Portage Lions Club

Back in the early 1900's The Record was published every Wednesday in Portage by Chas Middleton, who was both editor and publisher.  The following excerpts have been featured in our monthly newsletter Mane Events.

• Issue 1.4, July 15, 1917
  • Auto Racers Fined
• Issue 1.14, October 3, 1917
  • H. J. Heinz Company Attaches Tomatoes
• Issue 1.15, October 10, 1917
  • Electric Light for Portage Homes
• Issue 1.16, October 17, 1917
  • Streetcar Wrecked
  • Confiscated Coal - Bowling Green and Cygnet Stop Trains And Cut Cars
• Issue 1.17, October 24, 1917
  • Portage Will Vote Dry - According to Straw Vote Taken at the Barber Shop
• Issue 1.19, November 7, 1917
  • Complete Yellow Ticket Elected by Large Majority
  • Prohibition Amendment is in Doubt
  • Quiet Election
• Issue 1.20, November 14, 1917
  • Patriotic Rally at the School House Tonight Benefit of Y.M.C.A.
  • Doing Her Bit
  • Election Report
• Issue 1.21, November 21, 1917
  • First Night in a “Puppy Tent”

Sunday afternoon two autos driven by Clyde Leach, of near Portage and R. L. Killen, of Toledo raced through Portage at a speed of about 40 miles an hour, and taking the whole street.

After driving a short distance south they returned and were promptly “pinched” by Mayor Fisher, who told them they would have $8.60 each to pay in the morning.  They replied that they would be back in a little while.  In about a half hour they returned and started to argue with the mayor, demanding a receipt for their fines.  Finally the mayor got tired of their fresh remarks and ordered them locked up.  They were ready to pay up then and it cost them each one dollar more for having been taken to the jail, making a total of $9.60 each.

After being turned loose they paraded through the street very slowly with one pretending to lead the machine.  No one paid any attention to them and it is not likely that they realized that they were only making themselves ridiculous.  Leading the machine is very old stuff and they can consider themselves lucky to have gotten off as easily as they did.

There are a number of children in Portage who have a right to live, or a chance to live, which they would not have if every auto owner was allowed to run through our streets as fast as gasoline would take them.  We have such a number of autos and trucks running on the street now that it is dangerous enough, even for grown-ups, without unnecessary speeding.

A lot of about 21 bushels of tomatoes which were being shipped to railroad men down the T. & O. C. by Chas. Middleton were attached by the H. J. Heinz Co. early last Thursday morning while they were on the platform at Portage.  The Heinz Co. claims that they were grown by some farmer under contract to them, and are therefore their property.

This spring many of the farmers who contracted to Heinz put out more that they contracted and expected to sell the extra acreage to the open market.  It appears that the Heinz contract is so worded that they can hold all the farmer raises regardless of the number of acres contracted and this is causing considerable friction at the present time as the market price is nearly double the Heinz contract price.

The Heinz Company has gotten out injunctions against a number of farmers who have been selling to other parties and several suits are promised.

In the action of the Heinz Company against Middleton, they were required to give $50.00 bond and there will be a hearing at the office of Mayor Fisher at 1:00 P. M. today.

(The Heinz Company settled the case yesterday afternoon by paying for the tomatoes taken together with the costs and there will be no hearing.)

Before another month has passed many homes in Portage will use electric light for illuminating.  The Ohio Northern Public Service Company has completed its lines to the city, and at the present time the Royce & Coon elevator is operating a number of motors with their power.

It will only be a short time before the wires will be strung throughout the city and this will mean street lights a thing which we have needed for a long time.

Those putting current in their homes will find it convenient for many things such as the electric iron, electric sweeper, washing machine and many other uses.  The modern housekeeper finds electricity indispensable as it cuts her housework in half.

People should think about having their homes wired as it will be only a short time before the electric current is available.

The north bound T. B. G. & S. car leaving Portage at 5:04 p.m., Thursday evening left the rails in front of A. C. Sargent’s residence and headed for the cornfield across the road.  It broke off a telephone pole and ended up with the front end in the ditch, but remained upright.  A couple of women fainted from fright, but no one was injured.  The wrecker re-railed the car and cleared the track in about two hours.

The coal situation has become so serious in Bowling Green and Cygnet that the authorities have commenced stopping trains and taking possession of whatever coal is needed.

Friday evening the mayor and chief of police stopped T. & O. C. No. 75 at Bowling Green and cut out six cars for the schools and city.

Saturday evening the village authorities at Cygnet stopped No. 91 and took two cars.

Outside of what people have in their bins, there is no coal in Portage except a few tons of slack and unless some is received soon it is only a matter of time until the same tactics will have to be used here.

Interesting debates on the wet and dry subject were staged at the barber shop Friday and Saturday, in which the wets were greatly outnumbered and routed.

However, Doc Kring asks us to say that he would rather be right and alone, than wrong and at the head of a multitude.

We understand that many of our readers expect us to take the wrong side in the wet and dry fight, but we want to assure you that they are wrong - DEAD WRONG.

There is no man living who does not occasionally do something that he knows that he should not do, and so far as we know there was only one man ever lived that even claimed to be perfect, and he was nailed to a cross some two thousand years ago. 

Booze never did any man any good, but on the contrary has probably caused more misery than all the wars in history.  If it is in the interests of war time efficiency to cut out the booze, it is just as reasonable to believe that cutting it out for all time will greatly increase our efficiency as a nation, in time of peace.

The present great war is trifling compared with the industrial struggle that is sure to follow.  The old law of the survival of the fittest is certain to prevail, and the nation, or nations, that are physically, morally, or mentally deficient will be destroyed or reduced to minor positions in the world, by that struggle, no matter how they may fare at the peace conference that must come within another year or two. 

Certainly the nation that consumes the most alcohol, has the lowest morals, and fewest good schools, will not be among the fittest.  The above three evils-alcohol, immorality and ignorance-are always found together.

For startling proof of the fact that alcohol has a tendency to place a man in the “down-and-outer” class, visit a few saloons in a large city or even Mike Walsh’s place at Cygnet.  Study the men you find lined up at the bar and figure out the percentage of good citizenship, and down and outs in the crowd.  You will be surprised.  That doesn’t throw any bouquet at ourself either.

We have been around the world, on old South Clark and Custom House Place in Chicago, Commercial street in Salt Lake City, Market streets in both Denver and Frisco, Bienville and Custom House in New Orleans the toughest dives in Honolulu, Nagasaki, Japan, Manila and other cities of the Old World and always found that liquor and immorality are always together.  In fact one can hardly exist without the other.  (Now some one jump up right quick and ask what we were doing around such places).

The wets’ argument that if you don’t want saloons, stay away from them and they will not bother you, is not logical.  In a way it is true, but to keep from being stuck-we simply get the hoe and dig ‘em out.

Every man has a right to his own opinion on the subject, and if you believe that prohibition is a dangerous curtailment of your personal liberty, then it is your right and duty to vote against it, but if you believe that it is for the common good to destroy the liquor business, go to the polls November 6th and vote YES on the prohibition amendment.

Bet a dollar nobody offers us a drink for six months now.

Local Election Returns
	East Side	West Side
Mayor
Fisher	53	16
Middleton	25	9
Clerk
Fryman	65	24
Treasurer
Sayler	60	24
Council
Bartlett	40	14
Bavis	42	14
Close	50	19
Daily	33	12
Freyman	52	24
Teller	49	17
Shroyer	16	5
Lembrich	19	6
Amos	25	7
Marshal
Young	39	15
Maxwell	23	7
Assessor
Kingsley elected
Board of Education
Three old members reelected
Prohibition Amendment
Yes	48	17
No	28	9
Woman Suffrage
Yes	36	8
No	35	6

While the early returns rolled up a large majority, and made it appear that the amendment had carried, most of these returns were from dry county precincts and the later vote turned in by the large cities has about balanced things up and leaves the result in doubt.

Although great issues were at stake and the fate of the village hung in the balance yesterday, the election passed of quietly, no serious disorder being reported from any of the polling places.

From partial township returns, it appears that Dr. Fisher has been elected justice of the peace, Mike Amos treasurer, and C. J. Amos, constable, in Portage township.

A Patriotic rally will be held at the school house at 8 o’clock tonight.  Robert Dunn, Jr., John Maas, and Dr. Fisher will be the speakers of the evening.  Dr. Fisher will tell of his experiences at Camp Sheridan.  A band will furnish music.

Earl Dauterman tells us he has a cow only 7 years old that has had nine calves, five one at a time and two pairs of twins, the last pair of twins being born only a couple of months ago.  All of them lived and made good cows.  Evidently that cow knows about the war and is doing her best to keep us supplied with food and clothing.

Well we had some election.  Portage put itself on record as being in favor of prohibition and woman suffrage, even though it could not make the state go the same way.

“You’re the most cheerful defeated candidate that I have met yet,” was the way we were greeted by one of the more successful ones the other day.  Sure.  Why shouldn’t we be cheerful? We had a great time, found out just about how popular we were, and didn’t have to “check up” at the end of the game.  Our campaign expenses were as follows:

Expenses
Cigars and drinks for voters	$000.00
Ice cream for the ladies	000.00
Peanuts and popcorn for the babies	000.00
Cost of maintaining headquarters and pay for help	000.00
Election bets lost	000.00
Total	$000.00
Receipts
Contributions for expenses	$000.00
Election bets won	.50
Total	$.50

Co. C, 146th U.S. Infantry
Camp Sheridan
Montgomery, Ala.

Dear Editor:

After seeing your invitation to receivers of this paper for experiences in camp life, I volunteer a bit of information concerning my first night in a “puppy tent.”

Sunday morning after mess call had been sounded it was discovered that one of the boys from our tent had contracted a light attack of measles.

In accordance with military ruling he was sent to the hospital while Co. C was confined to their street and our tent quarantined to their quarters and a small plot of unoccupied ground upon which we had to pitch our “puppy tents.” Just here a word of explanation of what a :puppy tent” is may help the reader understand.  It is a small tent about a two by twice, just large enough for two averaged sized men to crawl in half way and then slide the remaining distance.  Two can sleep quite comfortably here if neither turn over or sneeze.  It is called “puppy tent” because it looks like a dog house.

Our boys were all over anxious for their first night of solid comfort in their new homes and ere the sun had ceased casting her crimson rays across the western horizon we had already crawled into our nests.  The rest of the night was a period of time in which our anxiety changed to dismay for reclining my body upon my bed sack for the final surrender to sleep I discovered that my feet and chest was elevated far above the rest of my body on account of the irregularity of the contour of the ground.  I may have slept but it will take a Bowling Green lawyer to convince me that I did.  About three o’clock that morning it began raining and I discovered my head was getting wet so I slid farther into the tent only to find my feet getting wet.  According to the laws of natural instinct I doubled up my knees which shoved out under the side of the tent and received their share of the baptism.  In order to conceal my losing interest and to regain a position of comfort I flopped desperately upon my back, but in doing so rubbed against the canvas which gave forth the rain in an almost uninterrupted flow.  All my resourceful ideas were now exhausted and grabbing my bed clothing I dashed for the tent and upon arriving there found that most of the boys had acted on the same principle.  We quietly made up our cots, crawled into them and surrendered ourselves for the rest of the night to the Goddess of Sleep and only awoke when the sound of reville brought us back again the following morning.  Such was our first night’s experience in a “puppy tent.”

Sincerely,
Edward L. Cookson

The Record was published every Wednesday in Portage by Chas Middleton, who was both editor and publisher.  Subscriptions were $.50 per year.

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