Jasper County Democrat, Volume 19, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1916 — MURPHY RESIGNATION SOLICITED IS REPORT [ARTICLE]

MURPHY RESIGNATION SOLICITED IS REPORT

Ralston Declared to Have Acted on Statement That Commissioner Suggested Change in Attorneys. - Indianapolis, April 13.—-Reports that became current Tuesday indicated that Charles J. Murphy did not resign voluntarily from the public service commission. Governor Ralston re mailed s i lent on the su b j ect, however, and Mr. Murphy declined to discuss the mat er further than to repeat that business reasons prompt'd his resignation and that he did not quit the commission by request. Complaint was made to the governor about five weeks ago, it developed Tuesday, by representatives of the Merchants Heat and Light company, 1 which has had several propositions up for consideration by the service commission, that Commissioner Murphy had suggested to A• W. Higgins, general manager of the ulitiy, that the company ought to displace its attorney, J. w. Fesler, with the law firm of Ryan & Ruckelshaus. Mr. Murphy, according to reports, suggested that the company's present attorney could not make progress with his cases pending before the commission. It is reported that Governor Ralston, at a conference held at his home about three weeks ago. suggested to Mr. Murphy that he ought to resign. While Mr. Murphy stands pat on his first statement, that he is resigning because of a demand on his time by his private business interests, including a new venture, the nature of which is not disclosed at this time, his friends, while not admitting that his resignation was forced, say that the Fesler matter probably had an influence on Mr. Murphy in deciding to leave the commission at this particular time. The story goes that the governor had an interview with Mr. Murphy soon after he had received a verbal complaint from the representatives! of the .Merchants company and that this' was followed by friends of Mr. Murphy, including the heads of several public utilities, making an appeal to the Merchants company to withdraw its charges and drop the matter entirely. It is known that Mr. Fesler has had repeated conferences with the governor within the last four or five weeks, but Mr. Fesler declined Tuesday evening to discuss any phase of the Murphy resignation.

The twelve countries having the least blindness are as follows: Belgium (before the war) had 43 blind persons to every 100,000 of the population; Canada, 44; Netherlands, 46; Saxony, 47; New Zealand, 47; Western Australia, 50; Hongkong, 51; Prussia, 52; Denmark, 52; Germany, 60; New South Wales, 60, and the I’nited States, 62.