Herald and Review from Decatur, Illinois • Page 41

Page 18 July 7, 1929 DECATUR yiVrAz, HERALD Prairie Street in Mud Days First Council Had It's Money Worries It was in this block, over what is now the Yohe Jewelry store that the Decatur Public Library was established in 1876. were two stages into Decatur; one from Crawfordsville, was a three-seated covered wagon on springs, with a capacity of three persons to a seat. The other, from Torre Haute was more pretentious. N. L.

Krone in later life said the first real stage line through Decatur was from Springfield to Lafayette, established in 1845 or '46. This stage was drawn by four horses. The route out of 'Decatur, was by West Main street and to Mechanicsburg; to the east it was by Spangler's mill and to Monticello. Concord Coach Ponderous Affair The stage in which Maj. Hays rode probably was a Concord coach, a ponderous enclosed vehicle swung on straps, just the kind that are seen in Wild West shows portraying a Wells Fargo express robbery.

No description of a "hack" such as Mr. Wright speaks of lias been found. But it was a lighter vehicle somewhat resembling the hacks that were scon about Decatur aj late as 1912 and which made way for the taxis. No writer has left a vivid description as to what coach travel was like in November, February and March over, bottomless road which were little more than cart tracks through the prairie. The Springfield-Crawfordsville line had relay stations for the change of horses about every 10 miles.

One was in Harristown; another was in vicinity of Spangler's bridge. The coming of the railroads in 1854 displaced the stages. Not a few stage drivers got jobs as locomotive engineers. vailing ordinance against prescription booze. Liquor Lionises liaised In Mayor Post's time, the liquor -problem chiefly was one of obtaining enough license revenue from dram shops.

Nobody worried about the amount of drinking that was( done, but there was concern over the license revenue. Early in 185t5, Mayor Post's council revised the dram shop licensing ordinance making the annual fee $250. City records do" not show the amount of the fee previous to 1856, but subsequent increases were rather frequent. In 1876, the saloon license fee was $125 for three months, $250 for six months and $500 for a year. In 1910 a fixed fee of $1,000 a year was established.

The city council of 1856 had to deal with peddlers, even as does the council of today. Mayor Post's council caustd the existing ordinance regulating peddlers to be revised to include a sliding scale of license fees based on the length of time the peddlers stayed in town. One of the important pieces of business handled by Mayor Post's council was the awarding of the city advertising contract to Editor James Shoaff of the Decatur Gazette, a weekly newspaper. Another piece of business was the relocating of a street leading past Maffit's mill. City Clerk C.

CT Post deserves commendation for the neatness of the official records he kept. They are as legible today as when they were written. Since Mayor Post's tenure of office, 54 men have filled the chair of the city's chief executive. A number of mayors have served multiple terms. William B.

Chambers served four times. Franklin Priest had three terms. D. C. Moffitt twice was mayor.

Of late years, multiple terms have been less common. Charles M. Borchers, however, served two terms though not in succession. 1 Terre Haute to Decatur by Hack (Continued From Page 9) house is agent for this line." Terre Hanbo to Decatur in A Day Major Frank Hays, who came to Decatur In 1855 from Terre Haute, made the journey in one day. The stage left Terre Haute early in the morning, stopped in Sullivan for luncheon, and arrived in Decatur late in the afternoon.

The stage was drawn by four horses. At the Hinkle mill the driver produced his long tin horn, gave it a sonorous blast that could be heard at the Harrell house, blocks away, whipped his horses into a sweeping trot and bustled up to the hostlery in a cloud of dust and glory. Mrs. Jane M. Johns In "Recollections," wrote that before 1849 there FINANCIAL troubles and divisions over public improvements and other troubles beset Decatur's first city council.

The first council, headed by Mayor John P. Post, and with Vranklin Priest, Edward O. Smith, Jeiome Gorin, S. P. Ohr, J.

J. BallenUne and. H. Taylor as aldermen of four wards, had to worry about finances soon after taking office in 1856. Financial records, inherited from the previous township board that had governed Decatur before it changed to the aldermanic form of government, were in such shape that Mayor Post's administration had to launch an inquiry.

History repeated ilself T' years later, when the administration headed by the present mayor, O. W. Smith, also had to overhaul city finances. The results of the present council's Investigation proved the same as those of the 1856 inquiry. The city finances in both cases were in order, but strict economy had to be instituted.

Samuel Allen First Treasurer Faced with the need for paring expenditures to the bone, the 1856 council appointed Samuel C. Allen, an expert in accountancy, to the position of watchdog of the treasury, or more specifically city treasurer. Study of the city's records for 1856, as kept by C. C. Post, then city clerk and corporation counsel, shows that city business of that period was much the same as that carried on today.

Petitions, called "memorials" seven decades ago, were presented for public improvements and were acted upon, when finances permitted. When the city treasury was low, Mayor PosCs council sometimes called for public subscriptions to finance an improvement. Dug Well In rubllc Square Dr. W. A.

Barnes, father of the present Dr. Will Barnes, petitioned Mayor Post's council in February of 1856, to dig a public well in the public square. The well was dug at the expense of the city. Later another petitipn was received by the council for further improvements of the square. The council adopted a resolution directing City Clerk Post to draft an order on the city treasurer for $200 to improve the square as specified, on condition that citizens subscribe a like amount.

According to the records, Joseph King and others presented a "memorial" to the council of 1356, asking for the extension of North Main street beyond East Cerro Gordo. The "memorial" was granted and the street was extended. The "wet and dry" question faced Mayor Post's council, even as It did the present administration, which still is confronted with the prescription liquor proposition. Several months ago, Mayor O. W.

Smith's council was interviewed by physicians seeking a repeal of the pre- For a quarter of a century the name "Stewart" has meant good mill and ice cream in Decatur. w- ICE CREAM was founded on a substantial foundation in those early pioneering days of the Ice Cream industry one of Quality. Adhering strictly to the Quality policy, using only natural pasteurized cream, pure fruits, cane sugar and pure-food ingredients, Stewart's has kept faith with the public, and is established firmly as the most popular Ice Cream in the Decatur trade area. Recent arrangements which have been completed in keeping with modern business assure the consumer and the ice cream retailer alike even greater satisfaction in Stewart's Ice Cream. I.

A. WALLINS Wool Poultry EGGS Hides Junk Formerly Mas Atlass 263 Wabash Avenue Tel. 24)020 GRAND FUEL CO. Quality Coals Shell Gasoline and Oils 880 W. Grand Telephone 4401 DECATUR, ILL.

The Decatur Ice Cream Company Chas. J. Stewart, Pres..