The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1913-07-11
COX HEARS STORY
Of GROSS FRAUDS
Newark Young Man Tells All,
Says OhIO's GOvernOr-New
Names Are Involved.

FORMER City officials Of CleveIano
Accused Of Completely In the Refer
endum Frauds-Names Signed to
Petition In Hotel Room In colum.
bus by Direction of Men Who Paid
For the Work.
Columbus, o., July 1O.-"The young
man has told us all We may have TO
build an addition to the prison to ac.
commodate them ALL" said Governor
Cox, after listening to a story of
frauds perpetrated in getting sigma.
lures to the workmens compensation
law referendum petition, as told by
Ralph E. Lipscomb and his cousin, ].
Harry Wheeler, who we're brought
mere from Newark and were person.
ally examined by the governor and
other state officers in the office of
Secretary Of State Graves.
New names we're involved in the
probe as the result of the Lipscomb
confession. Governor Cox accused of
completely in the alleged frauds two
officers Of the Cleveland city admin.
istration Of Former Mayor Baehr
They are Charles F. Kibler. former
sealer Of weights and measures, and
Andy Lea, former director of public
service Before receiving this appoint.
ment in a Republican administration
Mr.. Lea had been elected county sur.
veyor as Democrat.
The confessions obtained from the
Newark men also tended to connect
Walter B. Vincent of Cincinnati, un.
der arrest here, as one of the trio
charged with securing false sigma.
lures.
Governor Cox also heard from Gin.
cinnati news Of the first effect Of the
fraud disclosures. This was that the
proposal to initiate a constitutional
amendment for the classification of |
property for taxation had been aban.
doned. Bankers and business men
who were backing this proposal have
decided the muss kicked up about |
manufactured signatures has brought |
the entire initiative and referendum |
system into such temporary disrepute
as to make it inadvisable to try to
make use of it this year.
Lipscomb's Story.
To the governor, Attorney General |
Hogan, Secretary of State Graves, AS.
sistant Secretary of State Secrest,
State Chairman William L. Finley,
Assistant Attorney General Dempsey,
Special Counsel Charles G. Marshall
and City Solicitor Roderic Jones OF
Newark, Lipscomb told of the meth.
ods used to get signatures with as lit.
tie work as possible and without con.
sulting the wishes of the "signers."
He told Of men sitting in hotel room
in Columbus and filing in names on
blanks by direction of the men who
were paying them. He said the petit
tions were thumb-marked and rubbed
after the men had soiled their fingers
to give the appearance of having
been carried about and handled by
people. He said the men
ioked about the frauds.
Lipscomb said he failed to get sig.
natures in Fayette county and came
here, where he met Vincent, who ex.
planned to him how signatures were
from poll books, registration
lists, city directories and telephone
directories. Vincent had told him, he
claimed, that it was a good plan to
smear coal dust over the petitions
from the mining districts.
Some Fine Work.
According to Lipscomb, men In
charge of the work went to the trou-
Die of using assumed names. He said i,
ne received a telephone message
while at Mt. Vernon that Mr. Smith |
would meet him and get his petitions,
1ut the man described to him as Smith i
.urned out, he said, to be Andy Lea. a
He said Ilibler had headquarters at $
Covington for work in Ohio river I:
owns and had his mail sent to 1910 !
Scott street, Covington.
1t developed that on the Hamilton
county petitions the names Of men I
who secured the signatures were not
signed to the affidavit certifying tho
of the signatures, but
,ther names had been written illegi. G
,ly over the original name.
An arrest in Cincinnati is looked
or; also one at Newark because Of {
he discovery that there is no such c
person as D. D. Ashcraft, who appar t
,ntly swore to the authenticity of sig. C
natures on one paner.