The Morning Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Okla.) 1919-1927, 1921-07-23
ruE SHAME or ILLINOIS.

The state ~ Illinois is having its day iu court
with vengeance. Ils governor and various
other state officials past or proscut hnyc been
Indicted Tor bctraylug tho propl,s interests.
And now the governor is refusing to rccoruIlo
the action OF the grand jury and the pro,cses
ot the courts on the ground that no ls Immune
from arrest and prosecution while he ls gov
ornor ~ the commonwealth
while 1t would be an improprIcty TO assume
Governor Small guilty or tho offon,c charged
merely because no has bccn indicted. thcro ap-
pears To- he such little dispute concerning the
essential facts that editorial observations In
advance Of the actual trial are permitted. 1t
socms that while holding office "a number Of
the S,ato officials OF Illinois organized n new
bank with which they placed the state funds
at per cent interest. Tho bank roloanod tho
money In largo quantities to two OF the great
packing concerns OF the nation.
II appears that the state realized II pront
from this transaction Of 5000, 900. while the
state officials, ns ownorB Of tho bank. realized
profit Of 100000. II aao appears that these
facts In the main are agreed 10 by both sides
the ex-officals of whom tho present governor
Of the state, Len Small was and ls the most dis
tinguishcd. vohemontly contcndng that no law
was violated and no wrong done.
1t is an amazing doctrine, to be aure--thnt n
sworn and bonded official of IA commonwealth
may with umpunity avail himself of the op-
portunlty to uso that commemorative money
to mako fortune for himself. providing he
does not appropriate any OF the principal. 1t
speaks In clarion tones OF the depths to which
conscience has fallen II IL tho doctrine
which all legal graft" s based. And It IL legal
graft rather than Illegal graft that has been
and IN tho of public loss. This s evi-
denccd by the various congressional invcstiga-
tions into hoard activities, which in prac-
tlcaly every charge proflgacy and i'm
proprcty rather than crlmlnality.
what boot, It whether the public is robbed
legally" by n band OF crlmluals2 The loss Ii
the same, And tho effect the public service
vastly more runous in the one case than in tho
other. Bccausc the precedent, once established,
becomes II standing invitation for emulation,
Governor Small standing on his constitutional
rights, II they are constitutional rights, cuts
sorry figure. Ills case should serve to call tho
attention or the public to the danger In thoso
rights which render immune from arrest ana
prosecution men ir high station No man In
a republic should be immune from the orderly
processes Of tho courts In casca whore n felony
has been committed, THAT they are in most
cases Immune, is part OF the anclont ana al
together dlscrcdtcd doctrine that tho king can
do wrong.
shameful az tho Illinois is II would ho
dangerous folly for any newspaper to assume
for lta own commonwealth a holior-than-thou
attitude by pointing the finger OF scorn Mt IL
uuols The suspicion ia strong that a Disagree
mont among tho large political and financial
figures Of Illinois has permitted tho public TO
discover conditions IN that state which are
common n mot the ruIc, IA other states.
We l,u tnnt mos, Of us are living In glass
houses. tn,..rur, stono throwing is not I'm order
Tho b.st $50 rN4 do ia 90 wait with deep inter-
est the unfolding OF ou the phases OF this
Iunou c,s. .u the hope chat Justice win be
done.