1914 Wilkes-Barre Record Almanac
LUZERNE COUNTY IN 1913

	The year 1913 was marked by the same degree of prosperity the county has enjoyed 
for a number of years. There was more idleness in the mines than for a few years previously, but 
it was not sufficient to cause notable depression. The increase in population is creating a larger 
demand for anthracite coal, and it is not likely that the experience of years ago, when the summer 
season was marked by prolonged periods of idleness and great distress, will be repeated, unless
 unusual industrial depression prevails over the country.

	A notable incident of the year, and one of the most novel ever witnessed in the State, was a
 parade of 10,000 men, on the 2nd of June, in the interest of law and order enforcement. The parade 
was in the nature of a sequel to the Billy Sunday revival meetings, which stirred the valley as never before. 
The paraders came from Wilkes-Barre and nearby towns and the demonstration attracted many thousands 
of spectators .The marchers bore many banners and there were some floats, all bearing upon the moral 
quickening of the community.  Many of the banners had reference to the work of Sherriff Kniffen in 
proceeding against law-defying liquor dealers. In fact the temperance sentiment was conspicuous 
all along the line. At the conclusion of the parade mass meetings were held in the court house and 
outside of it and resolutions were adopted. The gist of the resolutions was that “the citizens of Luzerne 
County, in mass meeting assembled, dedicate ourselves anew to the enforcement of moral decency
 and right living everywhere.” A committee was appointed to organize a permanent law and order society 
in Luzerne County “to carry into execution the purposes of this meeting and effectuate the spirit of these
 resolutions.” A Law and Oder League was subsequently formed. 

	Early in the year, in January, a notable charge to the grand jury was delivered by Judge Fuller.
 He gave it as his opinion that criminal procedure could get along very well without the grand jury 
system, depending upon the committing magistrate, the district attorney, the judges and the ordinary 
jury to serve the interests of the justice. The statements were widely discussed in the press of the State.

	In January attorney Thomas D. Shea filed a petition at Harrisburg for the impeachment of 
Judge Henry A. Fuller, making a number of charges and allegations. A committee of the House of
 Representatives was appointed to determine whether there was sufficient warrant for impeachment 
proceedings. Hearings were held in Wikes-Barre. The committee filed a repot completely exonerating
 the judge after going into the charges in detail. IT was the consensus of opinion that the petition should 
not have been presented.

	In January occurred the death of Alfred H. Coon of Kingston, who helped to build the first 
railroad entering the Wyoming Valley; was also the builder and first owner of the Wilkes-Barre and 
Kingston street railway line and the owner of the first steamboat plying between Wilkes-Barre and 
Nanticoke.

	After having been exceedingly liberal in the granting of new liquor licenses the court in 1913
 put a check upon custom and granted very few new ones. An analysis of the applicants showed that there 
were 1,316 foreign born and 519 Americans, and nearly 30 per cent. of the applicants classed as 
Americans were of foreign born parents. This indicated to what extent the saloon business in the county 
is in the hands of foreigners or their immediate descendants.

	In may occurred the death of Mrs. Mary Conway of Nanticoke at the age of 102 years.

	A Criminal Court jury in the case of a young man charged with murder returned a remarkable
 verdict in June. After rendering its decision on the question of quilt the jury recommended that action be 
taken against the saloonkeeper, who sold drink to a company of men early on the Sunday morning the 
crime was committed and against a squire and constable who were said to have been in the place at the
 same time. The supplementary finding of the jury was commended in some quarters and criticized in 
others. No action was taken.

	During the year there was much agitation over the report of the commission appointed by the 
governor to make a study of mine cave conditions and make recommendations for a possible solution 
of the trouble, also over the efforts of a commission to frame a revision of the mine laws. Both subjects 
are noted more in detail under the heading of Mines and Mining in this issue of the almanac.

	The weather during the year was notable for the mildness of the winter. The warmest January
 in years was followed by a cold spell. On the 7th of February the thermometer registered 8 degrees above
 zero in Wilkes-Barre and the river was frozen over. The ice harvesting season was unusually short and a 
small crop was harvested. The usual spring freshet came in March. The river attained a height of 28.52 feet 
and travel with the West Side was completely cut off, over both of the roads between Wilkes-Barre and 
Kingston. The summer was marked by very hot weather in spells. In July an unusually fierce electrical storm 
passed over Wilkes-Barre. At least a dozen places were struck by lightening and there were seven fires 
in the city. The mercury went up to 98 degrees. In August there was another decidedly hot spell. On Sept. 
21 a terrific rain storm visited the valley. Over three inches of rain fell in Wilkes-Barre in a few hours.

	During the latter part of the year Congressman Casey succeeded in interesting federal government 
experts in the flood problem of the Wyoming Valley. In September surveyers were sent to the region to make 
a detailed study of conditions and recommend some plan, if any was deemed practicable. The periodical 
inundations have resulted in greatly increased damage since the lowlands have been built up, owing to the
 pressure of population, and the people of the community became vitally interested in having relief, if possible.
 Various suggestions have been made, some for erecting embankment on the west side, some for diverting
 the channel of the stream to places, and some for dredging the channel. Up to the time the almanac went to 
press a report had not been submitted. The chief engineer of the State Water Supply Commission, in an 
address delivered before the Chamber of Commerce in September, stated that it was possible that at some
 time there would be a flood reaching a river height of forty feet in Wilkes-Barre, or about nine feet higher than
 the 1902 records. This would be the case if rainfall of about six inches took place on the Susquehanna 
watershed. He urged that the people of the valley take deep interest in the efforts to find a remedy.

	In March naturalization court was resumed in Luzerne County after a lapse of some years. Previously
 all aliens were compelled to go to the federal court in Scranton.

	Announcement of the result of the first triennial assessment made under the new system in Luzerne
 County caused a sensation, particularly among property owners. The valuation of taxable property in the county 
was increased form $161,615,762 in 1912 to $312,637,525 in 1913, the greater increase being on coal. The 
board of three assessors had about 120 subordinates in the field, with instructions to level up the discrepancies 
that existed in former years. After their returns had been made the board of three went over parts of the territory
 and revised the figures where it was apparent that the work had not been well done. In some instances valuations
 were advanced three and four times the value placed upon property under the old system, the object being to 
put all property owners on an equal footing. The surprising changes made throughout the county revealed the 
haphazard manner of making former assessments, by which a great many property owners paid far less in
 taxes than they would have paid under an equitable system.

	Radical changes were made in the valuation of coal land. Previously the county commissioners had
 fixed $67 as the value of a foot acre of coal, but the Supreme Court knocked out the per foot standard of 
measurement and decreed that the assessment should be based on the market value per acre.


Transcribed by Heidi Mueller, 14 Jan 2009