The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-08-28
ADAMS co. SCANDAL
RELATED BY BLAIR
DISTINGUISHING Judge Was
Heard by 1000 People at
the Chautauqua.
~ ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

~ ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.
Judge Blair" said the Palladium
representative, "you understand that
I think you are perfectly charming
man and have nothing but the high
est respect for you. My paper re-
quested me to ask you a question
and it is professional, of course
WAS there any truth in those az
fidavits made by some men you had
disfranchised to the effect that you
had at previous periods purchased
their yotes?"
THAT question has been put to me
before" replied Judge Blair. MY an
swer is in print
HAS it been published?"
Not YETI
Where will it be published?"
I'm place where it can be read by
the whole world
1T was then, of course, mere
canard?"
Judge Blair smiled a half-smile, and
not an altogether unenigmatical half.
smile.
Il have been in politics." he replied.
ooh, see,' said the reporter.
To BE Magazine Article?
Since the story of the affidavits
made in March of this year has been
widely published and the subject of
much editorial comment, the inference
was that the Judges explanation
would appear in come leading maya
zine.
Judge Blair of Adams county, Ohio,
OF vote scandal fame, spoke to four
thousand people yesterday afternoon
and held his audience to the end. In
newspaper parlance the Judge had
good story" and he showed clever
mess in it's arrangement. His climax
came in the third act, SO to speak,
after the first and second acts had
been devoted to an explanation of the
family pedigree, and the anti-climax
was series of capital stories apro-
pos to the subject.
Judge Blair gave the impression of
being honest Whatever may or may
not have been his political sins in the
past, it is evident the Judge is being
good now.
A dramatic story it was and told
with fire and passion.
An elaborate and detailed history of
the antecedents of Adams County in
habitants was given. 1t was the pur-
pose of Judge Blair to show that, far
from being the uneducated rustics, ig-
norant and debased, as they have been
regarded by the country at large, this
impression having been given through
the reports made by careless news
paper men from abroad, uniformed
as to the character of the people Of
that section, they were more enlight-
ened and better educated than their
present or past contemporaries.
Neither were they ignorant foreign
ers said the speaker. "Out Of 1879 who
guilty, but two were foreign
ers, and they understood clearly and
could speak and write the English
language"
TIL fact was, said Judge Blair, that
no worse conditions existed in that
community than anywhere else
Not the Only County.
adams County is the only county
which has been able to cleanse ITSELF"
intimating that equally as reprehensi-
BILE conditions might exist right here
for all anybody knew. =.
Adams County was the great high
way through which poured all the civ
ilization of the Western country" said
Judge Blair and this was because of
its location on one of the chief road
ways of the day, over which all the
distinguished men from the North
West territory passed en- route to
Washington and the eastern cities. A
certain old tavern, famous for it's
cooking, was one of the stopping pla-
ces, all sorts of celebrities being en-
tertained in this hosiery, including
such men as Jackson and Clay.
The history of the politics of the
county was entered into. Settled orr
ginally by Virginians it was long the
stanch supporter of Jeffersonian prin-
ciples. On account of it's location pol
itics was such a common topic engen-
dered such activity in it's practice that
Ito be born in Adams County was to
be born a politician.
The deep-seated interest in educa-
tion was shown by the attendance of
six hundred school teachers at the