The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-09-10

city hall job; S. S. Sutton, Candy;
Lee Williams, Candy; Charles
Wheeler, lit N Talbot St., and
Claude A. Achey, GAL E. Thirty
| Third st.
Under Collins instructions, these
men turned to routine matters. After
time Deputy Prosecutor William
H. Sheaffer began asking the group
to take up the political inquiry.
Suddenly Collett resigned, giving
i'll health as the reason, and was
replaced by James F. Chamberlain,
1886 w. Thirtieth St. Soon after
ward Wheeler resigned, because of
advanced age, and j. P. Van Camp,
R. r. K, replaced him.
Bribery Is Charged
This jury just had gotten we'll
into the political probe when Juror
Achey announced that James E.
Armitage, brother of William H.
Armitage, one of Duvall's hackers
in the municipal campaign, had Of
fered him $4,000 and a city job if
he would vote against indictment of
Duvall.
Achey swore that Armitage had
told him there were two other jurors
who would Ego to bat" with him.
Armitage was tried for contempt
Of court, fined $500, and sentenced
to three months on Indiana State
Farm, which he has not yet served,
pending appeal moves.
Collins discharged the entire
grand jury, directing Remy to file
affidavits in the absence of a grand
jury.
Collins appointed John w. Holtz-
man and Emsley w. johnson as
special prosecutors and the inquiry
was resumed.
Affidavits Hit Duvall
These prosecutors on May II filed
seven affidavitS against Duvall, the
principal charge being that he failed
to list in his 1925 campaign expense
account a $4,000 contribution in
return for which Armitage was al
legged to have been promised the
privilege of naming several high city
appointees.
Duvall goes to trial on this charge
in Criminal Court Monday.
William G. Buser, the mayors
her-in-law, than city controller,
was named in one of Duvall indict-
ments, but is not involved in the
present case.
The prosecutors subsequently filed
affidavits charging Earl S. Garrett,
city market master, with collecting
excessive market stand fees and
City Purchasing Agent John j. Col
Inns with soliciting a $500 bride on
contract.
Things Start to Happen
Only July IL the present grand
jury took Office and things began
to happen at the Courthouse. There
was every appearance that the
grand jury meant business.
The transcript of the evidence
heard by former juries was studied
and then systematic interviewing of
old and new witnesses was begun.
On the day the grand jury started
work, The Times sprung new
bomb. 1t began publication of
thirty-one of Stephensons can
celled checks which it had obtained
and informed the grand jury and
prosecutors where they could obtain
more.
The first check was the famous
one for $4,000 from Stephenson to
Jackson, accompanied by a penciled
notation by Stephenson that it was
part of $4,000 ne had contributed
to Jackson's campaign fund.
jackson had not listed such con-
tributions from Stephenson in his
campaign expense account
The Horse Story Breaks
The Governor then issued his ia
nous explanation that the $4,000
was for a saddle horse and equip
ment which Stephenson had pur-
chased. 1t was learned that this
horse was 1.-THE Senator"
The man to whom Stephenson
had given 1.-THE Senator" as a gift
was found and declared that the
horse had choked to death on a
corn cob and by the widest stretch
could be valued at about $500. Jack
son stuck to the horse story.
With the Stephenson checks I'M
earthed, the way was paved for the
grand jury to obtain the great mass
of Stephenson correspondence
documents and other papers of the
period when he was "the law" in
Indiana
L. G. Julian of Evansville, who
has been before each of the grand
juries, turned over an automobile
load of Stephensons papers to spe-
cial Prosecutor johnson at a farm
near Washington, Ind.
McCray Charge Filed
The jury and prosecutors delved
into these a few days and then the
prosecuting staff, excepting Sheaffer,
went on vacation during August
The grand jury remained in SEES
sion during the month interviewing
witnesses internationally and study
ing the papers.
The prosecutors were all back by
Sept. 1.
Meanwhile, the jury had some
thing else to look into. On July Is, !
The Times had charged that in De-
cember, 1923, when William p.
Evans, son-in-law Of Warren T. Nc
Cray, then Governor, was about to
resign rather than help prosecute
McCray upon financial fraud indict-
ments, Governor jackson, then Seq
rotary of State, carried to McCray