The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-07-25
The Time Is Here


Indiana deserves better than it has had.
It deserves better reputation abroad 1t de-
serves better government at home
Most of all it deserves public ownership of public
Offices
Finally after months of obstruction and hindrance
! the revelation of stephensonsm is being made
Finally the letters which this former head OF
the Khan who made himself the political dictator OF
Indiana are in the hands of the public prosecutors
They must, of course, be made public, whether they
be evidence of crime not.
For the people are entitled to know with whom
this man dealt and the terms he made, what steps
he took to kidnap political party and take over the
empire of Indiana.
The people are entitled to know what manner OF
men and what kind Of men they have had and may
still have in Office in this State.
Just as cancer can not be cured with talcum
powder the political ills of State can not be cured
except by major operations.
This State has suffered for years from its unsav-
ory politics which led up to the full towering IN
Stephensonsm.
The Times today prints one Of the hidden chap
tiers in recent political history. chapter which should
warn the people of the Importance OF owning their
own political offices.
II shows the manner in which machine Is built
aud how it expects to operates
THE Times prints this story after most complete
and exhaustive investigation and upon the authority
Il those whom it believes the public will believe
This story is printed to show the people OF this
state how they have been governed and now
their officials have been chosen Tor tnem' not ny
them ~
se1f-povernment becomes farce when political
bosses place such emphasis upon the contro Oh 'iie
key offices in prosecution OF crime
If the bosses want to control the ONCE OF prosecu-
tor they do so only because they expect to use that
office to protect themselves against prosecution.
Men who do not expect to violate laws do not
on IN unusual lengths to secure friendly occupant
of that Office.
Other offices are important to other men, the
State public service commission Is Important 10 tne
public utilities They try to control that prancn OF
government The machinery is important TO large
owners of property and they interest themselves IN
it's control.
And in the conflict and secret plottngs the man
or woman who wants nothing from government out
square deal lost and forgotten. He becomes the
victim and the prey of all the selfish and the greedy
At this time it may be profitable to again recal
the incidents If the months which have interviewed
since Stephenson sent from his prison cell the SNUG
gled letter that ne nao documentary piooA "a '
corruption in this State.
The reply of officials that he was trying to black
mail his way to liberty hardly fits the situation
Every effort was made to prevent him from talk
ing or disclosing whatever he had. At each attempt
: 4 strange and mysterious force closed his lips
For the first time in fifteen years prison rule
was enforced which prevented prisoner from talk
ing to newspaper men of the State.
Yet in his prison cell Stephenson was able TO
predict weeks in advance just what would be the re-
port of grand jury whose special prosecutors were
paid from the Governors contingent fund and not
only the report but the vote inside that jury.
The State suffered as much from the bad repute
occasioned by the attitude of officials it did from
the charges itself.
The Times believed then and believes now that the
bad reputation of this State came from the conduct
of its officials which convinced the people that many
had something they wished very much to hide
It was due to the efforts of The Times that finally
the prosecutors have in their possession these black
boxes and the Stephenson correspondence.
s For it was The Times which furnished the trail
to the first grand jury, the evidence that Stephenson
had documents which he considered so valuable that
( he had them photographed.
It was The Times which printed the $4,000 check
made by Stephenson to Ed Jackson, check which
had been rumored and which the Governor months
ago could have as easily explained by the story OF
the horse trade as he did finally when the original
check was produced and proved beyond any question
Ct doubt.
If men have only committed political indiscretions
cow is the time for frank and full admissions they
ait until the evidence produced they must further
md more deeply involve the State.
The time has come for full, quick and complete
,lean-up of the whole unsavory mess.
The time has come. perhaps. for designations and
certainly for confessions.
The State has suffered too long. The hour for the
scapel and the knife is at hand. The cancer must
be cut out not busted with sweet scented
powders
Indiana's Men On Horseback