Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 10 June 1926 — Page 1

THE POST-DEMOCRAT

VOLUME 6—NUMBER 21.

MUNCIE, INDIANA, THURSDAY, JUNE 10, 1926.

Price 5 Cents a Copy—$2.00 a Year

DEARTH SAYS MUNCIE IS IN DEPLORABLE CONDITION

MiMSTERIAL FRAUD SAYERS ASPIRE TO SCHOOL BOARD AND CITIZENS HOLD NOSE

V i

At the council meeting, last Monday night, the keel worms failed to hump FYed McClellan off the school board and replace him by the obnoxious, impossible, unthinkable Billy Sayers. The vote stood six to six between Sayers and the incumbent, Mr. McClellan, President Frank Budd, said to be a Sayers supporter, being absent. It was finally decided to post^ pone further action until June 21, when the council will meet and come to a decision. The roll of honor, those who voted for McClellan, is composed of Claspeil, Friedley, McCullough, Dawson, Wallace and Allen. ‘ Those who so far forgot themselves as to vote to place on the school board a man, and an alleged preacher, who ought now to be in the penitentiary for the commission of a felony are: Hoffman, brother of H-.rry Adams, Barclay, Hayler, Herron and Replogle. Rev. Sayers was the only preacher who supported Hampton, with the exception of Rev. Edgar Fayrie Daugherty, who hadn’t been here long enough to know what was going on when the election was held. When the grand jury investigated the wrecking of the Bell Piano Company, of which the Rev. Billy was receiver, he was protected by Prosecutor Ogle and Sayers’s brother, and partner ,who resided in Fort Wayne,

was the only one indicted, although there was just as much evidence against the Muncie preacher as there was against his brother. Somebody “leaked,” the Ft. Wayne Sayers got the tip that he had been indicted and he skipped out and is now a fugitive from justice. With this club held over the head of the Rev. Billy, the latter was forced to go to the front for Hampton and now if the gang can elect him he will be forced to act as a catspaw on the school board for the^^Billy Williams outfit. The gang waters at the mouth every time they think of the vast amount of money expended each year by the city schools and with their hungry eyes on the bank roll they brazenly attempt to foist this ministerial fraud and near-convict into control of our school system. It has also been made public that with Sayers elected this year another machine flunky will succeed Ed Tuhey next year, and that Lee Baird, brother-in-law of Billy Williams, and present county superintendent of schools, will at once be named manager of the city schools to succeed Glenn Brown. If the council eleccts the mountebank Canuck Sayers and displaces a man like Fred McClellan, one could hardly blame the people of Muncie, no matter what kind of action they might take.

3 JACK DANIEL MEN UBERATED BY COURT RULE Motlaw, Heffermen, Hahlman Not Required To Answer Indictments.

Nashville, Tenn., June lb—Petition by the United States government for removal of Lem Motlow, Thomas A. Hefferman and Harry L. Dahlman, Nashville, formerly owners of the Jack Daniel distillery at St Louis. Mo., To the District court at‘Indianapolis where, with others they are under indictment for alleged violation of the national prohibition law, was denied by District John J. Gore yesterday. The opinion of Judge Gore recites that the facts in the case as he views them do not prove that the defendants are guilty of the offenses as named in the indictments, that a review of the evidence in fact “does not cast even a suspicion upon the defendants, nor does it give ground for guess, surmise or conjecture that these three defendants were implicated in the conspiracy to rob the warehouse.” The effect of the ruling is that Motlow, Dahlman and Hefferman are

released on their petitions of habeas corpus and need not answer indictments at Indianapolis unless after appeal by the government their removal is upheld by the higher court.

The Jack Daniel liquor case, tried before Judge Robert C. Baltzell in Federal court here, was considered one of the most important tried in this district. Among the twentythree defendants found guilty of conspiracy to violate the national prohibition law included the United States collector of customs from St. Louis, a former United States senator and state senator from Missouri, politicians, wealthy business men and others.

Starving Siberians Turn Cannibals

Nome, Alaska—A tale of deaths from starvation and of cannibalism is told by Capt. Ira Rank of the motor ship Trader, who has just returned from a trading cruise among the islands in Bering sea. Capt. Rank says 300 natives at Indian Point, Siberia, across Bering strait from Alaska, died from starvation last winter and that those of the natives who survived ate their comrades, relatives and dogs. Many of the natives killed their wives and children with knives and then committed suicide to end their misery.

A Fine Bunch Indeed!

While looking into the protected vice situation in Muncie, involving the police department, Judge Dearth might turn the spotlight on another grafting outfit, the Hampton board of works. Harry Hoffman, a common crook, is chairman of the board. The other republican member is Lon Thornburg, manager of the Hotel Roberts, where rotten booze is sold and drank by “our boys and girls” and by the republican machine gang, which has a lurking place on the fourth floor of the tavern. The democratic member of the. board is Cliff Cranor, who deserted the democratic party in the last city election and was rewarded for his service in helping to elect Hampton by the appointment. A check up on the activities of the board of works shows that certain contractors are favored while others have no show whatever. Contracts in almost every instance have been let to the. highest bidder and property owners are mercilessly robbed in order that the grafters may get theirs. The Magic City Supply company, managed by a brother of Harry Hoffman, chairman of the board of works, and one of whose principal stockholders is Claude Hines, Hoffman’s business partner, has the agency of almost every kind of material used in street, alley, sidewalk and sewer work. Specifications are so worded that the Magic Supply company must be patronized by contractors. Next week the Post-Democrat will give facts and figures which should prove to the most skeptical that the crookedness in the police department is more than matched in the department of the board of works. With so many good jails and penal.institutions scarce of help, the Post-Democrat insists that Judge Dearth take a stand against all the grafters of the city and county administrations. Running a few unfortunate women out of town and letting the big fish remain will not hurt the grafters.

COUNTY SHOULD REJECT WHITE ELEPHANT.

The acceptance by the county commissioners of the Mary Jane Luick estate, to be used for the erection and maintenance of a “commodious, handsome building,” as the will provides, promises to be a vexatious problem which will have to be solved some time or other. The estate consists mostly of cheap residence properties, in a bad state of repair, quite a number of them being located in that portion of the city commonly designated as the “redlight.” Even if. sold, under the block, it is hardly likely that the amount realized would be sufficient to erect a building that would qualify as “a suitable home for blind, indigent, infirm or helpless elderly women,” as required by the will, and it would therefore be impossible to set aside a fund sufficient to insure its maintenance. The philanthropic intent of the late Mrs. Luick was commendable, but the practicability of the project is seriously questioned, and it is hardly likely that the commissioners would have accepted the gift if they had considered it in all of its aspects. An heir at law brought suit to break the will and a trial in Randolph county ended in a disagreement. The case last week was dismissed by the litigant, who was impressed by the belief that in the event of long drawn out litigation the estate would eventually be eaten up by court costs and lawyers’ fees. The estate, during' the life of Mrs. Luick, barely produced enough to keep one old lady, with no increase in its value. The rentals produced barely enough to pay taxes and pay the living expenses of the old lady, and in consequence most of the dwellings are in a bad state of repair, many of them being mere shacks. Since the law provides no way to maintain such an institution as that described in the will it would appear foolish to erect a building with the proceeds of the sale of the real estate and then permit it to stand, unusual, and of about as much value to the community as the sixty thousand dollar bridge in the west part of the city, which starts nowhere, ends nowhere, and is utterly valueless except as a constant reminder to the people of the folly of public officials who forget to look before they leap. Another angle which interests the taxpayers of the county is that the taxes derived from the estate, as it now stands, adds two thousand dollars to the county’s annual income. If the estate is converted into a county institution, this income, of course, will stop. There is a general feeling that the commissioners should rescind their thoughtless action in permitting Delaware county to acquire a white elephant which will mean nothing but a constant hill of expense. The Luick bequest is only one of the hundreds of freak disposals of estate by persons actuated by charitable intent, who failed to take into consideration the utter impractibility of carrying out the purpose intended. The state provides for various for various institutions whose purpose is to care for the indigent blind, infirm and aged and the people are taxed for their manitenance, but takes no recognition of any such a private venture as that proposed in the will of the late Mrs. Luick. The Luick estate could be of no possible value to any one except the legal heirs of the decedent, to whom it would revert in the event that the commissioners should reconsider their hasty and ill advised action.

Practically Charges Sheriff and City Administration With Protecting Prostitution, Gambling and Violations of Liquor Law —Local Dailies Says Muncie No Worse Than Other Cities—“God Help the Others, Then,” is Judge’s Comment. Judge Clarence W. Dearth last Saturday exploded a bomb which has all but wrecked the Billy Williams machine. In open court, while a divorce trial was on, the judge summoned Sheriff McAuley, Chief of Police Art Jones and reporters from the Star and Press and informed them that the town and country is rotten with gambling, bootlegging, harlotry and vice of all kinds. This smashing blow at the political organization which elected Judge Dearth simply dazed the officers who were called before the judge and they made weak rejoinders. Sheriff McAuley said he was doing his best and Chief Jones said he had already begun to clean up. Later, out of the presence of the court, Jones perked up and with an air of bravado declared that the judge was a day late in starting the housecleaning. The judge delivered his broadside and then took a second lick at Jones and McAuley by telling them that if a ciean-up was not effected at once he would call a special grand jury and fix the blame. Later in open court Judge Dearth is said to have threatened impeachment proceeding against Sheriff McAuley and his next move was to go personally to the police department and take charge and up to this blessed minute is still in charge.

CHARGES EFFORT MADETO BLOCK HIGHWAY PROBE Examiner Says Important Records Can Not Be Obtained.

Indianapolis, June 10—'Sustained efforts to block the official Investigation of the disposal of surplus war material, valued by the Federal government at more than $8,000,000, is charged by examiners of the state board of accounts in their report on the state highway commission completed Nov. 22. 1924, and released for publication yesterday by Judge county criminal court. Virtually no records of the highway commission were made available to the examiners in checking the disposal of vast stores of materials, the report charges, and individuals involved sought to prevent inspection of the railroad records. Only after appeals to the Marion county prosecutor, were some of the avenues, it is declared in the report. Basis for Indictments The report, now nearly two years old, was used as the basis for bringing indictments in February, 1925, against John D. Williams, director of Crawford, former member of the commission; George Bartley, former chief of the equipment division; Moses and Victor Goldbery, dealers in used materials, and C. William Whaley, dealer in machinery. Before the indictments were returned the report was kept from the public because the matter was before the grand jury. Immediately upon the returning of the indictments the report was impounded by the order of Judge Collins. Orr Ask Release At the request of Lawrence F. Orr, state examiner of the board of accounts, a motion was made in the Criminal court yesterday to release the report. This was done by Judge Collins and copies were filed by Mr. Orr with Governor Jackkson, Arthur L. Gilliom, attorney general; Louis S. Bowman, state auditor, and with the highway commission.

“IT W1U SIMPLY ROOIN’THE PARTY” SAID HARRY HOFFMAN, PLEADING FOR DURWARD SHARP

Durward Sharp, of Gaston, the state policeman who got drunk at Alexandria several weeks ago, and ,was fined by the mayor for intoxica^ tion and violation of the liquor law, is said to have been merely suspended by Secretary of State Schortemeier for a period of thirty days and is spending the thirty days working in the Bond hardware store in Gaston. Alexandria, police informed the Post-Democrat that Sharp drove to that town accompanied by another Gaston man. The car was driven up

and do nothing to

turn Sharp loose

him at all.

“I am the chairman of the republican county central coipmittee in Delaware county, and it will simply ruin us if this gets out about Durward,” whined the Muncie gravel

merchant.

The mayor finally consented , to suspend a penal sentence and allowed the relief expedition to fix up the payment of fines amounting to $170 and take the drunk back to Gaston. It is not likely that Secretary of State Schortemeier will allow this] fellow to remain on the state police force after he learns of the facts in

Taking a detail of policemen with him Judge Dearth ha* visited many gambling houses and hotfses of prostitution, discovering, to ois own knowledge that the city oi Muncie and even the country outside of the city was never in such a deplorable condition from the standpoint of utter disregard for the law. Employing two secret investigators to look intb conditions here, Judge Dearth publicly- announced that he had found nine organized gambling houses in active operation, and that the city was simply overrun

by harlots.

He spoke of a gambling house across the street from the court diouso, operated by “Timber” Littlefield, and of places operated by Pete Barlow and Art iStout, ordering the prosecutor to cause the arrest of the latter two, at whose places according to the judge, the defendant in the divorce suit then in progress had lost money on frequent occasions. In this collection it might he mentioned that it was the evidence of Pete Barlow which convicted George Fox in the federal court a few years ago. Pete was allowed to “go” under the Hampton administration and Captain Fox, once convicted on Pete’s testimony, is now serving on the Hampton police department, which is only a short distance from the Barlow place. It is no* strange that Fox has never been assigned to the district on iSouth Mulberry street where Pete’s crap game flourishea. It looked bad enough to see Pete and George members of the same city administration after their experiences in Judge Anderson’s court four years ago, so the chief has kept Fox in another part of the city. Calls On Reb a . Among other places visited by the judge was that of Reba Fenwick, 606 1 J 2 South Walnut street. The Post-Democrat Saturday, told for the steenth time about the joint operated by Mrs. Fenwick. On Sunday morning the judge accompanied by two policemen visited the place and Mrs. Fenwick was given until Thursday to leave town. The judge has discovered that the Post-Democrat knew what it was talking about when it declared before the election that Hampton was owned, body and soul, by gamblers, crooks, prostitutes and bootleggers and Hampton’s weak alibi that he had been out of town two weeks and did not know what was going on in itself brands him as guilty.

After recovering from the first shock of surprise caused by the exposures coming from his former political buddy, Hampton rallied and bulletined the local daily press. Hampton says Muncie is one of the cleanest cities in America, in fact, according to Hampton, and the assertion would no doubt be hacked up by Reba Fenwick, it is actually the cleanest city in Indiana if not in the whole middle west. The ‘Press and Star also sought in a rather evasive way to throw cold water on Judge Dearth’s spectacular expose of vice, crime and official misconduct, and is trying to quiet him down and pacify him much as a child would be quieted and pacified by mamma who says, “There, there, little boy, quit crying. You will wake up all the neighbors. Quit now, or mamma spank.” Newspapers Alibi. The Press insists that Muncie is no better, nor no worse than any other town and that there is nothing to get excited over. The Star rather opines that the judge ought to have gone at the thing quietly. “Why tell the whole world about our rottenness,” seems to be the way the Star feels about it. The Star, in an editorial headed “Muncie Not So Bad,” says the judge should have quietly called in the sheriff and chief and whispered the things that he told them in open court in the presence of newspaper men and spectators. In answer to this Judge Dearth says he had already tried that method, but it failed to work so he gave them the other barrel and killed the hear. Stung by the truthful charges against them, Chief Jones and Sheriff McAuley came back after they got their second wind, by publishing the statement that Muncie and Delaware county w'ere never freer from lawlessness then they are at present and that Muncie is no worse than other cities. “Then God help the other cities,” was the brief comment of the judge. Stung to the quick by these exposures, the republican machine is now at work trying to offset the effect of the solar plexus blow delivered by the judge. Is The Judge Crazy? A whispering campaign, which seems to have been carefully organized, informs the public that the judge has suddenly gone insane. The mere fact that Judge Dearth openly (Continued to Page Four)

to the curb and Sharp s companion j case Hoffman and others of his

got out of the car and hurried away. Sharp, attired in his state police ujiiform, was too drunk to get out of the car and when the Alexandria police approached, it was observed that his head was hanging out of the window and that he wus vomiting on

the sidewalk.

The drunken state policeman was dragged to jail. His gun and club were taken away from him. In the morning, still only half sober, he was arraigned before Mayor Brattain. In the meantime word had been sent to Gaston and Muncie for help. Early in the morning of the day following Sharp’s arrest, a relief expedition arrived in Alexandria, composed of Harry Hoffman, ex-sheriff and now president of the Hampton board of works, the Hon. George Durst, a penal farm graduate, one Charles Helms, to the affiant unknown, and Lorimer Bond, a Gaston hardware merchant. Hoffman and Durst did most of the talking to the mayor of Alexandria, who* wanted to send Sharp to the penal farm. Hoffman at first tried to induce Mayor Brattain to

like went to the front for Sharp and are trying to hold him in his job. It would be a terrible disgrace to the grand old party to have the man fired who performed so nobly as foreman of the framed up grand jury which indicted the editor of the Post Democrat on a fake liquor charge and the Roeger Ku Klux libel matter. \For his crooked work as foreman of that grand jury his friends got him the state police job. The liquor case against the editor of this newspaper, which was the start of the contempt proceedings,, was dismissed by Prosecutor Ogle and Judge Dearth for lack of evidence. Sharp, the foreman of the grand jury that returned the framed up indictments, plead guilty to being drunk and violating the liquor law. We wonder whether Judge Dearth thinks as much of Durward Sharp now as he did three years ago, when in sentencing the Post-Democrat editor for contempt, he took occasion to publicly laud the character of Sharp, the foreman of the grand jury.

At a meeting of the hoard of trustees of Indiana University at Bloomington, Indiana, held yesterday, a resolution was adopted in which high

appreciation was voiced for the gift of $500,000 by the Ball Brothers of Muncie, Ind., to the Riley Memorial hospital.

LIST OF CONTESTANTS - CIRCULATION CAMPAIGN. Mrs. Fred Burns 298,200 Mrs. J. C. Walling 307,300 C. H. Hughes 163,800 Mrs. Grace Garrett 5,600 Miss Mary Chaney 182,000 Mrs. Pauline Hollowell 163,800 Mrs. Effie Dowling 223,600 W. Y. McCarty 5,000 Mrs. Daisy E. Miller 308,700 Mrs. Gladys Diefenbaugh 310,900 Mrs. Gladys Sullivan 299,100 Mrs. Peter Van Camp 171,300 Mrs. Helen Nordhoff 200,700 District No. 2 Carl Hedgeland, Gaston 305,700 Miss Claire Yance, Yorktown 190,500 Miss Ida Connell, R. R. No. 1 261,900 Heber Lineback, Albany 5,000 Mrs. Olive Harrold, Cowan 35,000 Paul Kirklin, Selma 150,200 Jacob Frey 296,100 Byron Wingate, Selma, R. R. 2 5,000

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