The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-06-13
Anti-SalOon League Worker
Claims Prosecutor Failed
to Act to Safeguard Option
Election.
''Put Up or Shut Up" RetOrts
States Attorney to New
Attack of PrOhibitiOnist
Leader.

S. Edgar Nicholson, chairman OF
the dry committee in the recent OPP
ton campaign in this city, today made
another attack on Prosecutor Will
! Keller. in reply to that officials re-
Gently published signed statement
| calling upon Mr.. Nicholson to put up
or shut up in regard to his allega-
tionS of election frauds and unfair
treatment to the drys during the CAM
paign
Mr.. Nicholson in his latest verbal
attack on the prosecutor says the
state attorneys charge that Mr.. Mich
olson and other dry leaders desired
the prosecutor to use his office to pro-
mote the interests of the dry cause is
both an untruth and a Slander against
the members of the committee.
The chairman of the dry commit
tee concludes his statement that the
prosecutor has offered poor excuses
for his failure to act at critical
time in way that would in a large
part have safeguarded the purity Of
the election" so Mr.. Nicholson now
leaves him with the public to work
out the matter for Themselves
ReIier's Statement"
MIR. Keller again repeated today his
suggestion to Mr. Nicholson to put
up or shut up" In reference TO the
dry leaders second attack on him the
prosecutor made the following brief
statement:
Il see nothing in Mr.. Nicholsons
statement which justifies a detailed
reply from me The public now has
both sides and is intelligent enough
to draw its own conclusion. To carry
| the argument further we may soon be
debating whether Mr.. NicholsonS $
coat is black or dark blue. / have no
| quarrel with the drys or their COM
mittee
Il believe the public wants election
frauds prosecuted if there are any,
and | still make my former PROPOSE
ton to Mr. Nicholson-'put up his evil
dence or shut up
I'm regard to possible election law
violations this fall, / shall again try
not to allow my personal views to in
fluence my official acts. If any politi-
cal party violates the law, and if ! can
get authentic information on which to
prosecute, no immunity will be
shown. member of the Progressive
party will stand on the same basis as
Democrat. Republican or Socialist"
NichoIson's Statement.
S. r. Nicholson's second public
statement is as follows:
! To the Public and the County Prose
CutOr:
The county prosecutor takes some
columns OF newspaper space in order
TO confess to the truth of every word
said in my report 10 the citizens
committee on Tuesday evening, which
was merely final report on the local
option campaign. 1t will be quite ap-
parent to all that final report of the
chairman of the committee could not
have avoided giving the facts TO which
the prosecutor takes such serious OBJ
jectiOns. The chairman did not make
the record: the prosecutor made it,
His grievance is that the record had to
be revealed. His reasons for his action
are quite another matter and will re-
ceive attention further on in this
statement
There can be no personal issue be-
tween the county prosecutor and my
self. | do not have the honor of the
Sentleman's acquaintance. and | have
neither the time nor the disposition to
seek any personal controversy. al
Though | resent with emphasis his re-
peated COntemptible remarks about my
agents" and my attorney" and my
representatives. as though this were
my personal fight. That is an artful
dodge which the liquor interests al
ways practice in trying to make every
campaign mere personal affair. II
there is any issue between the prose-
CutOr and anybody. IL is between him
and that portion of our citizens who
believe il is the business of the prose,
cutting attorney TO enforce the laws
and not TO make excuses for his fail
ure to act.
Explains Stand.
All that | said as chairman of the
committee in my report. and all that |
meant to say was that on Friday and
Saturday before the election. the prose
cutor was notified that several affida-
Wits were ready to be made charging
fraud and violations of the law" and
that he tthe prosecutorD refused to
agree TO accept these affidavits and
approve them to the court. juStifying
his course with the statement that
after the election the grand jury would
be called and an investigation made of
all matters under consideration"
] then stated that | had been ready
ever since then to give to the grand
jury the names of persons who have
been reported 10 have information con-
corning fraud and violations of the
law" | did not charge, as my report
W.T. show, that the prosecutor was to
blame for the failure to call grand
jury. | may say. however. that after
this promise was made to have a grand
jury called. | had not had until re-
Gently any doubt that one would be
called, and have waited patiently for
that action. | must now beg the prose
cutors pardon for presuming to sup
pose that he would have enough influ-
ence with the court to get grand jury
when he believed one was needed.
That is the only deduction | can get
from his statement
Did | falsify the record when I
stated that affidavits had been offered
the prosecutor before the election,
which he refused to accept for approx
al to the court? Let us see.
Cites Statement
On Monday, March %, the day pre-
ceding the local option election. and
two days after the time when / had