Evening Republican, Volume 14, Number 213, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 7 September 1910 — EDITORS MISLED DY WILY LAWYER [ARTICLE]

EDITORS MISLED DY WILY LAWYER

Pure Food Law Violators Use Taggart Bureau. VICIOTS ATTACK Oil OFFICER Counsel For Interests Which Break Down Pure Food Laws Works Partisan Bureau and Impose on Honest Papers of fitite—Bureau Writer Later Lands on Law’s Side of Pure Food Cases. In a letter sent out to Democratic papers the other day, the Democratic publicity bureau attacked Attorney General Bingham viciously for traveling in search of testimony, depositions, witnesses and material with which) to make the state’s cases against pare food law violators. In effect the Democratic bureau, apparently at the suggestion of the Democratic governor, but really in response to arguments from cunning counsel for the pure food law violators, declared against any effort by the state of Indiana to defend its position or to uphold the important laws against food frauds and adulterants. Attorneys for the pure food law violators, having failed to induce any reputable newspaper in Indianapolis or elsewhere to use their underhan&ed and crooked attacks on the attorney general’s office, rightly figured that tfce Democratic press bureau, in its blhid partisanship, and in its Taggart antipathy against the Republican attorney general, would snap at the tainted "dope." The bureau accepted the bait and swallowed the adulterated stuff greedily, and used all the Democratic editors it could Influence, in furthering the evil designs of the poisoners who sell rotten foods to the public. The trick worked. A few days later, Republican attorney general of Indiana met obstacles interposed by tricky lawyers at Washington, and was forced to make a fight in court for testimony needed to complete Indiana’s case, the Democratic press bureau sent out a Story attacking some supposed Washington officers who were “trying to hamper the attorney general* and blick the enforcement of the pure food laws. . Now the Democratic press bureau attacked the Republican attorney general of Indiana because he was a Re-' publican, and because Thomas Taggart does not love him personally, since the Casino suits. And the same bureau turned about within a week and attacked someone else at Washington on the ground that the same attorney general was being “hampered.” In one letter the Democratic bureau lampooned the attorney general for going after evidence to enforce the pure food laws. In its next letter it lambasted men who apparently were trying to keep that evidence from the attorney general. What is the public to believe?