The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-12-18
WEDNESDAY. DECEMBER IS.
The Dudley Disgrace.

A warrant is issued for his arrest, on a
proper affidavit, and the U. s. commits
soner refuses to deliver it to the marshal
for service because, forsooth, Dist. Atty.
SMILEY n. CHAMBERS instructed him not to
do so. Mr.. DUDLEY's pulp with the adj
ministration must be strong, indeed, to in
duce resort to such desperate remedies
as these There is no shadow of legal
authority for such action by district at
torney before the arrest and hearing OF an
offender. The chief purpose of the legal
provision for arrest on affidavit is to insure
the arrest of a criminal when the
tives, fails to perform his duty.
There is no shadow of legal authority
for such action by q. S. commissioner.
His duty is plainly laid down by the law
and the district attorney has no control
over its performance. The action in both
instances is a wantoD and unjustifiable
abuse of power to shield criminal from
prosecution.
SMILEY n. CHAMBERS and WILLIAM VAN
buren, are not controlling factors in this
matter. They are merely the puppets
who move as the strings attached to them
are pulled. This last effort of the repub-
lican Doodle administration to protect Its
maker and accomplice comes through them
merely as the retained agents OF the party,
and it is a fitting climax to the long roll
of infamies that have been perpetuated to
save the head boodler. WILLIAM W. DUD-
LEY was made treasurer of the national
republican central committee through the
direct influence of BENJAMIN HARRISON.
He was HARRIsoN's man from the start,
and this notwithstanding the devout can
didate knew him to be a professional polit-
zeal trickster, to have been kicked out OF
the e. S. marshal's Office at Indianapolis
by Judge GRESHAM on account of fraudu-
lently releasing republican repeaters
on straw bail, and to have used
the national pension Office, while COM
missioner OF pensions, as party machine,
in defiance of law, honesty and decency.
To a prominent republican who protested
against Mr. DUDLEY having any connec-
lion with Indiana politics in the last cleo
hon, Mr.. HARRISON replied, 81 donot want
Sunday-school teacher to run my cam
paign-"
The campaign proceeded and Mr.. DUD-
LEY did the work that he was appointed to
do. Toward its close copy of his noted
letter, disclosing the outrageous plan by
which Indiana was to be carried for HARRT-
SON was intercepted and made public.
The Indiana politicians, under the immi-
date eye of the immaculate prayer-meet-
l. L. II ~
Mr. DUDLEY admitted its authenticity and
said he thought it was "a very strong let
ter" A little later Mr. DUDLEY became
more cautious. Criminal proceedings
were instituted against him here, and the
New York papers, against which he had
brought libel suits, pressed for atrial. THE
SENTINEL offered him 81 900 to come with
IN this state and make affidavit
that he did not write the let
ter, and the offer is still untaken.
When forced to an examination in the
libel suits he excused himself from an
swering whether or not he wrote the letter
by the plea that either an affirmative or a
negative answer would criminate him. If
he had answered affirmativelv, he would
at once have been arrested for conspiracy
to bride voters. If he had answered mega
lively, he would at once have been arrested
for perjury.
Meanwhile the case was pushed in the
T. s. court. Judge WooDs, at the outset,
having, with a great flourish of trumpets,
directed the grand jury to investigate the
Dudley matter, found that the evidence
was much stronger than was anticipated.
The administration was in danger and
made itself felt in the court. In his first
instruction as to bribery he had said,
awhile it is not crime to make the at
tempt ito bribe) it is crime to advise an
other to make the attempt" He now
faced about and interpreted the same sec
tiun to mean that it was not crime
to make the attempt unless the bribery
was actually committed and proven.
He did this although he had
explicitly stated his position, in the former
instruction, as follows: eff A attempts to
bride B, that is no offense under this stat
ute; but if advises b to attempt to bride
C., then the one who commands or gives
the advice is an offender under this law
and will say that 1 consider there is
some wisdom in this provision" This
covered DUDLEY's case exactly, but under
the revised decision the difficulty of con-
victing was so increased that the case was
virtually thrown out of court by the new
ruling.
In due time the case was thrown out
formally, and since then the officials of the
u. s. courts here have been constant, in sea-
son and out of season, in their efforts to re-
lieve Mr.. DUDLEY of any odium. Deputy
Prosecutor CocKRUM has stated in an in
terview that there was nothing in the evil
dence against him, and Mr.. CHAMBERS is
now out with a warm Endorsement OF this
confessed rascal as reputable citizen"
The administration has been hand in glove
with him from the start. Public opin-
ion prevented his appointment to Office,
but his recommendation to office was good
as gold Mr. TANNER was his man. and
when his open robbery of the treasury
made his removal necessary he formed a
convenient partnership with DUDLEY in
the pension business, while Miss TANNER
was given good job under our own
HUsToN.