The Greenville journal. [volume] (Greenville, Ohio) 1850-1918, 1910-10-06
SWITCHING IN
HIGH LIFE
How CTeamer and DeHeHSe Each
Told On the OtheT.
CREAMER GETS EVEN LAST
Both Were Found to Have Uttered
False Vouchers: Harmon Carrying
One on the State Payroll and the
Other in the Campaign.

Retribution for q mean act is
sometimes spoken of as poetic jus.
tice." This observation Is lntroduc-
tory to a story of Switching" n high
political life.
1t was shown by testimony before
the Beatty probe committee that in
September, 1907, State Fire Marshal
David Staley Creamer, who by ex-
travagance, petty grating and notO-
riety In that Office, won promotion
to the position of state treasurer, had
made a complaint. He had written
Assistant Fire Marshal Jeff williams,
who had charge of eight southern
counties, criticising the amount OF
witness fees charged In cases In
which Chief Assistant Hamilton G.
DeWeese, chairman of the Demo
cratic speakers bureau durlng Har-
mons campaign, had helped him In
Ironton and Jackson. Williams re-
piled, so the testimony at the official
hearing shows, that the witness fees
paid none.
were paid by him, and that DeWeese
And yet DeWeese's vouchers
showed that he collected from the
state $36 witness fees as having been
paid by him in these cases.
When cvernor Harmon was inaug-
urated DeWeese was endorsed for
the fire marshal job by the state COM
mittee and nearly all Of the county
committees; indeed, no one else was
mentioned for the position.
Now DeWeese, although holding .
position under Creamer, mad declined
to aid him when Creamer, two days
before the convention, announced his
candidacy for the nomination for
treasurer of state.
So Creamer took the facts about
the witess fees to the governor and
supported them with the letter from
Williams. Because of this informa-
tion furnished by Creamer, the gov.
ernor refused to appoint DeWeese
fire marshal. DeWeese told this to
several persons about the time Zuber
was given the place, and the facts
were developed in sworn testimony
before the Beatty probe committee.
Retribution for the Snitcher
(Creamer): When provision was
made for probing the fire marshaPs
department DeWeese sent InfOrWHa-
tion to the Beatty committee that
David st. creamSr had collected from
the state his expenses to Democratic
conventions.
The committee learned the dates
of two conventions in the Sixteenth
district and found that creamer had
signed a voucher ($17.55) for three
days travel and hotel at seIIaire
covering the date of the county con.
ventIon at st. cIairsviIIe, which he
attended.
At the time Of the congressional
convention at SteubenViIle he
charged expenses ($14.s5) to RcIIaIrs
and Wheeling. Under examination
by Senator Deaton he admitted that
he went to both conventions and that
$500 charged in his voucher for hotel
at BeIIa.re on April 2sth was spent
while at SteubenviIIe
And SO the pot proved the kettle
black.
And then Creamer proceeded to get
even. With two men employed by
him in the fire marshal's Office he
went before the grand jury to testify
against DeWeese-and the latter is
now under indictment for uttsrinE a
false voucher.
Creamer, the Democrat, Is still
protecting" state money under the
will Of ohIo:s voters; DeWeese, the
Democrat, Is still protecting money
savers by inspecting building and loan
banks under appointment by Ohis's
governor, and Mark Slater, the Re-
publican, Is working out a penrtsn-
tiary sentence for uttering !. 2 5faise
voucher just as Creamer did.
Crsamer saved himself by taking
an Immunity" bath before the probo
committee.