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· 209 · 26 All who desire to add their mite to the Emma Bond fund can do so by leaving their dollar with Dr. J. W. Davis at the Sanitarium. He who adds to that fund for the benefit of that unfortunate woman will have done a good act. —Palmyra enterprise, January 16, 1884 After sonny’s funeral, emma and family went into seclusion on their farm to grieve the death of their relative and the disappointing verdict. To the public’s credit, its displeasure with the verdict quickly mellowed into something more constructive. even before the acquittal, there’d been talk of assisting the Bonds in whatever way possible. Now, an altruistic plan was taking shape in Wisconsin : “A movement has been started here to create a fund for the benefit of miss emma Bond. . . . it was decided to solicit subscriptions of one dollar each from all parties in the county, the fund to be placed in the custody of John W. Davis and John H. Davidson of the Palmyra springs sanitarium in this city.”1 The initiative quickly gained a foothold and spread, with towns across the midwest and beyond jumping on the bandwagon. in illinois, Bloomington was the first to take up the cause, with Decatur’s Review chiding its citizens for not doing the same. Leading Bloomington’s effort was a professor named sue m. D. Fry.2 on January 7, she issued an appeal to the educators in her town in hopes that their generosity would encourage teachers everywhere to join the crusade. in iowa, the Davenport Gazette issued this petition: “miss Bond . . . has lost the little all she before possessed, besides suffering the greater despoilment of that which was more dear to her than all else except life, while her father has impoverished himself in mortgaging the inevitable expenses attendant upon the effort to discover and bring to punishment the criminals who ruined his daughter. . . . in every city in the land an ‘emma Bond subscription Fund’ should be opened.”3 Professor Fry aimed her appeal at the rural segment of the population, where country schoolteachers formed the backbone of education. she wisely pointed out the inherent risks women like emma faced: 210 · nameless indignities They labor in schoolhouses, on country roads remote from town or village . Almost invariably, these schoolhouses are located on section corners at long distances from any habitation . . . school duties impel the faithful teacher to presence in the lonely schoolhouse both long before any of her pupils reach the premises and long after they retire. . . . How many of these noblest of all laborers for the public good are anywhere sure of immunity from the grossest of possible wrongs? . . . Therefore, let the teacher in the country schoolhouses be much more thoughtfully regarded henceforth than she has been heretofore.4 if that loquacious plea didn’t produce results from an array of educators, nothing would. on January 14, Hillsboro announced its own charitable fund, bragging that it had already collected $400. The town’s stated goal was to pay off the mortgage on Bond’s farm, so he would not lose it. Closer to home, several benefits were organized, with donors being entertained in return for their contributions. in Taylorville, the nearly complete Vandeveer opera House was the site of a lavish benefit on January 17, where a record-setting crowd dug deep into its pockets, netting another $400 for the victim’s family. The competition escalated as cities vied for the title of “most generous.” each time a new place announced its fund-raiser, a neighboring town would be inspired to do its part. When Decatur still had nothing in the works by January 22, the Review urged its citizens to action by invoking guilt: “An emma Bond fund is being raised in springfield. Why can’t Decatur do something for the deserving young lady?”5 The good people of Decatur were dragging their benevolent feet; perhaps an earlier remark made by the Republican had something to do with this. For although the Bonds were running out of money, the paper had stated that the victim’s father had “emphatically” turned down other large donations. That message probably had Decatur’s citizens wondering if their donations would even be accepted. Two days after the Review had chastised its readers, the Republican issued its own challenge: “Decatur ought to give and give liberally. . . . Who will be the first to give?”6 The paper implored residents to drop off their contributions at its office. And...
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