Indianapolis Times, Volume 36, Number 86, Indianapolis, Marion County, 18 August 1924 — Page 5

MONDAY, AUG. 18,1924.

STATE FIRE LOSS • CUT AFTER FIRST MONTHS OF YEAR Bad Start Partially Overcome, Marshal's Report Shows. In spite of the fact that Indiana and the nation in general got away to a bad start in checking fires for 1924, recent reports show the situation is less acute ana fire prevention for the year will be favorable, according to a bulletin issued today by State Fire Marshal Newman T. Miller. “Indiana's January fire loss in 1924 was $1,361,952 and $551,443 in 1923." the bulletin reads. “The national loss for January, 192s was 541.243.600 as Compared with $36,614,850 the corresponding month last year. “New York City fire loss for the first three months of 1924 showed an increase of 33.4 per cent, and the Illinois total for the same period reached almost $10,000,000. “Such fire epidemics demand drastic action and serve to call attention of the public, in a spectacular, but costly manner, to the need of constant vigilance against rre. “The national loss for February and March, the latest for which com plete reports are available, show decreases under last year, and the State loss for April and May show sharp decreases under the same months in 1923, a fact from which we take much encouragement and hope for a good showing in Indiana in 1924. Eighteen years were required to make the huge gates of Henry Vll’s Chapel in Westminster Abbey.

Store Opens 9 A. M.

Now in Progress, Greatest Saving Event of the Year j|Our August Fur Coat Sale! iXyßra A year ago we helcl our first August Sale o{ Fur jm Coats of beautifully matched raccoon, of /fL/ifjL Coats a t one hundred dollars. That event solved IT jgff J| ill J| it rich opossum for sports, beaverette of dressy the problems of many WOl ” en \m || !{§§ J§| 1 appearance, of silky sealine, swagger muskWMF JPHf Wa Tl COatS ° yq % , CIF BI! m m m rat and marmink. [ )|TV jABC iffk' at the lowest possible price. The sale ■ ttg Si >[s | was enthusiasticaiiy p atr ° nized * ;■ si m : yy t .' 'lsßn As 1(i 'jpWky Now we are holding a HI JH} Hi B #OP ‘ JfvL similar economy event HII WW| 9 Boyish, Swagger Coats for Girls, T\l mmtim&tk —■£ jg”i tunity *° posse - s • hmd ' for Mature Women —Sizes " saving. A collection of fur wraps per- —As Pictured—at One Low 11 , 4 sonally selected by our buyer y OU k ave t iave a new winter coat later on, why Price, SIOO. JMs§| with the assistance of Mr. Ziers, not use our Layaway Plan of $25 cash, balance to Coats of Silky Pe - sjOf r? -- £ . c I be paid out by November 1, and thereby secure a lected for Their Beauty, ITT jff? Expert Manufacturing Furrier coat that you can wear for many seasons to come Dependability and Ex- t' of L. S. Ayres and Coitfjpany. rather than invest in an ordinary cloth coat for pert Blending. Mj foilMs 77 .11 T which you will have to pay almost as much and that I t f \ Lla, You will know when you see . mention anyTf these^oats—bib them they are_ the most re- It is True Economy to wear a Fur Coat, ance to be paid out by Nov. 1. t markable group of COa t S These coats are guaranteed as to qua.! offered at anywhere near j/ ity and meet all the requirements of /jt —; ; L. S. Ayres and Company standards of j£ this P r * ce * ' of Natural Squirrel, Nude, Viatka, merchandise. WBKRfIbWJjL Fox, Skunk and Natural Mink Every garment .s an extraordinary value- MiHl'Wqlffill -As Picturedquality furs —of superior workmanship. ' iNffetajlMfii I Many styles from which to make your selec- fjgXnUW A. Y OU will know when VOtl buy Here is an event that has been carefully planned for months tion. Straight slim-line coats and full wraps / X L —it is not a hurry-up purchase of gaments bought at random Hi W these fur coats that VOU are placed on a bargain sale. It has taken the best efforts COLLARS —The kind that crush or rolled *Tll I 1 our buyer to secure such valuable garments at prices shawl effect. [) 1 liW get^t:ing one of the best values which permit him to sell them at as little as UNINGS-Of rich, lustrous satins, brocades and ■ of the year. They are abs 7 one m T hle coats'attain the ,a m e peak of q uality urriers lining. A ■ . ■ i* * 1 • as those of last years sale and in some inK] luteiy reliable in every sense stances even exceed those famous values. The Sizes for women and girls large women or small r ,1 1 furs are of unquestionable high quality—make women. \J Ol tne worp. your selection as soon as possible.

MY OWN STORY. BOSSES DESERT WEAKENING WISCONSIN STATE. MACHINE By ROBERT M. LA FOLLETTE* 1 '

“MY OWN STORY” is an exclusive newspaper version of one of the great autobiographies of modern times: La Follette s own story of adventures in politics as written by himself in 1912. together with an authorized narrative of his experiences in the years since then. SYNOPSIS OF PREVIOUS INSTALLMENTS La Follette is defeated for a fourth term in Congress in 1890 when Wisconsin goes heavily Democratic. Retiring to private law practice, he begins an unending fight against the Republican political machine in his State. He delivers speeches on “Dangers Threatening Representative Government" throughout the State, and uses as a newspaper medium The State, edited by John M. Nelson, later a Congressman. In the campaign of 1898 he offers himself as a Progressive candidate for Governor. In* a fierce fight. La Follette is defeated after the “bosses" spend $8,300 to handle the delegates to the State convention. Many Progressive planks are adopted at the convention, however. But we had not fought wholly in vain; we had so stirred the State upon progressive issues that our opponents did not dare risk the rejection of the platform which we presented, and, except in one or particulars, it was adopted substantially as we drafted it. It demanded immediate enactment of such laws as would compel all corporations to contribute their just share toward the burden of taxation It prohibited giving and receiving of passes and franks. It admitted defects in the caucus and convention system, and favored direct primary legislation. It admitted the existence of the lobby to control legislation in the interests of corporations, and promised laws to abolish the same. In the following legislature, of 1599, none of the pledges of the platform of IS9B, aside from the antlpa.ss law, was redeemed. An effort was made to pass a bill for the more equitable taxation of the railroads, but it was resisted by a strong railroad lobby and finally defeated by substituting a bill for the creation of a commission to investigate the subject. Every forward step was resisted. A pretense of cofhpliance with the

DOWNSTAIRS A*RES GOOD MERCHANDISE VT AYRES SERVICE W~ LOW PRICES

LA FOLLETTE IN AN EARLY POLITICAL SPEECH.

platform promise of direct primaries was made by passing a law which really strengthened and entrenched the caucus and convention system. The bosses thus sought to fortify their position for the future. Tiiree Defeats We had now lost in three campaigns—1594. 1896, 1898. But we

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

had tested the machine to the limit of It* strength, and we were prepared to go forward with the fight more vigorously than ever before. I had then, and have had ever since, absolute confidence In the people. The question was often asked. “How do you expect to make Wisconsin a pioneer progressive State, with its foreign-born, foreign-

bred, slow-moving population?*’ True, a majority of the people* of Wisconsin are of foreign birth and foreign parentage. But it is a rare and exceptional people. spirit of liberty stirring throughout Europe in the late 40’s and early 50’s gave us the best of Germany, Scandinavia, Poland, Ireland. Our problem was further simplified owing to the predominance of the agricultural population and the absence of great congested centers, which are always the stronghold of machine control through a corrupt combination of big business and municipal graft. We entered upon the campaign of 1900, therefore, in which we were destined to be finally victorious, with great enthusiasm.' The psychology of a certain type of machine politician Is a most interesting study. It is characteristic of him to win if possible, but to appear to win in any event. He has a quick, almost prophetic eye for the loaded wagon. He has one rue; beat the opposition man. but if he cannot he beaten, support him. Claim credit for' his victory, and at all hazards, keep in with the successful candidate. He believes that if he cannot get what he wants for himself by opposing a candidate, he may possibly succeed In getting what he wants by supporting him. We had been beaten by the bosses in three successive campaigns in Wisconsin, but when we entered the campaign of 1900. the cumulative es feet of our previous work began to be apparent. ■ Others Conte Out J announced my candidacy for Governor May 15. Several candidates were at once brought out bv the machine In various parts of the State to carry their own and nearby counties with a view to combining their strength and defeating me in the convention. I had therefore to make a hot fight against each of these candidates In his own stronghold. County after county was carried, and the evidences of victory soon began to be overwhelming. It was then that a number of poli- | ticians who had been opposed to our {cause, among them Congressman Babcock, his friend, Emanual Phil-

lipp, and Isaac Stephenson, joined our ranks for such time as suited their purposes. Isaac Stephenson, up to 1900, had always cooperated with the machine. Like Sawyer, he was a typical pioneer lumberman, who had acquired great wealth which he was willing to use liberally in political activities. When the Legislature of 1899 came to elect a Senator, Stephenson felt that the hour had come when the promise shoujd he made good. He knew that a word from Sawyer and Spooner would settle the matter, but that word was not speken. It may be they had never intended to make Stephenson Senator. It is certain there were others on the waiting list who wanted the Senatorship and who also expected Sawyer and Spooner to help them. One of these was Congressman Babcock, a machine politician with close connections with big business. Now, as a matter of fact, Sawyer and Spooner did not want either Stephenson or Babcock for Senator. The man they really wanted was Henry C. Payne, but his reputation as a lobbyist was such they did not dare propose him openly. They supported Joseph V. Quarles as a "holding candidate.” No opportunity offering for Payne, they finally elected Quarles Senator. This left Stephenson and Babcock in an unpleasant frame of mind, and both in less than two years came to me with propositions Fo support the Progressive movement, which by that time began to look like a winning cause. An old friend of Babcock came to me in January, 1900, and said: "I come to you with a message from Babcock. He asks nothing from you. But he is angry with the old crowd because they did not treat him fairly in the senatorial contest. “He has such a hold upon his district that he feels he can remain In Congress without asking the favor of any outside support. But he wants to fight In your ranks as a private.” * “Well,” I replied, "you know what I am fighting for in this State. You know that I am standing for certain issues, and am welcoming all the help that I can get.” Another machine man, who also apparently enlisted In the reform

[ movement, was Emanuel L. Phillipp of Milwaukee. Phillipp was an out-and-out corporation man. But he with others of his type professed to have reached the conclusion that there were abuses to reform and that the railroads and other interests recognized this to be so. They were apprehensive that I was hostile to railroad corporations and would, if Governor, seek to embarrass them in every conceivable way. Babcack and Phillipp assured me that they did not share in this opinion regarding my position, and that they very much wished my true position might be made known. They suggested that Marvin Hughitt, president of the Chicago find Northwestern Railroad Company, would like to have from me directly a personal statement of my purposes. Conference Asked I replied that I knew of no reason why I should shrink from stating my convictions upon any question of public interest. When I informed A. R. Hall of the proposal he opposed my seeing Hughitt on the ground that it was the purpose of these gentlemen to draw me into an interview, then cause the matter to be made public for the purpose of arousing popular prejudice. I suggested that if the president of the Wisconsin Dairymen's Association, or the representative of any other business interest, requested a conference for the purpose of ascertaining my position upon legislation which might affect their interests, I would agree to such an interview as a matter of course. To refuse to submit my opinions under such circumstances would tend to justify the belief that I had some ulterior design. When the subject, therefore, was next brought up I agreed to meet Hughitt provided ex-Governor Hoard might be present. At the appointed time Governor Hoard, Hughitt, Babcock and I met in the offices of Hughitt in Chicago. Hughitt began by telling us how he started in life as a telegraph messenger boy and took up most of the time reviewing his career. (Copyright, 1924, NEA Service, Inc.) (Continued in Our Next Issue)

HooSier Briefs

‘ "1 DEPUTY sheriff saved ■* \ Owne Cooney from attack M by a mob at Marion. He was going to a doctor’s office with deep cut|i in and face, result of an auto accident. Folks thought he was one of the bandit gang, shot in the battle of Fairmount. Tipton tells the world the game of wheelbarrow polo is rough. Robert Mettin was cut about the eye and leg and other lads were hurt in a recent game won by George Brumfield's team. William Allen, 15, of Columbus was Jpadly hurt when a spoke out of a wheel he was spinning pierced his arm. Blood poisoning is feared. Elks won’t stay at home evenings at Shelbyville now at all. The lodge is installing a radio set. • TRAFFIC cleared for D. M. T Clokey of Huntington, * thinking he had a hospital case. The horn on his auto only stuck. Sheriff Rensbarger of Marion has returned from Miamisburg, Ohio, home of Bernard Lewis, bandit slain at Fairmount recently. He said Miamisburg was shocked and thought Lewis was a good citizen, and won his roll playing poker. - A coal oil lamp fired the home of H. M. Shores, near Clinton. New furniture his daughter had just purchased was destroyed. Small boys at Lapel, near Elwood, staged a knife throwing contest in imitation of a circus stunt. Ralph Overman. 13, who was visiting Mrs. Nancy Dewitt, walked in front of the target and wa d struck in the eye. He probably will lose his sight. Dr. B. V. Chance, radio fan at Windfall, repaired his radio outfit in time to hear President Coolidge’s notification address. Batteries were burned out listening in on the Democratic national convention.

Store Closes 5 P. M.

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