Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 26 August 1926 — Page 1

MEXICAN CHURCH DOORS CLOSED: ROYCOTTISON

Order Blocks End of Strife; Situation Remains Unchanged.

City of Mexico, Aug. 24.—Hopes for a speedy settlement of the religious controversy were crushed yesterday, when the Roman Catholic episcopate unanimously decided not to resume church services for the present. The situation as regards the church and the government remains the same as before the conference held Saturday night between President Calles and the representatives of the episcopate. Continued To Page Two

Good Oil Well Is Shot Near Decatur

Decatur, Aug. 23—Oil well No.

on the Ed Luginbill farm, Blue Creek township, drilled by Paul Schulte, of Chicago, and Douglas Haney, of Decatur, was brought in Thursday and it made a fine showing. Indications are that this will be the best producer of the eight wells drilled this year by Schulte

and Haney in that vicinity. The Luginbill well was drlled

twelve feet deeper than the seven wells on the Schulte farm formerly the Eugene Runyon farm, about a mile away. A heavier charge was used in shooting the well, also. Following the shot the oil filled up to a depth of 400 feet in the well. The best well in the Schulte farm is producing about 30 barrels per day and it is thought the new well

will exceed that production.

Less Majestc

For several years The Nation has been calling the attention of its readers to the increasing use by the courts of punishment for contempt and the danger involved. We are glad, therefore, that the persecution of George R. Dale, editor of the Muncie (Indiana) Post-Democrat, seems to be rousing a considerable number of newspapers to concern themselves with a tyranny which every year is growing more audacious. Mr. Dale, whose story we touched on briefly in our issue of July 28, (page 68), had been fighting political corruption and the Ku. Klux Kan in his weekly and was finally arrested and indicted on some probably trumped-up charges. He declared in his newsoaper that the prosecution was a frame-up, and was thereupon jentenced to three months in jail and a fine of $500, on the ground that he was guilty of contempt of court. When he subnitted an answer to the court, in which he offered to prove the ;ruth of his charges, he was fined another I500 1 and given three nonths more in jail. The Supreme Court of Indiana reversed the lecond sentence, but let the first one stand, making this astoundng reply to Mr. Dale’s plea of truth in justification for what he ■Lad written: Appellant says in his answer that the statements made in he alleged contemptuous article are true. ... It is not a justfii.•ation for contempt . . . even though it be shown that the article mblished were true, if it in any way hindered the orderly proess of the court and brought it into contempt before, the people. It is no excuse for one charged with criminal contempt pre.Icated upon an article published in a newspaper that the article a all respects was true .... The truth of an article is not a matter of defense, neither is it a defense to show that there was no intent to commit contempt. This may or may not be law, but we make no qualification in calling it outrageous nonsense, and a contemplation of its possibilities has jarred some of our most complacent newspapers. Mr. Dale has obtained an appeal to the United States Supreme Court on constitutional grounds, and the New York World is trying to raise by subscription the $5,000 which it is estimated will be necessary to present the case. The Editor and Publisher is also asking for contributions and gives first place in its issue of July 31, to a discussion of the evil of contempt-of-court procedure and suggestions of remedies from various quarters. The article in the Editor and Publisher recalls that the abuse of punishment for contempt has been on the increase since an unfortunate decision rendered by the United States Supreme Court in 1918, in respect to N. D. Cochran of the Toledo (Ohio) NewsBee. Up to then it had been the rule in the federal courts, accepted also in the tribunals of most of the States, that the power :o punish for contempt was limited to “misbehavior of any person in their (the judges’) presence, or so near thereto as to obstruct the ends of justice.” In the arbitrary war atmosphere of 1918, the Supreme Court stretched the meaning of the phrase ‘so near thereto as to obstruct” to apply to any utterance anywhere having a "tendency” to obstruct. This opened wide the road to what has come to be known as “constructive contempt,” under which tyrannical judges are more and more denying the constitutional right of free criticism to the press whenever it affects judicial decisions or procedure. The Editor and Publisher goes on to say: That this usurpation of power in journalistic contempt cases has become unbearable and that means must be found for relief from its increasing menace ds everywhere evident today in newspaper circles Can courts do no wrong? Newspapermen know that they can do wrong and that their wrongs may be gross and strike at the heart of sacred institutions Direct contempt, meaning contempt in the presence of the court, was followed by the dictum “indirect contempt,” meaning an act just outside the presence of the court, and finally “constructive contempt,” which may mean anything that an offended judge desires it to mean. And now behold! the proposition that even in “'constructive contempt” cases truth is no defense. Thus has a limitation of freedom of speech come to be asserted by the courts without warrant from the people. The Editor and Publisher proposes a campaign for Federal and State laws to enable a person accused of contempt of court to obtain a hearing before a judge of the same rank as the accusing magistrate but in another jurisdiction. This would be an improvement, but to our mind does not go nearly far enough. We believe that the entire contempt-of-court procedure is needless, probably unconstitutional, and chiefly usurped by the courts themselves without legitimate legislative warrant. It is a survival of lese majeste, which has no place in a democratic system of government. “'Constructive contempt” is an inexcusable invasion of the right of free speech and should be legislated out of existence. Libel and slander laws afford judges all the protection from criticism that they need or deserve. Direct contempt should be legislated against as a criminal offense, with the right of trial by jury if demanded. There is no “majesty of the law” except in so far as its common sense and justice appeal to an effective majority of any community (as witness the much-abused Volstead act) while pomp and verbiage and claptrap of our courts lead to nothing but ridicule and distrust in the minds of most people. But nobody should delude himself with the idea that mere laws will be sufficient to end this medieval tyranny of the courts. The history of such legislation in this country shows that it has time and again been perverted or overthrown by petty judges jealous of their absolutism. The only sure method of overthrowing the abuse, so far as the State courts go, at least, is through constitutional amendments. Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, and Oklahoma, have all incorporated provisions in their constitutions looking to that end, but except in the case of the latter State the wording is so vague and indeterminate that it has either not been effectively taken advantage of by the legislatures or has been twisted into inconsequence by the courts. In Georgia, for instance, the constitution says: “The power of the courts to punish for contempts shall be limited by legislative acts ” But when the legislature passed a law limiting contempt to misconduct committed in court the worthy judges of the State ruled that the constitution gave authority merely to fix the punishment for contempt, not to define or classify it'

GREEK DICTATOR DEPOSED: SENT OUT OF COUNTRY

Nation Is Pleased At Turn; New Government of Liberty Promised. , Athens, Greece, Aug. 23.—The! dictatorship of Gen. Theodoras Pangalos has been overthrown in a quick and bloodless revolution headed by Gen. Condylis, former minister of war. President Pangalos was taking a holiday at the time on the island of Spetsae. The “Greek Mussolini” himself was arrested yesterday morning and placed aboard the destroyer, Pergamos, for conveyance to Athens, but up to this evening nothing further had been heard of the Pergamos. The suspicion developed that she might have sailed for

some foreign port.

Search For Perg,amos. I Another fast destroyer and seaplanes searched for the Pergamos throughout the day while the battleship Kilkis guarded the Corinth canal. One report had it that Pangalos tried to escape in an airplane, but was stopped by another plane. Mme. Pangalos, who was with her husband, disappeared, although the revolutionists have not indicated that they are interested in her whereabouts. The coup was engineered without distrubances early yesterday, both army and navy rallying to the Condylis standard. Gen Condylis, yesterday, was master of the situation, and complete calm was reported in all sec-l tions of the country. The general public in Athens is exhibiting satisfaction at the turn of events. } Messages from Spetsae stated that President Pangalos had been arrested on telegraphic orders from Gen. Cbndylis and was being taken on the Pergamos to the capital over which he had ruled with an iron hand since he forcibly seiz-, ed power a year ago. If he has not escaped, he, together with the, members of the Eutaxias govern- 1 ment, all of whom have been ar-| rested; will have to answer for alleged tyrannical misrule.

NEW PARACHUTE LANDS AIRPUNE

Pilot Risks Life to Make Test at Altitude of 2,500 Feet.

Los Angeles, Cal., Aug. 25.—A parachute large enough to bring a stricken airplane safely to the ground was demonstrated here yesterday by R. Carl Oelge, formerly a naval air pilot who staked his life on the success of the invention. At an altitude of 2,500 feet Oelge killed his engine, cut the great parachute folded on top of his plane and let the machine drop. Makes Safe Landing. The plane came down steadily, drifting from Inglewood field, where it took the air, towards El Segundo, and as it neared the ground about three miles from the starting point, began to oscillate. The plane and parachute finally came to rest on a hillside and Oelge hopped out none the worse for his experience. Only a propeller blade and the running gear of the plane were damaged, due, observers said, to the fact that the descent was made on sloping ground. The parachute, which measures fifty feet in diameter, is the invention of Harry A. Doucett, chief machinist’s mate, United States Navy, stationed at the naval air base at North Island, San Diego, Cal. A number of navy and army air service officers witnessed the test. o T. Pegg Freed of Liquor Charge

Bluffton, Aug. 24.—An affidavit against Theodore Pegg, 1605 Wells street, Ft. Wayne, charging him with transportation of intoxicating liquor, was dismissed on motion of Prosecuting Attorney Elmore Sturgis when the case was called in the court of Squire M. W. Walbert a 1 o’clock yesterday afternoon. The prosecutor stated that there

was insufficient evidence.

The affidavit was filed following an accident last Wednesday in

which an automobile driven by gangster,

Pegg struck Thomas Kiser, a Not-

tingham township farmer,

Pegg and a companion, Mrs. H. J. Miller, 1605 Wells street, Fort Wayne, said they saw Kiser walking along the road ahead of them, but he started across the road when they were too close to stop. Kiser is recovering from a broken leg and other injuries at the

hospital here.

Unpleasant Truth

The revelations made by the Post-Democrat last week in regard to the purchase of a junk truck by the board of works at a price ten times its actual value, and under circumstances which gives the whole affair a most sinister aspect, has at last aroused the citizenship of Muncie to action, and the long delayed show-down is near at hand. Naturally the gangsters have shown their teeth. The usual threats of physical assault and possible murdfer have been made. Strangely I have not been arrested as yet for exposing the graft. Ordinarily when the Post-Democrat tal es up the cudgel in behalf of its readers the gangsters frame up some silly prosecution. In the spring of 1922 when I charged that the gangsters were guilty of a federal conspiracy a gang of Ku Klux thugs who were in the conspiracy waylaid me at night and attempted to murder me. The following spr ng when my newspaper became active in assisting federal officials who were investigating the gangsters I was arrested on a fake liquor charge which was followed up by an almost unbelievable program of arrests and prosecutions. A few weeks ago when I charged that Prosecutor Ogle and Deputy Prosecutor Ryman were protecting Alpha Holaday, the arch swindler, and that the grand* jury investigation of the conspiracy was being muffled, I was arrested for “libeling” a cheap kluxer who has been used at numerous times as a tool for the gangsters. Don Mellett, the fighting editor of Canton, was assassinated because of his exposures of a crooked city administration. Curiously I remained alive during a four-year campaign waged against a coterie of crooks who would ordinarily make the Canton gangsters look like a bunch of pikers. Numerous plots against my life have been made, and time and again plans have been laid to hire imported murderers to “knock me off,” as one man expressed it who proposed one of the plots. When the Post-Dnmocrat appeared on the street Saturday morning and the people read about the truck deal, which had been brought up in a council meeting the preceding Monday night, the question was asked, “Where were our daily newspapers during all that time?” The daily newspapers of Muncie are conveniently blind and deaf and I am not altogether certain but that they exhibit rare judgment and sound common sense in refraining from exposing the grafters who control city and county affairs. About the only puolic recognition taken of the efforts of the PostDemocrat to purify Mu icie, comes from the camp of the gangsters, in the way of personal assault; and criminal prosecutions instituted by public officials who belong to th^ gang. The other newspapers here have seen what happens to a newspaper man who takes his job seriously and have Been sensible enough to keep out of the cockpit. I really don’t know what makes me do it myself. In justice to my wife and children I ought to let everybody else go to hell and tread the path of peace and safety. I have made many futile resolves during a thirtyfive year period of embattled newspaper editing. I was not much more than a boy when I started in the newspaper business. Before I had been at ij; a week I had three stitches taken in my head, and' will carry the scar to the grave. It has been just one battle after another. I have never been able to regard a newspaper as a purely commercial institution. But I have fought gloriously, been licked by the gangsters time without number, and am generally the saddest when I win. What in the name of heaven is it that impels a normal man to risk his life and jeopardize the fortunes of his loved ones fighting the battles of people who wouldn’t fight, themselves, on a. bet, and who think the one who fights for them is some sort of a nut for doing it? So, I go on making enemies, by exposing wrongs which can only be corrected by fearless exposure. They should really not be my enemies, for they know they are in the wrong and ought to thank me for flagging them, but human nature always wants to bounce a brick off of the head of the fellow who speaks plainly. Telling the truth is much more dangerous than telling a lie. The truth hurts right now in Muncie. Telling the truth is a crime. The courts have so decreed, 'it pays, therefore, to lie, since one of the ten commandments has been declared unconstitutional in Indiana. If one of the ten commandments is so lightly set aside, how about the other nine? Over at Canton the gangsters decided! that murder would pay, so Mellett was murdered. In Muncie a newspaper man told the truth. A cold blooded alliance between crime and its official protectors decided the truth did not pay, so truth was slain. My youngest child is a boy not yet three years of age. He is absolutely truthful. He has not learned to lie. He does not dissemble his likes and dislikes. Instead of saying “thank you” when you give him something he does not want he will throw it at you. He fears nothing in the world. The weather has been hot so he persists in removing all his clothing. He has no false modesty. Later he will be taught that it pays to lie and steal and graft and wear balloon pants. At present he is a greater man than President Coolidge foT he obeys only his natural impulses and is totally free from hypocrisy. If he has anything on his mind he says it. Education will not change his impulses. It will merely change his habits. And still people insist that wisdom comes with age. If the grown-ups of Muncie had half the wisdom of that child or any other child of his age crookedness would be unknown.

City Council Will Be Asked To Impeach City Officials Involved In Transaction—Suit Will Be Bought and People Will Demand Investigation by the Grand Jury—Easy Money Boys Still Rely on Pull to Save Them. A demand is being made on the city council to bring impeachment proceedings against the three members of the board of works and against any other city officials who were either directly or indirectly involved! in the purchase of a worn out truck for $2,600. t? ,

The citizenship of Muncie, handed together for mutual protection will employ attorneys, demand that a suit be started to recover the money stolen from the people and request a grand jury investigation. Councilman Barclay, who started the ball rolling by bringing the matter officially before thd city council, is the recipient of numerous bouquets and brickbats. The brickbats are being hurled ^ from city hall. The bouquets are tosb^d by appreciative taxpayers, whosfe money was used to buy the

junk.

Fortunately it is as easy to trace the title of an automobile as it is to follow the ownership of real estate. The records in the office of the secretary of state show the fol-

lowing:

The worn out truck, which now one of the proud possessions of the city of Muncie, was sold to the ^Cranor Coal company, April 24, 1922, by C. J. Garland of the sales department of the Service Truck company, Wabash, Ind. The title assigned to Mr. Cranor, now a member of the board of works that bought the truck, was

444,160.

On March 18, 1926, the title was assigned to Oliver J. Williams, said to be an employee of (Cranor. On March 17, 1926, Williams made application for title of Charles A. Bowden. Williams cannot write his own name, apparently, since he was compelled, to make his “mark” in applying for the title. The titlq

assigned to Willems was A444.160. of the city council ; Oh Dal discussed ■gvuemiiy

by applied to the secretary of state for a free license tag for the $2,600 wreck purchased of Williams by board of works nearly four months

before. The tag number assigned was 3-336. The city’s title number is B444.160. No record could be found in the license department of the transfer to the city, but the assignment must have been made, since the free tag department could not have assigned the number

without such a record.

The history of the truck after its purchase by the city has been just one repair after another. The blasted thing first needed a new rear axle, which the city kindly supplied at an expense of $85 and it is said that other garage bills paid by the city to keep the junk heap limping along amount to

$200.

The motor, or what w^as left of It, went “flooey” and the board of works went to Indianapolis and bought a second hand motor of a junk dealer, paying the modest price of $400 for it, or at least that is what it cost the city. Thus the total known expense incident to the purchase of this valuable acquisition amounts to

$3,285.

Mr. Oliver, local representative of the Service Truck company, states that a new truck of the same make and capacity was offered to the city for $2,200, which is $1,185 less than the amount expended on a truck purchased in 1922 and which has been used four years

hauling coal.

Although the truck deal was brought up officially by a member

and has been by citizens-"

since the expose made by the PostDemocrat last week, neither of Muncie’s daily newspapers have Continued To Page Two

A Citizen Writes

Ft. Wayne Suspect Not McDermott

Ft. Wayne, Ind., Aug. 23.—The man arrested here Saturday by city detectives as a suspect is not Patrick Eugene McDermott, Cleveland

wanted for questioning

in the murder of Don R. Mellett, Canton, O., publisher, according to Martin A. Rundell, acting captain of city detectives. Definite announcement that the man, who claims he is Elmer Bennett, 32, of East Liverpool, O., is not McDermott, was made yesterday morning only after a close check had been made of Bertillon measure-

ments of the two men.

Maine Senator Dies Following 10-Day Illness

West Poland, Me., Aug. 24—United States Senator Bert M. Fernald died late yesterday at his home here after an illness of ten days. He was in his sixty-ninth year. The end had been expected tor several days and all the members of his immediate family were at his bedside. After the adjournment of Congress he returned home greatly wearied. Recent intestinal indigestion developed, which later affected his heart. Ill ffl

Uncle Joe Cannon Is Failing Rapidly

Danville, 111., Aug. 25.—Although his personal physician insists that Uncle Joe Cannon has only a slight cold, close fnends and neighbors realize that he is failing rapidly. The retired patriarch of the United States house of representatives, who recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday anniversary, has abandoned his daily automobile ride and his frequent walks down to the corner drug store for cigars. He is able to get up and dress himself every morning, but each day the time which he spends dozing in his big arm chair is becoming longer.

Muncie Post-Democrat, George R. Dale: Dear Sir: Your issue of the 19th inst. contains the truck expose,” which was the most outrageous transaction I have ever heard of. If what you say is true, and it looks very much like it was, those three men ou ght to be P rosecuted to the limit. For boldness of purpose and wanton law violation this thing stands without parallel in the history of our city. In the first place, what in the world did the city of Muncie want with a second hand or used truck; when did our big city, of which we boast so loudly, go in the junk business; are they trying to compete with Max Zeigler? Cities never buy old or used equipment. They always dispose of worn out property and buy new and always buy the best because of the repair and upkeep of worn out property. However, according to your paper, the Board of Public Works bought a second hand truck for $2,600; so let us* analyze the situation a little. Mr. Oliver, so you state, was under the impression when you talked with him that the city paid $1,250 for the truck, and he based his calculations' on that figure when he said “the city got stung,” and he fixed the value from $300 to $500, but the sale price was $2,600, ‘and it is fair to assume that Mr. Oliver got. his information from some one, and perhaps that was the figure that Mr. Cranor really got for the worn out truck. If he did, what became of the $1,350.00? And if Cranor got the full value of the truck as fixed by Mr. Oliver, then the city paid $2,100 too much. Again we understand that the voucher did call for $2,600 and recited that it was in payment of a three ton truck, when in fact, as we understand, the truck bought was and is a 2^4 ton truck. Mr. Thornburg says according to your article, that he, as a member of the board, went down some alley and looked at the truck and it looked good to him, and they bought it. This is a fine display of judgment for a business man, and we are wondering if someone should call on Mr. Thornburg in a personal capacity, would he buy property under the same circumstances and lay down $2,600 of his own money? I think not. Now, the question is, how long these men may go rampant in a lawless career without someone calling a halt? kgain, where was the city attorney during all of this time? He must be a dandy. This thing must be sifted to the bottom and the perpetrators of this foul act in squandering the people’s money and violating the law, and they have .punished accordingly. Yours truly, ONE OF THE KICKERS.