Evening star., 1926-08-21
Continued from First Page.)

is said to be so strong that there is
fear on the part of some lest a boot
logger will expose his clientele in re-
taliation for the blows struck against
him since Mellett's murder.
prominent banker who contributed
81 900 toward the reward offered for
the apprehension Of Mellett's murder
erS became SO harasSed by anonymous
telephone calls and letters limiting
that if he didn't get out of the picture
he would be blackmailed for alleged
liquor deals, that he inserted a paid
advertisement in a local paper dar-
ing the bOotleggers and blackmailers
10 do their worst and prove that he
ever was involved in the purchase of
drop of liquor or that any of his en-
ployeS ever We're.
Recalls Saloon Era Crime.
On the other hand. Rev. DR.. D. w.
Merrell. head of the ministerial alli
ance Of Steubenville, now directing
the present efforts to clean up that
city, explained that while prohibition
undoubtedly is Il contributing factor
in the present trouble, it is not to be
unduly blamed. If it wasn't prohibi-
ton it would be something else, he ex-
plains.
The same condition existing in Steu-
benville today, he said, existed there
before prohibition in the days Of the
saloon. With the advent of prohibit
ton this condition was removed by a
reform movement, but the cycle since
then has been completed and it is time
for another reform,
Politics, a great American system
but one which seems to show signs of
decay in a number of spots, comes in
for it's share Of the blame for. the
present situations in Canton and other
cities. The machines of both parties
are we'll oiled and smoothrunning af-
fairs. When the people demand a re-
form mayor, the machine grinds out a
candidate who is pure as the driven
snow, and furnishes the people with
"a reform mayor. He is swept into Of
flee with the hallelujahs of the multi
tude
But the reform stops. In many
cases the mayor finds that those
really responsible for putting him in
office are not so anxious for reform
as they want the good people of the
town to believe. In many cases the
mayor inherits a police department
which has been functioning in a man.
ner satisfactory to the political chief
tains, and his hands are tied at the
outset.
Must Get Legal Proof
Under the law in most Of the cities
Il mayor cannot bring charges against
al police chief for acts committed be-
fore his administration began, and the
police chief in any case is entitled to
a fair hearing before the city Civil
Service Commission. This accounts
for the inability of some city councils
and mayors to get rid of their present
police officers held in suspicion. They
have no definite proof. Definite proof
is a difficult thing to secure.
The type of small-town office holder
in America is usually responsive to
pressure. Few of them seem to go
into office with the sole motive of
serving the people. Their political life
depends not so much upon the people,
but upon the functioning of the ma
chine. and this machine is often tied
up. in roundabout way perhaps,
with the more questionable elements
in the city. Steubenville has been put
ting in reform mayors one after the
other for many years, but there is yet
to be reform.
We've been fooled the people
cry, but they go no further. because
they don't know where to go.
Foreign Element Cited.
Nor is the political office holder
man of independent means. His office
usuallv furnishes his livelihood. The
pay is small and the temptation is
great. Steubenville'S mayor receives
5000 a month for directing the affairs
of a city which does an annual buSl-
ness of s1,000,00o.
The foreign element is another
problem complained of here In Can
ton and the industrial cities nearby.
These foreigners, it is asserted, are
not assimilateo by the great American
melting pot as some would nave us
believe. they float around on top like
dross, clinginC to Old World customs,
preferences and prejudices despite the
example set by the lily-white and red
blooded Americans in whose land they
live.
MANY of them discover that Amer
ica offers undreamed-of riches to
those who are clever enough TO vio-
late the law, and violating the law is
not such extraordinarily painful or
difficult work. The Americans solve
the problem by saying. "Oh. they are
foreigners" and the foreigners either
are left to shift for themselves or be-
come the tools of those who can use
them.
Bv far the most interesting thing
a bout the system which Mellett fought
and which the people Of Steubenville
few miles away are fighting is the
manner of its growth.
Way System Reaches Out.
AS described to ME, it may begin
with one patrolman who covers beat
in a tough neiShborhood and who
is given So a week not 10 look too
closely He finds it easy money and
demands the same fee from others.
IL, n Il raid is made from headqu;r-