The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-08-28
Woman Who Purified the
Graft-ridden City of West
Hammond a Most Enter
tanning Speaker,
HELD HER AUDIENCE
IN HYPNOTIC SPELL
Professor Ross Defends Di-
vorce and Ballots for Wom-
en- in His Address Before
the Teachers.
BY ESTHER GRIFFIN WHITE.

6f 6S H6h GhtffiN WHITE.
Il am fortunate to get here at all.
The licenses of the dives have been
revoked and they are after my scalp"
said Miss Virginia Brooks, in her in
PRODUCTION to How l Cleaned Up West
Hammond" at the chautauqua last
evening.
Miss Brooks's most recent achieve
ment in this small city of Illinois.
which is a suburb of Hammond, In
diana, and which she has made as
famous as herself in her effort to rid
1t of graft-ridden bossism, is the sue
cessful effort in getting the licenses of
the dives. which have long made that
community a byword, revoked.
Miss Brooks was handicapped last
evening.
Through illness and the exciting
complications attendant upon this Of
fetal action in West Hammond, which
prevented her from reaching this city
until within a few moments of the
hour for her appearance.
Miss Brooks informed a Palladium
representative that in order to leave
| town unnoticed she sent her suitcase
to the station by a roundabout way
and herself left by the rear entrance.
This because, If her departure was
noted, the town would at once be
rife with rumors that she had at last
been run out and instant action be
inaugurated to nullify the effect Of
her most recent exploit, the order to
close the dives.
Held Her Audience.
Miss Brooks held her audience hyp-
notically last evening with the recital
of this extraordinary accomplishment.
| For its like is not known in the his
tories of communities of any land or
any time.
| That a young woman, a mere girl.
should rout the corrupt government
of a town, foot and horse. through her
own intrepid spirit and unfiagging
courage. seems incredible.
But its history is written in the
newspapers. and its brief recital was
made to a Richmond audience last
night.
Miss Brooks, who is but twenty
three years old, makes no pretense to
oratorical gifts and tells, in simple
language and manner, the story of her
success.
Her interest in West Hammond be
gan through investments made by her
father, a Chicago real estate dealer,
no longer living. who established a
sort of social settlement in this spot
and sent thither a small colony OF
Poles who were employed in the in.
dustries of Hammond, his purpose be
ing semi-philanthropic in that 1t gave
these foreigners an opportunity to live
in a rural environ and to accumulate
property of their own.
After her fathers death the com
munity fell into the hands of a Sc,
of boodlers, who recognizing it's pos
sibilities as a good thing" began q
system of Incorporation and plan OF
municipal procedure to suit their owr
purposes which were skinning the un
suspecting foreigners and enrichine
. their own pockets
This plan was working successfully
when Miss Brooks and her mother
were aroused over a twenty thousand
dollar assessment on property worth
about ten thousand.
They went to Hammond to investi
gate.
Were given no satisfaction
Saw the state of affairs
And removed to Hammond for resi-
dence with the intention of re-estab
fishing the community on the basis in
tended by Miss Brooks's father.
| The picture the speaker drew o.
these simple foreigners. emigrating Il
this country, the home of the fres
and the land of the brave" whose gov
ernment had appealed to their imagin
ations as an embodiment of theil
ideal of civic, social and religious free
| dom, where everybody had an equa
chance at decent and enjoyable living
| was moving.
And its parallel as effective-thes'
| people robbed and pillaged and abused
and oppressed by set of unscrupu
| lous highwaymen who operate unde
| the name of that law which is sympol
lied by our flag.
| West Hammond Typical.
In West Hammond. in short, wa
concentrated a set of conditions whicl
obtain. in greater or less degree, In tn.
average American community an,
which make our administration Of lo
cal affairs scandal and a nationa
shame.
Miss Brooks became a municipa
heroine.
II A sort of modern Joan Of Arc i
self-constituted leader of the munici
pal army toward civic emancipation
Continued on Page 0ghtl.