From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for March 16, 1914:

• “The plan of school credits for work done at home, apparently has not met with the approval of the rural school teachers and authorities. It seems certain that at this time the plan which is to be inaugurated in the city schools will not be given a trial in the rural districts. At a meeting of the County Teachers Association the subject was taken up and discussed by Prof. D. C. Croissant of the extension department of the University of Kansas…. Prof. Croissant attacked the scheme on the ground that it was not practical and that giving a child credit for the work done at home failed to make amends for the failure of the pupil to learn certain things that the school room offers. Splitting wood and feeding the chickens should not take the place of mathematics and grammar, according to Prof. Croissant’s ideas.”
• “Alleging that Mr. John Dougherty, a farmer who lives near Eudora, had stolen some of his chickens, Mr. Fred Ott, Mr. Dougherty’s neighbor, had a warrant issued to that effect. It is alleged that Mr. Ott sowed some alfalfa last fall and during the winter it made fine feed for Mr. Dougherty’s chickens but that was not the purpose for which Mr. Ott had intended the alfalfa, so he set a trap and caught some of the fowls that were feasting on his fine grass. Mr. Dougherty holds that the birds should be permitted to run at large so he had Mr. Ott arrested for taking his chickens. Settlement has not been made yet but some conclusion will probably be reached in the justice court in Eudora.”
• “Using a strip of carpet for a rope, Lloyd Blitzburger and Bert Adams slide down from a window in the chapel in the United States military prison in Leavenworth and escaped. Early last night, the two men placed dummies in their bunks and slipped into the chapel. They took up a long strip of carpet from the floor to make a rope and dropped forty feet to the ground within a hundred feet of where stood a sentry with a shotgun. Adams was considered an incorrigible prisoner. Four times he has enlisted in the U. S. army and each time has deserted. Since he was sent to the prison he has been tried fifty-one times for infractions of the rules.”
• “Fire that destroyed most of the business portion of Eskridge, Kansas, last night had burned out this morning. The total loss was fixed at $125,000, partly covered by insurance. The origin is still unknown. A high wind made efforts of the volunteer fire department hopelessly inefficient. Communication with Eskridge is still impossible except by report from nearby points.”
• “Jacob Badsky, president of the Douglas County Fair Association, was among the motorists to take a trip into the country yesterday. Mr. Badsky brings back the word that the wheat is looking fine. He says that he never saw the crop better at this time and hopes for a big harvest this fall.”