The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-01-23


TO your attention, fully and conseientiOusly
without regard as TO who may be convicted as
such offenders. If you have heard, as have,
charges publicly brought in our prints and
elsewhere against any citizen OF his having Of
Tended under these statutory laws we have
considered regulating an election, 1t is your
duty to take cOgniZance of the charges brought
against him, investigate the evidence of guilt
that stands against him and tearlessly render
your indictment without regard to the political
party to which he may belong or the official
position he may hold or may have held when
ne committed such otiense.
Nothing could have more clearly and
explicitly apply to Dudleys crime than
the language employed by Judge Woods.
To use names in place Of initials in his
simile and put it in the past tense, his
charge would read: 'If Dudley advised
the chairman of the republican county
committees to bride blocks OF five then
Dudley is an offender under this law"
In giving this Interpretation to the law
Judge Woods had the corroborative
opinion of such eminent lawyers of this
city as Joseph f. Mcdonald, democrat,
and John NJ. Butler, a republican.
Up to the meeting of the grand jury
Dudley and his fellows had attempted to
laugh down the charges. The Journal pro-
nounced the letter a forgery, the Nc5cs and
other republican prints asserted that
! Dudley had denied its authenticity, and
some OF the lesser lights attempted to
force the abandonment of the case by
bringing heavy damage suits against the
L. :. marshal, which they offered TO drop
if the investigation into Dudley's crime
was discontinued.
But the earnestness with which the Of
ficers of the law entered into the work OF
procuring an Indictment against Dudley
filled him and all other republicans with
alarm. If Harrison was to pose as po-
litIcal saint il would never do 10 have 1t
heralded 10 the world that ne had carried
his own state by wholesale bribery and
corruption and that his bosom friend and
confidential man in the counsels of his
party had been the chief engineer and d.
rector of this debauchery of the ballot.
Dudley. too, about this time became OBJ
streperOus and made his safety an issue of
national importance to the republican
party. For eight years he had handled
the Doodle OF the party, had twice in that
length OF time openly and boldly bought
the electoral votes of the state OF Indiana.
lie was possessed of secrets which would
politically damn many of the most prOmi-
nent men in the republican party if di-
vulged and COnsign that party to everlast-
ing oblivion.
Dudley demanded protection. He no
titled the party managers that he had gone
as lar as he would for the party and for
Harrison. He was willing TO DO anything
but 90 to the penitentiarv He drew the
line there. He gave notice that unless
the prosecution was STOPPED his mouth
would be opened. and all the story of re-
publican corruption be laid before the
world Hurried messages passed between
Dudley, Harrison, Quay and other repub-
ican leaders, and the conspiracy was
formed to defeat the ends of justice and
save Dudley from the penitentiary.
About this time Judge Woods changed
his course Attention was first called to
the fact when he adjourned the grand
Jury in the midst of its labors, on the pre-
tense that it was absolutely necessary to
hold term of court in Fort Wayne. The
"term" in Fort Wayne lasted just one
hour and forty minutes, and the only case
heard was petty civil one involving only
a trivial sum.
This was, doubtless, part of the Dud-
lev scheme to gain time and wear out the
prosecution.
Then came the opposition to the con-
frmation of Bailey's nomination as sue
cessOr to Sellers, district attorney. Bailey
had been very active in preparing the
election cases for presentation to the
grand Jury, and his appointment and con-
frmatiOn meant vigorous war on BoOdler
Dudley At this time Judge Woods again
took a hand. he intimated that no in
dictments signed by Bailey as district
attorney would be valid until The latter
had been confirmed by the senate. This
again stopped the work OF the grand jury
and more time was gained by Dudley and
his CO-conspirators-
The next step in the progress of the
conspiracy was the arrival OF Quay and
his consultation with Harrison lmmedi-
ately after Quay's visit, repeated confer
ences were held between Woods, Harrison
and Law Partner Miller, the results OF
which are now manifest
The holiday recess was extended until
last Monday, on the ground that a term
of court was necessary at Evansvi le
Thus. By Judge Woods action, more time
was gained for the election corrupters.
just before the holiday recess the grand
Jury asked for further instructions re-
garding the Dudley case, which Judge
Woods refused 10 give, intimating that he
had no further instructions to cOmmuni-
cate. After this announcement he was
heard TO remark: eli they indict Dudley
they must do it on Their own responsible
lJF. 1leH SuOulueIs arc DTOdueT Iudu
mine, anyhow"
Then followed an animated cor
respondence between Judge Woods and
high judicial authority looking to the de-
feat of Bailey's appointment This was
accomplished, and the cOnspirators were
happy till Judge Claypool was nominated
by the president and then appointed, ad
interim, by Justice Harlan. This was a
blow to the cOnspirators. They had one
and all Endorsed Judge Claypool's ability
and integrity in the past, and they could
not, without advertising their motives to
the world, oppose him as district-attorney
1t was understood that evidence sufficient
had been secured to indict Dudley under
Judge Woods pre- IiOus instructions, even
TO the name of a man who received Dud-
ley's letter. Every lOophOle tor Dudley's
escape left open by the original instruc-
tons to the grand jury had been stopped,
and it was evident that nothing but the
interpositiOn of Judge Woods could save
him from Indictment. All possible excuse
for further delay had been exhausted.
Ruin stared the eOnspirators in the face.
If Dudley was indicted he would tell ali
he knew. His revelations would be dis
astrOus.
In this emergency but one man stood
| between Dudley and the penitentiary,
Harrison and disgrace, and the republican
marty and frrpt ripVahip min