The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-11-10
THE POWER BEHIND


Will the people of this State be satisfied until
some power has solved of the big mysteries OF
the present investigation of the Stephenson graft
charges?
That mystery is the identity of the power which
gives such assurance that witness after witness may
haunt the power of this grand jury. saunter back
at WILL and with great bravado defy the courts to
make them tell where they have been the reasons
for their disappearance.
First it was girl who left the home of her par
ents and if their evidence be true, left no address
The girl lives at home. Ordinarily it might be
expected that parents would be alarmed by such an
absence.
Most parents would call upon the police or detec-
tives to discover what had become of her. In these
days of morons and unrestraned crime against girls,
the usual procedure would be cry for help.
But theer was such appeal until the grand
Jury had taken her mother to court and then sent
out the appeal for the daughter to come back and
relieve her mother from unpleasant experiences with
the jury
1t now develops that this girl, presumed to be the
confdant and custodian of the Stephenson documents
had deliberately absented herself from the State
when the jury took up the search.
Then went Julian, the business partner of Ste
phenson who appeals to the court to save him from
answering questions on the ground that he fears
Julian, according to the testimony of his wife,
was away for a month without sending any word
Of his whereabouts giving any reason for his
absence.
He is not only a husband but the father of small
children and under ordinary conditions there might
have been expected some anxiety for the missing
man.
True, he had been shown such unusual consid-
Grafton by the keeper of Stephenson that perhaps
those who would have been concerned by his dis
appearance believed that some special divinity pro-
tected him and followed him wherever he went.
He was gone for four weeks and then returned
in the company of lawyer with whom he had visited
Stephenson in his cell. the only private citizen al
lowed to see Stephenson since his letters proclaim
ing that he had documentary evidence of grave
crimes In his possession and protested that he was
being jobbed and betrayed by his former friends.
And goes a third another woman who is
presumed to have had at some time a power Of at
torney for Stephenson-a wife Of a year-and her
husband says that he knows nothing of her where
abouts or the reason for her disappearance
They happen too often to be without significance,
these disappearance of persons who at some time
admit they had the confidence of Stephenson and
possession of boxes presumed to contain something.
They have too much assurance these disappear
ing persons, to permit the belief that they in
fear.
They have too much the attitude of absolute pro-
lection to admit any theory except
That is that behind these tag-paying witnesses
is power great enough in this State to give them
assurance when they faunt the power of the State
and act in manner which u.s. at least, strange and
unusual
And when they talk at all 1t is only to prove that
Stephenson has boxes of something which he thinks
valuable that they passed along and hidden.
Circumstances prove, as nothing else could prove,
the truth of the statement that this convict who
ruled this State and made and unmade government
for 1t does have documents
They prove that there is some mighty force in
this State which is powerful enough to send girl
from her home, husband from his wife and chill
dren, wife from her husband-and which is in
terested in keeping those documents from the grand
jury
Will the people of this State rest until that force
and power be disclosed and the reasons for these
strange occurrences revealed in their relations to the
government of this State?
Will the Legislature, soon to meet consider 1t
has any higher duty to perform than to discover who
it is that force defiance of orderly processes of
government?
OF what use to pass laws If there those who
set them aside at will?
There is a task ahead and it is to discover not
only what every witness called by the local grand
jury may know but who it is that drive or force
otherwise influence and two to
conveniently disappear without fear the part of
those close and to them.
And that task will be fulfilled The Times pledges
itself to its readers and the public.