Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 117, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 May 1910 — GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS LARGELY AGAINST BADER. [ARTICLE]

GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS LARGELY AGAINST BADER.

While Affidavit of Prosecutor Charges Commissioners and Bridge Man With Altering Record. Sheriff Louis P. Shirer went to Winamac Monday and served seven warrants on Clinton L. Bader, the bridge man. Six of them charge him with having presented a false claim to the county and the seventh charges him and the county commissioners with having defaced and altered a public record. The latter is not in the form of an indictment but is an affidavit of the prosecuting attorney said to be based upon the testimony of Wallace Marshall, of the Lafayette Bridge Co., and by affidavits of other bridge men that when the bids for the bridge over the Howe ditch were opened and read by the commissioners at the February term, 1909, Bader’s bid was $1,240, whereas the bid as now filed reads $1,400. It is. claimed that beneath the $1,400 figures can be distinguished the partially erased figures $1,240. It is understood that the grand jury did not consider the evidence sufficient to indict and that the prosecutor determined to bring the commissioners into the court by means of an affidavit. Mr. Bader gave bond in the sum of S3OO in each case, his bond being signed by himself, F. M. Williams, George Frain, S. A. March, president of the Winamac National Bank, and John Anstis, of Winamac, and by his attorney, George A. Williams, of Rensselaer, the law requiring that one of his bondsmen be a resident of the county where, the action is started. Commissioner John F. Pettit, of the Ist district, signed his own bond, which is also in the sum of S3OO and it was also signed by John W. Cavinder, of Walker township. Judson L. Adams signed with Fred Waymire the latter’s bond. Commissioner Chas. T. Denham, of the third district, was notified by telephone and came over Monday, called at the office of Sheriff Shirer and in the latter’s absence gave bond, signed by himself and William Townsend. In view of the fact that the grand jury did not consider the evidence as produced of any consequence, it seems that Prosecutor Longwell has gone a long ways to endeavor to injure the commissioners of Jasper county, who are all men of recognized honor and who have beyond doubt acted at all times in the best interests of the taxpayers of the county. The Republican feels at liberty to discuss the matter as it relates to them by reason of the fact that certaip papers have endeavored all along for political reasons to indicate that they were guilty of wrong doing. It is not uncommon for a person or a firm in making a bid to make the price and alter it before filing. It is probable that no one ever figured on a contract who has not had occasion to do this, and the appearance of the bid amounts to absolutely nothing. Bidding in the first place is based upon cost of material and construction, with an allowance for waste and incidentals; in the second place it is a matter of guesswork and the bidder tries to get all that he can for the work. This is the case whether the work is public or private. The other evidence is said to be that of Wallace Marshall, who claims that when the bids were opened and read, the price was $1,240. The commissioners and Bader will swear that the price was not altered, but that the bld® was originally $1,400, and Auditor Leatherman will testify that when the bid reached him it was $1,400. ■ There are always some men who delight in an effort to besmirch the reputations of honorable men and who would believe the testimony of any stranger, and a suit of this kind can not be started without causing some people to take stock in it, but we have no doubt that these men, who have conducted the business affairs of Jasper county ably for a long time, will prove to all fairminded people that they are the victims of political intrigue, with a certain democratic editor laughing in his sleeve in the belief that it may bring about the defeat of John F. Pettit. We believe that where county commissioners are guilty of graft it is in a deal with men who get a big, fat price for what they do. It is not with the man whose bid is the lowest, and we believe that, while Mr. Bader did not do right and doubt-