From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for June 4, 1914:

• “The electric line between Kansas City and Bonner Springs will be in operation by June 15. The trial trip over the line will be made on Saturday of this week. The cars ordered have not yet arrived but are expected daily. This line has been rapidly built without making much stir. Mr. Heim has been back of it and he always pushes. He has announced that the line would be in Lawrence by the close of the year, but so far no way has been found to cross the river. It will be two years before the bridge will be built and if the line crosses the river before that time it will have to build its own bridge. This will cost at least $25,000.”
• “Tomorrow is the day for the vote on the school bonds. The polls will be open from 8 o’clock in the morning to 6 o’clock in the evening. This is a question of vital importance to the educational system of Lawrence and a large vote is expected. The only fear expressed by those who are working for the bonds is that many who are in favor of them will not go to the polls to vote and will thereby jeopardize the success of the measure. It is known that sentiment is strong for the bonds in nearly every part of the city and because of this some may think it unnecessary to vote. The committee urges that every person go to the polls early.”
• “In the thunderstorm north of town on Monday evening the lightning killed a horse and stunned two young men at the A. L. Stanton farm. One of the men was Fred Stanton, son of A. L. Stanton, the other was a young man named Miller who had been working there. The men were getting the horses into the barn when a stroke of lightning hit among them, knocking down a mule which one of the boys was leading and killing a horse which was just behind it. Fred Stanton and Miller were stunned but not seriously hurt. The storm was severe while it lasted. About two inches of rain fell in 20 minutes.”
• “The army worm is no joke. It is getting in its deadly work and taking a number of the fields around Lawrence. H. M. Crowder brought a bunch of wheat to the Journal-World office this afternoon from the farm of Henry Eibest, north of town. In the bunch of wheat there were 29 stalks and the worms had completely eaten all but ten of the heads and had stripped the stalks of the leaves and in fact devoured some of the stalks. Mr. Crowder said that the army worm was thick in this field and that they had taken about a strip about a rod wide along one edge of the field. If this condition continues and the bugs increase in number they will take a large number of fields before harvest time…. Last night, said Mr. Crowder, the bugs were so thick about the house that they came up onto the porch in a steady stream and had to be constantly swept off, and even then many of them got into the house…. The actions of the army worm are beyond comprehension. One day they will be camped on a field like an army. Possibly the next day they will have disappeared. Professor Hunter says that they hide in the day time and come out to work at night. The farmers are much worried about the bug. Their prospect for a bumper crop was so good that they despair to see it devoured a couple of weeks before harvest.”
• “Without notifying the post office department here the Santa Fe has taken off the mail car on the train which goes east at 6:40 in the evening. This leaves the train that goes through at 5:44 as the last to take east-going mail. This condition is intolerable. Lawrence can not have these conditions prevail without a hard fight. The commercial bodies must take this subject up at once. According to Postmaster Finch the latest time that it is safe to put mail in the post office to insure its going east is 4:30 in the afternoon. Most all business men write their letters during the day and the stenographer gets them out for mailing the last thing before closing. What is Lawrence going to do about its east-going mail?”
• “The municipal reference division of the University extension department recently sent out cards with return post cards, asking for a list of the city officers. These cards were sent out to every municipality of the state, and many were sent to places which have not yet been incorporated. Professor Talbot, head of the municipal reference division, has received many amusing replies to the cards. One which came from a small town near the west line of the state had been returned by the postmaster of the place. ‘This place is not incorporated and I think it is about 6th class,’ he said. Another came from a place in the southern part. The party replying said that the locality had no city officers and one store made up the business section of the town. The writer further added it was only a small station on the railroad.”