The Cotton Belt Railway in Southeast Missouri could be on the hook for $20,000 over a $100 bill. Two lawsuits in 1924 allege the company’s accusations of counterfeiting resulted in unjust arrest and inconvenience for three travellers. In later news, Poplar Bluff tries to revive its namesake tree, and Doniphan hosts a massive regional sewing contest.
100 years ago
May 2, 1924
• A $100 fiasco led to $20,000 in lawsuits against the Cotton Belt Railway.
LeRoy Martin and H.F. Younger have each sued the line for $10,000 after an counterfeiting accusations led to Younger’s arrest and ruined a road trip for Martin and his wife.
The trouble began when the Martins tried to buy a ticket from Campbell to St. Louis with a $100 bill. The ticket agent couldn’t make change for it and recommended the couple use a smaller bill they carried to buy tickets to Malden, where the ticket booth could break the bill. The Campbell agent then apparently called the Malden office to report the Martin’s $100 bill might be a forgery. When the couple arrived at Malden they were met by two detectives who publically accused them of counterfeiting.
Younger stepped forward in their defense, since he had been with Martin when he withdrew the bill from a bank in Senath. According to Younger’s lawsuit, the detectives called him a liar, drew a pistol and roughly arrested him. The Martins weren’t arrested, but were forbidden from leaving Malden until the next day, when they presented the bill to the Bank of Malden and it was declared genuine.
The cases will come up in the Dunklin County Circuit Court next month.
75 years ago
May 2, 1949
• When the site of Poplar Bluff was chosen, it was named for its stands of tulip poplars. As timber was harvested and the city grew, the trees were steadily cut down until only one remained. The Daily American Republic announced this tree, located between between Main and Broadway streets, is now in bloom.
The city is attempting to repopulate the city with tulip poplars “and it may be that at some time in the future the city again will justify its name,” the article said.
50 years ago
May 2, 1974
• Doniphan Junior High School hosted 137 young seamstresses at the 14th annual Missouri Sew With Cotton competition, culminating with a public fashion show attended by 700 people. Contestants came from eight cotton-producing counties in Southeast Missouri, and three winners were chosen to model their designs at the next stage of competition.
Diane DePew of Campbell, Rosemary Sherer of Portageville, and Linda Sue Brigance of Kennett will represent Missouri at the 1975 Southern Cotton Ginners Association meeting in Memphis. There, they’ll model their garments alonside delegates from Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee.
The Sew With Cotton contest also included sewing how-to programs for non-contestants. The event was directed by the University of Missouri Extension and sponsored by regional cotton mills, businesses and participating schools.