The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-11-02
Admits Distributing Circu-
lars Assailing Church and
Candidates Running For
Office.
EXONERATES LEEDS
Willard Jessup, Item Report
er, Told Saturday by Albert
MOrel of Huckery's Activi-
ties.

TOllONl Ing Luc Charge ludue III Cuc
Evening Item Saturday night that r.
G. Leeds, editor of The Palladium, was
implicated in the preparation and dis
tributiOn of circulars, scattered about
the county last week in which vic
ious attack was made on the Catholic
church and political candidates affil-
lated with that church, including p. j.
Lynch, Republican congressional can
didate, a rigid investigation as to the
source of these anonymous circulars
was started.
AS result of this investigation Mr..
Leeds was completely eXonerated Of
the slanderous attack made upon him,
and it was established beyond a
shadow of a doubt that anti-Catholic
literature was sent to Richmond by
express from Terre Haute.
The author of the anti-Catholic liter
ature distributed in this community
has undoubtedly been guilty of a vio-
lation of the corrupt practices act so
the effort to establish his identity has
been particularly vigorous.
Admits Distributing.
In a signed statement today Fred
Huckery, I'll North Tenth street, a
railroad brakeman, admitted that he
had assisted in the distribution Of the
offensive literature.
Records at the office of local ex-
press company also show that a pack
age was received here from Terre
Haute over a week ago, and a tele-
gram from Terre Haute received this
afternoon states that the cOnsigner Of
the package was man who gave his
name as r. Brown, that the package
was secured by express employees from
one of the city offices but that an ef-
fort to locate Brown today was una
vailing.
Albert Morel, Republican candi-
! date for a county office, 1t was learned
today, informed Willard Jessup, an
Item reporter, that he had seen Huck-
cry distributing the circulars attack
ing the Catholic church and Mr.. Lynch
while in Greensboro last Thursday
night.
Huckery's Explanation.
Huckery in his statement says he
distributed these circulars in Green's
fork that night Asked where he re-
ceived the circulars. Huckery says IN
his statement, which was made in the
pIoS6ICe VI lOtdIy Pupll@ hoA y
was a stranger came to my front door
and asked me if I read The Menace.
l told him | did, and the yellow Jack
et," too, and he had these letters and
he wanted me to distribute them in
Richmond, and l wouldn't do it. And
then he wanted me to take bunch to
Greensboro to the doings of the X. OF
P. and the Odd Fellows dedicating
their hall. So l took the bunch and
went over"
"How many of the letters (meaning
circulars) did he give you?
"He gave me a pretty good bunch,
more than took to Greensboro
what did you do with the others
you didn't circulate in Greensboro ~
Describes Method.
Huckery then said he took them to
| certain up town hall. He said he
| took them there so any one could dis
| tribute them if they wanted to. Huck
| cry described the man who brought
| the circulars to his home as of average
heighth, about thirty years old and
| weighing about $50 pounds. Huckery
said he had never seen the man before
Huckery said he had been working
| here for "The Menace" and the "Yel
| low Jacket" both anti-Catholic publ
cations, that he had probably secured
one thousand subscriptions for the
former publication and thirty or forty
subscriptions for the other paper
| Lightly per cent of these subscriptions
We're obtained here, he said
! Huckery said that to the best of his
! knowledge neither the Progressive
party nor Mr.. Leeds were responsible
| for the circulation of these circulars
He said he had never heard Mr. Leeds
name mentioned in this connection
! and that he had seen Mr.. Leeds fo1
! the first time to know who he was
today.