Evening Republican, Volume 18, Number 222, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 September 1914 — WILL NOT ANSWER EMBARRASSING QUERIES [ARTICLE]

WILL NOT ANSWER EMBARRASSING QUERIES

Fairbanks-Taggart Machine Leaders Remain Silent About Scandals In Legislature. Since the Fairbanks-Taggart pollt ical machine leaders have not seen fii to make any sort of an explanation regarding the crookedness -of the 1911 Legislature, let’s state a few facts ask a few blunt questions and answei them just as Governor Ralston woulc answer them if he dared to: Crimes were committed in the cob duct of the last Indiana Legislature. What was the political complexioz of that body? Overwhelmingly Democratic. What influence controlled the 1911 General Assembly? The Crawford Fairbanks-Tom I Tag gart political machine. For the first time in the State’s history laws were written into the stat ute books without first being passed by the Legislature. *

This did not simply happen. Some one was responsible for thfis—the State’s greatest disgrace. Governor head of the Dem ocratic administration, admits this. In a public statement, he referred to the persons responsible for this crime as “consummate scoundrels?" He said that if he could -locate them he would send them to the peniten tiary. Has he done this? j j ~ He has not ,i 1 J? Why? ' He knows better than/anyone else why he has not run these “consummate scoundrels” down. Will Governor/Ralstontdo anything, to punish the 'criminals l responsible for -'‘doctoring” the legal records oi the commonwealth of Indiana? Ask him. " * Who was Speaker offthe last Indi ana House? Homer L. Cook, who/is now Demo cratic candidate for Secretary of State by grace of the Taggart political ma chine. Why did Cook sign /bills that-were not passed by the House? Ask Cook.

No one who. has staked i him about this matter has, as J yet, received s satisfactory answer. ' Can a satisfactory (be It can not. Why? v Because /it is impossible |to satis factorily Explain a.f crime. At the/close oh each session of the Legislature the. da.ily record of the proceedings is /preserved tn printed volumes. Thia permanent record ts Who pays, for it? The taxpayers) of Indiana. Wais ‘he printed record off the lasi House correct? , 5 It was not , , Who was responsible? The book was <compiledf under the direction and supervision 'of Homei L. Cook. He and! his assfistants re ceived large sumsy of public fundst foi doing this work. Who raised the (Statettax levy? The last Legislature, > controlled XbJ the Fairbanks-Taggart < political ma chine. Why? They raised salaries right andtleft, They created new and' unneeded\of flees by the wholesale. Why? The wards |of fthe machine had t(C be cared for, kevyen if the interests oi Indiana and hers taxpayers had to suf fer. Why was ‘lt necessary for Indians to borrow $400,800 last month? Why will it be necessary for the State tc borrow other hundreds of thousands before the end of the current year? Because of the reckless extrava gance and mismanagement of the State’s affairs by the Fairbanks-Tag-gart political machine. Is this good business? If you. think it is not; register on October oth and on November 3d vote the straight ticket of the Republican party, which is pledged to efficiency and economy in the* conduct of the affairs of the State of Indiana.

At the beginning <of the present'eampaign, the Republfcan 'papers of the State and the Republican State Com mlttee began publishing letters from thousands of mem who had left the Progressive partyftp return:once more to the Republican fold. Ftor months the publication of these betters was continued and there were received moreover, a vast number of♦ other let ters but all to the same end. Of late the publication oi these enlivening communications hat been discontinued, however, for the space given to them I has been required to herald the withdrawal from the Bui) Moose ticket of candidatesisfll over the State. These,men, unlikeimost of the welters of-the'letters referred to, were in line with the/new party when the Campaign'began, but latert became con vinced that their activity'was a mere factor contributing to Democratic success. Now they have publicly renounced their Indirect aHleglance tc Democracy and have arrayed themselves where they properly belong. During all this time the Democratic press of the State despite its frantic endeavors to disclose Republican defection, has not been able to produce the name of a single man who has left the Republican party to join eithes the Democratic party or Its ally, the Progressive party. The tide has alii been one way and it is a swelling tide, too. It is a tide which in November is going to sweep the demagogues ot Indiana off their feet. On this score* be not deceived. ——— Nothing explains the need of <an ew planation, Mr. Cook, especially; whe* you haven’t any. B&tty Blythe’s bauneful bunk bntatees bosslsm by bandit bums. Betty, bettae beware, begosh!

Miss Alice Thomas, daughter of Mr. and Mrs, W. L Thomas, who recently moved here from Monon, went to Lafayette today, where she takes music lessons. Fred Beebe, the mnn whose right wrist was badly injured in a silo cutter on the Lawlor ranch on Sept. 3rd, made a trip to Lafayette todgy. •His arm is practically well now. A'?-.- ....