Forest City – The enrollment of the parochial school of Sacred Heart parish is much larger than last year. The school is under the care of four sisters of the St. Bernardine order, two of whom were in charge last year.

Thompson – Edward Avery, of Ararat, who recently purchased Charlie Crosier’s store on Jackson street, also his stock of goods consisting of confectionary, toilet articles, hunting outfits, fishing tackle, etc., has taken possession and is doing business. They will keep fruit, green corn, vegetables, and oysters in their season, and will have a barbershop and ice cream parlor in connection with the store. Also Mr. Abdel Fatah, having rented S. D. Barnes’ store on Main St. and purchased his entire stock consisting of drugs, dry goods, groceries, crockery, wall paper, novelties, etc., is removing his stock of ready-made clothing, etc., from the Walker block on Jackson St., where he has been in business the past 3 years.

Harford – The hotel in Harford, conducted by Fred J. Skeels, was burned to the ground at about 10 o’clock Wednesday morning. The fire is supposed to have started from the chimney, a fresh fire having been started in a stove to heat some of the rooms. Most of the first floor furnishings were saved, but not the second. The building was a two-story frame structure and had been used as a hotel for many years and was one of the town’s landmarks. Partial insurance to cover the loss.

Franklin Twp. – The farmhouse on the Munger farm, near the old Munger tannery, was consumed by fire yesterday, shortly after the noon hour. How the fire started is not known. The occupants of the house, Mr. and Mrs. Charles E. Mead, were not at home, being employed elsewhere, the children remaining and on their return the rear of the house was blazing. They managed to save much of the goods on the first floor with the assistance of neighbors.

Montrose – The temperance people of this place will get a great treat tomorrow evening, at the Colonial Theatre, when the J. L. Tempest Big Dramatic Company, of Philadelphia, will present the revised version of the touching and beautiful drama, “Ten Nights in a Bar Room.” The people just flock to see the play wherever it is given, and often many are turned away for lack of room. It is a play for the children to see, and points out very forcibly the danger of using strong drink. All are invited. Ten, 20 and 30 cents. Also Beach Manuf. Co. received orders for nine sawing machines of which three will go to England, four to Japan, and two for this country.

Brooklyn – The death of Ansel E. Tewksbury, an aged resident of the township, occurred on Sunday afternoon, of cancer. Funeral services were conducted by Rev. VanSciver on Tuesday, the Odd Fellows attending in a body and having charge of the services at the grave. One son, Elmer, of Buffalo, and a daughter, Mrs. H. E. Cogswell, of Washington, D. C., survive.

Herrick Center – School was closed on Wednesday, Sept. 15, on account of the Uniondale (Tri-County) fair and a large part of our citizens were present, enjoying the exhibits, the races and the visiting, and incidentally the hottest day of the season. The fair was one of the best ever held and was certainly well attended. Interest centered in the horse races, all of which were won by Admiral Bell and Elsie Marie, owned by Clark & Patterson, of Carbondale. The Novelty Amusement company gave free exhibitions.

Brookdale – A party of young people enjoyed a marshmallow and corn roast, Saturday evening.

Howard Hill, Liberty Twp. – I. H. Travis’ barn burned to the ground last night, with all the contents, including hay, oats, machinery, wagons, etc. Nothing was saved. It was caused by the lantern exploding. There is some insurance. Also Miss Jennie Webster has had to close her school on Rhiney Creek on account of ill health. She was a good teacher and has the sympathy of the entire community.

Gelatt – The Billy Sunday Trail Hitters, from Carbondale, held interesting meetings here Sunday. There were Baptismal Services at 1:30 PM.

Susquehanna – Hugh Mackey, who has been in the First National Bank in this place for the past two years, has relinquished his position and leaves Saturday for Philadelphia, where he will enter the Wharton School of Finance at the University of Pennsylvania.

South Montrose – Mr. and Mrs. F. W. Dill, who have resided here for the past four years, coming from Philadelphia, are making arrangements to remove to Glasglow [Glasgow], Montana, where they will locate on a half section of land, acquired from [the] government under the Homestead Act, being joined at Glasglow by three of Mrs. Dill’s brothers, Leonard and Arthur Titman, who come from the state of Washington and Clark Titman, from Indiana, who will also locate upon government lands. The three brothers and Mrs. Dill are natives of Auburn, being children of the late Isaac Titman and will be remembered by many of our county people. Her niece, Mrs. Lou Phelps (nee Setser), from Elk Lake, lives at Glasglow.

Rush – Continued from the week of September 10, 2015: (Arrested For Murder: James Eagan and Cornelius Shew Now in Jail Charged with Killing Jackson Pepper). "Suspicions" On Wednesday morning, following the murder, District Attorney Ainey was summoned to Rush and quickly responded, reaching the scene of the crime several hours previous to the death of Jackson Pepper. Suspicions of all kinds were presented to him. Some people in their eagerness insisted that everyone in Rush township should be arrested and made to prove their whereabouts at the time the crime was committed--a sort of putting everything through the sieve, in the hope that the guilty person would not go through. Some wanted blood hounds, ignoring the fact that the rain of the previous night or early morning had obliterated the trail--and also that with nothing to set the dog to, the scent would more likely lead to the body of A.J. Pepper himself, or possibly to Mr. Pickett, Mr. Wilber or Mr. Granger, who had so kindly helped to carry the body to the house. There were theories and suspicions by the score; this one and that one being pointed out by an anxious public as the guilty parties. Realizing that there was a double duty to be performed--first to discover and bring to justice the guilty, if possible; second to clear away unjust suspicions resting on the innocent--Dist. Atty. Ainey offered his service to the acting coroner, A. Carter, Esq., who availed himself thereof. Every person with a theory or suspicion or a "suggestion" was heard, and so far as practicable, each of these was run out. At the very outset, two theories presented themselves prominently. First, that the crime was the work of local people; second, that it was the work of tramps. The former seemed the more feasible, because it was hardly to be credited that tramps would know the rumors concerning Pepper's secreted wealth, or that they would leave a pocketbook containing $85 untouched in the old man's pocket. There was, however, to support the tramp theory, the fact that two men who were credited with belonging to the "hobo" family, were seen in the vicinity of Fairdale, at Swackhammer's near Butterfield Springs, and at several other places on the road to Skinner's Eddy. Mr. Ainey had at once placed himself in communication with one of the best detective agencies in the United States, and within a week from the date of the murder one of their most skilled operators, fresh from the successful solution of another murder case, was in Rush and hard at work. He was given full sway and his daily operations were reported through headquarters to the District Attorney's office. One by one all "clues" concerning the local suspects were run out and abandoned. About 150 witnesses were examined before the coroner's jury, and a record of their evidence preserved for future use. [To be continued....] The above article is a murder mystery that took place in 1898 in Rush, Susquehanna County, brought to you in conjunction with “Susquehanna County Reads program. See details on the Library’s website. Scavenger hunt to start soon.

News Brief: The author of the song, “I Didn’t Raise My Boy to Be a Soldier,” steps in the arena and says it was not a plea for peace but for motherhood against sudden reversion to barbarism in European countries.

I never know what columns will generate responses – and the one last week apparently hit something of a nerve as I received many comments from landowners who believed that they should have the right to take out trespassing drones on their property.  First, we need to be sure that we are clear on the use of the term “drone.”  Generally, we are talking about rather small, recreational, battery-powered machines that are operated by remote control.  With the increase in technology, they have become more and more sophisticated and intricate – and they can be equipped with cameras for both still photos and videos.

Second, the state of the law is still developing as to how to handle a “trespassing drone.”  There are some legal scholars who argue that the use of force to eliminate the privacy threat posed by a drone should be lawful.  Other legal scholars take a different view and contend that there is nothing within the law, at the time, that would permit the use of destructive force against a third person’s private property – even if it was trespassing in your “airspace.”  As I noted last week, the Federal Aviation Administration has taken this view and issued a warning against the use of force against trespassing drones.

One of the comments that I received concerned the ownership interest that extends to a property owner not only to the real property itself – but to the air above the real property.  This opened up a discussion about the expectation of privacy that landowners have not only in their property, but to the space above their property.  The question of the extent to which landowners have an expectation of privacy in the airspace above their real property is one that has been answered by the courts.

The United States Supreme Court established many years ago that there is no reasonable expectation of privacy in connection with things that can be observed from publicly navigable air space above a residence.  In 1990, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court considered a case where the police obtained a helicopter and flew it 50 feet off the ground in order to observe a marijuana grow operation in the defendant’s pole barn – apparently, this marijuana farmer installed plastic sheets for the roofing material.  The plastic roofing promoted the growth of the marijuana plants inside the pole barn, but also allowed the police to view the entire operation from the helicopter hovering 50-feet in the air above the barn itself.

The defendant argued that 50-feet was too low and not generally publicly navigable airspace – and that the hovering helicopter at that altitude violated his expectation of privacy in his property.  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court noted that Federal regulations allowed helicopters to operate at any altitude provided “the operation is conducted without hazard to persons or property on the surface.”  But the question remained as to the helicopter presented a hazard to persons or property at that low altitude – and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court determined that the record established that the helicopter had flown at an altitude that placed persons and property in danger.  This conclusion was apparently based upon the testimony of the marijuana farmer’s wife who testified that the hovering helicopter put her and her property at risk.  The Supreme Court noted that the police had failed to rebut this testimony – nor explain adequately why they had brought the helicopter to a “dangerously low altitude.”

Justice McDermott provided this short and humorous dissent: “The majority, with the faithful solicitude of maiden aunts, would not ruffle the sensibilities of a deliberate, careful, business-life ‘pot’ farmer, because his windows shook when the cops came by helicopter and caught him out.  The poor dears were all a-tremble and just about scared out of their conniving wits because a helicopter hovered over their barn 150 yards from the road and 100 yards from their peaceful, rural home where they counter their money and prayed the success of their crop.  It may well be that some occasions are a danger larger than the offense sought.  Under the facts here, this was not one.”

With the advance in technology since 1990, the need to fly at lower altitudes no longer exists.  Most landowners probable are not aware of the case law relating to aerial surveillance and how that relates to the concept of Fourth Amendment privacy rights.  Of course, the Fourth Amendment does not apply to private citizens flying recreation aviation devices, but it provides some general guidance as to how the court view privacy rights from the sky.

Please submit any questions, concerns, or comments to Susquehanna County District Attorney’s Office, P.O. Box 218, Montrose, Pennsylvania 18801 or at our website www.SusquehannaCounty-DA.org.

Are you a Vampire or a Zombie? What’s that? I couldn’t hear you! Oh, “Neither,” you say. Well, then this article is addressed to you. While America slept life has been made difficult for many. Vampires are sucking out America’s life-blood and Zombies are feasting on her flesh. The morality of capitalism was relentlessly impugned and traduced as immorality supreme. Successive generations were indoctrinated in utopian socialism—the “Inversion of Capitalism.” By any objective measure collective corruption was promoted and substituted for our Founding Fathers’ vision of individual liberty.

The Vampires successfully pushed for federal income taxes, central banking, and administrative regulation, all under the pretense of making conditions fairer, more economically stable, and improving the lot of the masses. The Vampires planned these changes in secret in the dead of night when no one, who was not of their kind, was near to object. They implemented programs of mass bribery and bought full control of the country’s media market. They manipulated and stampeded voters wherever and whenever they needed with demagogic calls for “reform.” A little over a century ago Capitalism died, and America was left first with its simulacrum, and now its inversion. Vampires used classic techniques of creating problems, offering pseudo-solutions, and then pushing for continual and gradual adjustments in reaction to the sequentially greater problem created by each pseudo-solution. The Vampires aggregated greater wealth and power—at the expense of individual liberty—with each “solution” they imposed.

Who are the Vampires? They are the “Crony Capitalists and Political Elites” who benefit from the twisted perversion we call our present collectivist political/economic system. It was for their benefit that the Federal Reserve System has blown massive and continuous bubbles since 1971. The Zombies are those who make no productive contribution to the economy, but are dependent on the bloodsuckers’ continued collective corruption to make Zombie existence possible.

To be fair, there are individuals who are truly physically, mentally, and/or intellectually limited, and require assistance from the State; they are not Zombies. The Zombies are those who are able-bodied, but nevertheless live at the expense of others, consuming as a matter of unwarranted and misplaced entitlement. Zombies generally consist of opportunists who are gaming the system, though of late a new Zombie class has arisen—walking dead men displaced or preempted from gainful employment by the mischief of the Vampires. Other Zombies include the army of Federal bureaucrats who invent and manufacture regulations to bind freedom and cripple economic activity. In any case, none of the three classes of Zombies could exist without the expansion of the Federal Leviathan beyond anything envisioned in our Constitution.

The productive class is what we colloquially called the great middle class. They are the decaying host who long ago made America great, but are dying at the hands of the Vampires and Zombies. Each day the load on their backs is made heavier and Vampires dangle lures before them to join the ranks of the Zombie class.

Last week we investigated the nature of money and why its quality is an issue of primacy. Commodity money (gold and silver) no longer circulates; paper money (“cash”) is declining in use; credit, including digitized money, is what passes as the life-blood without which our economic system could not survive. The “just-in-time” delivery system for goods we use everywhere in America epitomizes our credit commerce. The vast majority of business transactions of any consequential amount are done by credit or digital money. But what do you suppose would happen if that system suddenly, and without any warning, broke down?

The Vampires have so expanded our “money” supply by way of credit expansion that total collapse is mathematically inevitable. We passed the tipping point years ago. The only remaining question is that of timing. When? When might the collapse come for this system of increasing fragility? I don’t know; but I do know that when it happens, it will be much worse than the catastrophe of 1929. Others I know seem to think so too.

Probably few readers know of a gentleman named Damian McBride. At the end of a week of turbulent trading in late August 2015, his tweets, via The Mises Institute, were posted on the blog “Zero Hedge”. The former head of communications at the British Treasury, and former Special Advisor to Gordon Brown, erstwhile U.K. Prime Minister, tweeted the following.

“Advice on the looming crash, No. 1: get hard cash in a safe place now; don’t assume banks and cash points [ATMs] will be open, or bank cards will work.”

“Crash advice No. 2: do you have enough bottled water, tinned [canned] goods & other essentials at home to live on a month indoors? If not, get shopping.”

“Crash advice No. 3: agree [to] a rally point with your loved ones in case transport and communication gets cut off; somewhere you can all head to.”

“Just like mid-October last year, the market howls; the Fed panics & puts the dummy back in; and we all pretend it’s OK again. It’s madness.”

“Every day the era of easy borrowing persists just means even more loans that won’t be repaid when the real crash finally comes.”

“Today is just the stock market catching up with the terror over defaults that’s been gripping the bond market for months.”

“We were close enough in 2008 and what’s coming is on 20 times that scale.”

In dead-pan under-statement one might say that Mr. McBride’s words are “ominous indeed.” His words offer serious advice to those willing to listen. I believe they are words to be heeded. Here’s why: over the last 30 years more than $33 trillion in excess debt has been contracted—above and beyond the traditional ratio to income ($1.50 of debt for every $1 in income)—just in America alone. The savings and discretionary spending of 90% of Americans is totally tapped out. Dollars that might otherwise support current spending are instead being diverted to payment of old debts. Those old debts must be paid down with current income. Deflation is baked into the cake, so to speak. The moment the Fed moves to raise interest rates bankruptcies will be set in motion, interest repayments will increase, and a whole host of enterprises viable at zero percent interest will no longer be viable. Interestingly, the Fed just declined to raise interest rates at its September 17 meeting, although Fed Governors have been promising to do so for over two years.

When the credit contraction (Crash) occurs, debt will suddenly become a matter of urgent and extreme importance. The best I can determine is that there exists somewhere between 1.2 and 1.36 trillion physical cash dollars in the world. Over half of those, approximately 63% are located outside the geographic boundaries of America. Supposing that is true, there are only $500 billion physical dollars. To put that in some context, America’s GDP is estimated at around $17.5 trillion; the financial assets of households and non-profits are estimated at $68 trillion. So the amount of physical cash in America is relatively small. But wait, it gets worse! Experts who have looked at money velocity estimate that only $250 billion in physical cash is actually circulating. The remaining $250 billion is what is called “dead money;” it’s stuffed in mattresses and home safes outside the banking system, awaiting a rainy day or some emergency.

When the money bubble pops and credit contracts, you can be sure that credit availability will cease. A line of credit won’t matter. A computer screen proving you have digitized money in an account in a bank that can’t and won’t open for who knows how long won’t mean a whole lot. Credit and debit cards will not be accepted for very long and ATMs will not be restocked once they run out of cash. The death of credit will mean the death of most commerce, especially within cities. Once those inner-city stores have sold out of food and essential tangible goods, there will be no restocking of shelves, and residents will have little reason to remain there.

Consider these facts. America is the first ever, as well as the largest economy functioning on credit. The “average American” has 3.75 credit cards. Sixty million credit card transactions take place every day; 67% of gas purchases are by credit card; 67% of clothing; and 62% of travel expenses. Without credit, anything approaching normal commerce will end.

Without credit, there will be a sudden and insatiable demand for physical dollars. Dollars must be in-hand to purchase anything and everything because there will be no readily available alternative. The perverse result of a dollar shortage will be a rise in prices. This is so because there will be a shortage of tangible goods as mentioned previously. To counteract this development the Federal Government would inevitably run printing presses in overdrive, leading to a hyper-inflation of the money supply. (Weimar Germany’s 1922-23 hyper-inflation and Zimbabwe’s 2009 experience are instructive.)

For anyone who needs a look at how this turns out, the “Financial Times” in its December 2, 2014 edition reports on the current situation in the socialist utopia known as Venezuela, “We are beggars of food, beggars of basic products, beggars of medicines, beggars of diapers for our children—right now we are beggars of everything . . . Inflation eats us up; we have hit rock bottom. We cannot get any worse.”

Deflation, inflation, hyper-inflation, capital controls, rationing of goods, loss of personal freedoms, loss of economic freedoms—all of these are distortions, diseases, and maladies of inferior money. The Vampires who have taken captive of both our Crony Capitalist government and economic system will, in the end, suffer with everyone else when credit collapse comes. But the Zombie class will suffer worst of all. Persons who have been wards of the state (economically speaking) all their lives will find themselves thrust into a world they cannot understand. They will have to deal with a whole new paradigm. Some Zombies will, ultimately, and of necessity, return to the Productive class.

The Productive class—those people who make things, who fix things, who bandage up the hurt and return them to service—will rise to the occasion and go on to be productive in some way, shape, or fashion. “The Gods of the Copybook Headings” will ensure Virtue’s Restoration. But those who would be wise will prepare for the consequences of America’s long slumber through a nightmare of Vampires and Zombies.