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The Searchlight
Published Every Saturday
—by the—
searchlighY PUBLISHING CO.
To insure attention, all communica
tions muSt be accompanied by the
real name of the writer, not necessa
rily for publication, but as a guaran
tee of good faith.
All communications should be plain
ly addressed: Yhe Searchlight, Savan
nah, (3a.
will not be responsible for the
views expressed by correspondents.
The Searchlight will be delivered
at one dollar for the campaign.
HATES OF ADVERTISING MADE
KNOWN ON APPLICATION.
■ ~t ■ - i ..
G. B. WHATLEY,
Editor and Publisher.
A PARTISAN PRESS,
Colonel G. Arthur Gordon in his
speech herein reported at length hand
ed to the reporters of both the Morn
ing News and the Savannah Press,
the report of the grand jury of Chat
ham county, dated May 21, 1901, which
appears at length in his speech, with
the request that both newspapers pub
lish it. i
We append hereto the full report of
Colonel Gordon’s speech as reported
by the Morning News. Are we not
justified ; n the claim that the press
of Savannah does not give our side
of the controversy?
The speakers were Col. G. Arthur
Gordon and Maj. Cann. Both gentle
men made rousing speeches, making
perhaps the most vigorous attacks up
on the administration and the adminis
tration's policies of any speakers dur
ing the present campaign.
Col. Gordon spoke first. He said it
is a good rule for a business man to
keep quiet. He had tried to adopt that
rule and adhere to it since the first
meeting of the People's League, but lie
had been prevailed upon by the presi
dent of the party to make a speech.
He preferred to direct his energies
along the line of the duty of the regis
tration committee of which he is an
active member. He said the spirit of
this cause is the same that inspired
the colonists to draw up the Declara
tion of Independence; that the tyranny
which now oppresses the ileopie is
called bossism.
Closing of Policy Shops.
■Colonel Gordon devoted much of his
speech to an attack on Solicitor Gen
eral W. W. Osborne, Gad D. Bryan,
Jr., John J. Garrity and James Mc-
Bride. He said the big gamblers
prosper at the expense of the little
ones, and said the big ones are treated
gently when they are punished at all,
•while the little one is made to pay
heavily. He took the solicitor general
to task for not originating prosecu
tions against proprietors of gaming
houses and policy shops, and declared
the policy shops had been closed only
because of the campaign of the oppo
sition. He said they would open again
if the administration crowd is not de
feated.
As an evidence of the power Col.
Gordon attributed to Gad Bryan he
quoted him as asserting recently: “If
anybody undertakes to indict me or
anybody connected with me I will kill
him.”
He said there is a public demand in
Savannah for the enforcement of law.
“A chaingang sentence would stop
gamhling in twenty minutes, ” Col.
Gordon asserted. He discussed the in
dictment several months ago of Bryan
and other gamblers and said but for
the fact that there was one witness
who was not before the grand jury
there would have been no convictions
as the other witnesses whose identity
were known were spirited away. Col.
Gordon, himself, accidently discover
ed the one witness, who was on his
vacation in Savannah, being a resi
dent of Philadelphia. Col. Gordon was
a member of the grand jury at the
time.
Strength of Opposition.
He expressed confidence that the
People’s League will be successful.
“We are so strong we can’t be defeat
ed by any desertions, or by any man
or combination of men who may op
pose us,” he said. He said his party
has a large following who are sup
posed to be allied with the Citizens’
Club. He replied to Hon. A. A. Law
rence’s criticisms of him.
The Machine and the
Public Service,
It has been said that the effect of
machine government is to subordinate
the public -welfare to private interest.
The people of this community have
had ample opportunity to test the
Queries for Administration Forces,
or the Citizens’ Bank.
What has become of the investiga
tion of the East Broad Street pave
ment?
What was a policeman’s uniform
doing in a bar room on West Broad
street with a gambling machine run
ning and participating in the game on
Friday last?
With a city detective participating
in a game of cards in a saloon on
West Broad street and a policeman in
uniform drinking at a counter on
Sunday, the 22nd, can the lid be con
sidered to be on; or has it blown
off again?
Does the city exchange belong to
the people or the officials holding of
fices therein? If not, why were the
newsboys selling The Searchlight on
'Saturday driven from the building?
Are they afraid of the truth.
Did any hai’bormaster prior to Mc-
Bride have an assistant? If not, why
should he have one?
How much time do the tax assess
ors give for the money they receive?
Is it not true that J. H. H. Osborne
does the work?
Were the tax assessors elected be
cause of their ability and knowledge
of the value of property, or because
of their political pull?
Have the Macon papers a reporter
in Savannah to report our local news?
Why should not the subscribers to
the Evening Press and Morning News
be able to get local news rather than
have to subscribe to the Macon pa
pers ?
Are men who take money for their
political null a class of people who
should hold public offices and handle
the taxpayers’ money?
If a city the size of Macon, Ga„
considers it to the public interest to
have a separate solicitor general for
the city and county courts, why would
it not he good for Savannah?
truth of this statement, for they have
lived for ihe past seven years under
the complete domination of a gross
political machine whose highest and
sole purpose has been to obtain the
spoils of office. Every element of ma
chine rule obtains in Savannah today;
a boss of the machine, a host of idle
office holders, a contemptuous disre
gard of lawful authority on the part
of those 'n office and the protection
of certain favored criminal classes
by the party in power.
It has manifested its pernicious in
fluence most powerfully in the dete
rioration in efficiency of the public ser
vice. This is most especially true in
the case of the police force. It has
appointed as the head of that body
a man whose sole qualification for the
position is that he has been and is an
active politician, a man whose capac
ity to command is doubted and has
never been tested, a man whose most
arduous duty appears to be an avoid
ance of the uniform of his corps and
for the most part consists in drawing
his salary. The moral and efficiency
of the police force under his admin
istration has steadily declined so much
so that one of the Citizens’ Club’s own
speakers has demanded his impeach
ment for a notorious dereliction of
duty. How can it be otherwise when
the Superintendent himself has testi
fied that he ordered the patrolmen not
to leave their arms in the lockers at
the barracks for the reason that they
were frequently stolen. How can ic
be otherwise when members of the
force are furloughed to engage in ac
tive political work or do so without
leave of absence. How can it be oth
erwise when appointment to this
blanch of the public service is made
as a rewa v d for political service ren
dered the machine and not on account
of the fitness of the individual to
pioperly discharge his duties as a
conservator of the peace? And finally
how can it be otherwise when we con-'
siaer that upon every occasion when
the political tenure of the machine
has been jeopardized, the police force
has been unscrupulously used at elec
tions to assault the voters of the op
position and to intimidate the private
citizen in the exercise of his right
of suffrage.
In other departments of the city’s
service, we find an equally deplorable
state of affairs. Everywhere the in
terest of (he public is subordinated to
the needs of the machine, which pays
its debts to its political heelers in
public offices which are bestowed
If the office of solicitor general pays
$15,000 per annum is this not an un
necessary tax upon the people? Couid
the office not be filled for $5,000 arid
thus save SIO,OOO to the taxpayers?
It looks like Stewart. This is in
keeping with the Citizens’ Club; use
a good man and then throw him
down.
If the Citizens’ Club throws Carson
down is it not retribution for allow
ing the use of his name?
Will the Citizens’ Club inform the
taxpayers how many additional places
they have promised to heelers? It
would not be fair to use all the in
come in this way.
If Enoch Hartley has a cinch on
a sergeant’s place, what are they go
ing to do with Woods and Sims? They
appear to have done valuable political
work.
Lookout for plenty of work just
before the primary. They must have
more votes even if the taxpayers do
pay for them.
W,liy talk about a family tree? it
looks like a whole orchard.
If the administration forces insist
that the lid is on, why is it that the
gambling rooms are still in full blast,
people being fleeced and their cases
reaching the hands of attorneys? An
swer this question.
(Harris street, extending from Whit
aker to Barnard, and the east side of
Barnard, from Harris to Liberty,
have been paved with shell. Were
these two blocks paved because the
heavy traffic demanded it, or because
Garfunkel lives on the northeast cor
ner of Harris and Barnard? Was any
body assessed for this paving?
We want to put the prosecuting
authorities on notice that Doc Ro
senthal conducts a gambling room
at 410* West Broad street. This is
the headquarters of the First District
Citizens.’ Club, of which John J. Gar
rity is president.
_ - ■
without regard to the character or
fitness of the appointee. It has final
ly come to the point, that pernicious
factional activity Irrespective of merit
is the sole criterion for appointment
to the public service.
Turn on the Search
light and let the
People See lor
Themselves.
Two high officials of the city, the
harbor master and the head of the
scavenger department,are self-confess
ed felons. They were caught red
handed in the act of fraudulent nat
uralization of aliens, and have plead
guilty. And yet in a community,
which is supposed to be civilized,
they srill retain their offices of prof
it and trust. It is a shameless and
degrading exhibition and the admin
istration that permits it ought not
to be tolerated by a self-respecting
public. The weak and insufficient
plea advanced by Alderman Oliver
has fooled nobody. It has never been
difficult for the administration to re
move an office holder when they de
sired; they have sometimes gone the
length of abolishing the office and cre
ating another under a different name
with the same duties. One of two
things is true —the mayor and alder
men have not got the moral courage
to perform their plain duty, or else
they are recklessly indifferent to pub
lic sentiment and decency. Are the
voters of Chatham county going to
stand for this? If a crime clearly
involving moral turpitude such as this
is permitted to stain the escutcheon
of public honor, then indeed it is high
time to remove the trust from the
hands in which it now reposes.
The mayor and aldermen must be
under some strange hypnotic spell.
When will they awake? These are
the cold hard facts in the matter.
Tlie grand jury of the United States
court made the following present
ment:
“May it please your Honor;
“It has been the duty of this grand
jury to examine a great number of
witnesses in the matter of naturaliza
tion in Chatham county, and it has
been shocked at the condition of af
fairs presented, striking as it does
at the very root of American citizen
ship.
“We would respectfully call the at
tention of the courts and their officers
in whose province it is to pass on
these matters, to the necessity for a
closer scrutiny in admitting aliens,
and a more careful examination of
the vouchers or witnesses therefor,
and thus avoid the breaking down of
one of the bulwarks of this country.
CHARLES ELLIS,
Foreman of Grand Jury.
Savannah, Ga., March 14, 1906.”
John J. Garrity was indicted March
14, 1906, for aiding and abetting the
fraudulent naturalization of Peter Ka
kenas, Anastosius Tassopulos, Christ
Mastroganopulos, George Alexander.
Chris Handrinos, James Conida, and
also for making a false oath and affi
davit in each case. There were six
indictments in all, one in each case.
On April 3, 1906, Garrity plead guilty
to the charge of aiding and abetting
the fraudulent naturalization of each
of the parties named, and the Dis
trict Attorney nolle prossed the charge
of making a false oath and affidavit in
each ease. If Garrity aided and abet
ted the fraudulent naturalization and
confessed, the other charge that he
made a false oatth and affidavit were
necessarily true because in each case
the oath and affidavit on which the
naturalization was procured is signed
in his hand.
James Mcßride was indicted March
14, 1906, for making a false oath and
affidavit and for aiding and abetting
the fraudulent naturalization of John
Rajola and Pero Alamaras; plead
guilty oil April 3rd, 1906, to the
charge of aiding and abetting the
fraudulent naturalization of these
parties. As in the indictments against
Garrity, the charge that he made a
false oath and affidavit in each case
is necessarily true because the affi
davit which was the foundation of
the naturalization was signed in Mc-
Bride’s hand.
Mcßride was also indicted and
plead guilty to aiding and abetting the
fraudulent naturalization of Peter
Jamicos, George Astarita, Antonio Ma
nos, John G. Gorgopulos, Chris Mont
sopoulo. This makes seven indict
ments to which Mcßride plead guilty.
The following worthies #ave been
indicted, but not yet tried: N. K. Pap
padeas, Paul H. Broome, L. K. Pap
padeas, G. P. Capitan, George Chris
topher, James A. Woods, B. O. Rog
ors.
Mcßride and Garrity were each sen
tenced to pay a fine of one thousand
dollars and costs, and serve a number
of years in federal prison, but the
latter part of the sentence was sus
pended during good behavior.
The facts are clear and undisputed.
The duty of the administration is
equally clear. But they will not act,
they do not dare to act. John Garri
ty and James Mcßride are a larger
political power in this town than the
twelve aldermen and the mayor. And
they know it. Hence the question the
voters must ask themselves is, shall
we be dominated by this element?
Without regard to whom their success
ors will be, this question ought to be
easily solved by the voters.
One more thought; all of these facts
appeared in the public journals of
the city. But not one word of edi
torial criticism or condemnation. Such
an atrocious assault upon the elective
franchise couid not have occurred in
another city in the American Union
without a stinging rebuke from the
local press. But here we are political
ly atrophied.
MATTER NOW UP TO JEROME.
New York April Grand Jury Failed to Act on
Insurance bcandals.
The New York grand jury for Apul
upon the completion of its term Mon
day, returned a presentment to Re
corder Gross, in which it declared that
it had failed to investigate political
contributions by insurance officials be
cause District Attorney Jerome had ad
vised the jury not to do so. The jury
stated that it had asked Mr. Jerome
for evidence, and that he had opposed
action because he desired first to se
cure an opinion from the appellate di
vision of the supreme court on the
auestion of larceny.
BEARS CREATE PANDEMONIUM.
Sensational and Record Breaking Selling
on New York Exchange.
Not since the Northern Pacific pan
ic of May 9, 1901, has there been such
a spectacular decline in prices on the
stock exchange as there was at New
York Wednesday. Heavy selling, al
most regardless of the prices offered,
began with the opening of the mar
ket and from that time until near
the close the tone generally was weak.
The day’s trading was extremely
heavy, rising to the total of 2,445,000
shares. Nearly 700,000 shares of
stock changed hands in the first hour
CROP FIGURING
IS GUESS WORK
According to Opinions Expressed by
Prominent Cotton Man*
DENOUNCE PRESENT PLAN
Summary of Proceedings of the Inter
national Convention Held in
Washington.
t
After denouncing the government
crop reports and more particularly
th® reports of the department of agri
culture aud passing a resolution
strongly advocating that the statisti
cal year should run from August 1
to August 1 instead of from Septem
ber to September 1, the International
cotton conference adjourned at Wash
ington Wednesday to reassemble next
year should it be deemed advisable
by the various organizations to do
so. It was found that the delegates
were not clothed with sufficient au
thority to effect a permanent organiza
tion.
When The subject of governmental
crop reports came up, President Mac-
Coil spoke in commendation of the
census bureau work, but felt thaf
some radical changes in the methods
of the agricultural department should
be Numerous delegates strong
ly condemned them. D. A. Tompkini
of North Carolina characterized them
as “a complicated system of guess
ing,” while another southern grower
denounced them as “a speculative
football.’’
Various remedies were suggested,
but as no delegates seemed able to
agree on a satisfactory plan the
whole subject was laid on the table.
President Mac Coll expressed the
hope that henceforth there will be a
closer bond of union “between the
north and south and between Amer
ica and Europe In all that pertains to
cotton growing and manufacturing.”
Another topic of discussion was the
marketing of the product, which em
braced the questions of warehousing,
stability of price and relations be
tween growers and manufacturers.
A. E. Calvin, president of the Farm
ers’ Educational and Co-Operative
Union, declared that it long had been
the dream of the cotton grower to
abolish all intermediate agents who
levy toll unnecessarily on the prod
uct on its journey from the field to
the factory. The grower, he said, is
the constant and persistent foe of alt
forms and methods of cotton gamb
ling.
He declared that the south was so
completely able to supply the world
with cotton that, wdth a proper under
standing with the manufacturers,
there would he no necessity for con
ducting experiments in Africa and
elsewhere. Direct relations between
the growlers and manufacturers was
strongly urged.
In the discussion which followed
the proposition was laid down by the
spinners and manufacturers that if
the farmers and business interests of
the south will build warehouses, store
cotton, finance it and put the product
ir charge of expert cotton men to
handle it and practically be the me
dium of doing the selling, they will
do business on that basis.
The report of the committee on bal
ing, ginning and handling of Amer
ican cotton was received and adopted
unanimously. The report recommend
ed the following:
“1. That all bales be made of stan
dard dimensions.
“2. That light, weight new burlaps
be used for bagging, or if conditions
justify, that cotton canvas be used.
“3. That 10 ties be used on all bales,
with the Egyptian style of buckles
preferred.
“4. That all cotton should h»
bought an! sold net weight.
“5. That a committee be appoint
ed whose duty it shall be to have cot
ton baled as above and to submit the
same for practical test to consum
ers.”
GOOD POWDER AND LEAD WASTED.
Woman Shoots Husband Who fiendishly
Assaulted Own Oauqhter.
George Fogle of Brooklyn Heights,
Md., returned to his- home Monday
night after he had been drinking, and,
entering a room where his wife and
12-year-old daughter were in bed, drew
a revolver and announced that he
would shoot upon being interfered
with.
Fogle then threvv his wife to the
floor and assaulted his daughter. Mrs.
Fogle secured the revolver and fired
five shots at her husband, killing him
instantly.