds of the Presbytery of Emporia, show forth the same great motive: “My sole motive in this matter has been to advance the interests of the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ.” How truly this was, indeed, the inspiration of his life work, those who knew him best can attest. In order that I may be brief, let me first mention him as a man. In the highest and fullest sense, he was one of nature’s noblemen. Endowed with no ordinary qualities of head and heart, with a strong intellect, a well balanced judgment, and a tender heart, he impressed men, wherever he went, with the loftiness of his purpose, the truthfulness of his nature, the kindliness of his disposition, and the purity of his life.
In the many sided intercourse of life, he was always gentlemanly and obliging. He did not lay aside his humanity when he entered upon his profession, nor assume a lofty, distant, and ministerial air, rather repelling than drawing men to him. He loved men and mingled with them, feeling a deep interest in their welfare. As he moved among them his calm, reasonable, dispassionate nature revealed him to be a peacemaker, a man remarkable for healing divisions and quieting strifes. He was not hasty nor impulsive; irritable or headstrong. In fact, he was the man, above all others within the range of my acquaintance, to illustrate the gospel of peace.
In his business relations he was faultlessly honest and honorable; scrupulously fair; free from all money loving penuriousness. It was a beautiful thing in the character and life of this man of God, that though blessed with a worldly competence that would have proved ruinous to many a man, yet he kept his sacred office and all his work undefiled by any traces of a worldly spirit. He was a man of public spirit, of expanded benevolence, of world wide philanthropy. . . .
He was true and devoted as a husband, loving and tender as a father, and respectful and dutiful as a son. The last word that fell from his lips was the name of her who was dearest to him of all upon earth—the name that perhaps was spoken more frequently than any other, in that home—“Mamma, Mamma,” the family name of that wife whose fragile form had been his anxiety and care for years, and yet withal whose womanly courage and Christian fortitude had been his staff and support in hours of trial and discouragement.
It was a beautiful tribute the aged mother paid to his memory as she came from the East, too late to see “her boy,” alive: “James was a good boy; he never gave me any special trouble or anxiety; he was always affectionate, kind, and dutiful.” Eternity alone will reveal the greatness of his loss to his home-life. . . .
Winfield Courier, October 4, 1883.
A congregational meeting was held in the Presbyterian Church on Tuesday evening last at which a unanimous call was extended Rev. W. R. Kirkwood, of Wooster, Ohio, to the pastorate of the First Presbyterian Church of Winfield. Mr. Kirkwood will accept and enter immediately upon the discharge of such official duties. He is a gentleman of long experience in the ministry, of wide learning and fine address, and is eminently fitted to take up the mantle of the late Rev. J. E. Platter. During the five weeks he has filled the Presbyterian pulpit in this city, he has won the respect of all who have heard him, and we feel satisfied that neither minister or congregation will ever regret this step, and that many good results will be the sequel.
Winfield Courier, October 18, 1883.
BIRTH. Born on Wednesday morning, October 17th, to Mrs. J. E. Platter, a daughter.
Winfield Courier, April 3, 1884.
RECAP: In District Court...Edgar Smith, plaintiff, versus Thomas A. Wilkinson and Anna C. Wilkinson, Hampton S. Story and ____ Story, his wife, whose real name is unknown, Isaac A. Camp and _____ Camp, his wife, whose real name is unknown, Gibbs, Sterret & Co., Gibbs Sterret Manufacturing Company, G. and C. Merriam, A. P. Dickey, James A. Loomis, M. G. Troup. John W. Curns, Nannie J. Platter, Administratrix of the estate of James E. Platter, deceased, Nannie J. Platter, Houston Platter, Bell T. Platter, Margaret M. Platter, Robert I. Platter, and Jane E. Platter, heirs at law of James E. Platter, deceased, and M. T. Green, E. T. Williamson, and George S. Pratt, partners doing business under the firm name and style of the Chicago Lumber Company, defendants.
Notice that defendants are being sued by plaintiff April 2, 1884. Petition names defendant Wilkinson for the sum of $418 with 12 percent interest thereon from May 1, 1880, on a certain promissory note executed and delivered by said defendant Wilkinson to secure the payment of said sum of money on real estate.
Arkansas City Traveler, June 25, 1884.
THE NEZ PERCE.
The Tribe Finally To Be Removed to Their Idaho Home—Their Sufferings.
Last week the TRAVELER briefly mentioned the visit of James Rubens, an ordained minister of the Nez Perce tribe, to his people south of Arkansas City, and his hope that congress had at last recognized the justness of the Nez Perce’ claim for removal to a more healthful location, and provided for their transportation. Since then we have looked over the sundry appropriation bills introduced by the house, as returned with senate amendments, and find the following paragraph.
“For support and civilization of Joseph’s band of Nez Perce Indians in the Indian Territory, $20,000; and of this amount a sum not exceeding $1,625 may be paid under the direction of the secretary of the Interior, to James Rubens, for expenses incurred by him in taking thirty-three Nez Perce Indians from the Indian Territory to Idaho, and the secretary of the Interior is authorized to expend the balance of this appropriation for the Nez Perce Indians now in the Indian Territory to some other location if he deems it proper so to do, and for their support at such new location.”
This bill is now with the house committee, and we are assured by those who are in a position to know that it will be favorably acted upon, and that these long suffering Indians will finally be returned to their northern home. At this time we deem this question of sufficient importance to devote a large part of our space to a short history of these Indians and their fortunes since moving into the Indian Territory.
Chief Joseph’s band, at the time of their surrender to Gen. Miles, numbered about 950, scarcely one-fourth of the entire tribe. They entered into war against the government only as an act of self defense, or for maintaining property rights. They refused to sign the treaty of 1863, which took from them the land to which they were so greatly attached, and cited as a reason therefore that the government had heretofore failed to live up to its treaty stipulations—that the covenants of a treaty were “a band of steel to the Indian but a mere rope of sand to the white man.” This action resulted in a war between the Indians and the government, which of course resulted in defeat to the former. We can hardly call it defeat, however, for they surrendered with the understanding that they were to be returned to Idaho.
But here is where the injustice to these Indians commenced. Simply as prisoners of war they were transferred, first to Fort Leavenworth and located on the low bottom land of the Missouri River, then to the Indian Territory. From the first, Chief Joseph and his band have seen that their stipulations with the government were to be ignored, as had been the case with other tribes, and that they must depend upon outside influence for help.
To this end Revs. Fleming and Wilson, of this city, and Rev. Platter, deceased, of Winfield, labored until they secured the united efforts of the Presbyterian general assembly on their behalf. This influential body brought the matter before the government in such a light as to command recognition, and to this agency, and the labors of these gentlemen are the Nez Perce principally indebted for the tardy justice done them.
That it is a subject worthy the attention of all humane people, we need only cite a few undisputed facts. Out of the 950 souls that crossed the Lolo trail in June, 1877, there now remain but 276—sickness, as a result of climatic changes, being the principal agent in this work of decimation. Of all the children born into this tribe since their settlement south of us, only three have lived to the age of two years. This applies to children born later than one year after the settlement of the parents in the Indian Territory. Another striking, yet no less true, result of their life in this climate is the fact that in a large majority of instances, the children are still-born and born from one to months before maturity. Add to this the continual decrease among the aged, by death, and we are not surprised at the rapid extinction of this race.
Leaving aside all sentimental ideas of the superlative goodness of “poor Lo,” or any of his relatives, pure justice and humanity long ago demanded that Chief Joseph’s band be returned to Idaho, where the government promised to send them at the time of their surrender. These Indians are of a higher grade than many others. They are better educated, are more anxious to become citizens of the United States, and in a country favorable to their health will soon be beyond the common red man. One-half of Chief Joseph’s band are fully accepted members of the Presbyterian Church.
Another item in favor of their removal is that of economy to the government. In Idaho these Indians are self-supporting, never accepting any rations from the government, while here they are pensioners upon the government, and their passionate desire to be reunited with their tribe makes it well nigh impossible to interest them in any scheme of self-improvement. The main body of the tribe in Idaho, numbering about 2,500, say they will take care of Joseph’s band—that they will cost the government no more if they are only allowed to return to the clear mountain air of their natural home.
We are glad congress has at last resolved to right the wrongs of these Indians, and this action will be endorsed by every lover of justice. They will probably remain here through the summer until they have gathered their crops, but it looks now as though the fall months will see them joyfully returning to their mountain haunts, where the historic Joseph and his band can end their days in peace—sinking quietly to rest surrounded by kindred and friends, breathing an air full of tribal traditions and laden with health for a future generation, rich in its promise of a higher citizenship. Those who have worked to this end rejoice with them and hope that new life will be given to a band of Indians who at heart were ever friends to the white man.
Arkansas City Republican, March 26, 1887.
RECAP: DISTRICT COURT, COWLEY COUNTY...
ANNA E. SMITH, PLAINTIFF, VERSUS NANNIE J. PLATTER, HOUSTON PLATTER, BELLE T. PLATTER, ROBERT I. PLATTER, MARGARET M. PLATTER, AND JANE E. PLATTER, HEIRS AT LAW OF J. E. PLATTER, DECEASED, DEFENDANTS.
INVOLVED REAL ESTATE [LOT 28, BLOCK 128, ARKANSAS CITY]. PLAINTIFF WANTED TITLE GRANTED TO HER, CLAIMING TO BE THE OWNER IN FEE SIMPLE OF SAID REAL ESTATE. HENRY T. SUMNER, PLAINTIFF’S ATTORNEY. ATTESTED BY ED PATE, CLERK MAY 15, 1887, DAY SET FOR JUDGMENT.
