Jasper County Democrat, Volume 21, Number 91, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 February 1919 — ASKS GOVERNOR TO EXPLAIN [ARTICLE]

ASKS GOVERNOR TO EXPLAIN

If there is anything under God's heavens that would make sensible people opposed and disgusted to the granting of equal suffrage to women, it is the damphool antics of the bunch of female propagandists holding forth in Washington," who have done more harm to the ca/use they claimi to be working for than all other opposition that has developed. Their (picketing of the White House, burning of the President in effigy, carrying of obnoxious and disloyal banners and other disgusting methods intended by these misguided zealots to influence public opinion, has had its result in turning such opinion against their “cause. ’’ The leniency shown by the courts- to this bunch of criminals when they have been arrested Tor some of their more glaring violations of the law, has seemingly only emboldened them to go still further and has had a tendency to disgust people In general with the courts and create disrespect far the law. They should have been dealt with the same as any other criminals who violate the laws of the land. It is no wonder that we have a considerable Bolshevik spirit in America when, we permit these and other glaring infractions of free speech and acts to go unpunished. A special t|£ain carrying 64 I. W, W. leaders passed through Chicago Sunday night, under a heavy guard, on Its way to an Atlantic port for immediate deportation from Ellis island of these undesirables, who are mostly from Seattle, Washington, where the entire business of that city has bee* paralyzed for the past several days by a, general strike brought on by I. W. W. agitators and their ilk. This strike also partially tied up business M Tacoma for a few days, but was not nearly so paralysing as at Seattle, and was practically ended Monday. The Seattle, strikeit was expected, would end at nopn yesterday— rat least the delegates

from 130 local unions voted Monday to (resume work at 1 o’clock 'yesterday, and called the strike off. A general clean-up to rid the country ’of aliens with criminal records or who are regarded as a menace to the nation, is said to be under way by federal officials, and within a few days another bunch will be taken from Chicago for de-j portation to the countries from which they came. A better way, perhaps, of dealing with these radical disturbers would be for the allies at the peace conference to decide upon some desert island to' which the chief agitators could all be sent to work out their salvation 1 by exterminating each other. This class of anarchists are the greatest menace that the civilized world faces today, and they should be thoroughly exterminated, both root and branch, and that, too, ip. d. q

By Felix F. Bruner.

Indianapolis, Feb. 11. —Desperate attempts to. explain are being nyide following the publication of a letter written- by Lieut. Gov. Bush to Governor Goodrich; demanding an explanation of his action in accepting a compromise whereby he'- virtually made a present of $3,200 due the state to Vernon E. Knight of New Albany, a member of ins staff. During Gov. Goodrich’s illness in 1917, when Lieut. Gov. Bush was acting as governor, Knight approached Bush with an agreement drawn up by Will H. Hays, Republican national chairman, then state chairman, whereby the state was to accept $5,000 as settlement for a' $8,200 judgment rendered by the Clark county circuit court against the heirs of the Depauw estate for delinquent taxes. Bush, according to his letter to Gov. Goodrich, called in Eie Stansbury, attorney general, who advised him against accepting the compromise. Bush irefused to accept the compromise, but when Gov. Goodrich returned to office the compromise was accepted. Bush did not learn of the acceptance until recently when he talked about the matter to Stansbury. He immediately wrote Gov. GoSSrich and demanded an explanation. Gov. Goodrich is still trying to explain. The letter written by Bush folIowa: “Gov. James P. Goodrich, City. ' “Dear Governor —At the time you were in the hospital and I was in the governor’s chair, sworn to perform my constitutional duties as acting governor, I was approached by Col. Vernon E. Knight of New Albany, Ind., a member of your start, and I was importuned by him to compromise a judgment for SB,200, said judgment having been rendered in the Clark circuit court against the Depauw estate for delinquent tax. “Cob Knight was financially interested in the result of the judgment, having married one of the Depauw heirs, and his contention was that I accept $5,000 in lieu of the $8,200. “He presented to me at the tim§ a blank form of agreement to the compromise which he said was prepared by Will H. Hays who, he

said, waa very anxious to see the compromise allowed. * , "I sent for the attorney general, Mr. Stansbury, and he advised me that there was no warrant whatever In law or fact justifying acceptance of a less amount than the face of the judgment, and cited the following statute, which seems very plain: "Durns’ R. 6. 1914, section 9287: " ‘Compromise. No claim in favor of the state shall »be compromised without the approval of the governor and attorney general, and such officer* are hereby empowered to make such compromise, when in their judgment It Is In the Interest of the state so to do.’ “As the time elapsed before I left the governor’s chair for allowing this compromise and as my official act was so well safeguarded by law, I naturally supposed the matter had been closed up. Despite the fact that you expressed to me the morning of your return some displeasure at the fact that Col. Knight had not been allowed the $3,200. “You can readily imagine my surprise when I learned today from the attorney general that immediately upon your resumption of the duties of the governor’s office you sent for the attorney general and asked him to change his ruling, which he did, and you allowed the compromise. The statute of course remains In effect. “Will you kindly infm*m me what warrant there is inplaw or fact for your -procedure. I Tbelieve, in all due respect, such an explanation is due me, as my official act was performed in good faith, under the advice of the constitutionally elected adviser to the’ governor; the statute was followed to the letter and my action was calculated to save the state $3,200.’’