Other days

100 YEARS AGO Jan. 18, 1914 FORT SMITH - C. H. Casner was arrested by City Marshal J. M. Bates at Crowder, Okla., and taken to McAlester yesterday, where he was held to await the action of the United States Grand Jury on a charge of selling liquor in the Indian country. Incidentally, Casner is charged with operating a new wrinkle in the whiskey business. For the past several weeks a peddler has been making Oklahoma towns near Fort Smith, selling five gallons of whiskey for $25. The can contained four gallons of water and one gallon of “good” whiskey. The whiskey and water were separated by placing the liquor in a separate can inside the can containing the water. A small tube was attached to the can containing the whiskey, and prospective purchasers were permitted to participate in a liberal sample.

50 YEARS AGO Jan. 18, 1964 CONWAY - Two-dollar bills were much in evidence here this weekend as nine Conway industries make their weekly payrolls with the odd denomination bills. The payrolls of the nine industries totaled almost $75,000. The Industrial Committee of the Conway Chamber of Commerce spearheaded the campaign to have the salaries paid in $2 bills.

25 YEARS AGO Jan. 18, 1989

Success of Little Rock’s year-old seat belt law has spurred House Bill 1169, which would mandate use of the safety devices statewide, a cosponsor said Tuesday. Similar bills have failed in recent legislative sessions, including the 1987 regular session, but Rep. Doug Wood of Sherwood, one of the bill’s cosponsors, thinks the bill will be a success. “Last time, there was no empirical data on how much money it (the lack of a seat belt law) was costing the state of Arkansas,” Wood said. But a recent study by a pro-seat belt group estimates seat belt legislation would save $150 million in direct costs, insurance costs and workers’ compensation, Wood said.

10 YEARS AGO Jan. 18, 2004 FORT SMITH - The Arkansas-Missouri Railroad is planning to start a once-a-week run of a vintage passenger train between Fort Smith and Springdale. The plan is to run the train on Sundays, April through August. The first run is to be April 4. The train will run from Springdale to Fort Smith with stops in Van Buren coming and going. Commitments from the railroad and from Fort Smith for the run has been more than four years in the planning, Brown said.

Arkansas, Pages 18 on 01/18/2014

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