Jasper County Democrat, Volume 2, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 May 1899 — Kosciusko County Affairs. [ARTICLE]

Kosciusko County Affairs.

| The editor of The Democrat I. has no apology whatever to make to the baby editor of the Republican, and in the opinion of all fair minded people he got but what he justly deserved, in the article to which he took so much offense. Of the persecution heaped upon the editor of The Democrat and I the frantic attempts to drive him out of business for showing up the rottenness of our county management, mention will be made later. In this we will briefly treat of the i circumstances leading up to the writing of the article by Mr. Jessen, which seems to have touched a very tender part of Baby I George’s anatomy. The grand jury in December summoned John H. Jessen and a few others before that body, and on evidence secured returned among others an indictment •gainst John E. Alter, ex-county surveyor, for swearing to a false claim against the county. This indictment was quashed as faulty, and as an affidavit and information had been filed against The Democrat editor, after the indictment against him had also been quashed— probably in the endeavor to make the public believe that it was not a personal matter in prosecuting the latter—Mr. Chizum was very anxious to have Mr. Jessen make an affidavit against Mr. Alter. As the writer personally knows, Chizum made several inquiries for Mr. Jessen and called at The Democrat office once or twice to find him, stating that he was very desirous of his making the affidavit, and asked the writer to urge him to make the same. This, however, the writer did not do, nor did he ask Mr. Jessen at any time to make the affidavit. After a few days the affidavit was secured, but no arrest was made nor nothing done with the matter until the April term of court. Baby George apologized as usual for the alleged “mistake’’ of Mr. Alter and severely condemned those on whose testimony he was indicted, and especially was he severe in his denunciation of Mr. Jessen. He was also very bitter against Judge Thompson i for quashing the indictment and the affidavit and information against The Democrat man, ' which disclosed his personal animos in the whole matter. At the last term of court Mr. Jessen was not in the court room at any time during the trial of Mr. Alter except when summoned there to give his testimony, leaving immediately thereafter, and took no other part in Alter’s prosecution. Marshall, after Mr. Alter’s trial, published a mean, false and malicious article in which he abused Mr. Jessen for the part he had taken in the prosecution, although Mr. Jessen did nothing more than he was compelled to do when Sworn to tell the truth—except pmake the affidavit, which latter f was done at the earnest solicitation of the republican prosecuting attorney. Among the other false and misleading statements made in Marshall’s article was that of the jury standing 2 for covic- , tiontolOfor acquittal, which, if he knew anything about the matter at all, he knew was as false as almost every other «tatement The jury stood 4 to Bon jg|t|ayllot. Mr. Jessen asked The DEMOCRAT for space to reply to the malicious article referred to, over his own signature, and it was granted. The Democrat believes Mr. Jessen was justified in making a reply and has no apologies j to make to Marshall or any other of the ring for giving it BMo one is losing any sleep over the libel suits instituted by Marshall unless it be that angelic in-

dividual himself, and it is possible that the general public will have a better understanding of certain matters, including Marshall, than they have ever had ere this thing is ended. Our poet is working on a new song in which a certain “newspapaper editor” not a thousand miles from Rensselaer plays a prominent part. It will be entitled, “He’s the Wa’mest Little ‘Baby’ In the Ring,” The Times-Herald on last Monday morning announced the “Embalmed Beet” Board’s findings in the following head lines: “No Blame for Beef Packers.” Certainly not. This board was not appointed to find the Chicago packers guilty and no one knows this better than the T-H. “Baby” George’s wail about refusing to take a dose of the same medicine which he has dealt out on any and all occasions for years, reminds us of the quivering lip he put up a few years ago when Bro. Clark in self-defense told of “Baby” getting money under false pretenses from his foreign advertisers.

A meetihg to dissuade men from forming trusts will be held in Chicago sometime in the near future. This meeting will be held under the auspices of the Civic Federatiou of Chicago. Moral suasion may affect some reforms, but to break up trusts will require much more drastic measures than a few whereas’s and resolves by these reform doctrinaries. The total cost of gravel road repairs in Benton county last year, with 150 miles, was $9,268.42; White, with 100 miles, $5,290.11; Carroll, with 114, $4,116.24; Tippe> canoe, with 273 miles, $21,230.12; Wells, with 234 miles, $11,517.48; Hancock, (where all those indictments were returned) with 135 miles, $7,279.20; but in jasper, with 23 miles, it was $3,724.99!

“Baby George” is an angel in disguise, and a much abused and slandered individual! Too bad, isn’t it? Why, even the gentlemen of the cloth have not escaped the venom of this “decent” editor of a “decent” newspaper, and as for slandering the baby, bless him, we wouldn’t entertain the thought for a moment —our vocabulary in that line is limited. The fee and salary act is again before the supreme court at the instance of county officers. These officials accepted their respective offices knowing the consideration, and when they attempt to get more, they attempt to get that to which they are not entitled. The main trouble lies in the fact that the people put the wrong class of men in county offices. —Oxford Tribune. (rep.) The spirit of democracy is to do the right; to recognize the truth, no matter from whence it comes; to stand for the people as against corporate power; to lessen the burdens of taxation. It is not the spirit of eternal opposition which some of its ignorant interpreters place upon it in these latter days, who lose sight of honesty and the public welfare to oppose the other fellow.—Crawsfordsville Review.

It is a good thing, says the Bluffton Banner, to remind some of our republican friends, when they boast of the “death of Bryanism,” that they either forget or. do not know that in 1896,19,247 more votes for Bryan could have elected him president. There were 13,923,378 votes cast for the various candidates for president, and William J. Bryan lacked but 19,247 of having enough to make him president of the United States. We call that a pretty respectable endorsement, and beg to remind our friends that Bryan is stronger today than ever, and will be Stronger tomorrow than he is today. Gen. John Beatty of Columbus, 0., a republican who hasn’t fallen in readily with the reign of Hannaism, is quoted as saying: “It is hardly necessary for Mr. Atkinson to remind us that Mr. McKinley had said ‘forcible annexation would be criminal aggressioii,’ for what McKinley may say for or against a proposition doesn’t count with those who know him. He has a habit of getting on both sides of a question—now silver, then gold; now for the freedom of folks, then for their enslavement; now for benevolent assimilation and then for brutal subjugation; now for the home market and again for the open door. The fact is, McKinley never expresses an opinion until he ascertains the drift of the mob and nobody in Ohio can flop* quicker than he can.”

Valparaiso Messenger: Joe R. Williams, the ex-recorder of Kosciusko county, charged with failing to turn over $l, < 800 of public funds, was tried in Warsaw and found guilty. A fine of SIOO was assessed. The three county commissioners, Heckman, Miller and Poor pleaded guilty to a violation of the law and were each fined $lO and costs. The Warsaw Union demands that an expert be put on the official records. Speaking of libel suits, reminds us of a story we once read of an old lawyer and a client who came to him and wanted to sue a newspaper for libel, stating that the paper in question had insinuated that he had stolen a horse. The old lawyer scratched his head a moment and said, “I wouldn’t do that.” “Why?” asked the surprised client. “Well,” said the old hero of many a hard-tought legal battle, “by g —, they might prove it on you.”

Judge Gillett of the 32d judicial circuit has issued a long circular letter to his appointees on the new reform boards, and among other things says: “It is not enough for the good citizen to keep his house in order and sweep in front of his own door. The fact is that the willingness or otherwise of the responsible citizenship, of our smaller political organizations to participate in their affairs, regardless of pecuniary advantage and against their personal inter?sts, is an efficient test of patriotism,”

Cincinnati Enquirer: Every honest and patriotic man welcomes every sign of returning prosperity; but it is perhaps putting it a little too strong to say, as we find in an exchange, that “every man who wants work can get it, and Swages are rising everywhere.” It is safe enough to say so, however. The man who who wrote the booming paragraph sits behind a rollertop desk in the top story of a newspaper building, inaccessible to the “mob” who might like to learn particulars. It is probable that, though he may be too busy to see any of the unemployed who might like to know about the yawning situations at high pay, that he hasn’t had a raise himself in twenty years, and hasn’t deserved it.

At a recent session of the grand jury in Hancock county—a rockribbed demscratic county, by the way, said to be dominated by a ring that has run things with a high hand for years —991 indictments were returned, nearly all of which were against county officers for witholding fees belonging to the county and for other offenses. Of the large number of indictments returned, 113 were against ex-Clerk Sample, who plead guilty in ten cases and ninety-seven were nollied. One of the proprietors of the democratic ring organ, which is alleged to have shielded and defended the steals from the county treasury, was also indicted for filing a false claim against the county for printing election ballots last fall. Of course the ringsters are all up in arms about the matter and attempt to pose before the public as “honest and upright citizens, respected by all who know them, and not a breath of suspicion has ever been raised (by the ring) against their official integrity,” etc. A comparison of the county affairs of Hancock with Jasper, as shown in the state reports, shows a much more extravagant management here than in Hancock, and an honest investigation would no doubt reveal much more crookedness.

The editor of the Republican endeavors to justify himself in bringing a criminal libel action against the editor of The Democrat. While the law books are full of cases where individuals have brought actions against newspapers for libel for either fancied or real causes, there are very few cases in which newspapers have brought actions for libel against other newspapers. There are no doubt very obvious reasons why the editor of the Republican does not desire to attempt to administer a personal castigation to the editor of The Democrat. Had the editor of the Republican brought a civil action he would have been compelled to employ council at his own expense and in case of failure he would have been liable for all costs. However had he recovered judgement he could have levied and taken any property of the editor of The Democrat as there is no exemption in a case of libel By bringing a criminal action he gets a lawyer free and under no circumstances can he be held liable for costs, while he can compel the editor of The Democrat to employ counsel to defend himself. Surely the editor of the Republican is wise in his procedure to rid himself of an opponent with whom he has not the ability to

A Warsaw dispatch to an Indianapolis paper, says: “The circuit court of Kosciusko county has largely been the center of attraction in northern Indiana for some days past, occasioned by the trial of ex-County Recorder J. R. Williams, charged with being short in his accounts about and indicted by the grand jury for a misdemeanor as were also Aaron Miller, ex-commissioner northern district, and David Poor and Aaron Heckman, two members of the present board. The indictments against the commissioners were for neglecting to investigate the accounts and reports of the county officers as prescribed by the act passed by the legislature regulating the new fee and salary law. [The indictment of the three comI missioners was likewise for misj demeanor. Willi an s, the ex-re-corder, was convicted and fined SIOO and costs. The commissioners were each fined $lO, in all $l3O for a defalcation of $2,200. Williams’ ; bondsmen settled by giving their notes for deferred payments of i SSOO to S7OO each in one, two and three years. It is claimed the county will lose nothing. It is just a little irregular the ! way they do things up here. Instead of prosecuting for embezzlement, it looks better to modify by making criminal charges misdemeanors only. Aaron Miller’s steel tank case was called up a day or two ago and continued on affidavit. David Braden, who is claimed to be an important witness for the defendant is said to be quite sick at his home in Indianapolis, as was claimed when the case was tried before, when the jury disagreed. This is the case in which the Kosciusko county grand jury returned an indictment against ex-county commissioner, Aaron Miller, for charging the county S2BO for a steel tank that cost only $127, for the county infirmary.” Kosciusko is strongly republican.