1910 Hupmobile

SHE KILLED HER FATHER

Quincy Daily Whig October 1, 1909

Tragic Ending of a Wild Debauch

Daughter Acted in Defense of Her Mother

Drink-Crazed Father Tried to Kill Both Homicide Declared Justifiable

Dubuque la., Oct. 1 —Henry Schaefer, aged 60, frenzied with liquor Friday night, attempted to kill his wife and daughter near Lamotte, Jackson county, 17 miles from Dubuque.

While defending her mother the daughter struck her father with a club, killing him.

The wife drove to Belleuve and notified the officers, returning Saturday night with the coroner, who found the body still lying in the barn-yard where Schaefer had died.

The coroner's jury exonerated the daughter

DECIDES AGAINST SUNDAY THEATRES

Urbana Courier-Herald October 30, 1912

Champaign Council Denies Amusement House Concerns Rlght to Open on Sabbath—-May Seek Writ

No Sunday theaters for Champaign! The city council at its regular meeting Tuesday evening set its foot, down hard on the much discussed position for Sunday amusement houses, and that settles it unless a court should hold that the question is one of public policy, in which event a writ of mandamus may stand to compel a special election to decide the  matter.

Leading Champaign men today declared that the action of the council reflects the best sentiment of the community.

University Hall is Condemned

The university in this story is the University of Illinois.  The University Hall was replaced by the present day Illini Union.

Daily Illini January 25, 1938

SCHOOL'S OLDEST BUILDING ORDERED CLOSED; OFFICES, CLASSROOMS TO BE MOVED

Buildings, Grounds Committee of Board of Trustees Makes Decision; Action is Permanent, Effective Today

University hall, the oldest and most used building on the campus, was condemned as unsafe and ordered permanently closed yesterday by the building and grounds committee of the board of trustees. AH offices and classrooms must be vacated, and students and faculty men will be admitted only, with special permission.

The action followed the collapse of a ceiling in a third floor classroom of the building last Friday. The committee spent yesterday inspecting, the building, and reached its decision late in the afternoon.

The building houses several hundred classes a week, offices of the School of Journalism, the English and psychology departments, The Daily Mini editorial offices, psychology laboratories, the University extension offices, tabulating offices, journalism library, and many faculty offices. All must be vacated aa soon as possible.

The problem of where to locate these offices, and. where to place the classes next semester proved extremely difficult to University officials yesterday. Already cramped for classroom space, the added burden will tax the capacity of the entire University and will require co-operation from every department.

Willard Asks Co-operation
In a statement last night, A. C. Willard, president of the University. pointed out that the closing of the building presented a problem greatly complicated by the continued growth of the enrollment of the University. "Obviously," he said, "any re-adjustment of classroom schedules and re-assignment of office space for departments now housed in University hall will be extremely difficult,"

The ultimate fate of the building was not known last night by University officials. The committee will make further inspections of the building. It may be torn down, may be left standing, or there is a bare possibility that it may be reconditioned and put into further use.

On the building and grounds committee of the board of trustees are Edward E. Barrett, chairman. Walter W. Williams, Oscar G. Mayer, Mrs. Nellie V. Freeman, and Harold A. Pogue. The party which inspected the building was accompanied by C. S. Havens, director of the physical plant department.

Inspect All of Building
They prodded walls and ceilings throughout the building, inspected, the ceiling that had collapsed, and other places known to be weak. They met in late afternoon and made their decision that the 65-year-old building was no longer safe for occupation.

Hundreds of pounds of steel lathing and plaster fell on the unoccupied classroom last Friday, giving warning of what might come. Investigation following the collapse disclosed that ceilings in many parts of the building were in the same condition. In some places plaster fell from the ceiling when prodded.

Numerous repairs have been made on the building in the past few years. Staircases were kept in repair, and the floors in the halls were renovated last summer. The entire inside of the building was painted two summers ago. Last fall termites were found in the basement, and steps were immediately taken to eliminate them.

Has Been Indispensable
Because University Hall is one of the largest buildings on the campus, and the most used, it has been indispensable to the University. Several large lecture halls, including 218 and 315, were housed in the building.

Mr. Willard stated last night that. "any re-adjustment of classroom schedules and re-assignment of office space for departments now housed in University hall will he extremely difficult and will require complete co-operation of all colleges and schools and of all departments in order that the University's educational program may be carried ott with a minimum of sacrifice."

In the University's report to the general assembly on the "Needs of the University for the Biennium. 1937-39," the building was described as "poor and inadequate."

Mad Gasser of Mattoon

The story of the Mad Gasser of Mattoon is likely one of the most famous odd stories to come out of Central Illinois.  If you haven’t heard of it here are a couple of sources to read more.

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

Mad Gassers

The following story and the one after are two items mentioning the gasser that I was able to find in the digital papers.

Daily Illini March 3, 1945

Mattoon Mystery is Mental Case

University Psychologist Makes Study of Case

The miasmic madman of Mattoon who had that quiet central Illinois city of 15,800 in a turmoil which was recorded in front-page newspaper headlines from coast to coast last September, has been put under scientific inspection.

Donald M. Johnson, University psychologist, has found the unidentified midnight marauder who terrorized the town with mysterious gas attacks a fascinating subject for inquiry. Recording his finding for the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, he declares the affair a rare psychological event.

Without challenging the veracity or motives of any of the victims or others concerned, or denying the possibility that a marauder was connected with at least some of the cases, he finds the whole Mattoon mystery involving the rare phenomenon of a "mental epidemic," of which only one similar occurrence is recorded in the United States in the last 40 years.

Phantom Anesthetist
The phantom anesthetist of Mattoon was first reported Sept. 1 when a woman told the police that she and her daughter had been gassed. In all, 26 cases were reported, the last Sept. 12, Victims told of nausea and vomiting, palpitations, and in one case at least, burns about the mouth. All recovered rapidly. Four cases seen by physicians all were diagnosed as hysteria.

Some victims did not report smelling gas, others did. Though prowlers were reported, none was apprehended by the police. As the number of calls increased, state police with radio equipment were called in. Chemical analyses of cloths found at scenes of reported attacks gave no clues. For some nights citizens took up arms to protect their homes.

"Obviously something extraordinary took place in Mattoon. For its explanation two hypotheses have been advanced. The 'gasser' hypothesis asserts that the symptoms were produced by a gas which was sprayed on the victims by some ingenious fiend who has been able to elude the police. The alternative hypothesis is that the symptoms were due to hysteria ," writes Mr. Johnson.

Mental Suggestions
He uses the term "hysteria " in the medical sense, meaning emotional excitability, sensory disturbances, choking sensations, etc., due to mental suggestions.

The "gasser" hypothesis is based on the evidence of the victims and their authenticated illness. A difficulty is the contradictory demands on the gas, including the fact that it did not affect all in the same room, yet was strong enough to affect victims, but at the same time left no observable after-effects.

Symptoms of the victims also support the hysteria hypothesis, as does the fact that the only four cases seen by physicians were given this diagnosis.

Police Records
Turning to police records for a chronology, he finds an unusual number of reports of prowlers coinciding with the reports of gassing, both reaching a peak at the same time, and then rapidly. As the excitement subsided, the number of prowler calls fell even below normal with none at all reported by the Mattoon police in the first part of October

This reveals a wave of excitement or a "mental epidemic" sweeping through the community, the psychologist explains. In this the local newspaper played an important part. Ninety-seven percent of Mattoon families read the Daily Journal-Gazette. It has the confidence of its readers.

Mattoon Prowler Claimed Fake

Daily Illini September 13, 1944

Plant Fumes Cause Rumors , Says Chief

MATTOON, Sept. 12 — (JP)— Police Chief C. E. Cole stated today the furor caused by repeated reports that a nocturnal prowler was spraying sickening gas thru bedroom windows was "a mistake from beginning to end."

The whole thing, he said, could be traced to fumes from a war plant and hysteria.

Apparently seeking to reassure a populace aroused by complaints that a phantom marauder had gassed 14 homes this month, the chief issued this statement:

Just a Big Mistake
"The case was a mistake from beginning to end. Local police in cooperation with state officers have checked and rechecked all reported cases and we find absolutely no evidence to support the stories that have been told. Hysteria must be blamed for such seemingly accurate statements of supposed victims.

"However, we have found that large quantities of carbon tetrachloride are used in war work at the Atlas Imperial Diesel Engine company, and that it has an odor that can be carried to all parts of the city as the wind shifts."

Commenting specifically on the case of Mrs. Carl Cordes, who became ill after sniffing a chemically treated cloth she found on her porch, Chief Cole said:

Carbon Tetrachloride Villain
"Carbon tetrachloride will leave stains on a cloth such as that found at the Cordes home. Many workers use carbon tetrachloride in cleaning shell casings, and it might be possible that one of them tossed this cloth away."

Cole's opinions were supported by Capt. Harry Curtis of the state police. Investigators said such a chemical would cause symptoms remarked by the reported victims— dry lips and parched throat. Some also said they were nauseated and affected by partial paralysis for a brief spell.

A few of the complainants reported they saw a tall, thin man flee from their yards. On a theory that someone may have been peeping in windows during the uproar over the reported gas attacks, state police squads decided to continue to hunt for a prowler tonight at least

Humane Society Finds Crippled Girl Tied to Chair for 'Mother's Sin'

February 5, 1938

UNIONTOWN, Pa., Feb. 5
Humane agencies today investigated the strange case of a 5-year-old girl who, they charged, had been hidden in a room of a farmer's home since infancy.

E. M. Smith of the Western Pennsylvania Humane society said the child, crippled and undernourished, had been found tied to an old chair in a storage room on the second floor of the home of David Harris, about 17 miles from Uniontown.

Smith brought charges of negligence to a minor against Harris and his daughter, Martha. Both will receive a hearing Monday before a justice of the peace.

Smith quoted Harris as saying the child was illegitimate and had been kept in the room as "a sort of punishment" for his daughter's "second sin."

The humane officer reported he found the child after a complaint had been received from the woman's club of Star Junction, nearby. He said the child was wedged into the chair, which was tilted backwards to rest on a coal bucket, her spindly arms tied above her head. She was unable to talk or move, he said

Martha, he reported, said she fed and cared for the child.

Drs. J. F. Kerr and D. P. Newell said the child was undernourished, that the bones in her legs were softened and twisted out of normal shape and that she was suffering from rickets.

Humane society officers reported that Harris believed his action waa justified.

Smith and Mrs. Helen Reagan, a probation officer, quoted Harris as saying:

"I made her keep it up there, care for it and feed it as a sort of punishment. I forgave her first sin, but not the second."

The mother said the girl's father was a well-to-do farmer. Humane society officials withheld his name.

The tot's only semblance to normal expression was a lusty wail when given a tub bath at the county home where she was taken.

The child weighed 31 pounds. An attending physician said the normal child of her age weighs 52 pounds.

Dr. James B. Van Gilder said, "this is a case of malnutrition, I think with capable nursing she will pull through in about six months.