Jasper County Democrat, Volume 3, Number 45, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 February 1901 — Ray Found Guilty. [ARTICLE]

Ray Found Guilty.

Judge Hollister of Cincinnati, decided against the proposed iJef-fries-Ruhlin prize tight, and the bout has been called off. Kansas is certainly a queer place Look at its list of “recent” citizens: Simpson, Pfoffer, Sheldon, Mrs. Lease and Mrs. Nation! Can any other state match them? The supreme court has affirmod the decision of the lower court in the gravel road case from White county, known as Hugh Lowe et al vs. Board of Commissioners. We believe this case related to the building of certain gravel roads through the town of Monon. There were more Democrats than Republicans at a night session on the subsidy bill recently, despite the fact that the latter party is so anxious to force the measure through. The fact is that the friends of the bill are the rich men of the Senate; men who have too many dinner parties on hand to spare the time to attend night sessions.

The utility and benefits of the county reform law are well shown by the conviction of George M. Ray or the Shelbyville Democrat. It •was when the county council began its work of inspection of the requisitions for supplies for the county offices that the conspiracy of Ray and his fellows was discovered. Ray was one of the bitterest opponents of the new law,- Monticello Journal. There is no doubt that Minister Wu is the plainest spoken and generally most delightful diplomat that the United States has ever experienced. He is a censor,without fear, of all American customs and practices. His latest is to refuse to attend a banquet to General Otis because he fears that he may say something unpalatable to that doughty warrior. With much blow and blaster, that hypocritical old fraud who presides over the (ifficial Apologist, a few months ago told how he was ?oing to prove in court how The democrat editor had robbed Jasper coupty in his charges for publishing some health notices, (which the Apologist, and the Barnacle failed to get) but when he has the opportunity to make his bluster charges good, he again weakens, and his attorneys are straining every nerve todefeat the case coming to trial. It would seem that a person so anxious to “expose” The Democrat editor before the public as a rascal, as the Apologist man claimed to bo, would be only too glml to waive any technicalities which might arise and let the case he tried on its merits. Looks a little strange doesn’t it?

“In my opinion the day of the email country town is ended, nml for a different reason than you suppose,” saitl John Warbritton. “Not but what the little town has its mission to till and not but wlrnt some of the brightest business men in the country operate places in the small out-of-town stores, but for the reason that the telephone, the rural route and the free gravel road have brought all the little towns closer to the county Beat just ns the same conveniences of mail and transportation and wire service hnve drawnCrawfordsville iu closer competition with Indianapolis and Chicago. Indianapolis does not seem nearly so far awnv as it did before one could talk to people in that city for a quarter of a dollar or go over thepe at intervals of three hours any day. The county seat is building out on tho rural lines till Newmarket don’t seem to be half as far from Crawfordsville as it used to be. Business conditions are all constantly changing, and the wise tradesman is busy studying them.”—Crawfordsville Sunday Star.

The Supreme court Thursday affirmed the decision of the lower court against J. Marsh Wilson of Shelby county, who is now serving a sentence of from 2 to 14 years for presenting a false claim against Shelby county. Wilson insisted that the indictment under which he was convicted does not cover his case, but the supreme court construed it to clearly apply to any case where a false claim is presented to the board of commissioners for allowance, with the ultimate purpose of getting money from the county treasury to which the claimant knows he is not entitled.

Ex-Treasurer Ligbtcap, the outgoing republican county treasurer of Starke county, refused to sign the annual settlement sheets Jan. 1, which showed him to be short several thousand dollars in his accounts, and the county commissioners granted him a few weeks time to go over the books with exports, Lightcapalleging that the alleged shortage did not exist and that an examination by competent accountants would show that there was a mistake in the auditor’s figures. The records of the auditor’s and treasurer’s officers were examined by Mr. Blotz, an expert accountant of Winchester, and Bert Ligbtcap of North Judson, covering the four years of Mr. Lightcap’s incumbency. The examination occupied three weeks time, and it was found that the auditor’s figures were correct. Lightcap now acknowledges that he owes the county the balance shown by the auditor’s report, and has signed the same. At the meeting of the commissioners last week representatives of Lightcap’s bondsmen requested the commissioners to take no legal action toward collecting the amount for a a few days, stating that Mr. Lightcap had turned over all his property as well as the residence of Bert Lightcap to his bondsmen and the latter were trying to have a note signed by all the bondsmen and negotiate a loan sufficient to cover the shortage, which is something over $7,000, says the Starke County Democrat. Representative Reser or Greaser, of Lafayette, who fought the county and township reform bills so bitterly in the last legislature, is again making a record by opposing every bill tended to give publicity to public business. His star performance this session was that of fighting the bill requiring school trustees of cities and incorporated towns to publish an itemized statement annually of receipts and expenditures, the same as is now required of township trustees, county commissioners, circuit courts, etc., etc. The greatest safeguard that can be placed around the administration of public business is PUBLICITY, and whenever you find an officer or officers who objects to making public ally matters concerning the conduct of his office, you can safely assume that he has personal reasons for not wartting liis constituents to know what is going on, and that those reasons are against the public’s interests every time. Under Uia present law the receipts and expenditures of each county and township in I the state are required to be published, but the school boards of incorporated towns and cities, which, in the case of our own city, probably expend at least onehalf as much money as does the whole county for county purposes, publishes no report at all, and we will venture the assertiou that there are not a half-dozen taxpayers in Rensselaer oritside the school board who have the least idea of the cost of our city schools or what any of our teachers are paid. What is true of Rensselaer is also true of every incorporated town and city in the state. It is folly to say that the publication of the receipts and expenditures of school boards is useless expense, for statistics show that the most economically governed public business is that wherein the most publicity is given. Besides, why should one branch of our local government he required to make public the expenditures of its office and another—which expends much more —be exempt from this. All should be placed on the same footing—require publication from all local officers or else abolish all laws intended to give publicity to public administration and give all the officers a free rein in the matter.

Two carloads all kinds fencing wire and nails to be received this month at the Chicago Bargain Store. “My heart was badly affected by an attack of grip and I suffered intense agony until I began taking Dr. Miles’ Heart Cure. It made me a well man.”—B. D. Holman, Irasburg, Vt.

Readers of The Democrat will remember the recent purging of the Shelby county democracy and the expert examination of the records that was made. Shelby county, as heretofore stated, has for years been one of the most “reliably democratic” counties in Indiana, but a long lease of power engendered corruption in the administration of county affairs, and the honest democrats decided that a general cleaning .out of the rascals should be had. As a result of this decision and the movement which followed, exTreasurer J. Marsh Wilson is now serving the state at Michigan city—convicted by a jury of democrats— and George M. Ray, the editor and publisher of the “official organ,” whose trial ended last Friday, was found guilty of filing false claims against the county, and will go to join the ex-treasurer at the state’s big hotel on Lake Michigan. Several other indictments against the commisioners, who were apparently in league to loot the county, are still to be tried, and it is possible that Wilson and Ray may meet more of their friends in their new quarters ere long.

One commendable feature of the trial just closed is that the jury was composed of 9 democrats, 2 republicans and 1 prohibitionist, so Ray’s conviction cannot be said to be political persecution. Ray is the same fellow who gained such an unenviable reputation a few years ago in the selling of supplies to township trustees, and who sold the big bills of useless stuff to Township Trustee Stoudt of Grant tp.,Newton county, which resulted in Stoudt’s disgrace and downfall and much litigation over the township warrants issued in payment for the same. Some of these causes are yet pending, we believe, among which is that of Vannatta, the Brookston banker, vs. F. D. Gilman, the Goodland banker, and which was taken to White county on change of venue. Speaking of Ray and his newspaper career, the Indianapolis Press, republican, says'editorially: This is a case of the Democratic party purifying itself and the county government in its unquestioned control. Shelby County is and has been for years a Democratic stronghold, where the Republican minority has had little or no influence on affairs. A system of fortified corruption and public robbery was orgauized that seemed impregnable. But a few Democrats of Shelbyville had the courage to attack the gang of plunderers, and they have persisted in their efforts to clean out the Augean stables with a patience and courage worthy of their purpose. In time they won over public opinion to believe in their honesty of purpose and awoke it to the belief that it might be possible to bring about a better state of affairs. From this point on, their advance has been steady, until they have found ft court itnd jury no longer nfraid to act on the truth. The lesson that wickedness, no matter Row strongly in-i trenched, may be brought-to grief 1 by boldly combating it, is a salutary one and one that is much needed. Ray has prototypes in the “official orgijn” business in other counties whose career will some day be brought to a sudden close ns abruptly as was his own; when hyprocritical cant will no longer cover up rascality and official dishonesty; when the light of reason and common sense, devoid of political prejudice will show matters up in their true character. When the Rays and their ilk are placed in proper quarters the people will again have an inning in the management of public affairs.