Indianapolis Times, Volume 42, Number 226, Indianapolis, Marion County, 29 January 1931 — Page 1

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29 DEAD IN LINTON MINE EXPLOSION

U. S. Apologizes to Italy; Court-Martial for Butler Ordered by Chief of Navy

GENERAL PUT UNDER ARREST PENDING TRIAL Formal Regrets Voiced to Mussolini’s Envoy by Secretary Stimson. ij :/ United Press WASHINGTON. Jan. 29 —Secretary of State Stimson today made iomial apology to Italy for statements made by Major-General Smedley D. Butler regarding Premier Mussolini of Italy in a speech, at Philadelphia last week. The apology was made two hours after Secretary of the Navy Adams had ordered Butler, one of the most distinguished of American marine corps officers, court-martialed. Stimson personally made the formal expression of regret over the affair to Italian Ambassador Giacomo De Martino, who called at the state department to receive the apology. Stimson explained to De Martino chat Butler’s speech was an “unauthorized action,” and informed the amabassador of the navy’s action in ordering the general court-mar-tialed. Placed Under Arrest Butler, in answer to a demand from the secretary of the navy Wednesday, had admitted he had told an audience at Philadelphia that an American friend had informed him Mussolini commented “a single life is nothing compared to the life state,” whan Mussolinl’s automobile allegedly ran! down a child. Butler also was said to have spoken of “mad dogs” threatening Europe, and to have commented that Mussolini was among those awaiting an opportunity to start another war. Butler’s explanation to the navy department was received late Wednesday. Early today a conference was held among high officers of the department and the courtmartial decided upon. Orders were dispatched to Butler at Quantico, Va., marine base, to place himself under arrest. He did ,0 within fifteen minutes, turning over command of his past to Briga-dier-General Randolph C. Berkeley. While under arrest he is confined io the limits of the Quantico reservation and is not permitted to discuss the case with any one. Arrange to Convene Court Arrangements for convening the court were begun immediately in Washington, but it may be several days before the court can be appointed owing to the fact that the records of procedure in such important cases are buried deep in the army and navy files. Drew Pearson, in a signed article today in the Baltimore Sun, says previous intimations of the frankness of Butler’s letter of explanation “have reached Secretary Adams, and caused him to say that it was quite possible the letter would never be made public.” The article goes on to say that Butler ‘s understood to have admitted his attack on Mussolini, and to have named Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr. as the person who took a ride with Mussolini. The present reported friction between Butler and Adams, according to the Sun’s story, dates back to July 30, 1930, when the secretary was invited to Quantico by Butler to see how efficiently the base was operated. Butler, is was intimated, hoped to be designated commandant of the marine corps, a post at that .time vacant. Insulted the Secretary Adams before making the visit, was primed with figures on the high cost of operating Quantico by the navy general board, which was reported to dislike Butler. To every remark of Butler's about the excellence of this or that feature of his command. Adams was reputed to have made some disparaging reply. Butler, says the Sun's story, finally exasperated, was reported to have told one of Adams’ aids the ecretary reminded him of a distinguished visitor whom a southern hostess was trying hard to please. The guest didn't like the fried chicken, declined the lima beans, turned up his nose at the damsons. Then the hostess asked: “Well, do you suck eggs?” According to Butler’s friends, says the Sun, that encounter at Quantico lost Butler his promotion. Vanderiblt Is Silent By United Press PHOENIX, Ariz.. Jan. 29.—Informed today that General Smedley D. Butler has been ordered court martialed by naval authorities, Cornelius Vanderbilt Jr., writer and former newspaper publisher, repeated that he “had no statement at present.

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The Indianapolis Times Fair tonight with lowest temperature about 34; Friday partly cloudy and slightly wanner.

VOLUME 42—NUMBER 226

KIDS’ FRIEND GONE

King of Clowns Loved in City

Jules Tournour, nation’s oldest clown, who died in New York, was a frequent visitor to the Keystone avenue circus grounds throughout his sixty years service under the “big top ” Jules was diffident about having his picture taken. He was a good “mugger” when on the circus track during a matinee performance, but he refused to be “mugged.” The accompanying photo was taken by The Times photographer in 1929 when Jules visited this city.

BY ARCH STEINEL CLOWN alleys of the world can hang a bit of crepe this circus season, and hang it proudly. And if they’re deep in a pinochle game at winter quarters, be it in Peru, Ind., or Sarasota, Fla., there’s an even money bet that between melds today they are talking about Jules Tournour, 80, the oldest “mugger” of them all, who died Wednesday in Valley Stream, N. Y. Stubble fields in tank-towns, unused baseball lots, trampled grass-grown blocks of many a city of the pation felt the comic flapping shoes of Old Jules, the master clown of them all. m an AND the circus grounds down on Keystone avenue in Indianapolis was no stranger to his antics. Jules was here in 1929. It was the last year he trod the track under the Big Top. No longer did he roll harumscarum from the break-up Ford to the huzzas of laughter of the grand stand children. His bones were brittle when he was here, and Ringling, and Barnum-Bai-ley’s circus could not chance his life. They wanted to pension him. He would have none of it. tt V tt I WON’T forget his last visit to the city. The circus was late getting in. The “top” was spread in one and one-half hours. Dinners were swallowed. The matinee must be given on time. Clown alley slung clothes on. A few paces away stood Jules. He was a “white-face.” Infirmity made him wabble when he walked. A bugle sounded for the grand parade on the big “track.” Jules grabbed the trunk of an elephant he was to lead and waddled into the arena. The show was on for Jules was there. U U AND that’s the way he was, he wouldn't quit. His age wrinkles he capitalized to the last to make brighter and more laughable “mugs” so the children would chuckle. He even, and I have this on the word of Felix,* made his infirm legs seem a bit weaker because of the comic effect they brought as his hesitating gait led the heavy pound of a baby "bull's” hoofs. * C CHILDREN knew he was trying A to please. They knew his facial,wrinkles, put their by age, were laughing, too. in at

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DENY DUVALL CASE APPEAL Supreme Court Refuses to Review Conviction. Former Mayor John L. Duvall must serve a thirty-day jail sentence and pay a SI,OOO fine. The Indiana supreme court today denied Duvall’s position for permission to appeal on the judgment of the appellate court to the state’s highest jurists. Duvall’s petition was one of thirty similar misdemeanor cases refused the right of a review of judgment by the supreme court. The jail sentence and fine was imposed for alleged violation of the corrupt practices act during the 1925 city campaign. The court in denying the appeal applied an act of the 1929 legislature which refused to permit appeals of misdemeanor cases to the supreme court. The act was made a law to clear the supreme court docket.

60-odd years of trouping on the sawdust. He captivated them when he punctured the bloated garb of a fellow clown with a long sword. You’ve seen the trick? You’ve seen the comic get deflated? Well, the fellow with the sword was Jules, a * u AFTER the performance I talked to him. He was shy on being photographed. Felix, fellow-clowns, pleaded with him to have a photo made. “There’s no other of him that we know of. He won’t let us ake it,” explained Felix. Jules acceded to being photographed. He told of the European countries he’d visited, the kings and queens he’d known. “nUT do you know the king 13 and queen of all I’ve played to: Well 111 tell you It’s when a little dirty-faced boy and little shaggy-haired girl somewhere looks out on the track and laughs right in your eyes,” and he wabbled away. That was Jules, prince of clowns, who’s now doing another bit somewhere under the GREAT TIG TOP

INDIANAPOLIS, THURSDAY, JANUARY 29,1931

‘CYCLONE OF FLAME' WIPES OUT 29 LIVES Veteran Miner Tells Vivid Story of Rescue Work in Linton Pit. BRAVE DEATH BY GAS Volunteers Scorn Danger in Attempt to Reach Their Buddies. Bp United Press LINTON, Ind., Jan. 29.—“A flaming cyclone” was the description placed on the Little Betty mine gas explosion here Wednesday by Andrew Docherty, Paxton, Ind., leader of the first rescue team to descend the shaft where twenty-nine miners lost their lives. Docherty, hero of many mine rescues during his thirty-seven years’ experience throughout America and Scotland, today told the United Press how eagerly fellow miners sought to risk their lives in searching the mine passages, filled with poisonous fumes. Equipped with safety lamps which detect the presence of gas, the first crew felt its way cautiously through nearly a mile of mud and slime of the ill-fated mine floor. Bodies Everywhere “Aside from a flickering of the safety lamps, which indicated the presence of a slight amount of carbon monoxide gas, there was nothing to show that anything had happened,” Docherty said, “but as we neared the place of the explosion, we could see bodies all around on the mine floor. “They were mangled and tom and most of them were burned to a crisp. As we approached to within a few feet of them, our lights flashed the danger sign and we could do nothing more than retreat, without touching the bodies. “We came to the surface and made plans for restoring the ventilation system of the mine. This work proceeded slowly and it was several hours before we could reach the first bodies, although we could see them distinctly. We were sure they were dead, so we stacked them in piles to clear the way and proceeded deeper into the mine. Restrain Young Volunteers “It was necessary several times to jerk back and get pretty tough with some of the young members of the crew, who tried to go ahead. They were anxious to reach their buddies and did not seem to care about the danger of the deadly after-damp. “When we had stayed In the mine two hours, our heads throbbed and it was hard to breathe. We had no masks, so we went back to the surface and another willing crew took up the work. “When I came out, I saw Mrs Letote standing near the shaft entrance. She hurried over, clutched my arm, and asked if I had seen her two sons. “I had. Both was down there, stretched in the mud, but I couldn’t tell her. I brought out two other sons of her’s a few years ago, when an explosion like this occurred in Sullivan, Ind. Her husband got out alive this time.” They’ll Go Back Down Andy relaxed in his chair, drew a deep inhale from his strong pipe, and continued reflectively: “You know we think the structural steel workers have a dangerous job because we see their danger, but those who sit down beside a warm fire give no thought to the risks we run to get the coal to make the heat for them. “Those charred men piled up down there 200 feet underground and a mile from the nearest exit are real soldiers. But all the danger doesn't bother us. We’ll be back tomorrow at work, just the same, so we can help the families those poor fellows left behind them.” GUNS AT BERRY PATCH BLOCK COSTLY PROJECT Embattled Family Holds Up Construction of Pipe Line. By United Press ST. LOUIS, Jan. 29.—The embattled Fuchs family, armed with shotguns, patrolled the family strawberry patch today, preventing completion of the last ten miles of a 1,000-mile pipe line. A warning sign, “keep out or get shot,” emphasized by guns in the hands of John, Joe and Herman Fuchs on their farm a few r miles southwest of here, stopped work or the Phillips Petroleum Company’s pipe line. The berry patch has been owned by generations of the family for 100 years. AIMEE FRAUD^VICTIM Loses S9OO to Fake Baron While on Trip to Europe. By United Press LOS ANGELES, Jan. 29.—Aimee Semple McPherson, evangelist, was defrauded of S9OO by a fake Hungarian baron during her recent pilgrimage to the Holy Land, the Los Angeles Examiner said today. Mrs. McPherson met the “baron” at Budapest, gave him a fur coat with which to obtain a loan and was unable to recover It before she sailed from Europe.

Seven Are Saved From Doom; Two Men in Hospital

BY PAUL H. KARNES United Press Staff Correspondent LINTON, Jan. 29.—Their grewsome task completed, with twenty-nine bodies as the toll of an explosion in the Little Betty coal mine, five miles west of here, Wednesday, the folk of Greene and Sullivan counties paused today, fatigued and grief-stricken, to lay plans for relief of families of victims. Identification of each of the bodies in morgues here was ended soon after the body of Fred Reed, the last discovered, was taken from the death-dealing mine this morning. Thirty-eight men were trapped by the blast. Besides the twenty-nine who died, seven escaped without serious injury, and two are in hospitals. Formal Probe Scheduled Soon Formal investigation of the cause of the blast will follow analysis of reports on the preliminary survey, made during rescue operations today, it was announced by Albert C. Dailey, Knightsville, state mine inspector. Thought at first to have been caused by a spark in several kegs of blasting powder, the explosion today was determined to have been caused by gas and dust. A fall of slate, state and federal officials declared, gave evidence of the porous-rock formation from which the gas exuded. With the last of the bodies brought out of the charnel hole, mine workers were repairing the ventilation system to rid the gas-choked lanes of the lethal black damp gas. It was said by veteran miners that the shafts could be entered and production of coal resumed Friday. Governor Harry G. Leslie left this morning for this city to aid in relief work. Two Men Expected to Live The two men who endured the horrors of the blast itself, are expected to live. One is Don Burris of Dugger, who, with Earl Bedwell, was the first victim discovered by rescue squads that rushed to the Little Betty mine from surrounding mining fields. Bedwell, burned horribly, and maimed by the blast, died a few hours after his rescue. Burris, gassed, is expected to recover. The other is Joe Wallace of Sullivan.

Through the sweat and .the.,..toil, the-.ang.uish ani.ihe horror of the disaster this morning, fate smiled with that cruel leer with which she sometimes taunts mortals on whom disaster falls. The explosion came three minutes before 3 p. m., just as the men of the day shift were leaving the mine for their cottages. Had it occurred ten minutes earlier the death toll might have numbered 150. Had it hapened five minutes later death would have laid its fingers on none of the workers. Many Out of Peril Zone Men just were leaving the west workings and a large majority of them were out of the danger area when the “burning cyclone” struck. Those imprisoned had no chance to sr.ve themselves, and many were turned to a crisp. Many miners on the fringe of the explosion area made their way to the shaft, nearly a mile distant, and were hauled 270 feet to the surface. They turned about, and, with miners from neighboring mines, formed rescue squads that went into the tunnels, grouping for the victims, hoping against hope that some had been spared. Emergency treatment for miners and rescuers was provided in Freeman Greene county hospital, Linton, where cots and bedding were supplied quickly by merchants and townspeople. The Linton Citizen took charge of relief in the city, and rescue work went on through the night without thought of rest. Roads Are Blocked Ambulances that screamed their way to the mine shaft, five miles west of Linton, found the roads blocked by hundreds of autos. At one time incoming cars could approach no nearer than three miles from the shaft. Later the crowd dwindled, and around the shaft’s mouth huddled only those whose fathers, husbands, sons and friends had descended into the dread pit, never to return alive again. They hoped, but they knew in their hearts that hoping was futile. Sullivan county knows what a mine blast is. Six years ago, at 10:25 on the morning of Feb. 20, 1925, fifty-one miners perished in the City Coal Mining Company pits, near Sullivan, 1,600 feet below the surface. Several of those who died late Wednesday were relatives and friends of men who lost their lives in that disaster, when rescue workers labored for days through poison gases and debris to bring bodies of the victims to the surface. Clear Tunnels of Gas Nine bodies were brought up froki the Little Betty mine before midnight, and then rescue work was halted until crews could clear the tunnels of carbon monoxide gas—the “after-damp.” It was said that not more than two bodies could be brought up at a time. They were laid in rows in one section of the mine where the air was pure. At least seven of the rescue workers were overcome by gas or dropped from exhaustion during the night. For those brave fellows who

—Tribute Paid

In the house of representatives today, one minute’s silence paid respect of the legislators to the victims of the Little Betty mine disaster, and to their stricken families. A resolution adopted unanimously, to pay this tribute to the miners, was introduced by Representative Edward H. Stein (Dem., Greene).

fought gas and ever-present danger of cave-ins or additional explosions, a first aid hospital was set up near the mouth of the shaft, and hearts of many who flicked bandages and cared for injured and exhausted men fluttered with the dread of finding next beneath their hands one of their own family. John Engleman, boss of the nearby Templeton mine No. 1, stumbled out of the shaft about midnight. He had led his rescue crew down into the gas-filled tunnel, and was almost exhausted when he came back to the surface, P. L. Donie, mine superintendent, whose brother was one of the victims, directed the rescue work, warning each man who entered the shaft that he was risking his life. None faltered. The Little Betty mine is one of the most important in southern Indiana. It is owned by the Little Betty Company of Chicago, and is one of the few mines that have operated in that district this winter. Through his secretary. L. O. Chasey, Governor Harry G. Leslie offered any assistance the state could render, as soon as word of the blast was flashed to him. STOCK MARKET FIRM LOSES DAMAGE SUIT Trader, Sold Out in Crash, Awarded 536.697 Damages by Jury. By United Press ST. PAUL, Minn., Jan. 29.—A district court jury today awarded $36,697.26 damages to A. J Conolly, a trader, against the brokerage firm of Paine, Webber & Cos, which sold out his account in the stock market crash of a year ago. Conolly had sued for $192,437, claiming that he lost that amount because his holdings were sold on a declining market. In setting the amount of damages, the jury made a lower valuation of the stock than that set by Connolly. STATE AID TEACHER RELIEF IS SOUGHT House Bill Provides Payment of Salary Arrears. Immediate relief of teachers in state aid schools whose salaries are in arrears was sought today by Representative Albert F. Walsman (Dem., Marion), through the introduction of a bill requiring the state superintendent of public instruction to obtain sworn affidavits on claims and make immediate payments from state aid funds. Walsman declared more than $150,000 is owed teachers in southern Indiana and many are destitute. Hourly Temperatures 6 a. m 35 10 a. m..... 36 7a. m 35 11 a. m..... 36 Ba. m 35 12 (noon).. 36 9a. m...;.. 36 Ip. E 38

Entered a* Second-Class Matter at Postoffice, Indianapolis. Ind.

MINERS TOSS DICE WITH FATE AND EMERGE ALIVE FROM TINY HAVEN IN PIT

Mine Blast Death List

By Times Special LINTON, Ind., Jan. 29.—T0 the grim roll of the race of men who go down in mines to pit their steel against eartlfs black diamonds are added the names of twenty-nine fathers and sons and brothers who perished Wednesday afternoon in the “flaming cyclone” disaster in Little Betty mine, near here. Compiled after hours of ceaseless toil by crews of brother miners, the official and completed list of dead follows: Otto Hale, Pleasantville. Jess Templeton, Linton. Hubert Butler, Sullivan. Lotus Mitchell, Pleasantville. John Letot, Linton. Ear! Bedwell, Linton. Andy Winterbottom, Sullivan. Homer Robertson, Pleasantville. Lee HofTiditz. Dugger. Clarence McQuery, Jasonville. John Southard Jr., Linton. Ralph Enochs, Linton. Girchel Jackson, White Rose. Everett Bedwell, Dugger. James Mitchell, Pleasantville. Charles Centers, Linton. Martin Donie, Sullivan. William Brown, Scottstown. Dean Phipps, Linton. Don Newkirk, Linton. Hallie Harod, Linton. Henry Mertz, Linton. Julian Letot, Linton. Clarence Cooper, Linton. Hugh Cross, Dugger. George Neal, Linton. Fred Reed, Linton. William Boswell, Linton. John McPhail, Linton. INJURED Don Burris, Linton. Joe Wallace, Sullivan.

JIM WAS BOSS; WOULDN'T QUIT Mine Chief Risks Life to Aid Trapped Men. By Times Special LINTON, Ind., Jan. 29.—A tale of blind heroism, of one man’s scorning safety to lunge to the rescue of his fellow-men, emerged from this death-saddened village today. The man was Jim Wall, boss of another mine, who was among the first to go into the gas-filled tunnel and search for the bodies in the Little Betty mine. After hours of work. Wall staggered unconscious from the mine, but as his brain cleared, he stumbled back into the shaft and was gone several hours, reappearing at dawn. Other workers tried to prevent his return, but he was the boss and they couldn’t stop him. LONG TERM IMPOSED Bandit Who Beat Aged Man to Serve 20 Years. By United Press VEEDERSBURG, Ind., Jan. 29.- - ! Fred Cowan, 35, today was under a twenty-year state prison sentence after he had confessed to beating, and robbing John Lyons, 94, Civil w r ar veteran who lives on a lonely road south of here twice. Cowan, alleged leader of a Fountain county gang, was charged with nine offenses. John and Edmund Scott, alleged accomplices of Cowan, are under arrest and, although they have not admitted any part in the Lyons attacks, are said to have confessed other acts of banditry. HOLD~CHIVALRY BANDIT Police Told He Tried Holdup to Help Destitute Friend and Wife. By United Press CHICAGO, Jan. 29. Chivalry, represented by an attempted holdup to get money for a destitute friend and his wife, was blamed today by Edward J. Smeig, 30, university graduate and mechanical engineer, for his arrest allegedly attempting to hold up a store, using a fountain pen tear gas gun as a weapon. INDICT EX-OFFICIALS Former Oklahoma Governor and Gotham Police Head Accused. By United Press OKLAHOMA CITY Jan. 29. Richard E. Enright, former New York police commissioner, and J. C. (Jack) Walton, former Governor of Oklahoma, were among nineteen persons charged with mail frauds in indictments returned Wednesday night in connection with operation of the Universal Oil and Gas Company of Oklahoma City. Church Destroyed by Fire By United Press LOGANSPORT. Ind., Jan. 29. The Methodist church at Kewanna, eighteen miles north of here, early today was destroyed by Are believed to have started from defective wiring. Loss was $25,000.

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Coal Diggers Rush Back to Little Chamber, Bar Out Deadly Gas. WIFE’S FAITH REWARDED Woman Refuses to Yield Hope and Mate Comes Home Unscathed. BY CHARLES C. STONE, State Editor. The limes LINTON, Ind., Jan. 29,—Out of a pit of hell where they seemed inevitably doomed to perish, seven men walked back to their families today, after wives, children, and mothers spent a night of torture hoping and praying, gripped by the dread that forever is a pall over a coal mining community. Tomorrow they may walk back to those dismal dungeons in which twenty-nine of their mates perished in an explosion Wednesday, picks on their shoulders, to continue the gnawing at Mother Earth’s vitals that earns a living for their families and comfortable heat for many a wintry fireside. Behind them will march a legion of hopes, prayers, fears* and an abundance of faith of loved ones at home. Slaving beside the men in the dark, these comrades do much to dispel man’s natural terror under the earth. Hope Is Rewarded Sometimes those spirits the womenfolk send to work with their men fail them, but through the early morning hours today one rav of faith refused to be extinguished, and its reward was the return of a young husband and father. Losie Hale, one of the seven who came back, has a wife and two children, Bobby, 5, and Rosemary, 9. Bravely the young wife kept her vigil Wednesday night, after the cry of “Something’s wrong at the shaft” drove a nail of fear through her heart-. “He will come back. He Mill come back,” she told herself. Then a neighbor knocked at the door. Refuses to Surrender “Losie’s down at the morgue. They just brought him up,” the man said in the plunt way these coal miners talk. “No, he Isn’t. He can’t be. He's cornin’ back. He's got to come back,” Mrs. Hale insisted, her motherly arms sheltering the tots whose father lay huddled with six comrades in a small chamber 300 feet below the ground. She refused to go to the morgue to try to identify the body. This morning Hale came home, unscratched. “We were just coming out, in the entry, when we heard a noise. It was like a storm, you know, when the wind almost booms. Then rock—2oo tons of it —trapped us there. We ran back, and got into a little room, and bratticed it, to keep out the gas. Brattice Bars Gas “After an explosion, the black damp comes. It comes fastest in the entries and galleries, because there’s a draft there. So we got out, and put up the brattice to keep out the gas.” The barricade also kept out fresh air, and after sixteen hours the seven spent in the tiny cell, the air they were breathing was becoming foul. Miners said if rescue crews had not reached them this morning, all might have suffocated. Those who escaped with Hals were Charles Love, William Bedwell, Jesse Crouse, Herman Brown, Ben Snyder and Juie Wellington. They took the one chance they had to live, betting on the courage of rescue workers in reaching them before their air gave out, and they won. Inherits His Trade Love’s father was a miner all his life, and Love inherited his trade beneath the surface of the ground. He is 24, and for eight years he haa worked on the coal veins. His hands were burned badly, but as soon as they get well he’s going back into the tunnels. All the seven believed some miner may have struck a nold tunnel in which the gks was imprisoned, letting it escape into the Little Betty mine, where a spark ignited it, burning and blasting to death twenty-nine men. POWER SUIT DISMISSED District of Columbia Supreme Court Denies Injunction. By United Press WASHINGTON, Jan. 29.—The Clarion River Power Company's suit for an injunction restraining the federal power commission from withholding certain power licenses from it, was dismissed by the District of Columbia supreme court today. CONTESTS SENATE SEAT Heflin Announces Intention of Fighting Blankhead Election. By Hcripvs-Howard S'eicspaper Alliance WASHINGTON, Jan. 29.—Senator Thomas Heflin of Alabama filed formal notice with the senate that he will contest the election and seating of John H. Bankhead, hr, successful rival in the voting la : fall.