Jasper County Democrat, Volume 14, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 April 1911 — BADER CASE TO BE ARGUED [ARTICLE]

BADER CASE TO BE ARGUED

Before the Supreme Court on Next Tuesday DECISION PROBABLE SHORTLY In the Noted Bridge Graft Cases From Jasper County In Which Winamac Bridge Co’s. Head Was Convicted Last April.

The supreme court has set the trial argument in the case of Charles Bader against the state of Indiana, from Jasper county, for Tuesday, April 25. This is the case of the man who constructed bridges in Jasper county and was convicted of defrauding the county in constructing them several thousand pounds lighter than the contract called for. He made a showing to the Governor that he had a good cause for appeal, and the Governor paroled him pending appeal, for which he was criticized by some of the papers of the state.-—lndianapolis News.

From the above it will be seen that there is a prospect for a decision In this noted cases ere lo ng. It has been a year since Clinton L. Bader, superintendent and general manager of the Winamac Bridge Co., was found guilty of presenting a false and fraudulent claim to Jasper county in payment for a 70-foot span steel bridge across the Howe ditch in Milroy tp., it being shown ni the trial that no attempt was made to follow the plans and specifications for the bridge and that the structure was scaled down more than one-third in weight of material from that provided in the specifications. Bader was found guilty and after Judge Hanley had convinced himself that there had been a systematic steal of this character made by this company on all the bridges it had erected here —as shown by a private engineer whom the Court at his own expense hired to make an investigation—Bader was sentenced to from two to fourteen years in the state prison.

Sheriff Shirer started with the prisoner for Michigan City, but stopped off at the latter’s home in Winamac and remained there several dayte until the attorneys, by what has since been reported to have been false representations, went to Governor Marshall and secured a parole, pending appeal to the supreme court. Sunday afternoon, four or five days after the sheriff had started to prison with Bader the latter brought the sheriff back home, safe and sound, in his automobile.

There was considerable criticism of the course of the sheriff, who made affidavit that Bader’s attorneys had told him he had five days to take Bader to prison, judge Hanlev had both the sheriff and Bader’s Rensselaer and Winamac attorneys cited for contempt of court and the former was fined SIOO. The attorneys denied that they had so advised the sheriff and on this plea they escaped a fine. There has been some talk of an action to recover from the bridge company the amounts that , Jasper county has been swindled out of which was later shown by an examination by Prof. Smith, head of the Purdue University engineering department, to have been considerable on every bridge it had erected, The Democrat first urging that such action be taken, and the Republican, just on the eve of *he last election, shouting “here, too.” But. nothing has ever been done. t and soon after the election Bader’s attorney was made county attorney, so if suit was now brought we would have the spectacle of an attorney bringing suit for one of his clients against an--eSher-ef-hisef renter - - - - As it now stands the interests of the taxpayers in this case — seeing that justice is done —must be looked after wholly by the prosecuting attorney - while their county attorney is representing the thief who robbed them!