New Britain herald., 1929-11-29
ELECTRIC SCANDAL
 BEHIND CLEANUP
300 Indictments Made in Gary,
 lndy Liquor Ring Case
By BRUCE CAPTION

Copyright, 1929. NEA Service, Incl
 Gary, Ind, Nov. 29-Some 300 men in and about Gary have been indicted for violating the prohiJi- tion law.
 Back of this fact and surrounding 1t to this day, lies one of the most amazing political messes ever uncor- cred in this country
 Graft, intrigue, crookcdncss ant violence are mixed inextricably .n the background of the Gary prohibi- ton indictments. The indictment O. .the 800 was only an incident in a dong story-a story that even today is far from being finished.
 There are. for instance, reputable citizens who will tell you that one result of these prohibition indict- .ments has been to help conceal the trial or a tangled confusion of gru't and corruption that has been threat eninE, for ten months, 10 get out into the open.
 Back of the liquor indictments lies one of the most sensational cleo ton fraud cases in political history. This scandal has been obscured by the prohibition indictments - and some say that this was intentional
 In the presidential campaign Of last summer the democrats had high hopes in northern Indiana. In 1925, Senator Jim Watson had been re- al ! af r.I \ Smith was expected to run like wildfire in the great Gary industrial district. County and state tickets were expected to run even better.
 Then came election day, and some peculiar happenings.
 In the 1924 election Lake couu- ty, which embraces the Gary dis trict, had cast q total vote of A. sos. On election day. 1928. the same county cast Sl,OS9 votes. The vote exceeded the polls of the combined democratic and republican county organizations, went far ahead Of the election commissioners esti- mates, and, it is charged, in one precinct was considerably higher than the total that the voting ma- chine installed there could possibly have registered in the 12-hour per- tod provided by law.
 In another precinct, where 510 votes had been cast in the primary. the republican poll had counted 9Q0 qualified election voters, and the election commission had estimated that 7So votes would be cast. The total vote, however, reached the amazing figure of 1123.
 In another precinct. where the clerks list showed 4g7 names of voters, there were 71S votes cast In another precinct 792 votes were cast although the clerks list showed but GG4 qualified voters.
 l There were lots of incidents like those; and when election day was over it was found that the county had gone republican by handsome majority.
 B This aroused some curiosity. War Ten Fairbanks. publisher Of the In Annapolis News, son of a former re- publican vice president, and a good rcpublican all his life, decided 70 look into it. He sent Robert A. a'ullc up 10 Gary to investigate.
 EH CT has been in Gary eyer silc and he has q satchclful of sens ional evidence.
 secured affidavit5 and state from scores of men who said s had been brought in from Chi & to vote inc republican ticket. GD man told of voting 35 times. 6 ole truckloads of negroes were | lght in from Chicago, housed Overnight in the Gary district, and marched to the polls to vote at S1 . head.
 curious things. He was told for instance, Of q conference in the fall Of 1926, just after the state election ,of that year.
 At that conference. it was said, Jake county politicians, an cmssary iof the Al Caponc gang (which hcII the liquor and vice privileges for d .akc Coun)N) and a prominent re- publican politician met in friendly discussion. The Lake county mon merc informed that because they 'had done their work so well at the rccont election. thc federal prohibi- tion authorities would not molost qualified Lake county liquor runners or liquor sellers,
 That was three years ago. Since then IL has been matter Of com mon knowledge that Lake county has been wide opou- flagrauIy so. Butler took his collection Of cyi- dence 70 Oliver Loomis, federal dis Trict attorney for tho Gary district. ,Iomis, former secretary to Senator Arthur Robinson Of Indiana, h1I 'bcen appoutcd district attorney by Senator Watson Of Indiana. He .promiscd 10 look into the matter. Last bring the grand jury cousid- .ered the evidence and reported that ,thero was not enough on which 10 .fndic', recommending that new wit s~ea4 be sought.