L. A. Miller Diary of 1914

(Excerpted by Ron Wiley; clarifying comments by Fred Lindley)

• Jan 8, 10,12: MR. MILLER WROTE OF FUR BUSINESS UNSETTLED, AND OF FUR BUYING WITH BUTCH SHAEFFER AND WM GEISLER.

• 3th, prices of diff grades of furs.

• 14; to Preble Co., Somerville for fur biz.

• 18: fur biz moving along nicely.

• 19: butchered 3 hogs with help of friends (named)

• 21: shipped good lot of fur for Thos. Shears & ? Irwin to H. L. Pence Co. NYC

• 22: studying prelim work of LaSalle Law course which entered

• Feb 5: MR. MILLER REVEALS THAT MUCH OF THE FURS WERE SKUNK

• Mar 10: went to Robt Nichol, helped string wire for side line for phone for his tenant, Mr. Denver Norris.

• 23: Thos Shears and packed and shipped last furs of season and shipped.

• 25: the Mrs, Mr & Miss Belle Wilke went to Hamilton on important business

• 26: MR. MILLER WROTE OF CONGRESS WRESTLING WITH PANAMA FREE TOLL BILL AND TREATY WITH ENGLAND.

• 27: rec'd letter from Hamilton Home tel. Mgr that board. Passed resolution cutting free service to Oxford, Morning Sun & Darrtown, abrogating a contract with 15 yr remaining

• 29: Game of Pedro at neighbors

• Apr 25: Ernest put in tel for Mrs. Jas Harris

• May 11: War with Mexico at standstill. War at home between Capital $ and labor is continuous and never ending

• 18: Formed Booster club in Autos in Liberty, Ind. Good time and dinner at Condon Hotel, Liberty. Returned via Camden, Somerville & Collinsville - the driver came via Huston road to bring me near home.

• 30: Indianapolis 2 am, could not get a place to sleep, walked the streets until daylight. Went to speedway, autos lined every road. Thirty cars started. More dangerous than a Spanish Bull fight. Speed 80 to 100 miles per hour. French car won; 500 miles in 6 hr. Rene Thomas won in a Delage car

• July 4: Jno Phrnis & I went to Hamilton and took in the Eagle picnic at the fairgrounds. Gov. Jas M Cox spoke - a good speech that was all right and rang true. Democracy that leads to Socialism all right, all right. I met the Gov. personally as he came on the grounds.

• 5: prepared manuscript, The Horse Back Riding of a boy, to be sent out tomorrow to Youths Companion, Boston, Mass.

• 6: I worked on book and Miss Bell Wilke assisted me in getting out the July Telephone bills. I sent ms to Youth Comp'n Pub.

• 23: Indications of war in Europe

• 27: I sent a check to the LaSalle Extension University in Chicago for 51.80 as payment in full of all acct on Law Course.

• 30: Autos are getting very thick. The U.S. is going Auto Crazy.

• Aug 2: Prospect for a General war in Europe.

• 3: Plenty of war news. England, France & Russia vs Germany & Austria & Hungary. Bird men are fighting Garrod a French aviator drove his aero plane into a German dirigible carrying 21 men. Result. All killers

• 4: War in Europe rages. All Europe seems likely to be involved before it is over. Germans are invading Belgium. Belgians are resisting and have declared war.

• 5: England and Germany have declared war on each other. It now stands England, France, Russia, Belgium, Servia(?)p vs Germany, Austria, & Hungary. Italy has declared her neutrality

• 6: War is raging in Europe. War news is meager. Cables are cut leading to Germany. English cables are censored.

• 7: War news meager. Belgians are defeating Germans before the city of Leige. Loss of Germans 25,000. Naval battles are being fought but news not reliable.

• 9: War news is still one-sided. We know but little of what is actually happening in Europe.

• 23: War is assuming larger and larger proportions

• 30: War: War: what for nobody seems to know. Tens of thousands have been killed. Belgium, poor Belgium is blood soaked, for what? Because, she was in the path of the Kaiser’s Army and the easiest road to the French Capitol.

Sept 8: Mr. Mee is filling one (silo) next door to us. The word comes that the German troops before Paris are on the retreat. If the French and English get them on the run - goodby Old Kaiser Wilhelmina and all his nobles.

Oct 15: My birthday 1862 midnight of fifteenth & sixteenth day of Oct.

• Nov 3: This is general election of State & Co. Officials. Saloon vs.

prohibition, in six states.

• 25: This pm, I attended the obsequies of an Old settler Mrs Harriet Harris (nee Irwin) almost 88 years old.

• 28: A Great Russian victory is reported. About 100,000 Germans captured, killed & etc.

• Dec 4: A supposed lot of wild geese dropped down at & near Darrtown this p.m. And the excitement was something six. Geo Kolb’s boys caught one scared out of a year’s growth by great. Kirk Mee & Fritz Smith made a bag of and Geo Wagner killed one. Raymond Kane was running into two in the dark.

• 6: T.W. Coulter came down and collected for the "wild" geese that the Darrtown boys killed for him, by mistake. A great joke on the boys, as well as the geese.