# Talk:George R. Dale

This review is transcluded from Talk:George R. Dale/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.
Nominator: Vigilantcosmicpenguin (talk · contribs) 04:35, 3 April 2025 (UTC)
Reviewer: Dumelow (talk · contribs) 14:16, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

Happy to look at this one - Dumelow (talk) 14:16, 13 October 2025 (UTC)

@Dumelow: Alright, I think I've addressed everything. Thanks for taking this review; your comments have certainly helped to improve this article. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Looks good, will pass this for GA - Dumelow (talk) 06:20, 17 October 2025 (UTC)


### 1. Well-written
Criteria: the prose is clear, concise, and understandable to an appropriately broad audience; spelling and grammar are correct;  and it complies with the Manual of Style guidelines for lead sections, layout, words to watch, fiction, and list incorporation.

Early and personal life
"George Reynolds Dale was born on February 5, 1867, in Monticello, Indiana, in White County."
Is the order "city, state, county" usual in US English?  It would be usual to do "city, county, nation" in British English at least
I originally did that with the intent of linking both "Monticello" and "White County" while following MOS:GEOLINK. However, you're right that city-county-state is more natural, so I've changed it to that and linked the second mention of "White County" instead. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
"Dale's grandfather, William Dale, had migrated to White County from Virginia"
Do we know if this was his grandfather on his mother or father's side?
The source doesn't explicitly say. I don't think it's necessary to specify, as readers can presume from the surname that he was the paternal grandfather. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Oh yeah, Doh! Good point - Dumelow (talk) 06:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
"Dale briefly worked at his father's law office.[2] He went to school in Monticello, dropping out of twelfth grade due to chronic headaches."
Did he work for his father before leaving school? I would link twelfth grade for international readers.
That's a good question. The cited source there (Frank 1977) says that Dale was sixteen when his father died, so he must have still been in high school when he worked for him. But Roll 1931 says Dale's father died in 1886, which means he was eighteen or nineteen. Frank 1977 must have assumed this took place while he was still in school, but without a source being more direct, I'll just leave it as it is. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
"he moved to Hartford City, Indiana, to work at his uncle's paper mill. "
Do we know if this was his father's brother/brother-in-law or his mother's?
I can find a source naming the uncle as Albert Reynolds, but I don't think this detail is necessary. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
OK, no problem - 06:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Publishing career
Early career
"Dale co-produced the Hartford City Press with Charles Wigmore."
Do we know what date from?
Found a source for this date. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
" After a dispute with Wigmore, Dale sold his stake the paper and moved to Montpelier, Indiana, where he founded the Montpelier Call.   He returned to Hartford City and established the Journal."
Missing "in" after "stake"
Again, can we date the foundations of these papers?  Did the Montpelier Call close when he moved back to Hartford?
Found a source for these dates. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Yes, the new details are great here - Dumelow (talk) 06:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
"Interest in his newspaper declined"
Presumably this is referring to the Journal?  If so, I would name it here.
Done.
"He moved to Muncie, Indiana, in 1916 at the invitation of mayor Rollin Bunch and his brother, Fred.[5] The mayor, a member of the Democratic Party, was opposed to the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), which motivated him to establish a newspaper with Dale"
Again, did the journal close when he moved?
Specified.
"He cut ties with Bunch after the latter was imprisoned for mail fraud"
Do we know a date for this?
Specified
Establishment of the Muncie Post-Democrat
"His paper was the city's first to report on labor disputes, despite resistance from city's chamber of commerce and from the Ball brothers, who owned a jar company that was the city's largest employer"
I think there should be a "the" before "city's"?
Done
"Dale did not endorse Bunch as the Democratic candidate in the 1921 mayoral election due to a state law barring felons from public office"
If state law banned felons how did he stand as a candidate?
The source implies he was violating the law, so I've specified that. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
"Opponents of Dale said they would start an opposing newspaper; they founded the city's second Democratic newspaper in 1924, which shuttered the same year"
Do we know the name of this paper?
I can't find the name of this paper. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
OK, no problem - 06:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Opposition to the Ku Klux Klan
"He began to blame the KKK on the 1922 attack, although it had occurred before his KKK reports.[21]"
Doesn't read right to me.  Should it be "began to blame the 1922 attack on the KKK" or "began to blame the KKK for the 1922 attack"?
Fixed
Mayorship of John C. Hampton
"Federal agents raided Muncie bars in November 1927 without informing the mayor's office or police department, and their reports implied the mayor did little to enforce Prohibition."

Would be better linked to Prohibition in the United States and I would consider explicitly stating this was prohibition of the consumption of alcohol.
Done
Mayor of Muncie
"He then called for the resignation of the chair of the Muncie Democratic Party, J. Wilbur Sims; after he refused to resign, Dale's faction held an election for a rival chair"
Do we know the outcome of this election?  Did they replace Sims or was it for a separate position?
The source doesn't specify. I can find some contemporary newspapers saying that Sims refused to step down, but I might be missing something and can't conclude that that was the end of it—I think "rival chair" is enough detail for us. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
OK, no problem - Dumelow (talk) 06:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
"Ten council members, including six Democrats, generally sided against Dale ...  Dale generally had tepid support from a seven-seat majority of the council."
Seems a but contradictory to say the majority of the council generally sided against him but he also generally had tepid support from them?
The latter specifies "in the final two years". I've rewritten the former sentence to clarify that that part is about his initial years. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
Later life, death, and legacy
"When Dale left office, both of Muncie's Republican newspapers wrote that he had some positive contributions"
I think "had had" is needed here or "had made", also consider adding "during his term" to the end of the sentence
Done.
"Historians and sociologists have praised Dale's resistance of the KKK" and "Some scholars have credited Dale with limiting the political power of the Ball family"
May fall foul of MOS:AWW, consider attributing these opinions
Smith 2010 says, "These tales of the Klan’s retribution against Dale’s editorials have been repeated by sociologists, historians, and other writers." and Frank 1977 uses the phrase "some scholars have suggested", so this phrasing is accurate to the sources. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)
OK, not much we can do then - Dumelow (talk) 06:18, 17 October 2025 (UTC)


### 2. Verifiable with no original research
Criteria: it contains a list of all references (sources of information), presented in accordance with the layout style guideline; reliable sources are cited inline. All content that could reasonably be challenged, except for plot summaries and that which summarizes cited content elsewhere in the article, must be cited no later than the end of the paragraph (or line if the content is not in prose); it contains no original research; and it contains no copyright violations or plagiarism.

I am not familiar with all of the sources used but the appear to be reliable
Article is fully cited inline throughout
Spotchecks for verifiability:
"According to historian Carrolyle M. Frank, the existence of a political machine may have largely been Dale's invention." checks out to p35 of Frank 1977
"The aviation department was abolished after Johnson and other members resigned." checks out to Frank 1979, p. 329.
"The media also reported on gunshots at Dale's house in 1926, attributing this to the KKK. However, Dale blamed this attack on bootleggers, and the KKK's presence in Muncie had declined" checks out to Smith 2010, p. 389
"He described KKK members as "kookoos"," checks out to Madison 2020, p. 111.  Your citation and three others are to p.384, can you check if these should all be p.111?
Fixed the page number.
I didn't pick up any  overly close paraphrasing in my spotchecks and Earwig flags no issues (it's % score is skewed by the quotes, which are properly attributed in the article) - Dumelow (talk) 15:32, 16 October 2025 (UTC)


### 3. Broad in its coverage
Criteria: it addresses the main aspects of the topic; and it stays focused on the topic without going into unnecessary detail (see summary style).

I am not an expert on historic US politics but there was nothing obviously missing.  The level of detail looks to be appropriate for the topic - Dumelow (talk) 07:23, 16 October 2025 (UTC)


### 4. Neutral
Criteria: it represents viewpoints fairly and without editorial bias, giving due weight to each.

I think the article presents neutrally for what could be a contentious (though historic) topic - Dumelow (talk) 07:23, 16 October 2025 (UTC)


### 5. Stable
Criteria: it does not change significantly from day to day because of an ongoing edit war or content dispute.

Article has been expanded in March/April this year and no significant changes since.  No evidence of content disputes in history or talk page - Dumelow (talk) 07:23, 16 October 2025 (UTC)


### 6. Illustrated
Criteria: media are tagged with their copyright statuses, and valid non-free use rationales are provided for non-free content; and media are relevant to the topic, and have suitable captions.

File:George R. Dale in jail in 1926.jpg is stated as PD because it was published before 1930 in the US.  I couldn't identify a date of publication from the source page (which asserts it is still in copyright), only the year it was taken.  Can you confirm? - Dumelow (talk)
I think it can be assumed that 1926 was the date of publication (not the date of creation) if it's not specified otherwise. Since this is a photo by a commercial photographer, it can be presumed it made to be published. — Vigilant Cosmic Penguin 🐧 (talk | contribs) 01:49, 17 October 2025 (UTC)