The Shelbyville Daily Democrat
Thursday, September 21, 1905
Page 1
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DIE DEUTSCHSPRACHE.
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Employed at a Trial in Squire Keith's
Court Last Night.
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A traveler finding himself in the court
of Squire Keith last night would probably have thought that
by mistake he had chosen the wrong stopping place and had landed in Germany.
For one hour and thrity
minutes, the pure, unadulterated German, unmixed with Anglo-Saxon and guiltless
of Yankee occupation, flowed in an irresistible stream. All attempts to
check the flood of Teutonic nouns and adjectives with verbs annexed at the tail
end resulted in failure.
The occasion whch called
for this tremendous display of oratorical ability was a trial in the court of
the genial Squire. And as an apple lay behind the first trouble which ever
befell Man, so in this instance an apple limb was the cause of all the woe.
Elmer Seeleman
was arrested on a warrant charging that he had assaulted Albert Geiger.
In the yard belonging to the step-father of Seeleman is an
apple tree and one of the limbs hangs over the gence between the lot and that of
Geiger.
The latter has complained
frequently because the fruit was inclined to drop on his side of the
fence. So, last night he obtained a saw and proceeded to remove the
offending branch. It is said that the language he used while he was
performing the
amputation was unparliamentary to say the least.
Seeleman took offense at
the language employed and immediately went after the old gentleman. He
groped for a brick, but in the dark his hand grasped a block of wood and with
this he proceeded to batter up the visage of Geiger.
He was arrested and taken
before Squire Keith, who fined him $9.80 for assault and battery. It was
here that the language of the Fatherland was brought into play. In order
to understand the testimony it was necessary to secure an interpreter. George
Schoelch kindly took the job, but had a great deal of difficulty in
driving a word in edgewise, so great was the desire of some of the witnesses to
elaborate.
After Seeleman's case was
disposed of, he filed against the old man, charging him with provike. The
latter paid $9.80 for his share of the fun.
Contributed by Phyllis Miller Fleming
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