Southern Illinois Record

              The Southern Ilunois Record
A Good  Newspaper is a  Power ia  the  Home.  School,  State and  Nation
VOLUME VII.
FLORA. ILLINOIS, THURSDAY. JUNE 26,  1919
NUMBER 40
DISTRESSING
DEATH TRAGEDY
"Billy" Duncan. S-Y«ar Old Son of Dr. and Mrs. Chas. E. Dun¬ can of Flora. Drowned While Visiting His Grandmother in St, Louis. Body Brought Home Tuesday Night and Buried Yes¬ terday.
The lifeless body of "Billy" Duncan, the 5-year old son of Dr. and Mrs. Charles B. Duncan, of this city, was brought home to Flora from St. Louis Tuesday night, and yesterday after¬ noon at 3:30 from the residence on Korth Ave. and Sycamore Sts. It was •conveyed to Elmwood cemetery and laid away to rest until the resurrec¬ tion day. Rev. C. H. Wells, pastor of ithe Flora Baptist cliurch, had charge of the exercises, both at the house and the cemetery.
The shocking news of "Billy's" tragical death by drowning In the River des Perces In St. Louis at 1K30 a. m. last .Monday was received here by friends of the family about noon. At that time the parents. Dr. and Mr^ Duncan, accompanied by their younger son, "Bobby," were at the bedside of Mrs. Duncan's iViotlier, who Is sick at her home in Charles¬ ton, 111.
"Billy" had been visiting his grandmother, Mrs. Mary E. Dnncan. and his aunts, Mrs. McKnIght and Mrs. Phillips, In St. Louis, for sev¬ eral days. The family live on Mc- Pherson Ave., two blocks from Forest Park. Monday forenoon, accom¬ panied by three little boys of about his own age and one little girl. "Billy" went to play In the park. Wander¬ ing near the river, which flows through the northwest portion of the park,   ''Billy"   and    his   companions
sat down for a game near the bank's edge. A heavy rain of the night be¬ fore had undermined and loosened the bank, wlilcli suddenly gave way, plunging "Billy" Into the river whlcli was 2^1 feet deep at that point at that time and flowing swiftly. The little girl that W.1S In the party ran to a near-by store and gave the alarm. The body was not recovered until Monday evening about ";lX) o'clock, when It was found washed ashore two or three blocks below the cave-In. Like the growth of a rare and beautiful plant, long nurtured In the garden of the soul, the parents of "Billy" had learned to adore his pure and innocent little life; today with the suddenness of an electric flash they are overwhelmed in anguish and grief and their hundreds of friends In this county can but sym pathlze.
Airplane at Flora July 4th
CHALLENGE'ACCEPTED!
'Rebecca
Thos.
Ford,   Democrat,   Elected Circuit Judge
Thomas Ford, democrat, of Car¬ lyle, Clinton county, was elected cir¬ cuit judge In tills, the Fourth Ju¬ dicial District, at the election held Monday. His republican opponent was Elbert B. Vandervort, of Salem, Marlon county. The election was held for the purpose of naming a suc¬ cessor to the late Judge James C. McBrlde of Taylorville. Complete re¬ turns tabulated yegterday sliowed that Ford received U.ill votes and Vandervort received 1375, a majority for Ford of «1.
Tills means If It means anything that tn the next judicial election In this district the republicans will nominate a full ticket and go Into the campaign to win.   It can  be done.
Reed O'Haver, of Flora, Is spend¬ ing a few days with Everett Slilpplett. Mr. O'Haver wasa member of Battery A of the 12.1d Field Artillery.—Abing¬ don, III., Kodak.
What "The Battle of Nations" Is
What has all promise of being one of the greatest, if not the greatest event in the history of Flora celebrations, will be the gigantic "Battle of the Nations," which will be staged at the Fair Grounds on the evening of July fourth. The McKln¬ ney & Palmer Amusement Company, who have established quite a reputation with these pyrotechnic displays, are de¬ voting their entire attention this season to reproductions of great battles of the late European War and, under the guid" ance of e.xpert managers, every detail of a night battle is viv¬ idly portrayed. The lifting of the ban by the United States Government on certain high explosives enables the company to add to the numerous battle effects the genuine "trench flare" which generates a light equal to 97,500 candle power and which illuminates the country for a mile around. The staging of this "sham battle" requires quite a few properties, and the representatives of the amusement company will ar¬ rive in Flora on the morning of the -^rd of July to arrange for the placing of same. The invitation has been extended to the Boy Scouts of this city to assist in this celebration, and it is the desire of Mr. McKinney. the business manager of the amusement company that as many Scouts as can, meet him at the Journal office at 2:30 on the afternoon of the third.
The "Battle of the Nations" represents an imaginary at¬ tempt of the .\merican soldiers to capture a German fortifi¬ cation. With the German emblem proudly floating to the breeze, the first intimation that the assault is on, is when the w.irning rocket is sent up along the .\merican lines, inform¬ ing the big guns to open fire. For a brief time the fighting is confinvii to the bombardment by the big guns and the star shells which arc sent up bv the .American forces in an attempt to map out the lay of the ground between them and the fort, otherwise kiwwn as "no man's land." This ground, which is heavily mined, must be advanced over very cautmusly, and numerous decoys are sent forth to clear the land of the mines. Tlur enemy forces now make use ot the trench tlarcs, which >end forth a powerful light, and, during the burning of the >.»mc. every motion of the assaulti> ¦ . . silenced. But bit bv hit, and with the aid of sn. -, the "Yanks" mnvc cliiscr and closer to the fort clipping the barbed wire intaMglcments as they go, .md rendering the ginuiid clfi- tor the final assault. Bv" this time the b.utte Mas rru ht-.i lu¬ ll!,: : .. K .        1	
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