Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 3 April 1925 — Page 3

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FRIDAY, APRIL 3, 1925.

THE POST-DEMOCRAT.

SEN. RALSTON OPENS DOOR TO EARLY HISTORY Papers Relating To Territorial Days of Indiana Soon Available. Indianapolis April 3.—All the official papers now in the national archives at Washington relating to the territorial historj" of Indiana, will be accessible eventually to historical students of the state under a law introduced by Senator Samuel M. Ralston and enacted lay the last Congress, according to an announcement made yesterday by Christopher B. Coleman, director of the Indiana historical commission. Law Makes Appropriation The law entrusts the work of collecting and editing the territorial papers and preparing copies for the use of states to the chief of the division of publications of the Department of State, and provides an annual appropriation of $20,000 for the next three years, the first appropriation to be available after July 1, 1925. Requests for the deKvery of source material must be made by the Governor of a state, or by any state organization authorized by him to make the request. The executive committee of the Indiana historical commission yesterday, discussed the question of making a requisition on Washington for copies of all Indiana archives as soon as possible, and will ask Gtovternor Jackson to present the requisition at an early day. “The present law represents in good part the result of efforts begun by the late Jacob P. Dunn, for many years a student and author on Indiana historical topics, and at his death secretary to Senator Ralston,” said Mr. Coleman. “Mr. Dunn and others were instrumental in having a resolution embodying the request for such a law passed by the Im&iana Historical Society in December, T922. This resolution proposed a suitable national archives building also. Senator Ralston introduced the ;bill soon after he took office, and in amended form it was passed as one ■ Of the last acts of the last Congress. “Ultimately, it is the hope of persons familiar with the vast treasure house of historical material at Washington to have the national •government publish all these territorial papers, relating to each of the thirty-five states outside the original colonies, in , one collection. This will be found more satisfactory, in all probability, than the attempt to deliver to each state such material as it needs to give a complete documentary back-ground of its territorial history, because in many instances—notably the Northwest territory the Louisiana purchase and the Missouri region—-several states were formed out of one territory, and these states will have many of the original official papers in common.” Valuable Papers in Washington While Indiana now possesses, in its state library and in various universities, copies of many of the more important state and territorial papers of the formative period, a tremendous amount of small material of much value is available only- in the scattered national chives at Washington and it is the purpose of the Ralston law to make all such material available. The Parker calendar of territorial papers, published fifty years ago, lists more than 9,000 documents relating to the territorialhis tory of the states, and this does not include much data in the files of each of the executive departments. The $20,000 annual appropriation for three years will not enable the editors to provide copies of all archives to each of the states, but it is expected that it will be an opening wedge that will show the usefulness of a complete publication of all territorial archives. It is the expectation ut present that under the first operation of the Ralston law verified copies of all relevant papers will be supplied to each state in mimeographed form, and in sufficient quantities to permit a distribution of the copies to institutions entitled to them. 0 NOTICE TO BRIDGE CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that up until 10:00 o’clock A. M. on Tuesday the 14th day of April, 1925, the Board of Commissioners of the County of Delaware, State of Indiana, will receive, at the Auditor’s office in the Court House in the City of Muncie, Indiana, sealed proposals and bids for the cohstruction of the Fred F. Reasoner Bridge, as set out in the specifications, surveys, profile and general plan of said bridge heretofore approved and adopted by said board and now on file in the office of the Auditor of Delaware County, Indiana. Said new bridge will be located cm the Wheeling Pike across Kilbuck Creek in the southeast quarter (1-4) of the southeast quarter (1-4) of section 1, Township 21 north of range 9 east, in Harrison Townsihp, Delaware County, Indiana, The estimated cost of said work is $3,500.00. Each bidder shall file with his proposal a bond equal to the amount of his bid signed by at least two freehold sureties, residents of said Delaware County, or by a qualified bonding company, such bond guaranteeing faithful performance of the contract, and that he promptly will pay all debts incurred in the work, including

labor, materials and boarding laborers. Each i bid shall, also, be accompanied by an affidavit of mon-collusion as required by statute. The time for beginning and completing said work will Ibe ;agreed upon at the date of letting toe contract. Said board reserves the right to reject any and all bids. ANDREW JACKSON JOHN W. MeCREERY, Jr. JOHN W. TRUITT. Board of Commissioners • of Delaware County, Indiana.

Attest:

James V. Dragoo, Auditor Delaware County, Indiana. |Q DODGE BROTHERS AGREE ON SALE TO FIRM OFBANKERS Auto Concern Is Acquired By Dillon, Read & Co., of New York. Detroit, Mich.. April 3.— An agree ment has been reached for the sale of Dodge Brothers, Inc., to Dillon, Read & Co., of New York, it was officially announced early Wednesday night, by A. C. Schwartz, local representative of the New York banking firm. No purchase price was announced. Following an all-day conference, which did not break up until nearly 2 o’clock Wednesday night, Mr. Schwartz issued the following: state-

ment.

“An agreement has been reached for sale of Dodge Brothers, Inc., to Dillon, Read & Co., and contracts of purchase now are being drawn. No Merger Planned “Consolidation of Dodge with any other company or companies is not in contemplation by the purchaser and current rumors of consolidation are entirely Without foundation. It is the intention that Dodge Brothers Jnc., shall continue to be conducted as an independent concern, widiout Change fn policy or personnel <of management.” The terse statement was all that was made public and Mr. Schwartz as well as other representatives (Of Dillon, Read & Co., refused to make any -additions to its text. Although the Dillon, Read & Co. representatives refused to say who i attended Wednesday’s conference, whieh was in continuous session from 10 o’clock Wednesday morning until Wednesday night, it was learned that Wesson Seyburn, attorney representing -the Dodge interests was present in addittion to E. G. Wil mer and S. W.Howland both of New York, and both representatives of Dillon, Read & Co. Secrecy Causes Rumors The secrecy which has shrouded the entire series of negotiations and which has given rise to a flood of rumors involving the General Motors Corporation, the Packard Motor Car Company, the Hudson Motor Car Company and the Briggs Body Corporation, was maintained in the brief interview granted newspaper men. The statement was given news paper men and there was no other announcement of any kind other than that further details would be made public from time to time “as developments warrant.” o NOTICE TO PUBLIC AND TO CONTRACTORS

Notice is hereby given that the undersigned, Board of Commissioners of the County of Delaware, State of Indiana, have adopted certain specifications now on file in the office of the Auditor of Delaware County, Indiana, covering the purchase and installation of a new boiler and pump at the county Infirmary of said county. Also that said Board will, up to 10:00 o’clock A. M. on Saturday the 18th day of April, 1925, at the office of said Auditor in the Court House, receive sealed proposals for the furnishing of said boiler and pump and the installation thereof, in accordance with said specifications. Each bid shall be accompanied by a proper bond equal to the full amount of his bid guaranteeing ' the faithful performance of his contract. Each bid shall also be accompanied by an affidavit of non-collusion as required by law. The estimated cost of the work is $700.00. Said board reserves the right to reject any and all bids. ANDREW JACKSON JOHN W. McCREERY, Jr. JOHN W. TRUITT Board of Commissioners of Delaware County, Indiana. Attest: James P. Dragoo, Auditor Delaware County, Indiana. o CLOSE ENTRIES FOR BALLOON RACES St. Joseph, Mo., April 3.—Entries for the national elimination balloon races which will start from St Joseph May 1, were closed Tuesday. Five balloons, entered by the Air Craft Development company, Detroit, Mich.; the Goodyear Tire and Rubber company, Akron, O.; the French-American Balloon company, St. Louis, and the United States Army wjll participate, being represented by two balloons.

PERU MAY ARGUE ANEW SOME PHASE OF CHILIAN PACT Exact Move On Plebiscite Problem Is In Doubt, Washington Reticent. Washington, April 3.—Further indications of the intention of the Peruvian government to attempt the reopening of certain phases of the Tacna-Arica arbitrational proceedings were available in Washington, today, although no official communication has reached the State Department as yet. The exact form the Peruvian move will take remained in doubt, embassy officials reclining to make any comment beyond the statement that they had not transmitted any communication of such nature to Secretary Kellogg., Department officials were equally reticent, contenting themselves with the reiterated statement that no communication had been received. In the face of this official silence, it was learned that steps to formulate for presentation a reargument on legal grounds of Peru’s contention against plebiscite determination of the sovereignty of the two provinces have been in progress since President Coolidge’s award calling for a plebiscite was announced March 9. Whether this communication has reached its final form and been approved in Lima for presentation to the State Department is not clear. The basis of this phase of the Peruvian case will be the same as that in the original Peruvian brief, however, that the treaty of Ancon provided for a plebiscite “at” the expiration of ten years, and not “after” the expiration of that time. Reports Overstatement. Published reports that the Peruvian communication will amount to a rejection of the award apparently are an overstatement, in view of intimations both here and in Lima, that it will include^ a request for guarantes as to the conditions under which the plebiscite is to be held. u DEMOCRATS PUN TO BOLSTER PARTY Smith and McAdoo To Be Ousted from Presidency Chances. Chicago, April 3.—Members of the strategy board that traveled with John W. Davis in his campaign tours for the rehabilitation of the Democratic party. The high spots are: Election of Governor A1 Smith of New York, to the United States senate next year, or the attempt at least, with the understanding that he will take no part in the Democratic national convention of 1928. That is, he will not again inject his personality into the deliberations of the convention with a view to reviving the religious animosities that tore the party to shreds in Madison Square Garden. Elimination of Clem L. Shaver as chairman of the national committee until just before the pre-prigary campaign of 1928. Oppose Conferences. United opposition to any conferences or attempts to get the leaders together for a formal discussion until after the congressional elections next year. Tacit understanding among all factions that the proposals of Franklin D. Roosevelt as a basis of healing the party wounds shall not be pursu-

ed.

A general agreement on the part of all party spokesmen to adopt the secondary suturing system of surgery and see if the party wounds will not heal by the process of time and fresh air, instead of resorting to grappling hooks and rusty toma hawks. United States Senator Key Pitman of Nevada, who, with Representative Cordell Hull and former Gover nor Jared Saunders ofe Louisiana, traveled with Mr. Davis and sought to warn him against the pitfalls, is sponsor of the new prescription. o NOTICE TO CONTRACTORS CONTRACT NO. 52.

Indiana State Highway Commission Indianapolis, Indiana, March 17, 1925. Seated proposals will be received at the office of the State Highway Commission, Indianapolis, Indiana, at ten o'clock A. M., April 14, 1925, for the Bituminous Surface Treatment on State road as described below: ROAD 33, SEC. M., in Delaware

county extending from the east end of brick road one and one-half miles east of Muncie eastward to Senna, 3-25 miles. Date set for completion of all work November 15, 1925. Bidder shall file bond with his bid equal to one and one-half times the amount of his proposal. Proposals, plans and specifications are on file in the office of The State Highway Commission, Indianapolis, Indiana, where same may be obtained upon payment of $1.00 per set. JOHN D. WILLIAMS. Director. March 27-April 3. gasounetax COLLECTION FOR MAR_$300.000 Passes Same Month Last Year; 1-Cent Advance Is Made Today.

Indianapolis, April 3.—Gasoline tax collections during March, totaled $318,280.53, according to the report of Archie .N. Bobbitt state gasoline tax collector, completed yesterday. The total includes current collections of $311,214.58, delinquent collections amounting to $4,351.55, and additional delinquent taxes discovered by field investigator of $2,714.40. Total collections for March showed an increase of $83,390.88 over the total collected during March, 1924, which was $277,823.70. Total collections for the first quarter of this year, which ended yesterday, were $1,050,689.74, accoi'ding to Mr. Bobbitt. The amount collected in the same three months of this year were $20,742.27. Refunds for the first quarter of 1924 were $17,302.44. Tax is refunded to consumers using tractors, stationary engines, etc., not on the highways. Investigation Results. Since April 1, according to Mr. Bobbitt’s report, the field examiner for the gas tax department has collected $12,253.53. Of this amount, $8,268.75 was obtained as a result of investigations and audits conducted by the examiner himself. Other collections, amounting to $3,984.78, were delinquent taxes reported from the office. The salary and expenses of the field man during the three-months period amounted to $892.09, making the net collections $11,361.44. With collections for the month totaling more than $300,000, it is expected the collections this month will approximate more than $450,000 as a result of the 1-cent increase in the tux, effective Wednesday. WHAT IN HECK (Continued from Pags One) point him president of the hoard of works. The public is somewhat mystified concerning the duties of a riding baliff, and what it is that he is supposed to ride, unless it is a hobby horse, a form of semi-equestrian exercise made popular by the White House. The only thing the public understands dearly about this riding bailiff business is the six dollars and a half per day that the taxpayers will have to dig up to keep another of Billy Williams’s henchmen in beans. In a moment of absent-mindedness the legislature in 1921 enacted a law permitting judges to name ‘‘riding bailiffs,’’ and an attempt was made in the recent legislature to repeal the fool law. Senator Jim Fitch is said to have favored the repeal and is quoted as saying that "nobody but a crook would think of making such an unnecessary appointment.” Immediately after the passage of the law in 1921 an attempt was made by local republican polticians to induce Judge W. A. Thompson to create this new job. The judge looked up the law and finding that the court had the right to name the salary told the politicias that he would accede to their request, fixed the salary at twenty-five cents a day and told them to bring on their candidate for the job. It Is needless to say that no "iirther attempts were made to induce Judge Thompson to create this useless position. It remained for Judge Dearth to fall for it and of course one of Billy’s pets drew the plum. Billy and his gang have sworn a solemn oath to see to it that no use less surplus shall pile up the county treasury, if they have to put every Billy Williams gangster in Liberty township on the payroll. It is now in order for the county commissioners to advertise for bids for a jackass or a rocking horse in order to make the April Fool joke a complete success.

(Continued from Page One) be expended for any purpose not directly connected with these utilities. As the light and water plant was out of debt, and as Bluffton needed a new city building, Senator George Saunders, democrat, of Bluffton, Introduced in the recent legislature a bill authorizing Bluffton to transfer the water and light surplus money to the general fund and permit the city to

use it in the erection of the new city building. The bill passed both houses by a unanimous vote and now Bluffton is to have a new city building paid for wholly out of the profits of her municipal light and water system. Anderson, Fort Wayne, Logansport, South Bend and many other Indiana cities can point to similar successes in the operation of their municipality owned utilities. In this galaxy of practically conducted cities, Muncie is not perhiitted to take a seat. Muncie is in a class by herself in the state of Indiana, being known everywhere as the worst public utility ridden city in the middle west. Here, if the light water, gas or telephone companies want anything, all they have to do is to ask for it. The people are paying the very top rate for service, a large percentage of their monthly “dues” being used to pay interest on bonded indebtedness and inflated stock flotations, which are offered to the public with a guarantee of seven per cent, dividends, together with all other devices known to mankind to give a plausible excuse for demanding higher rates. Muncie is now putting up a new city building, hut God bless you, not from profits made from any municipality owned utility. The building is going up in spite of our philanthropic gas, water, light and telephone companies, who feel grieved no doubt, to find that the people here have “held out” on them long enough to build a new home for the democratic administration that will take office the first of next January. Muncie has been a badly governed city for many years. Early in the

game a republican city administration sold out the city-owned light plant and later a democratic council, pledged to municipal ownership, treacherously sold the transmission system to the light company for a song, permitting the light magnates to sing the song themselves. We are calling attention to this to show that no one particular political party here has been responsible for the outrage of delivering our citizens over to the tender mercies of the sauv e gentlemen who have pulled the strings. Beginning soon the Post-Democrat will begin the publication of a “continued story,” for which we have long been gathering data, which will inform the public of the amazing acts of corruption and graft, beginning many years ago and running down to the present time. We will show you how the people were deliberately sold out by grafters in and out of office, and how our citizenship, betrayed and robbed, have been mercilessly fleeced by the utility magnates who profited by these shameless transactions. The commercial club, cvr as it is now known, the chamber of commerce, has been an abject creature of the utilities and by its advocacy of their cause has given their depredations an air of respectability. The extremely financial gentlemen who meet occasionally in the chamber of commerce rooms to discuss ways and means for trimming honest folks have run the politics of Muncie just about long enough. It is not yet too late to redeem the city from its exploiters, who take their toll from every dollar earned in Muncie.

DOHENY SELLS HIS INTEREST IN OIL Standard (Ind.) Is In Purchasing- Group—Stock Is Near $38,326,500.

New York, April 3.—Control of the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company was passed Wednesday, by Edward L. Doheny, chairman of the board and members of his family to a syndicate composed of the banking firm of Blair & Company interests’identified with the Chase banking group, together with British interests represented by Lord Inverforth, and the Standard Oil Company (Indiana). While the consideration was not stated, the new group acquires 501 000 shares out of the 1,001,536 of the voting stock outstanding, the market value of which, based at Wednesday’s closing price of 76 1-2, is $38,326,500. Mr. Doheny and members of his family held this stock in the name of the Petroleum Securities Company. The new interests have organized the Pan-American Eastern Petroleum Corporation, which was incorporated in Delaware last Thursday, to hold the stock of the Pan-Ameri-can Petroleum and Transport Company thus acquired. The authorized capitalization of the new corporation is 250,000 shares of preferred at $100 par value and 1,000,000 shares of common stock of no par value. The new company also has acquired the stock of the British-Mex-iean Petroleum Company, Ltd., which was for several years important as the European fuel marketing conection of the Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company.

Cheap Fraud

One of the biggest jokes in the present primary campaign In Muncie is the candidacy of a fellow named Ervin Black, who has announced himself as a candidate for the democratic nomination for councilman from the ninth ward. Black is a republican and is a member of the ‘‘new” klan. He is employed at the Warner Corporation as a machinist and is in the department that is superintended by Frank Sample, husband of Nina Sample, republican she-politician, deputy assessor under George Pfeiffer, professional jurywoman, republican election commissioner and cheer leader for John Hampton, the all day sucker. The name of Ervin Black appears at the masthead of a socalled democratic weekly sheet that is edited and printed by Frank Parrott, editor of a republican newspaper at Eaton, member of the republican county central committee, former “klexter” of Delaware Klan No. 4, but now a member of the new klan and one of the defendants in the suit brought against the new klan by the original hundred percent, outfit. Black has no more to do with the running of the so-called democratic paper than the man in the moon, but he was selected as the one to have his name in the editorial head by his factory boss, Frank Sample, who had been ordered by Postmaster Billy Williams to pick out the goat. The Post-Democrat is now in possession of a letter from Postmaster General Harry New in which he states that the application of the paper for admission to the mails contains an affidavit to the effect that the owner is Mrs. Eva Parrott of Eaton. Eva Parrott is the wife of Frank Parrot. She is a republican and served on the Eaton election board last fall as a republican. Ervin Black has always been known by his associates as a republican. His name appears on the poll book of his precinct, as a republican. In the last election he drove a car decorated with republican banners and throughout the campaign the windows of his home displayed Coolidge and Dawes litographs. The paper was started for the purpose of taking legal advertising away from the Post-Democrat to which the latter newspaper was entitled. The paper is a rank fraud and is backed by Postmaster Billy Williams and Sheriff Hoffman. Williams ordered Nina Sample to find an “editor” for the freak sheet and she passed the job on to her husband, who considered the names of a number of the laborers in his department before finally deciding on Black. The Post-Democrat has positive proof of these matters and one of these day’s hell’s going to pop. We have the evidence, among other things, that even after Sample had settled on Black as the goat, he did not settle the matter definitely until he had seen Postmaster Williams and secured his O. K. The paper has no circulation, but is kept alive merely to permit republican public officials to fraudulently run their legal advertising in it. In a recent issue the first page was adorned by a three column * likeness of Nina Sample, and an editorial comment praising Assessor Pfeiffer, who gave Nina a job as deputy assessor, shows what kind of a “democratic” newspaper it is, and also shows the Sample connection. Of course Black has no idea that he can be nominated by democrats as candidate for councilman. He announced himself to make his bluff good of being “editor” of a democratic newspaper. Of course factory jobs are scarce, and its tough to be thrown out of a job in the winter time for refusing to lick the boots of the boss, but Black’s fellow workmen think he is rather overdoing the job.