Muncie Post-Democrat, Muncie, Delaware County, 3 February 1927 — Page 1
THE POST-DEMOCRAT
VOLUME 7—NUMBER 4.
MUNCIE, INDIANA! 'HURSDAY, FEBRUARY 3, 1927. 4 —_— ■ ——
Price 5 Cents a Copy—$2.00 a Year
NO SQUACK” UNDERWORLD SLOGAN
HOLADAY ARRAIGNED AND WILBUR HARRY HOFFMAN il RYMAN, YELLOW TO THE CORE, QUITS, AND ALL IS
RIGHT IN MUNCIE
.1 TRIES TO COYER UF CONNECTION
¥
The distinguished Alpha Holaday'as his attorney and that liberty was in the city this week. Brought! bonds were transferred from Holaover from the Troy, Ohio, jail, for ^ ay to The 1 lat 0 t 1 er was elect ' arraignment in the circuit court on At the expiration of his sentence charges preferred by Bari Coble,'the swindler returned to Muncie chief examiner of the Indiana Se-'and within two days after his arcurifcies commission, the blue skvi rival at Muncie began his old tricks, artist plead Thursday afternoon,;The Post-Democrat exposed the not guilty and Judge Dearth set his, fact that Holaday was at it again trial for a date in March. | and charged that he was operating j The story was put out that Hola-! undei f official protection
day had not retained Wilbur Ry-j Tilings finally grew so lioi. that through some sort of a deal and i^l man as his attorney in these cases.! when the grand jury assembled lastl pow loudly 1 proclaiming its virtue Wilbur was in the court room, how-j ® ammer > former Prosecutor Ogle j because of its elimination of the ever, when Holaday was arraigned. : took a long western trip, naming; well known gravel merchant. HeInday’s bond was fixed at 16,000j Ryman as special prosecutor toj it seems that Hoffman moved to|
Traveling Mayor Hampton Is
Having Great Deal of Trouble With His Cabinet.
is all right now in
Everything
Muncie.
Harry Hoffman has resigned from
the board of works.
Admitting Harry’s bad smell, the ! city administration got rid of him,
Indianapolis some time ago, and according to his own statement the trouble and expense of coming toi
and he was remanded back to jail,; cbadttct the jury session, where he will be kept until his trial It was hoped that this jugglery on February 14, on the two cases ! would Prevent an investigation of
filed against him by Wedmore and Ahe Holaday scandal. Ryman fought! Muncie twice, a week to attend) Moody, Muncie men he is charged desperately to keep witnesses out meetings of the board of works, of with defrauding. i°f the grand jury room who desired which he was president, caused him
The returns keep coming in about to tell how Holaday has robbcd^too much trouble and expense.
Holaday from the outlying pre-jthem. He Anally' fell back on thy, Qf course the mere fact that he cincts. He is wanted at Kokomo astounding defense that inasmu- h. was a non-resident was not the im-; for swindling operations and he^ as he, Ryman, was Holaday’s attiHpelling motive leading to his resigwas served with another warrant. ne 5 r >. the grand jury could not i.^ nation. With the example before Thursday afternoon by Sheriff Mc-j v ' esti S a te the case! him of a mayor holding down a job Auiey for alleged sale of fraudulent! I'he grand jury rebelled, asked! as traveling salesman, which keeps stocks to citizens of Hope, Franklin t°r a special prosecutor and con- him out of the city Ave days out of county. j sternation reigned among the graf-j every week, the fact that Hoffman The astonishing statement was ters * Judge Dearth adjourned the had left Muncie to become a resimade by the Star that the warrant ^ rand j l . ir y and Ryman, like a rat blent of Indianapolis would hardly from Hope was sent to the Muncie ca ught in a trap, spueaked venom-Rave been sufficient to pry him
police department last August and| ous deAance and caused the arrest loose from the job. .
that it was delivered to the sheriff °i ii ie editor of the Post-Democl*at p Hoffman was losing money by by Chief of Detectives Everson,; Rn’“binding” Raymond Warner. j holding down the job. That’s it, Thursday afternoon, six months 1 ^ke people understood the mo-1without doubt. Muncie and Dela-; later. itive of the arrest. They knew why j ware county folks have been worryThis would seem to indicate that :the R'ry that tried the case whs ing about Harry considerably for a :
the police either pigeon-holed the!P a<;ked - Prosecutor Joe Davis knew number of years,
warrant or that Muncie’s sleuth fac-'b aild bis confession of error was) He was sheriff for four years and tory displayed remarkable delibera- ibe most damning arraignment of a i it was a shame the way he lost tion before causing the arrest of c oi' r UPt jury packing system ever i money 1 by overfeeding prisoners at
the swindler. presented in any court in Indiana, the county jail.
It will be recalled that similar^ things have been happening. in order to make up his losses in; warrants sent here last summer) The state of Indiana through its (that particular Harry was simply from Richmond, were treated in a! secur bies commission filed charges j forced to go into the contracting; similar manner. Efforts at that pgpiiist iHolad&y. The swindler was|business in his own county. The law; time to induce former Prosecutor, jpbbd in Troy, Ohio, for robbing a says this is a felony, but Harry was Van Ogle to act agaisnt Holaday! woman. Kokomo victims de : pretty slick. He was a friend of the were unavailing. Holaday' is said 'to|?h a ppM redrpss. Tardily, the police |proefecutor and knew how to pack
have settled with his Richmond !de P art nient produced a warrant for juries, so he got by.
victims. ;Holaday’s arrest, sent here from) Jiarry’s idea of course was t Holaday’s victims here and else-bbe little town of Hope, which had j build good roads for his fellow cit-
wW,».y T .u >bee^^
in baring all the facts concerning j. Hyman, ratlike, is seeking^ hole course, he lost money on all his!
It’s All Politics, Says Pete!
Pete Barlow, v
view, that the story denies that he has j all can see, there can
He goes a little
Tiny Vorhees is the
This sounds re:
explainable. Everyb mayor and that Pet reality, for some tin
Now a bunch di
deal. Pete cheerful 1 and that the police,
r much present, announces in a newspaper interiRt he ha i skipped out is greatly exaggerated. He the city, nd since he is here, large as life, where ; no 'doubt that Pete is telling the truth, t fun fu r. He says all this talk about his slugging plesauce, invented by his political enemies. (Ribie and accounts for some things otherwise unknew that John Hampton intended to resign as vas to have the job in name, as he has had it in
ditical knockers have got together and queered the iisposes of things by saying everything is all right, fter a careful investigation, have agreed that his story of the death o‘ fniy Vorhees is absolutely correct.
He can’t under . met, therefore, why anything more should be said about it. If the pol take Pete’s word, why should a nibby coroner and
prosecutor try to sti • hings up. More politics, of course.
One thing, thoug/, Pete has plenty of precedent in charging the pres-
ent investigation up * politics.
There, for instate, is Clarence Dearth, a political bedfellow of, Pete’s,
who righteously fire. 1 the county board of charities and corrections for their political activit. u in attempting to investigate the county infirmary
when one of the Inmans had been eaten alive by maggots. And then, after larging the investigation up to politics, the judge,
in order to demonstr ie his freedom from political control, filled up the places on the board vjt’h new members who take orders from the Billy
Williams machine.
City Attorney (h rge Koons is also another great authority on this subject. When the trick scandal was first aired, George told the PostDemocrat' that it wa.Rill politics. And why, in the Ume .of reason, should Pete duck out from Muncie, even if he had “sockeet)Tiny Vorhees? With the powers that be in Muncit, including the polk force, eating out of his hand, Muncie is his safest
place of refuge.
Most likely, also, fhe scores of people who are trying to imprison Alpha Holaday for lov ’ng them are merely a cheap bunch of politicians who are trying to pre^ Jt Alpha from running for congress in 1928. Holaday, of coursf, piade the mistake of leaving Muncie and trimming people in other/ '£fS and other states. He should have stayed in Muncie and robbed $sme folks, exclusively, and thus kept out of jail. Muncie, the sarcn fy and haven of refuge of Gerald Chapman, Dutch Anderson and train n; >bers who fraternize with the police, offers more
Prosecutor and Coroner Battling to Break Down Alleged Concocted Story of Gangsters Concerning Death of Tiny Vorhees —Rumor That Gambler Met Death in a Free-for-All Fight on East Second Street.
ie
J
to elements of society
Pete Barlow is
cie as a valuable ct deplores the unfav gesfion that Tiny
o have reason to fear the law
v a good, orthodox, republican, important in Munle^Billy Williams machine. Pete no doubt greatly publicity given to Muncie by the outrageous sugntbped. inste-ui. of stcppbig. on n b-inana >wlu*w
Holaday himself as they are ind 0 craw1 into. Is it strange that ne probing to the very bottom the e vi-: hesitates I? announce himself as
dent conspiracy to protect him. Ryman’s evident reluctance, Thursday, to show further interest in Ifoladay, and his denial that he ha4 been retained as counsel for the defense in the cases instituted by the state securities commission, shows that the light of day has even begun to penetrate the thick
Holaday’s counsel in the latest
contracts. It has been just one sacrifice after another with Harry. In order to keep from starving he
prison at the very first intimation that he had resumed his swindling
skull of the former Michigan klea,- operations. The protection afforded
gle. Ryman has been generally regarded not only as Holaday’s lawyer, but as his accomplice also. From the very beginning pf Holaday’s crooked operations here some years ago, the name .of Ryman weaves into the story from, many different angles. Holaday never played for small stakes. During the years 1919 and 1920, he trimmed suckers, in Muncie and neighboring towns and cities out of something like $600,000. He got it in bales and was always willing to divide liberally with those who would aid and abet in his criminal practices. Judge Anderson sent him to federiU prison for four years. Wilbur Ryman defended him in federal court. The records show that in 1921, Clarence W. Dearth also acted
him allowed him to rob many in nocent people of their savings. Not only Holaday, but every person connected . with the conspiracy should he prosecuted and sent to
prison.
o The*Ignited States submarine S-21 and the steamer Baldutte, an oil tanker, were reported to have been in collision off Key West by advices received at Tampa, Florida, Thurs-
day night.
Secretary of State Kellogg decided to ignore the note of Dr. T. S. Vaca, Nicaraguan liberal rebel agent at Washington, proposing that Kellogg and Central American representatives mediate the Nicax'aguan civil war. Kellogg refused to recognize Vaca’s standing or to
give him an audience.
THE STATE SCHOOLS.
(By a Reader)
The cause of the state school is the cause of the youth and the people of Indiana. Why should Indiana people be taxed to support penal institutions just twice as much as they are willing to be taxed for state schools? Indiana University, Purdue University and the two state normal schools belong to the people and are the hope of the future generations. How many of the states of our Union can show more progress than Indiana? How many states can point to as many poets, writers of fiction and science ? Indiana is the native state of forty-five scientists. Only twelve are in the state today. Our Indiana University is the mother of college presidents. Will Indiana citizens wake up and see to it that a larger share of her native born men nemain at home to instruct her children and enrich Indiana? The citizens of Delaware county should wire or vrite to their three legislators that they would prefer the state funds be invested in the youth who are wishing to attend schools and are turned away because there is no “room in the Inn.” Perhaps there would ■not be so much need for appropriations for our penal institutions to be twice as large as they are if there was more money given to help the youth who wishes to go straight and learn an honest way to make an honest living by going on to our state schools. It is the diity of every citizen to support this appropriation for the state schools at this time and let the legislators know-it by letter or by telegrams) Send them often. Let’s try to fill the schools of the state instead of the penal institutions with our boys and
girls and adults.
cases, with the inquiry broadened wag finally forced into the gravel to the extent that many prosecuting; bllsines . s . The county commissioners officers from various localities willj to ok pity on Harry and let him dip delve into the scandal? j a u tfi e gravel he wanted to. He lost Holaday should have been arrest-j two hits on every yard of gravel ed, convicted and sent back to dipped, but nevertheless the Post-
Democrat and other agencies of the lElvil One had the nevre to classify the sheriff-contractor among the
bloated rich.- i; 7 •
hfow we all know how the late member of the hoard of works has bee» misjudged ip Muncie. Just thiipc of the great Sacrifice made by Bol|man in the interest of good fgovij|rnment—coming all the way from Indianapolis, twice a week, to sit with the other two gentlemen whi won, with Harry, a place in the sun- by buying a truck in a blind
alley.
Harry moved to Indianapolis and tried to convince the governor that he ought to appoint him on the state highway commision. The governor, it is said, looked Harry over and was not impressed. Not discouraged by this failure to connect, Harry decided he was just about |itt ed f or the job of United States marshal for Indiana. He failed to find anybody else in the same frame of mind, so abandoned that idea. It seems strange that a public servant of such known fidelity should encounter such reluctance upon the part of the state and federal governments to entrust him with responsible positions. So, it seems, Harry is water over the dam as far as Muncie is concerned. Just how the city administration and the republican party can wiggle along without him, is hard to see at present, hut possibly in the course of time the yawning vacancy may be filled up. Following Hoffman’s resignation, Hampton immediately appointed another of Muncie’s great statesmen in his place—'Harry Retz, president of the hoard of works. Retz’s hoard of safety job was immediately filled by the appointment of some fellow named Clark, unknown in Muncie, who is said to have moved up from Florida a short time ago and taken up his abode with Mayor Hampton in the Canopic building. The appointment of Retz on the board of works is not any too reassuring to the general public. Nobody in particular knew Retz when he was given his first job by Hampton. He had worked some for the Hampton furniture establishment and. his wife was a precinct committee woman and a faithful worker in the Billie Williams group. Retz distinguished himself while on the board of safety by giving his wife. Ruby' Retz, the job of police matron. This job was created in order to help Retz out, after the clothing store which hired him had canned him for neglecting his duties and spending too much time playing politics with‘the delectable
city hall crowd.
Mrs. Retz has a salary for six months, but as far as anybody can
rmv ,r m cm
Chief of Detectives Pete Everson and Night''Captain John Ertel are both quoted in local dailies as saying that they are convinced that Tiny fell down stairs. Barlow can’t quite understand why anything more should be said about the matter, since the police are willing to accept his version without reservation. Pete is willing that the whole matter should be dipped. He has told exactly how it happened and! the police agree with hiin, therefore there is no sense in wasting any more time asking foolish questions and locking up attaches of his gambling joint in jail for perjury, when they tell the coroner that it happened just the way Pete says it happened, and the way the police said it happened. Pete admits that he had more or less of a fight with his wife on 1 the Sunday night Vorhees lost his life, but he says that is purely his own, and his wife’s personal matter, and is nobody else’s business. As an ardent advocate of personal liberty) Pete adheres to the theory, first advocated in the stone age, that if a man wants to lick his wife, or if his wife should playfully crown her better half with a meat axe, outside interference or inquiry should be taboo. But seriously speaking Pete is just as good as his political associates and in making his declaration to the public he is merely running true to form with those Muncie statesmen and public officials who have replaced the national anthem by that beautiful and touching song, “Hail, Hail, the Gang’s All Here, What the Hell Do We Care, What the Hell Do We care, etc.”
Opposed by the same invisible influence which obstructed the work of the grand jury, Coroner Kilgore and Prosecutor Joe Davis are devoting their full energies to an investigation of the mystery of Tiny Vorhees’ death. Coroner Kilgore and the two physicians who assisted at the post-mortem declare positively that Vorhees was murdered. They scout at the idea that he met death by a fall down stairs. The only one who claims to know positively how Vorhees was killed is Pete Barlow, keeper of a gaming house at 606% South Walnut street. Barlow says Vorhees fell dbwn stairs and killed himself. He says he was on the stairway and saw Vorhees fall. The doctors who examined Vorhees say he was killed by a blow behind the ear. The police are quoted as saying that they are willing to accept the Barlow version, as against the opinion of the doctors.
Movies Modernize Famous Operetta
Corinne Griffith Portrays 1926
Model of Parisian Maid in “Mile. Modiste.”
3 Many Crooked Yarns ! The coroner and prosecutor say ; they have met up with more liars 'since the inquest started than they lever encountered in any similar
: investigation.
Eddie Reynolds, a hanger-on at the Barlow place told such a funny story that the coroner had him locked up on a perjury charge. Others who tell queer stories are to
receive the same dose.
One storv in circulation which The modernizing Influence of the discounts the story of the fall, is movies touches even the operetta in to the effect that Vorhees was Corinne -Griffith’s latest First Na- bumped off at the home of Pete | tional picture, ‘‘Mile. Modiste,” Barlow, 426 East Second street, showing at the Vaudelle Theatre; Among those alleged to have been |for Sunday and Monday. present or at least near the scene I This film version of the famous; a t ,tfie time are mentioned the (Victor Herbert musical piece shows i nanl e3 of “Hop” Gardner. Nora i Eifi, whom old-timers remember as Barlow, “Chief” Pettiford, colored, ;a vivacious Parisian mannequin, 1 John O’Neill and wife, Sam Clark ■saleswoman and song-stress, into and Curtis Burcaw. (quite a modern Parisian-Americnn. The story goes that Vorhees, \ Gardner and Mrs. Bartow were in ■*Matenineties but up to the minute.) p e t e came home and started a fight In fact, according to E. M. Asher, w ith his wife; that the noise of the general manager for the Corinne : alleged conflict grew to such proGriffith Productions, which made j portions that neighbors came in the picture, all the costumes showu| an fi that the fight became general, in the picture were especially de- that in the course of the melee Vor
signed for it.
The story of “Mile. Modiste” as Miss Griffith has filmed it deals with the romance and business success of an irrestible French girl who combined the two rare faculties—a good business mind and a romantic soul. The threads of the story are wound around the girl’s business success after Hiram Bent, a wealthy St. Louis hatter, falling a victim to her sales ability, buys the establishment which employs her, makes her the proprietor of it and proceeds to exploit her as a mysterious “Mile. Modiste,” queen of Par-
hee$ was either slugged m* was thrown against an Areola heatdr; and that later he was taken, unconscious, in an automobile to the stairway on South Walnut street. it is claimed by those professing to have information that the O’Neills, who live at 422 East Sec<Ad street, heard the fight and recognized the voice of Mrs. Barlow screaming out, “Help, he’s
murdering me.”
Of cotii’se many rumors can be heard in Muncie almost any time of the day or night when anything unusual transpires, consequently
isian fashions, while an impatient, story of the fight at the Barlow jealous sweetheart, Etienne de ; residence may or may not be, ex-
Beauvray, army officer and society act i v true
leader, finds difficulty in solving the
mystery of Bent’s interest.
and
The Indians obtained blue (green paints from copper ore. j Water in the ocean contains bilj lions of dollars’ worth of gold, but extracting the treasure would cost many more billions.
officer consists of two trips a month to police headquarters to get her
pay checks.
After her appointment the daily newspapers here did not apprise the public of the fact tbat the president of the board of safety had put his own wife on the police force. The Post-Democrat told the story after Retz had been quoted by a daily newspaper as saying that a police matron had been appointed but for the good of the department it was deemed wise to withhold from the public the name of the ap
pointee.
Naturally Retz didn’t want any
Lon Thornburg may be able to alibi himself in the truck matter to the satisfaction of himself and John Hampton, but his alibi con-
vinces nobody else.
The council will meet Monday night and it is said that a warm session is in sight. A majority of the council is said to be highly in favor of a general resignation of the city admnistraton, beginning with the mayor and winding up
with the janitor.
There has been considerable talk here that Hampton expects to resign. But he will not. He couldn’t be pried loose from that
■MSBSK^
too much publicity in the matter .If j 0 b, with a crowbar. At a furnithe Post-Democrat had not publish- t ure convention in Chicago two
ed the story the probabilities are that the great secret would never
have got out.
The board of works reorganized by making Lon Thornburg president, to replace Hoffman, who held that position. The administration is now putting out the word that everything has been cleaned up through the reorganization and the naming of Thornburg as president
of the 'board.
Thornburg is playing innocent on the truck deal. As a matter of fact he is just as much responsible for that deal as Hoffman or Cliff Cranor. Hampton and his crowd afe fooling nobody but themelves when they assume to say that the public is satisfied by the mere elimination of Harry Hoffman. The citizens have no confidence in Hampton. They have no confidence in Thornburg, they have no confidences in Cranor, they have no confidence in Retz, who has
weeks ago Hampton, who is on the road selling furniture and bed springs, declared that he could run the city of Muncie during his
absence.
“I thought it was a hard job to run Muncie,” said the mayor, “but I find that I can get home Saturday night, call my cabinet together and give enough orders in twenty minutes to keep the old town going for another week. I had no idea that it was such a simple matter to govern a city the size of
Muncie.”
When John <was out scouting for votes last year he promised that he would be a “full-time” mayor. “I will be on the job ten hours a dav, seven days a week,” said John. ‘‘And another thing,” said John. “I wouldn’t give that there Harry Hoffman a job on a bet.” iHow he broke both promises is
history.
o
RETRACT WHAT?
ers of his stripe to absolutely run
learn, her sole function as a police the city and the police department.
shown his notorious bias in favor
of thugdom, thievery, graft and Killing tht pets of cfiildren, looks law violations of all descriptions dike wasted energy, when there are; by allowing Pete Barlow and oth-iso many two legged dogs in Mun-I
cie, that are far more dangerous! to the community. i
The editor of the Post-Democrat was served with a notice from the sheriff’s office Thursday. The notice was signed by one Raymond Warner, the young fellow who was incited by one Wilbur Ryman into preferring a criminal libel charge, which resulted in a conviction before a packed jury. Sheridan Barlow, a brother of Pete Barlow, sat on the jury. The notice was in the form of a demand upon the editor to publish a retraction of the alleged libel, which appeared in the December 10, 1925 issue of this newspaper. We were given ten days to publish the retraction. Unless it is done in this issue our time will he up before the next press day. Nothing was said in the notice what would be done to us if we fail to retract. We have been shot at, assaulted, prosecuted, sued, boycotted and libeled, occasionally, ourselves. Since there was no indication of what'we have coming if we fail to publish a fitting aapology for offending Wilbur Ryman, we can onyl conjecture which v particular form of reprisal is in store for us. We have taken so many chances in the past, that we feel that the old pitcher might as well take one more trip to the water trough, We have no apologies to make to Raymond Warner, nor none to his promoter, Wilbur Ryman. Life is too short to take such people seriously. It is annoying to be pestered by gnats and gadflies, but since it seems to be a part of the program we take their buzzing as philisophically as possible. We await the next move with serenity, and will lose no sleep in the meantime.
“No Squawk” Meeting
One story, however, which persists, is to the effect that a “no squawk” meeting was held last Sunday at which all who knew anything held up their right hands and swore to stick to one story. This also may, and may not be true. Coroner Kilgore and Prosecutor Davis say that they are going to probe the affair to the bottom. The wall of secrecy, the failure of the police to cooperate and the “pull” that Pete Barlow has enjoyed in Muncie, encourages the underworld to believe that perjury is a safe performance but the line of resistance is said to be weakening. Protecting gamblers, bootleggers and prostitutes has been a mere pastime in Muncie but any continued attempt to help cover up what may be a deliberate murder will bring reprisals which even Muncie’s hard boiled city administraton will not care to risk. The police, in the Barlow matter, are performing much the same way that they did when repeated attacks were made upon the, home of the editor of the Post-Democrat. Although the police were informed as to who made the murder threats in that instance, none of those whose names were given were molested or even interrogated. One of the men who threatened the life of the editor was “Slim” Edwards, one of Barlow’s “lookouts.” Edwards is one of the men against whom Leo Donovan, the brave grand juror who refused to be gagged, filed an affidavit, charging him with perjury in connection with his evidence before the grand
jury.
Muncie citizens are tired of the humiliating spectacle of a community ruled by thugs and gunmen, who are openly" and brazenly protected by the police. The people here are demanding a showdown and Prosecutor Davis and Coroner Kilgore, backed by the best citizens, will stay on the job until the job is completed. o Airplane serivee arocss the Andes in Peru is expected to cut the trip down from the usual three weeks* journey to only two days.