Indianapolis Times, Volume 39, Number 80, Indianapolis, Marion County, 12 August 1927 — Page 4

PAGE 4

The Indianapolis Times (A SCBITPS-BOWABD NEWSPAPER) Owned and published dally (except Sunday) by The Indianapolis Times Publishing Cos.. 314-230 W. Maryland Street, Indianapolis, Ind. Price in Marlon County, 2 cents — 10 cents a week; elsewhere, 3 cents— l 2 cents a week. BOYD GURLEY, ROY W. HOWARD. W. A. MAYBORN, Editor. President. Business Manager. PHONE—MAIN 3500 FRIDAY, AUGUST 12, 1927. " Member of United Press, Scrlpps-Howard Newspaper Alliance, Newspaper Enterprise Association. Newspaper Inlormatlon Service and Audit Bureau o£ Circulations. “Give Light and the People Will Find Their Own Way”— Dante

s CRI PPS - H OW AHD

Is There One Man? "What is the official attitude of the (Republican organization in this State toward the contents of the Stephenson “black boxes” and the history which those documents, now in the hands of the grand jury, will reveal? Not only Republican voters but every independent citizen of the State will be interested in the answer which will be given or should be given at the gathering of the State committee and acknowledged leaders at Lake Oliver on Saturday and Sunday. For the entire citizenship is very much interested in having every political organization representative of high principles and controlled by those who have only an interest in all the people. That organization has a great responsibility. Under its guidance it has placed men td office. It has assumed to 'direct policies to j£ yery large extent. It is responsible for those in office. (The attitude of the party organization has ftjbt been such as to create any great degree of jrablio confidence* tWhen the first charges of corruption were jpade from, the cell of Stephenson, no effort §vas made to force a complete investigation pf even to demand denials from those who fright he involved. i It is a matter of history that the Republican Clyde [Walb, and the Governor (elected by the grace and gifts of Stephenson, Were silent until OoL Theodore Roosevelt, son pf the illustrious President and Republican, (demanded that they at least deny the charges. It is a matter of history that every official Influence was used to suppress and silence the former dragon, who is now a life term convict, fend to prevent the disclosure to the public of jthe evidence which he said he had. When denial was made, it was that any evidence of any kind existed, any documents which would be even embarrassing to those who accepted his favors and were elected through his most doubtful political methods. It remained for The Times to first prove before a grand jury that such documents did at one time exist. This newspaper followed the trail that led from the jail at Noblesville to photographer’s studios and to the one person who finally turned them over to the grand jury. This newspaper charged that the documents did exist at a time when Stephenson, by his later admission, was receiving such messages as induced him to remain silent. These party leaders scoffed then. They asked why the documents were not produced. They had tried to make the people of this State believe that there had never been any documents of any sort. They no longer scoff, for The Times relentlessly and persistently following the trails, finally forced the man who fled from the State for weeks, to produce and turn them over to the present grand jury, a very different body from the one which functioned when its members were reporting privately to high officials. The Times produced the check paid to Governor Jackson by Stephenson for $2,500, a check whose existence was denied for months land which is now explained as the price of £ horse. The Times then very definitely charged that hack in the days when the Republican party Was being kidnaped by adventurers, and that means more than Stephenson or the hooded iorder which had expelled him, Ed Jackson, then Secretary of State, went to Warren T. McCray with an offer of SIO,OOO for attorney fees and a promise of immunity if he would name the selection of George (V,- Coffin as (prosecuting attorney. It would seem that the Republican leadership owe something more to the voters whom they represent than a policy of silence. They can no longer ignore, as they forced the Republican members of the Legislature to ignore as a party policy, these charges which are definite and damning. There are thirteen members of the Republican State committee. It is inconceivable that all of these members have either knowledge of the facts or sympathy with the policy of Walb. What would happen if just one man arose in that committee and asked Governor Jackson to say, definitely and with a direct answer, whether the charge of The Times is true or false ? Would there be any of the other twelve members who would dare to oppose a motion that the Governor be asked to clear himself and any reflected disrepute, of these charges? Is there even one man on that committee of independence and courage? There is, of course. If he speaks as the men and women who trust him desire him to speak, there will be a clear, swift and decisive determination of all these matters. Who will that man be? There surely is one who is ready to stand for truth and Indiana.

Here’s What Makes Blue Grass Blue The daughters of the Blue Grass are still as fair, perhaps, as of old. But the limpid bourbon sunlight is gone from the glasses, and now the horses, so it seems, may go straining down the stretch, not to glory, but oblivion. Far has old Kentucky wandered since her days of splendor. A reformer as zealous as any Puritan bound for Paradise is this John Crepps Wickliffe Beckham, nominated anew for Governor by embattled but divided Democrats. He is a prohibitionist—of the first water, so to speak—but he has turned his attention of late to fresher conquests, pledging himself, if elected, to banish betting from the Kentucky turf forever. Churchill Downs, minus their pari-mutuels, will, needless to say, be never what It once was, and there is indication that the doomsman is in line to be elected. In all the country there will probably be no political struggle more interesting. The Republican opposing Beckham will be Judge Flem D. Sampson, member of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, said to favor pari-mutuel betting, which he has not denied. Aristocrat, scion of the Blue Grass, Beckham must find the bulk of his support in his own Democratic lowlands, breeding place of thoroughbreds that have won three-fourths of all prizes offered by the American turf. Sampson, on the other hand, comes out of the mountains, Republican mountains that produced Abraham Linooln, where horses and men are breeded alike for work, where life, if not narsh, has never been noted for lordly ease and courtly pleasurance. An ironical situation it Is, but hot more so than when Beckham, then United States Senator, voted loud and strong in 1917. for the eighteenth amendment to the Federal Constitution, his colleague, the amiable Ollle James, protesting vainly. Kentucky made Beckham Governor once, back In 1903, and may do it again, and the few remaining colonels, as they rest on wide verandas with tall and beaded but quite illegal glasses, may console themselves that, after all, Beckham can do nothing unless the Kentucky Assembly is with him. But it will be at best a poor consolation, for did not the Assembly make Kentucky the third State in the Union to ratify the amendment which Beckham had fostered and, not satisfied with that, did it not enact a State prohibition which, banning the golden bourbon twice, left Our Old Kentucky Home mostly memory and tradition? Where Facts Are Needed Treasury Undersecretary Ogden Mills performed a real public service at the Virginia institute of public affairs yesterday. He outlined a clear and concise program for debunking the controversy over State and national finances. Noting the rapid increase in State and local taxes and the sharp decrease in Federal taxes Mills said that It is impossible to indulge in praise or condemnation until we know: 1. Just what we are getting for our money. 2. Whether governmental activities are being financed in the most ecciomical way. 3. Whether the present apportionment of tax burdens is just. The increase in State and local taxes, as Mills observed, does not of itself prove anything. It depends upon whether the communities taxed are getting increased public service commensurate with the increased costs. Figures of themselves mean nothing. Virginia, the State in which Mills spoke, is financing its road building program almost entirely from current revenues. North Carolina, its neighbor to the south, has built a marvelous system of hard surfaced highways by selling over $150,000,000 of bonds. Which is the more economical system,.the best way of financing? North Carolina will pay an enormous premium in interest on bonds in order to have fine roads right away. In the long run a comparably good highway system in Virginia will cost a great deal less because paid for in cash. Whether North Carolina or Virginia is wiser depends upon whether having roads immediately will increase the productive power of a State more than enough to offset the burden of interest. That’s a question which only detailed study can settle. Are taxes, local, State and national, being fairly apportioned? As long as over 80 per cent of the more than four billion dollars local taxes Is raised by use of the antiquated property tax, there’s certainly a grave question on that score. But is the Federal income tax justly apportioned? What we need in this controversy over State and national financial policies—an almost certain factor In the coming presidential campaign—is less shouting and more fact hunting. Mr. Mills ventured the opinion that Federal Government finances are very wisely managed and that that’s not generally true In cities and States, particularly in New York—where he recently lost for Governor. He discounted his own opinion by declaring the need for facts. That was a worthy job. Our advice to the men of the American Legion going to Paris Is to take along a couple of buckets of water. They may want to take a bath. Law and Justice By Dexter M. Keezer Three small boys on their way home from school continually pestered and bullied two small girls. The school principal, a woman, punished the boys by striking them across the palm of each hand eight times with a ruler. The parents of one of the boys sued the principal for damages. They admitted that the principal had the right to punish the boy for his misconduct in school, but claimed that she had no right to punish the boy for his conduct after school hours and off the school grounds. The principal contended that the boys had to be dealt with severely in order to insure the proper conduct of the school. Otherwise, she claimed, the little girls would be so worried and intimidated as to interfere with their studies and the general peace of the school. HOW WOULD YOU DECIDE THIS CASE? The actual decision: The Supreme Court of Errors of Connecticut held that the principal was mot liable to pay damages for punishing the boy. It said that although the offense of pestering the little girls was committed arfter school hours and away from the school grounds it was closely enough related to the morale and efficiency of the school to justify discipline by the school principal.

THE INDIANAPOLIS TIMES

M. E. TRACY, SAYS: “We Are Horrified 'Justly at the Idea of Ancient Mexico Sacrificing 10,000 or 15,000 Victims Annually to the SunGod, but We Are Laying an Equal Number, on the Altars of the God of Speed.

COLUMBUS, Ohio, Aug. 12 —On one of the prominent downtown corners of this city stands a big sign urging motorists and pedestrians to be careful. Your first thought is, “What a fine and effective message.” Then you read the two columns of figures on the left, and enthusiasm gives way to doubt. The first column records the number of automobile deaths occurring in 1926, month by month. The second column parallels It with the number of deaths during the first seven months of 1927. You learn that while sixteen people were killed between Jan. .1 and Aug. 1 last year, thirty-three were killed during the same period this year. On the face of the returns, the sign does not seem to have accomplished much. The only consolation is that things might have been worse without it. Sacrifice to Speed We have evidently come to a point where something more than preaching is needed to check the autos’ bloody career. Such signs as the one mentioned above ought to produce results. So had the crosses which mark the scenes of fatal accidents along Ohio roads. But despite all of these grim reminders, the casualty list continues to grow. Each three-year period finds the auto killing and crippling more people than we lost In the war. We are horrified justly at the Idea of ancient Mexico sacrificing 10,000 or 15,000 victims annually to the sun-god, but we are laying an equal number on the altars of the god of speed. Fame From Sons Speed has its advantages, of course, but only when some worthwhile object is to be attained, and only for a comparatively few. If he had not learned how to be a dare devil on auto speedways. Eddie Rickenbacker. would never have become the American ace. Columbus persists in claiming Eddie as its own, though he lias moved to Detroit, just as it persists in claiming Elsie Janis, though she has moved to New York. No matter how great or selfsufficient a city may become, it never gets above borrowing fame from its successful sons and daughters. The Baltimorean is quick to remind you that Babe Ruth was born in hid town; Pittsburgh is proud of Andy Mellon, even though he does own six banks; Evansville wants yo to know that Marylyn Miller one? lived there, and whoever suggests to a Toledoan that business may be bad is instantly squelched with the name of John Willys. Columbus’ Industry Columbus is one of the few State capitals in this country big enough not to be overshadowed by official and institutional life. You can think of the town without recalling that it is a seat of Government. It has the State university, to be sure, not to mention the penitentiary, insane asylum, home of the feeble minded, and other ties which go with the business of State administration, but it possesses a character quite distinct from these. Neither is It dependent on any single industry, or group of industries.

Ohio’s Library Fight Speaking of public business, the Ohio State library has just been reopened after having been closed ever since Governor Donahey vetoed the appropriation for it. There is no money in the treasury with which to pay salaries or expenses, but a way has been found to employ a pitifully small staff that draws its pay from other departments. It is one of those queer situations which sometimes arise when State men get the economy bug, or, as some people say, when a Governor and a Legislature fall out. At any rate, Governor Donahey simply drew his pen through an item of $136,000 authorized for the State library when the bill came up for his approval. It is generally believed that he did this with the Idea that the Legislature would re-enact the bill with certain changes that he desired, but the Legislature failed to come through. Meanwhile, rural districts that are accustomed to get books from the State library and appear to enjoy the provilege. have raised a veritable storm, and for weeks the Governor has been busy about nothing so much as to find some way of running the State library without funds. Primaries and Costs Municipal primaries were held throughout Ohio on Tuesday, which reminds one that there is quite a movement for abandoning them. A favorite argument with primary opponents is its expense. It is said that few cities can hold a primary for less than $1 a voter, while in some the cost runs as high as $2.50. Whether a thing is worth what you pay for it is determined by what you get out of it or what you would have to pay for a substitute. The only substitute for a primary Is the old-fashioned convention, which, though it might have proved cheaper at the time, often costs the taxpayers ten times as much In the end.

Just as ‘Ma’ Fisher Was Getting Very Sad, the Canary Started to Sing Something Very Snappy BY WALTER D. HICKMAN

Elizabeth Patterson as “Ma” Fisher was in her big scene in “The Show-Off” when she became very sad and excited over “Pa” Fisher’s fatal accident. The audience was feeling the great power and sincerity of Miss Patterson and they were using their handkerchiefs freely. The actress was becoming splendidly emotional and very sad. And then, suddenly, someone or something started whistling a tune which sounded like “I want to be happy.” Miss Patterson was more than surprised. Never was this big scene so rehearsed. The whistling would not stop. “Ma” Fisher kept on being mighty sad with difficulty. McKay Morris was as much surprised as any of the cast. While “Ma” wanted to weep and worry a lot about poor “Pa,” the whistler kept up the merry tune. A happy, gay and marvelous tune. Miss Patterson succeeded in getting an undertone message to someone in the wings “to make the man stop whistling.”. A search was started but no human was discovered but the merry tune of the whistler kept right on. Suddenly “Ma“ Fisher walked up to a window and there she discovered the whistler—it was a pretty little canary that had been borrowed from a bird store to give color and home like atmosphere to the scene. “Really,” Miss Patterson told me. “I never knew that the canary was a live one. I thought it was just a toy. It certainly was quiet up to the Wednesday matinee. And then it started to sing and in the saddest scene.” And with a laugh. Miss Patterson told me very confidentially that "the bird in the cage is now just a toy.” This actually happened at Keith's Wednesday afternoon during the big act of “The Show-Off.” Miss Patterson loves music and she loves to inspire people to happiness, but this is the first time that this noted woman of the stage has ever moved a canary to song. “And he started to sing just when I was supposed to be sad.” Miss Patterson said with a smile. All Agree to This Miss Patterson’s public in Indianapolis seems to be unanimous on the point that the funniest characterization she has given Mrs. Mendelharper in “A Very Good Young Man.” And I asked her while we were

Inspiration

mRm - .s hsh ggP ." ir < PS r JSm Miss Elizabeth Patterson Many a time and many more times than that have audiences been inspired by the great acting of Elizabeth Patterson. But it remained until Wednesday matinee for Miss Patterson to inspire 1 a canary to sing.

His Dizzy Day

talking the other noon at Keith’s what role she likes best. And I was so glad when she said after a minute’s reflection, “Mrs. Mendelharper.” Are you not glad to hear that? And wouldn’t you just love to see her play that role again? I would. “I like it best because it is a most unusual role, that of Mrs. Mendelharper,” Miss Patterson said. “It is the most unusual part I have ever played. She is entirely different than the Ma Fisher in ’The Show-Off’ because Mrs. Fisher is one of those Main St. mothers who has a kindly heart and a little sharp exterior.” Miss Patterson was given her first so-called “low comedy role” by Stuart Walker, who insisted years ago that she play Lottie in “Good Gracious Annabelle.” “Mr .Walker insisted that I play Lottie and you remember that Lottie was the tipsy one,” Miss Patterson explained. “I wanted to c r y on the opening night and I told Mr. Walker that if they didn’t laugh at Lottie I would die. He told me not tc worry. “Well, when Lottie and I got on th? stage thi people begar. to laugh after every comma and they wouldn’t wait until the end of the sentence. “I kept saying to myself if they will just let me finish a sentence before laughing I will be so happy. But they didn’t,” Miss Patterson recalled. Her Great Wish And from that day Miss Patterson has given this country some of its greatest pleasure by playing both eccentric characters as well as natural mother and “ma” roles. Personally, I think she is at her best in “Charm,” the play in which she made such a great Broadway record. Stuart Walker will present

(Kokomo Dispatch) A few months ago the State of Indiana was aroused to vigorous discussion of the principle of freedom of the press, which was declared threatened by the sentencing of an editor to the State Shumaker penal farm because he had criticised a circuit court Judge. The Supreme ana the Court held that “the truth is no deCourt sense,” although Editor Dale offered to present evidence to prove that what he had said about the Judge was true. Evidence that was presented, later, before the Indiana Senate was enough to convince the public, at least, that the editor was abundantly justified in his criticisms. Now we have just as heated discussion of the principle of freedom of speech by the sentencing of E. S. Shumaker, superintendent of the Indiana AntiSaloon League, to the State penal farm because he dared to criticise decisions of the Supreme Court. It is hardly to be imagined that by the sentencing of this one man, healthy criticism of our government is to be stifled and critics terrorized into silence. Already, much of the comment ■which the decision against Shumaker has aroused is of such force and color as to cause the words of Shumaker to grow pale and mild by comparison. It seems evident that the Supreme Court can very easily fill the State penal farm to overflowing, if it desires to sentence all who are critical of its decisions. The Supreme Court has drawn a hairline between criticism and contempt. Two of the five Supreme Court judges decided that Dr. Shumaker was not guilty of contempt. Two decided that he was guilty and Judge Willoughby decided so, too. Howard County is familiar with the Shumaker-Willoughby case, and remembers that mistakes were found in the count at th election in 1924 in this county, mistakes which Secretary of State Schortemeier refused to permit the clerks to correct, mistakes which would have turned the election to Judge Denton, now dead. It seems hardly proper for a Judge with such personal interest in a case to be allowed to make hairline decisions. Judge Willoughby may have been perfectly sincere, of course, far above personal animus in the matter, but after all even a judge is only human. Attorney General Gilliom said that Shumaker had sought to intimidate the court by threatening those on the bench with defeat at election. The Supreme Court is not supposed to be subject to popular will, but only to the Constitution and the law. But certainly the public has a right to discuss whether a court has been true to its duty under the law and the Constitution, and how else can the public decide whether to re-elect a Judge or to defeat him unless it is free to discuss his record on the bench? No single court is Infallible. It is made up of human elements and is likely to err, and so long as there are courts they probably will be criticised at times, regardless of the instrument of contempt of court.

her here soon in “Charm.” Os course she is doing marvelously human work as “Ma” Fisher this week. As we talked freely upon many subjects. Miss Patterson told me that her greatest ambition is to have Booth Tarkington write a play for her. “Really, I become ill when I read in the papers that Booth Tarkingten has decided to write no more plays,” she said. “How that man knows women,’’ Miss Patterson confided. And I do hope that Tarkington does write a great play and a great part for Miss Patterson. I might as well admit right now that I have three stage favorites among women—They are Elizabeth Patterson, Mrs. Fiske and Rae Samuels. Confession is good for the soul, you know. One of the biggest and finest things that Stuart Walker has done for Indianapolis is the bringing rs Miss Patterson here season after season. And I do hope that Tarkington writes the great play for this great woman. Indianapolis theater: today offer: “Stop Thief” at English’s; “The Show-Off” at Keith’s; Miss Lee Morse at the Lyric; “Frisco Sally Levy” at the Ohio; “Captain Salvation” at the Circle; “Man Power” at the Indiana; “Range Courage” at the Isis and “Painting the Town” at the Apollo. When was Henri Landru, the notorious French Bluebeard, executed? Did he ever tell how he killed his wives? He was gillotined Feb. 25, 1922. In the hour of his execution he refused to divulge the manner of the death of his wives)

What Other Editors Think

Why the Weather?

MAKING RAIN IN KANSAS CITY Some Weather Bureau men were recently swapping anecdotes, and one of them vouchsafed the following: “In the old days our weather office was located on the same floor with the United States Court. It was a busy morning we were having. The hall adjoining our office was crowded with witnesses and jurors called in a case. “My chief and I were working on the weather map—translating the code reports as they came in. The crowd was all eyes and cars. Pretty soon I came to a misspelled word in the Kansas City report. I had had enough experience to know that It was not a good code word, but I didn’t know exactly what the word might mean. So I turned to the chief and asked ‘What shall we do with Kansas City?’ In other words, I wanted to know how to interpret the code words, which was a report of the state of the weather in Kansas City at 8 o'clock that morning. The chief answered ‘Make it rain.’ “That was the signal for the boys out in the hall to prick up their ears. One of them turned to a companion and whispered, with a look of awe on his face. 'They’re going to make it rain in Kansas City today. “I suppose he actually thought we could!” (All rights reserved bv Science Service. Inc.)

Brain Teasers

Five of the first ten statements below correct and true, and the other five are Incorrect and false. Pick out the right sentences from the wrong sentences, and check up with the answers on page 14: 1. “The School for Scandal,” a play by Sheridan, an Irish dramatist, was written before the Civil War. 2. William and Evangeline Booth took prominent part in forming the Volunteers of America. 3. General Pershing led the expedition which was sent to capture Pancho Villa in Mexico. 4. Igorotes are members of a cannibal tribe of South Africa. 5. Woodrow Wilson was Governor of Pennsylvania before he became President of the United States. 6. Capt. Anton Flettner invented the rotor ship, which navigates without the use of sails. 7. Jack Dempsey had his nose remodeled bv plastic surgery. 8. Lake Lucerne is a popular summer resort in Scotland. 10. Sherlock Holmes, the detective, had his headquarters in Scotland Yard. 11. Where is the lnrgset paper pulley plant in the world? 12. Who is the largest exclusive manufacturer of silk hosiery for men and women? Are hard shelled and soft shellc 1 crabs the same species of crabs? Crabs which have Just shed their shells and are covered only by a soft skin are called “soft-shelled" crabs. They change their shells no 1 at fixed intervals or seasons, but according to the exigencies of the)growth, the change being made with great frequency when they are very young, but rarely in advanced age. Has Thomas Dixon, the author of “The Leonard’s Spots," written any be oks since 1923? He wrote “The Black Hood” <fiction) in 1924; “The Love Complex" in 1925; “The Hope of the World” (non-fletion) in 1925 and “The Torch” in 1927.

Do You Know — That forty-four patients, incurably ill with tuberculosis, were given shelter, care and medical aid since January at the Indianapolis Flower Mission, an agency of the Community Fund?

(Marlon Leader-Tribune) The Shumaker case is attracting wide editorial comment in the press. The head of the Indiana AntiSaloon League, with one of his associates, has been found guilty of contempt of the SuCon tempt preme Court, and has received a sentence of sixty days in jail and a fine of of $250. Resolutions of sympathy and Court willingness to discharge the sentence, Including the fine and the time in Jail, have been passed by church meetings all over the State. While none but Brother Shumaker himself could serve the sentence, the Willingness of many of his followers and admirers to take his place shows that the gentleman has not been desertd in his hour of need. A minority of the court, Including our own Judge Gemmlll, filed an opinion declaring it did not believe Dr. Shumaker was guilty of contempt and declaring that “considered calmly and deliberately, In the light of the constitutional guaranty of free speech and writing, and with a tolerance for the opinions and convictiions of others, which may differ from our own, I do not believe that these paragraphs can be held to be contemptuous.” The majority of the court, on the other hand, three In number, declared that Dr. Shumaker’s conduct, including his remarks about the court, in regard to its alleged attitude on liquor cases, was In contempt of the court. The majority assorted that the Anti-Saloon League head had endeavored to unduly influence the court and to inflame the public mind against the court, forcing it, through fear of punishment at the ballot box, to do the bidding of the Anti-Saloon League. . That the minority opinion is the sounder of the two is the opinion of many editorials. They express fear that this decision and that of the celebrated Dale case, in which it was held "that the truth Is no defense” may become the basis at some time for attack on liberty of discussion and freedom of the press. Many editors expressing such an opinion claim to have no particular love for Brother Shumaker. One, the editor of The Indianapolis Times, it is known, has been hostile to the brother and his associates. But this editor asserts that the issue of freedom of speech is more important than the actual facts In this particular case. We are confident that there Is no more certain safeguard to the perpetuity of the Nation than an absolute freedom of discussion, in speech and the written word. There is no surer weapon for the destruction of national security than to deny the right of such freedom. Os course, there are limits and the integrity of the courts must at all times be preserved. But friends of Dr. Shumaker, and the minority of the Supreme Court, declare that the defendant’s attitude was not in disparagement, not In the way of reflection against the court. And there the matter rests.

AUG. 12, 1927

By CharlM Pltr.huth Talman Authority OB Meteorology