Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 12 May 1922 — Page 1

THE ONLY DEMOCRATIC NEWSPAPER IN DELAWARE COUNTY

THE MUNCIE POST-DEMOCRAT

VOL. 2. NUMBER 19.

MUNCIE, INDIANA, FRIDAY, MAY 12, 1922

SUBSCRIPTION PRICE $2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE

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Where Oh Where Will we Find a Party That Will Stand For the Moncie Post-Democrat ?

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Now that Obadia Kilgore, the proxy democratic county chairman, and Billy Finan, in convention assemabled, behind closed and locked doors, have declared that the Post-Demo-ciat is not a democratic newspaper and that its editor is a democrat, where will we look for a summer home ? One thing is practically, certain, and that is that Billy Williams and h's republican organization will refuse to take the newspaper outcast _ into camp, and Bill Daniels, the socialist leader who stepped aside long enough last fall to write poetry for Doc Bunch, will refuse us entry into the socialist camp. Considering the fact that the Williams republican organization and the Kilgore democratic organization are both antagonistic to the PostDemocrat, the former because of its cnerpletic attack on the republican county administration, controlled by Williams, the average citizen _ fails to nrnsp the logic of the situation. The mere fact that the Williams republican organization bears a deadly hostility to the Post-Democrat, becau'se of its disclosures of graft and rottenness in the republican county administration, ought to be evidence in itself of the pure democracy of the Post-Democrat and its editor. If the Democratic county chairman were on the square, instead of offer in r | himself as a tool for a bunch of crooks and grafters who fear the Post-Democrat as the devil hates holy water, he would not attempt to drive from the party an agency which real democrats believe will be of great value in the coming battle for democracy, if such thick heads as Obedia Kilgore and a few others of his stripe and mental calibre are kept in the background, where they belong). Kilgore, and the little gang that is behind him. and Williams, the head of the republican organization, are conspiring rop.ether right now. They have batched up a scheme to defeat certain democrats and certain republicans. Both organizations hate the Post-Democrat because they know we are onto their dirty little scheme and will expose it. “When The proper time comes the Post-Democrat will name the candidates who are to be slaughtered by the bi-partisan machine. And in the meantime don’t overlook the fact that Billy Williams is the head of both democrat and republican organizations.

NOW HIS WIFE KNOWS

Barking, Eng.—Unknown to his wife, John Fergiuson hoarded his sayings of Sf>75 in an old tin can. His wife found it and threw it away. John recovered it after six hours’ search.

ANOTHER “NEWLY POOR” London—Lord Balfour of Burleigh has had to close his country home owing to the cost of upkeep.

Prohibition Is Showing Profit

Director Day Says It Is Netting Us 300 Per Cent

New York, May 11—Prohibition is paying 300 per cent profit to the federal government, acceding to statistics made public last Friday by Ralph A. Day. The figures are based on calculations made recently by Prohibition Commissioner Haynes, who estimates that prohibition will cost the giovernment for enforcement $10,000,000 this year. Fines penalties and special taxes imposed during the first six months of the present prohibition administration would pay two and one-half times the cost budget for the entire 12 months. These figures do not include $3,000,000 in bonds forfeited to the government, $2,000,000 that has been offered in compromise by 24 of the largest violators, or $6,000,O00 in differential or prohibitive tax. Prohibitive laws are winning in congress by three to one and in some states such as Kansas, prohibitive legislation has won by fifty to one, according to Mr. Day. The House a few weeks ago passed by a majoritv of three to one a measure to deport all alien violators of the Volstead law. Liquor withdrawals in 1920 were 12.500,000 gallons; in 1921, 3,500,690 giallons, and in 1922 they are expected to drop to 2,000,000 gallons. Even this last estimate is 500,000 gallons in excess of the normal medical reouircments. In twenty-four states liouor i not prescribed by phisicians. There are 150,000 physicians in the United States. Forty thousand of these reside in the twenty-four states that are medically dry. Of the 110,000 remaining, less than 35,(M)0 have asked for or been given permits to prescribe liquor. - -UHsrmg tlrr- ttp s InriTrc-diately ceding prohibition the annual consumption of liouors in the United States was 150,000.000 gallons of American made whisky alone. Of all the liquor seized, less than 2 per cent has been found to be high grade. Ninety-eight per cent, according to chemical analysis, is dangerous to life. On January 1, 1922, there were 500 breweries manufacturing neah-beer. Two hundned and eighty-live breweries have been renorted for violation of the law. Ninety-five breweries are now under seizure. There have been more than 10,000 individuals convicted fo violations within the last nine months. Throughout the country arrests for drunkenness have decreased 60 per cent under prohibition, Mr. Day says.

The Shadow of Newberry When the senate voted to seat Newberry, of Michigan, after he had been convicted in federal court and given a prison sentence for stealing his seat in the senate, the PostDemocrat declared that the people would eventually retire to private life every senator who voted to seat a felon in our highest legislative body. The defeat of Senator Harry New, the man who was known as the mouthpiece and personal representative in the senate of President Warren Gamaliel Harding, may be laid to many different sources, but we insist that if Senator New had had the courage to assist in expelling the unworthy Newberry, instead of voting to seat him, neither Albert J. Beveridge nor any other Indiana republican could have jarred him loose from his seat in the United States senate. On the fourth day of March Harry New and his black Stetson hat will fade away from the senate chamber and a democrat, the Hon. Samuel M. Ralston, will take his place. Under ordinary circumstances Albert Jeremiah would be a tough nut to crack, because of his personal following and his reputation as a speaker and writer, but he has made the vital mistake of declaring himself in accord with the Harding administration, and publicly declaring Harding as his choice for renomination in 1924. The people of Indiana have no further stomach for Harding. They have no stomach for the candidacy of any republican who will stand for the Harding policies. Harding was a friend of Newberry and assisted in seating the Michigan crook in the senate. Beveridge will meet the same fate that befell New, who voted to seat Newberry, when he attempted to apologize for Harding, who used the power of the entire administration to whitewash Newberry and place him in the senate, rather than the penitentiary, where he belonged. In every state this year where senators are up for renomination who voted to seat Newberry, hot contests are being made. Indiana led the way by sending Harry New to the discard and other states will follow suit. The great and august republican party, sometimes referred to as the Grand Old Party^ will find next fall that it made the mistake of its life in seating Newberry. Just as the city of Muncie refused last fall for a federal ex-convict for mayor, so will the people of ttie nation turn thumbs down on a political party which endorsed Newberry, who stole his election as senator, and after being convicted of a felony was whitewashed-by the republican senate.

Finan and Obedia to the Front Just at a time when it began to appear that the democrats of Delaware County had a splendid chance to win in the coming election, a half baked bunch of dubs, claiming to be democrats, started a rough house, and unless these disorganizers and traitors are driven out of the party and disclaimed by the candidates, the democratic candidates might just as well hang up their little fiddle and bow and get ready for the licking that they deserve. At a meeting of a small number of de mocratic committeemen. ]ast Saturday afternoon, Obediah Kilgore was elected county chairman, or rather, a person named Harry Dowling, who was brought in from the wilds to act as chairman of the meeting, so declared him to be after Billy Finan and Obed had made perfervid pleas for the counting of a gob lot of proxies which Obed had paid a man to go out and get. The meeting was described by the Star as a “stormy’’ meeting. Stormv was hardly the word. It was merely idiotic. B ut at that it was a fair example of Billy Finan and Doc Bunch strategy. Doc was too smart to be caught in the same room with the dupes who had been herded together to put over the program, bu t Billy Finan was there in all his glory. it was said that of the few committeemen who were present a majority opposed thro selection of Kilgore as chairman, ami an effort was made to pass a resolution which would prevent the voting of the proxies whi ch had been accumulated by Billy Finan and Obediah Kilgore. Kilgore called the meeting to order, bu t surrendered the chair to Dowling, who was named as temporary chairman. After the selection of Dowling it was difficult to pry Kilgore Ipose from the chair, where he sat, r egardless of the selection of a chairman of the meeting, and persisted not only in enter taining motions, but in doing all the arguing. He was finally chased off the chair and Dowling took charge of the gravel. Careful inquiry fails to reveal that he had ever b efore been called upon to serve in a similar capacity, but we will have to say this for hi m, he put on a real for sure show. Following the illustrious example of the profound Obedia, he insisted on doing most of the arguing on the motion to disqualify the proxies Obedia had hired a man to get. He worked himself into a fine lather becau se there were some democrats present who thought they were in a democratic meeting instead of a bulsheveeky camp or a Ku Klux Kluster. When Denny Cleary, one of the best democrats on God’s footstool, laughed out loud at the idiotic performance, the offended chairman, yelling like a Commanche Indian and pounding on the desk with both fists, b awled out that he would clear the room and made a rush at Cleary, and seemed to be on the point of attacking him. Those who expected to see Cleary jump out of the window or climb up the chandelier or dive down the stairway, were horribly disappointed. The threats did not move him and the ridiculous demonstration by the chairman of the meeting only served to disgust decent democrats who were present. It was finally agreed that the proxies'rnight be used and Obedia was triumphantly elected and will be given the opportunity to lead the party to another glorious defeat. When the vote was taken, Billy Finan turned to one who was opposed to Kilgore and said: “Well, I got what I wanted in spite of you. I put it over on you. I always get what I want.” It was apparent that Billy wanted Obedia. Well, he got him and they ought to make a congenial pair. After the ceremonies above described, all but Billy Finan and a few of the chosen were excluded from the room. They went Into what they called an executive session, and passed a resolution denouncing the Post-Democrat and its editor. We did not have the pleasure of reading a copy of the lovely document, but it very likely tenders a vote of thanks to the band of armed and masked thugs who tried to murder the editor and his son several weeks ago.

Sugar Gouge Will Rob People Of Millions If Tarriff

Grab Is Allowed To Get By

“What will this proposed tariff tax of 2 cents a pound on sugiar, which many G. O. P. Congressmen as well as a few Pelican Democrats wish raised to 2% cents a pound, cost the American consumer,” asks the Louisville Courier Journal. It will cost the American consumer, according to sugar statistics of 1921, $173,859,324 a year. How much will the 2 cent tariff tax on sugar take from the American consumer and hand over to the cane suf jar growers of Louisiana and to the beet sugar planters of Colorado, Utah and other beet-growing States ? It will take from the American consumer a total of $49,520,000 a year. : of which amount Louisiana cane su- . ,c/ar growers will get $9,200,000 and . beet sugar planters will get $40,320,000. Here is how it is figured: In 1921, the continental United States consumed 8,692,966,736 pounds of sugar. At 2 cents a pound on that amount of sugar, the taric tax levied by the pending Tariff Bill would be $173,859,324.60.

sumer, it will run up to 4 or even 5 cents a pound. The Government’s tax is fixed: its revenue from the sugar tariff or from any other tariff rate can be no more "than what the law prescribes, unless Mr. Harding be given the power he asks to increase the tax when he pleases. The tax that manipulators in sugjar, wool and other articles pass on to the consumers goes through various hands, each one of which gets its share of the tariff graft, increasing until it lands on the consumer. The Courier Journal singles out this sugar schedule because the sugar tax is one of the least offensive of all tariff duties, owing to the fact that two-thirds of the tax goes as revenue into the National Treasury. What the wool tax, the hide tax, the steel tax and so on will cost the American people, it is depressing to think of. The sugar schedule alone will serve to prove that the FordneyMcCumber Tariff Bill is the worst scheme that has yet been legislatively devised to filch money from the masses of the people to be handed over to the “protected interests”.

That’s what this 2 cent sugar tariff will soak the American people within one year after it goes into effect, based upon the consumption of 1921. In 1921, cane sugar production in the United States amounted to 460,000,000 pounds; beet sugjar production to 2,616,000.000 pounds—making a total production in the United States of 2,476,000,000 pounds. A 2-cent tax on this total production amounts to the sum of $49,520,000. By means of his duty on sugar, sugar-cane planters in Louisiana g'et 2 cents a pound on their 460,000,000 pounds, or $9,200,000. Beet sugjar growers of the West get 2 cents a pound on every poung of their 2,016,000.000 pounds or $40,320,000. These figures are based upon a 'ax of 2 cents instead of 2% cents. If the 2%-cent rate is adopted, the American consumer of sugar will have the privilege of being) gauged for onefourth more than this $49,520,000, or $32,380,000, making a total of $61,900,000 that the- Amm-rcarr'consumers of sugar wdll have the pleasure of handing over to the starving beet sugar growers of the West and the famishing sugar cane planters of Louisiana.

OBERAMMERGAU EXPELS PASSION PLAY PROFITEERS

Oberammergau—Two English and three Greek merchants who came here with the purpose of mulcting the Passion Play visitors have been ordered to leave. Arrangements have been made to provide all visitors with food at fair prices, but it is going to be impossible to house thousands of people who wish to come. COUNTERFEITERS TRAPPED Wokingham, Eng.—In three men captured here after a fight the police believe they have the conterfeiters who have operated in England for six years.

HYENA OPERATED ON London—The laughing* hyena at the Zoo has been successfully operated on for rickets.

TRAGEDY Torquay, Eng.—A jealous woman is being sought as slayer of Thomas Watson and Miss Mildred Forest, found murdered in Lovers’ Lane.

These choice spirits, behind closed doors, had the audacity to declare in their resolution that the Post-Democrat was not a democratic Newspaper, and itbiat its editor was running it “for personal gain,” when eve rybody knows that we are merely running it for our health. It will be recalled that a few self appointed gangsters met at the celebrated Grand Hotel during the city campaign and passed a resolution somewhat similar in nature. The Grand Hotel bunch also made extensive plans to start a new democratic newspaper to put the Post-Democrat on the blink. The scheme died in the shell but ib was revived by Obedia and Billy Finan Saturday afternoon, when a resolution was passed endorsing the Delaware County Democrat as the “official organ” of the democratic party. It was declared that the paper would be “launched” about'June first and conducted by Bob Parkinson, a well known young Muncie newspaper man. The boast was made that Billy William s had agreed to throw the county and city printing to the proposed new sheet and tha t it would be as easy as rolling off a log to exterminate the Post-Democrat. Of course they failed to take into account that Billy Williams cannot “throw” anything. He is a dead pigeon. He happened, like Obedia, to control enough paresis minded committeemen to get himself elected county chairman, but that is about as far as he can go. The city printing is handled by the Qui ck administration, which thinks almost as much of Billy as a rattlesnake, and the county printing is placed by Auditor Jim Dragoo, who was nominated by a majority of 1633 b ecause Billy Williams was fighting him. The Post-Democrat has no fear of the sewer rats who are behind this scheme. When their little ship is “launched” about June 1, it would be well to take on board plenty of life preservers. Bob Parkinson is a fine fel low, personally, but the rats, ex-convicts and jail birds who are preparing to “launch,” are not going to be allowed to say who represents the democratic party in Muncie. The candidates themselves, who ought t o be more interested in the campaign than anybody else, must either sanction or condem n the act of the committee. If it is the policy of the committee to resort to low pers onalities and attacks on a democratic newspaper which has been fearless in defending and advocating the principles of the democratic party, we would be pleased to have th e candidates come out in the open and say, whether they agree with the committee, or c ondemn them. We take it that there can be no middl e ground in a case of this kind. The PostDemocrat thinks more of the democratic pa rty than it does of any individual or set of individuals, be they candidates or otherwis e. The Post-Democrat will oppose any candidate who ties up with the Kilgore-Finan co mbination. Such a democrat could not be trusted in a log yard.

Can the Wrong Ever Be Set Right Editor Post-Democrat:—■ Dark was the night of superstition when the dark agjes fell like a black pall over the earth. Black was the century that followed it. Gloom spread its gray wings over the face of the deep and the earth became a veritable charned house. Black, hellish and heinous was that awful spectacle which greeted the eyes of a shuddering and helpless earth. But it came like a typhoon at midnight, and the earth was drenched in blood. Superstition had its day. Can the wrong then wrought ever he ightel? Doubt holds the balance of power! It never will. NOW We come down the centuries which have lapsed into eternity, to the twen-ty-second year of the twentieth century, the universally proclaimed period oftmercy and civilization and to WHAT? To view one of the most lamentable, humiliating and disgraceful, and

awe-creating spectacles ever written into history, to the shame of every loyal American citizen, and should be to the disgrace of every disloyal mountebank who contributed to the social assassination. We speak in terms unstinted, in words unmistakable, when all earthly crimes, save, alone, the Calvarian crucifixtion, was cbmmitted when an ungrateful, unfeeling, nop-apprecia-tive, unpatriotic, ill-tempered people turned on one of the world’s most masterful heroes, statesmen, patriots and unflinching! leaders, and, like so many devouring wolves and ravens, made social mess off the tried, true, unrelenting patriot, statesman, hero and equalizer of human wrongs, and adjuster of the ills which seethed in the earth from the effects of a carnage which history a century away will record as appalling^—as the earth’s greatest crime. GRIEF follows the sinful, and the gall of bitterness will arouse the souls from their slumber who contributed to the inhuman task of wrecking body and mind of the peer of his day, the lead-

er of men, the soul of consciennoble WOODROW WILSON. The sneers of the scoffer and the insults of the inferior will come upon them in years, decades and centuries to come, as a sheet of blue flame across their vision and mark them for derision, aye, even despair. AND THEY SHOULD But, when the hate and passion have died away, and men regain consciousness again, then it will be that a shamed and heart-stricken people will lift the veil and exclaim, “mighty was the man we persecuted to his doom, still mightier were his works, and we have paled into less than littleness, and the world will stand aghast at our wantofl, wicked injustice and exclaim, “migjhty was WOODROW WILSON who lived far in advance of his day, and saw the future in dispair because it would not disturb to the tocsin of warning from a genuine TEMPORAL REDEEMER”! How can it do less and be right?

Apealingly,

CHARLES N. MITCHELL.

Muncie, Ind.

The total tax, at the rate of 2y 2 cents a pound, on the total amount of sugar consumed by 'the American neonle will in that case be, not $373,8‘>9 324, but one-fourth more, or $217,324151. Everyone knows that by the time this tar'ff tax of 2 cents or 2% cents a pound on sugar gets to the con-

Bath, Eng.—Capt. Foxcraft, Member of Parliament for Bath, has written a play which will be produced in London.

DRINK RADIUM WATER Cardiff—Radio-active water from Tolgarrick mine, near Truro, will be served in a Spa to be erected there.

Difference Between Connty Chairmen There may be some who read the Post-Democrat and conceive the idea that we have a personal antipathy against Billy Williams, infirmary boss and undisputed head of the Delaware County republican organization, but nothing is farther from the truth. As a matter of fact we are under obligations to Mr. Williams for numerous little friendly personal attentions which render it extremely difficult to attack certain policies of his which, in our judgment, and in the judgment of all with whom we have consulted, are bad to the core and detrimental to the interests of the tax payers of Delaware

County.

Personally Mr. Williams is a very affable man, and it is not hard to understand how he holds his organization together. Furthermore, Billy knows when he is whipped and no real political general amounts to a tinker’s cuss unless he has that attribute. In the recent primary Billy was skinned a mile when I he attempted to defeat certain republican candidates, but J was successful in electing a majority of the committeemen, which made it possible for him to be reelected republican county chairman. Billy had too much political sense to celebrate his election as county chainnan by challenging the republicanism I of any man who had fought him. Instead he put on a big feed at the Hotel Roberts for friend and foe alike on his committee, and at least presented a front of unity and harmony, no matter what his private feelings might have been. In direct opposition to the ring generalship displayed by Mr. Williams comes the idiocy of Obedia Kilgore who in 1920 hopped from the cornfields of Salem Township into the limelight of publicity by leading Delaware County democracy to its most disastrous defeat in history, and then duplicating his performance in 1922 by forcing himself in as an organization leader in the city campaign which •resulted in the election of a republican mayor by a majority of over two thousand. In the latter campaign Kilgore stupidly fought the Post-Democrat and its publisher because the latter would not stand for the domination of the democratic party by ex-convicts, and history ought to have demonstrated to Obedia and the gang he represents that they will not get very far in their present attacks. Kilgore has no ability as an organizer, he allows enemies of the democratic party to control his actions as head of the central committee, he has no personal traits or following which distinguishes the leadership of the republican county chairman, and unless the candidates get together and kick him out of the position which he secured by hiring a man to secure proxies for him, there will not be a candidate elected on the democratic ticket either in Delaware County or in Center Township.