Richmond Palladium (Daily), Volume 38, Number 255, 3 September 1913 — Page 1

i! n

BICHMON FAIXABIUM H AND SUN-TELEGRAM VOL. XXXVIII. NO. 255 RICHMOND, IND., WEDNESDAY EVENING, SEPT. 3, 1913 SINGLE COPY 2 CENTS Without Giving Public Notice Voting Machines Are Indorsed By The County Commissioners and Council

if

" I it J4 si 13 i; I 5. "5 9

H(ias Says Machines Practical

Postmaster, Chairman of the Special Commercial Club Committee, States That the Cost of Elections Will be Greatly Reduced Because the Number of Voting Places in the County Will be Reduced. REVIEWS HISTORY OF THE MOVEMENT First Effort to Secure Voting Machines for Wayne County Was in 1909, When the Commercial Club Drafted Resolutions Calling on the County Commissioners to Purchase Some for Use in the County. Jse of voting machines in Wayne county elections has been considered by the county commissioners during the past four years, according to E. M. Haas. In 1909 Postmaster Haas, as secertary of the Commercial club. drafted a series of strong resolutions for presentation to the board of coun-! ty commissioners, calling upon them to. introduce the use of machines in this county. "At that time," said Mr. Haas, this morning, "the board of commissioners were not unanimous in favoring the purchase of voting machines for two reasons. The first "was because satisfactory terms of payment could not be arranged. The main reason was that some members of the board felt that I the machines were still in the experimental state and that it would be advisable to wait a few years before making the investment. Machine Brought Here. "The board of directors of the Commercial club, after passing the original resolutions, had little to do with the question two years later when the matter was again brought up. In 1909, hnwDvcr a mafhine. th name of which I forget, was placed In the offices of the Commercial club for the j use of citizens who might wish to call j and try it out. "Two years ago when the purchase of voting machines was again being considered by the county commissioners, no action was taken by the Confmerclal club, which merely stood pat on the resolutions that it nad iatnerer two years before At this time, howf ever, I was no longer secretary of the,

Commercial clu'o I was, however, ap-, select a mayoralty nominee. These : pointed cfeairmJpf a special commit-. volunteers are: tee to have change of the matter, as j Addison Mumbower, lumber purfar as the organization was concerned. J chasing agent for the Wayne Works. "Before the adoption of the resolu- j Charles Marlatt, foreman of the tion. the special committee of which j blacksmith shop ,of the M. Rumley I was a member, made a trip to Indian-! company. apolis and conversed with a number) Henry Farwig, a wagon driver for of county officers and other well . tne Baver bakery. known citizens regarding the success , Witn such a good field of candjdates of the machines in Marlon county, and i to chose from political ieaders are al- ' , t a .1 a

received information that warranted us to advocate their introduction here Haas Favors Machines. "Personally I am very much in fa vor of the purchase of the machines ,'It will enable us to handle the different voting places on a 600 vote basis

instead of the 250 vote basis, madetions of the Democratic party in this necessary under the Australian ballot j city, and each one is said to be well

system, which will probably decrease the number of voting places in the county, with their attendant expenses, from 64 to 28. "I understand that the different com-j panics will allow the. county to make up the purchase price out of the money that is annually saved by the introduction of the machines. Additional revenue to be applied to the - purchase price, can, I think, be obtained by the rental of the machines to the city for its use in municipal elections. "I don't know much about the cost of the different machines, of which I think there are six in the market, but I understand tnat the price of the machine sold by Mr. Davis (the Empire) Is $750." The report of Mr. Haas' committee to the Commercial club directors, Monday night, follows: Committee's Report. "Tour committee specially appointfed to consider the advisability of the purchase of voting machines desire to report that further information has been accumulated by the secretary relative to the matter from numerous county officers where voting machines nre now In use, and which information Is wholly favorable to the use of machines, we therefore see no reason for this club to change its views as expressed in resolutions adopted August 2, 1909. "The matter of the purchase of voting machines has been considered by the board of county commissioners to(Contlnued on Pago Two.)

Endangering Freedom of Ballot Voters of Wayne county regardless of party are facing a situation dangerous to a continuance of free government in Wayne county. The action of the county council in rushing through an appropriation for the purchase of voting machines has precipitated a condition that all voters should view with the gravest apprehension. The very manner in which the ordinance, authorizing the purchase of these machines was secretly prepared, the secret team work between the Commercial Club and the quiet campaign to force the adoption of voting machines by Wayne county, the action of the county council in passing an appropriation with which to purchase the machines without giving the public any chance to know what was going on or to express approval or disapproval of the idea of allowing a machine to vote for a man instead of, as under the Australian system, letting him vote for himself, should be enough to destroy all public confidence in the machines and in the motives of the men so anxious to force them on Wayne county. The danger hinges on an "if" that is, "if" the machines can be manipulated to cast the votes crookedly for we frankly admit we have not at hand conclusive evidence which would enable us to make a direct charge of crookedness against voting machines. Where there, is so much smoke, however, there surely must be some fire. In most places we have heard of where voting machines are used, dissatisfaction is expressed with them. There have been charges made that by means of a rubber band device it is possible to cause one or more candidates to lose a large number of votes that are cast for them on voting machines. It has also been charged that there is in existence a sliding counter device which can be attached to voting machines and which will count a certain per cent of the votes cast for one candidate for another. Of course the claim is made that if the men who compose the board in election booths where machines are used, are honest, there is no chance to attach crooked devices to the machines. It has been stated, however, that the attaching of such devices is done without the knowledge of any of the election officials. For instance, an expert is generally required before each election to see that the machines are in good working order before they are rilooorl in nco Tt is rlnimpH that Yho nff jfninor of rtavipps is rlnno

! by sucn experts, wno not only jtnus

but also help along crooked political deals. That this might be possible, no one will deny who has looked inside a voting machine and has seen its thousands of mechanical parts. No one but an expert could tell what a company expert was doing to a voting machine. , . The main incentive for having voting machines that are possible of crooked manipulation is crooked politics. When the bosses

who have plundered the American people see their fat graft

Continued on THREE CANDIDATES v AFTER DEMOCRATIC T Addison Mumbower, Charles Marlatt and Henry Farwig the Aspirants. The Democratic citv convention. I which will meet September 18, will have three candidates from which to j ready predicting that the nominating ' convention will be exciting and strenuous as of yore. Factions Backing Each. The three candidates for the mayor'alty nomination represent three fac supported. Marlatt and Farwig for several years have taken active part in the affairs of their party, the latter being local oil inspector, an appointee of former i Governor Marshall, Mumbower, however, while he has ' always been a staunch Democrat, is making his initial entry into politics, j On the evening of September 15 the Democrats will hold a mass meeting for the purpose of selecting delegates from the various precincts to the nominating convention. Each faction will endeavor to secure the bulk of the delegates, and the meeting promises to be as entertaining, if not more so, as the nominating convention will be. Candidates for councilmen and for city clerk on the Democratic ticket are slow in making their announcements, but it is said that a number of announcements for these nominations can be expected within the next few days. THE WEATHER STATE AND LOCAL General! fair weather tonight and Thursday; cooler in extreme north portion" tonight and in north central portion Thursday. TEMPERATURE Noon 95 Yesterday. Maximum ..... 97 Minimum 51

MAYOR

NOMINA

"

attend to tneir company s work Page Four LEVY FOR COONTY GENERAL FUND MUST STILL BE KEPT UP Any Reduction, Auditor Bowman Says, Calls for Very Strict Economy. County Levy. Genera'l Fund, 31.9 cents per $100. General Fund, Poll, $1. Bond Sinking Fund, 6 cents. Free Turn Pike Repair Fund, 7cfs. Bridge Fund, 2 cents. State Levy. Vocational School Fund, .01 cent per $100. General Fund, Poll, 50 cents. Benevolent Institutions, 10 cents. State School, Poll, 50 cents. State Debt Sinking Fund, 1 cents Educational Inst. Fund, 7 cents. The county council met this afternoon and approved the county levy which was estimated by the officials yesterday. The following report was made to the officials by County Auditor E. S. Bowman relative to the county's finances: The General Fund. Levy in the general fund has not been lower than 30 cents on each $100 Evaluation since 1903 and the highest rate was in 1910 which was 34-3-20 cents, which 4was made possible by the reappraisement of real estate in that year. Prior to 1911 the expense of 'assessing was paid from a special fund for that purpose, but in 1911 this fund was abolished and the expense of assessing is now paid from the general fund. In 1912 the county had the expense of a general election and registration which cost $924.13. The amount spent in 1913 for redecoration of the interior portion of the court house was $6,585. The average amount spent for bridges for the five years extending from 1907 to 1911, inclusive, was $26,379,120. The amount spent in 1912 was $50,454.73, an amount almost twice the average. Big Bridge Repair Expense. In 1912 fhis council was advised of the excessive bridge appropriation and the gradual reduction in the amount on hands in the general fund. As the result bridge appropriations for 1913 were cut from $40,770, the amount asked for, to $27,235. In March of this year, a general flood of the' streams of the county caused a great amount of damage to bridges and culverts, and the county council was called in special session and provided a flood bridge fund of $25,000, which was found later in the year to be In entirely insufficient in amount, and in

.(Continued on Paga Tore),

VOTING MACHINE ORDINANCE The following is the ordinance drafted by Perry J. Freeman, attorney for the Empire Voting Machine company, and passed by the county council yesterday: "Whereas, The board of commissioners of Wayne county, state of Indiana, having filed a requisition with the county council of said county, asking for the appropriation of $21,000 for the purpose of purchasing voting machines; and "Whereas, Said board of commissioners have investigated voting machines used in other counties in the state of Indiana, anC it appears from the use of said machines that the number of voting precincts may be reduced from sixty-four to twenty-eight,, and thereby make a large saving to the county in registration expenses; and "Whereas, a reduction in the number of voting precincts will also lessen to a corresponding number the registration board of the county, and thereby make another large saving to the county in registration expenses; and "Whereas, It also appears from the practical use of said machines that it is a more satisfactory method of holding elections as well as a large saving of expenses to the county, and that by purchasing said machines on payments corresponding to the expenses saved as aforesaid, said saving will pay for the machines, and thereby avoid the necessity of raising the tax levy. Now, therefore, be it "Ordained, By the Wayne County Council of Wayne County, Indiana, convened in regular session on the 2nd day of September ,1913, that the sum of $21,000 be and is hereby appropriated, the same to be used by the board of county commissioners in accordance with the requisition referred to, and the facts specifically mentioned; and to provide payment for the purchase of such voting machines, the board of county commissioners are hereby authorized and empowered to issue instruments of indebtedness of said county, or other evidence of indebtedness, as provided by the statutes of the state f Indiana. The amount of annual payments to be one-half of the savings made at the general election and registration of 1914, estimated by the auditor of said county, which annual instruments of indebtedness are to be payable in said amount each year, bearing interest at the rate of 4 per cent per annum, payable semi-annually. The Instruments are to be one due and payable on or before the first of January 1915, and continue thereafter annually until the whole amount Is paid; or such voting machines may be paid for in cash, provided that no machines shall be purchased unless they prove satisfactory at the election to be held in the year 1914."

Ten Indictments Are Believed For Moore

Fifteen Indictments Returned Those Against Parry and Public Comment is Made The grand Jury .-reported to Judge Henry C. Fox yesterday afternoon, returning fifteen indictments against four persons. As many as fifty-six witnesses were .examined, most of whom testified in the indictments against J. Ed Moore or George Schools. Schools was indicted on a charge of murder in the first degree. Smith Parry was indicted on three charges as the result of his actions toward his eight year old step-daughter, Evelyn Pharris. One indictment charged criminal assault, another assault and battery with attempt to commit criminal assault and .the third charges that he contributed to the delinquency of a minor child. J. Ed Moore, the missing real estate dealer, who is alleged to have victimized many Wayne county residents out of money, through misrepresentation of property, is believed to have been indicted on ten counts. No official statements would be given out by the prosecutor relative to the action taken by the officials in this matter. Condition of the Jail. The manner in which the county jail is being conducted was favorably commented on by the jurors in the report to the court. It was recommended that improvements be made at the insane ward. The Home for Friendless needs a more sanitary lavatory, which the officials recommended be provided. Thp mips adnntpd hv tho rnmmi. sinners rplatlv tn th manapmnt nf the county poor farm were approved by the jurors. The inventory and ac - counting system was also commended, The jury's report follows: Report of Grand Jury. The grand jury. dy empanelled and sworn in the Wayne Circuit court of Indiana, for the April term, 1913, beg leave to report to the Court, as

follows : j tion with the Home for the Friendless, That said grand jury met and was j under the care of Mrs. Aurelia Thomsworn and charged by the Court on i as, was found to be clean and In good the fifth day of June, 1913; and con- j condition, with the exception of the tinued in session until the sixth day lavatories, v. The plumbing for the lavof June, 1913, at which time said jury atones is insufficient, and results in adjourned and did not reconvene until a condition not only annoying, but un-

the 27th day of August, 1913, and meeting thereafter until the secoid day of September, 1913, the entire time said jury was in session being seven days. That according to the instructions of the court, the jury inquired Into the cases of persons imprisoned in the county jail and not yet indicted, and into the cases of other alleged viola - tions of law, as were reported to the jury. That in all,. cases against four persons were inquired into, fifty-six witnesses examined and fifteen indict - Visit the County Jail. That also according to the instrue-j tions of the Court, the jury inquired into the condition and management of the public prison and poor house of the county. That at the county jail," in charge of Sheriff Jacob W. Bayer and Jailer Rice Miller, we found conditions to be generally satisfactory. The jail proper is old and not constructed on modern lines, but the interior has recently been repainted and it presented a sightly and very clean appearance. The jail is sufficient for the safe keeping of prisoners and the accommodations offered in the way of whole-

. Against Four Men, But Schools Only Ones Made on Institutions of County.

some, substantial food, and clean lodging are conducive to the good health of the prisoners. The prisoners seem to have been humanely treated. Card playing has been prohibited by Sheriff Bayer and likewise the use of cigarettes, which we commend. For a time a local church society furnished good magazines to the prisoners, but unfortunately, this practice was discontinued by the society. The magazines were generally read by the prisoners. 21 Prisoners In Jail. There were twenty-one prisoners j confined at the Jail on the occasion of j the 3 ltto awaltlnS riL one for the illegal sale of liquor, three insane persons awaiting admission to the Eastern Indiana Hospital for the Insane, four for assault and battery, one for vagrancy, one for petit larceny, six for public intoxication and one for safe keeping. We were assured that the four prisoners awaiting trial will be given a speedy hearing and that there is no unnecessary delay in bringing persons to trial. In regard to the insane ward of the jail erected In 1911, we endorse the criticism directed against the ward by previous grand juries. The insane ward is not properly constructed for the use intended, and the handling of violent insane therein is dangerous, both to the patient and the attendants. The rooms in the insane ward are too large, the iron screen partition is entirely too weak, and the door to the I padded Cell is insufficient to hold a violent inmate. We would recommend ' the ,county commissioners make i an instigation of the changes need- ! ed at tne inane rd- and secure the v8ame' to the, ed ! ward may made available ifor the PurPses intended. Woman's Prison Clean. That the woman's prison, in connechealthful. As this matter has been pointed out before, we would recommend a change without further delay. There were confined in the jail one girl for incorrigibility, three feeble minded persons and five persons; awaiting admission to the Eastern Indiana Hospital for the Insane. AU persons seemed to be properly treat- ! ed, and provided with good beds and wholesome food. That the jury visited the county poor farm, now in charge of Superin-

! tendent Brumfield, and inquired intoihrtarrf th .,, hand

j tained the treatment of inmates and inspected the buildings, stock, crops and farming implements. Praise Auditor Bowman. We commend the business rules adopted by the county commissioners and the inventory and accounting system designed by County Auditor Bowman. To properly manage the poor farm, it requires not only a good business man and executive, but a progressive and hard working farmer. The buildings on the farm seem to be in a reasonably good state of repair, and there are proper and suffl-

(ConOnaed on Ps-gfi Three)

Appropriation For Machines a Result of Secret Campaign

Agents of the Empire Voting Machine Company Work

Quietly in This City for a Week, Then the Members of the Wayne County Council Pass a Resolution Appropriating $21,000 for the Purchase of Such Machines. Want Machines Purchased Before Board Changes.

ANDERSON FRUITLESSLY DEMANDS A MORE COMPLETE INVESTIGATION

Question of the Purchase of the Machines, the Appropriation Having Been Made by the County Council, is Now Entirely in the Hands of the Board of County Commissioners If Machines are Found Impractical, the Commissioners Will Not Have to Purchase Them.

STATEMENTS OF COMMISSIONERS "I am much surprised that council passed the ordinance." This Btatement was made by Commissioner Linderman this morning while discussing the action of the council yesterday In passing the ordinance providing for the purchase of voting machines. Linderman was one of the commissioners who asked the appropriation of the county council. Commissioner Beeson said the Commissioners were not to be blamed for their action in recommending that the machines be purchased. "The Commercial club indorsed the action and recommended that the machines be purchased. The club is supposed to be the back bone of the city and most people think what the organization indorses must be all right" said Beeson. Commissioner Anderson said he refused to Indorse the proposition because he was inexperienced and had not made a thorough Investigation of the affair.

( After a week's silent work

council and the board of county commissioners, the Empire Voting Machine company, of Jamestown, N. Y., yesterday afternoon succeeded in getting a resolution passed by the county council

authorizing an appropriation of

voting machines for Wayne county. The reason assigned for the rushing through of the ordinance was that the appropriation must be made and the machines purchased before a change is made in the board of county commissioners which will take place January lst. Robert Beeson and Barney Linderman, two of the commissioners, recommended to the county council that an appropriation be made for the purchase of the machines. Albert Anderson, the other commissioner, refused to join the other two members of the board on the ground that sufficient investigation had not been made"" as to the reliability of the machines. Up to Commissioners Now. Now that the county council has passed the ordinance appropriating $21,000.00 for the purchase of voting machines, the county commissioners will have entire responsibility for any further action. It is entirely optional with the county commissioners whether or not the money already appropriated will be used. If the commissioners decide after further investigation that voting machines are not practical, the money will remain unused.

Under the leadership of Elias M. Hoover, president of the county council, the ordinance was rushed to passage on its first reading. The members of the council who supported the ordinance were: Elias M. Hoover, Frank M. Worl, Lew. Hampton, Harv ey Cook, Ray Robinson and Jesse T. Druley. Would Save Expense? The chief reason advanced by the county council for purchasing the machines was that they would enable the county to effect a great saving in election erpenses. Mr. Hoover stated that he and Messrs. Hampton and Werl had investigated voting machines. He stated he had personally investigated the machines at Indianapolis and in Hen-

ry county, and that at both places the j Nicholson, of Richmond, also ncounty officers had expressed their Pa"l before the council on behalf of entire satisfaction with the new meth-1 the vting machines, as the local rep-

od of voting. Ray Robinson's Position, H. R. Robinson, a member of the county council, stated before he voted, that over a year ago when the question of machines came up, he made an investigation and came to the conelusion that the machines were not perfect and that they could be manipulated. He said that now. however, he is of the opinion that it would take an expert to manipulate the machines, I and when the company turned the machines over to the local election He said that he did not see how the machines could be manipulated unless the whole board was crooked and in that case the present system would be no better. ' Mr. Robinson said that machines were a step in the right direction and he believed that it would be a saving to the county. He said that Mr. Freeman and Mr. Davis had appeared before the council a number of times and had been put to a great deal of expense and he thought the question should be settled. He said that he did not blame Perry Freeman Tor his work in behalf of the company be-

Jcauie be was getting his fee out of It

with the members of the county

$21,000.00 for the purchase of He said it was a master of business. Junius Knite refused to vote on th ordinance because he had not mads sufficient invectlpStlon to say whether or not the machines were accurate and had given satisfaction. All the - J other councilmen voted in favor of the ordinance. Final Passage Today. Before adjourning at their session yesterday afternoon the members of the county council voted to meet again this afternoon in order to vote to pass the voting machine ordinance on its second and final reading. The Empire Voting Machine company was represented by Perry J. Freeman of Richmond and J. M. Davis, of Indianapolis, who is the Indiana representative of the company. John resentatlve of the company, and asked for the appropriation. The passing of the resolution represents the sixth attempt of the company to force the use of voting machines in Wayne county. Every other time the commissioners and council have voted against the resolution on the grounds that the machines could be manipulated or that the county , could not afford to spend the money at the time. Week's Campaign Successful. The'actJon of the council .yesterday was the result of a week's efforts on the part -of Perry J. Freeman and J. M. Davis in visiting personally the i members of the board of county conv missioners, the council and the Commercial club committee which presented a letter to the council recommending the purchase of the machines. The representatives of the company have been making visits to the home of the members of council and the commissioners, to secure their pledges in favor of the machines. Commercial Club's Report. The report of the Commercial club of 1909 which was again presented to the commissioners and members of

JLCoaU&u4 on. Page Two)