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Show RECALLS BIG GRAFT CASE Macoupin County, Illinois, to Celebrats Payment of Debt on Court-House. Court-House. Carlinville,- 111 July 21 1b the date selected for a unique celebration. Macoupin county will on that date herald her-ald to all the world the announcement that Its famous courthouse, commenced com-menced In 1867 and which cost the tax- ' payers the enormous sum of $1,668,000, will have been paid for. Only a few state capltol buildings cost more than Macoupin county courthouse, court-house, and there Is no other known" Instance of such a colossal rural graft Macoupin County Courthouse. game. The early taxpayers who were confronted with such a burden of debt were too dazed to take much action ac-tion and no one was ever punished. At the forthcoming celebration, Governor Gov-ernor Deneen, Speaker Cannon, Senators Sena-tors Cullom and Lorimer, and others prominent in public life, are expected to attend. John M. Woodson of St. Louis, one of the early mayors of Carlinville, Car-linville, will be asked to speak. Jesse Peebles, the present mayor, will be chairman of the celebration, and Gen. John I. Rinaker, one of the early pioneers, pi-oneers, and who led the fight against such an expensive building, will hand the last bond to Speaker Cannon with the request that he touch a match to It. A rather remarkable coincidence in connection with the celebration was the recent death at his home in Alton of Judge Thaddeus L. Loomis. Judge Loomis was one of the three county judges of Macoupin county who sat and performed the functions now designated to the board of supervisors su-pervisors under township organization. organiza-tion. Of the other two, George Holiday Holi-day disappeared and was never heard from again, while the third, William Yowell. hanged himself. |