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Show ?s&m UINTAII BASIN RECORD VIGILANTES WAR ON RURAL CRIME Loss From Farm Thefts Is Greater Than From Bank Robberies and Kidnaping in Illinois; Organize Vigilante Corps National Topes Interpreted by William Bruckart Washington, D, C. National Preaa BuildingA week or ten days Washington. ego, the name of Frank O. Lowden was scarcely whis-Draft pered aronnd where politicians foregathered. They talked abont the forthcoming Republican National convention and they mentioned Governor Landon of Kansas; CoL Frank Knox of Illinois; Senator Arthur Yandenberg of Michigan; and others, but never was the name of Lowden mentioned. In the short space of a fortnight, there has come first a whisper of the name of Lowden, then a mention of him as a possible Republican nominee and finally a full voice that approximates a draft Lowden Lowden movement. A few weeks ago I reported to you In these columns that the prospects were very good for the Re- publican National convention to to a dark horse. There was no name at that time upon which anyone could pin a prediction but there were circumstances, under- turn current In character, that seemed to point the way to the nomination of a man not then In the forefront of political prognostication. Of course, with the Republican convention delegates pledged and unpledged here, there, and everywhere, It Is possible for almost anything to happen but my Information Is that the leaders desire most of all to avoid a bitter battle. They wish to avoid the very thing which New Deal political strategists have been seeking to foment Only the final ballot will tell the story, of course, but It does appear at this time that the Republican leadership may display some good horse sense and seek to accomplish a nomination without splitting their party wide open. movement This draft Lowden has come on with almost startling suddenness, as I have Indicated above. It has resulted from the fact, apparently, that Mr. Lowden, while he was governor of Illinois a number of years ago and since that time, has built up for himself a record as a friend of agriculture. Thus, the strategy would seem to be that the Republican leadership is turning to a man who can give President Roosevelt a run for his money in the farm belt states. As far as I know, Mr. Lowden has not been consulted respecting the nomination. It would seem, however, that If he were nominated he would accept despite the fact that he has not sought the nomination in any way nor has he been very active In politics since he sought the nomination for President In 1020. It was on that occasion, It will be remembered, that he and the late Gen. Leonard Wood fought through Into a convention deadlock and Warren G. Ilarding of Ohio was nominated as a compromise candidate. It Is difficult to see how the conservative element In the Republican party could refuse to back Mr, Lowden and it Is equally difficult to see how the farm representation and the liberals in the. party could withhold their support when the Lowden farm record Is considered. But all of this represents subject matter that must await convention action because, after all, there are still other candidates who have blocks of delegates behind them and they may be unwilling to withdraw unless they are satisfied with the dark horse that finally trots out outo the convention platform. One hears more and more discus Sion In Washington these days of the tax muddle In To.x President Roosevelt has Muddle found himself. I think It Is fair to say that bis prestige has suffered considerably from the way his proposed tax in crease was handled and I think It Is the general consensus that this years tax bill was a proposition to which the President gave too little thought Sometime In the future, the history of the New Deal will be written In a clear and comprehensive manner. The story then will show In retrospect that w hlch we can hardly understand now the good and the bad In the bewildering adventures attempted under the policies of reform and recovery. I believe those who write that history will dwell upon the 1910 tax legislation os one of the Important political weaknesses developed by Mr. Roosevelt. As far as I know, there has never been a public official who has been entirely consistent at all times In his methods and policies. Mr. Roosevelt, being human, has been Inconsistent like all of the rest and there was no reason to expect that he would be the one exception despite the fact that some of his to. lowers maintain that he cannot make mistakes. But to link the tax legislation with the fact that Mr. Roosevelt Is human, let me call attention to the further fact that he has been bold, even daring, in many of bis which moves. Where his quick decisions have been sound, the country has been benefited. Where he has made mistakes by acting too quickly, bis spokesmen have sought that there were errors. to deny Now, the point is this: if Mr. Roosevelt had done as he has done on numerous ,a caslons, he could the Point have avoided the situation that has reacted unfavorably to him. It will be recalled that several times the President has tried out his theories on various governmental problems and has studied the popular reaction to bis trial balloons. He did not do this wdth the tax bill. He left the job of drafting the legislation to the treasury and the treasury, being populated with a number of men who have no conception whatsoever of business practices and care little for American traditions, produced a piece of legislation that would have forever prevented any business unit from saving funds to carry It through times of depression, the proverbial rainy day. In the discussions around Washington, it Is frequently stated that had Mr. Roosevelt taken his tax experts into a room and made them explain the character of the bill they were presenting, much of the difficulty would have been averted. But he did not use this foresight and the result is now history. He has alienated a considerable amount of congressional support that he ordinarily could have for the mere asking. As the tax legislation stands, It Is nothing more nor less than a makeshift boost In rates. It has added nothing at all to strengthen the nations general taxation policies. It seems to me that the time is ripe for a general study of the tax structure with the idea in mind that a wholesale revision should take place and that scientific methods should be employed. We must not forget that we have a national bildebt of more than thirty-onlions and that several other billions In securities are really to be counted In since those obligations are guaranteed by the United States. That debt must be paid eventually. It may be that all of the twenty-on- e billions In tax payments and borrowed money which Mr. Roosevelt has expended can be Justified In every respect. It may be that in future years the nation will be grateful that this era of extravagance Is a part of our history, but the fact still remains that when a government or an Individual borrows money, that money must be returned to those who hold the of the debt. re e evl-den- The civil service commission latehas compiled some statistics Indicating that the U. S. Pay merit system In Roll Grows the federal gov ernment Is being pushed aside at an alarming rate. The commissions figures show how every President since Arthur In 1SS3 has expanded the scope of the classified civil service during his administration until the administration of President Roosevelt. ' It would be a list much too long to record here how the number of employees of the federal government has Increased each year as the government has expanded but as a matter of history It struck me as Interesting to see how 41.5 per cent of employees of the federal government under President McKinley held their jobs under the civil service system and laws and how this percentage increased to G1.5 per cent under President Taft; to 72 per cent under President Wilson; to 79.8 per cent under Presidents Ilarding and Coolldge, and to SO.l per cent under President ly Hoover. By the end of June, 19,15, the number of civil service employees In the federal government amounted to only G9.3 per cent of the total number and, while the civil service commission has not tabulated tiie record for tills year, I understand reliably that the ratio will be about 57 per cent of the total. The total number of employees of the federal government hits grown consistently since the turn of the century when it stood at 25(5,000. In Tafts administration, the total ilsons was 870,000, President first administration employed 418,-(ii and then with the advent of the World war the government expanded Its personnel to Its highest point, HI 917, (HH). As the war agencies were liquidated, the number of employees declined obviously until during the Ilarding and Coolldge administrations the highest point readied wus 510.000. The Hoover administration numbered 581,(KH) on the pay rolls but the election of President Roosevelt immediately brought on greater numbers and by Jane 30, 1915, there were 719, (HIO on the federal pay roll and this number was further Increased to 8 0,000 at the end of March this year. ttorttern Neiiairr Union, By WILLIAM C. UTLEY "V T HO is Public Enemy No. 1? The kidnaper? The gang killer? The bank robber? The racketeer? Perhaps. At least it is these desperadoes whose spectacular exploits make the big headlines. Their ruthless and merciless work, often conducted right out in the open, is not infrequently touched up with a bit of showmanship which makes them the type of characters which fire the public imagination. The urgency for exercising every method within human means for apprehending these criminals is not to be minimized. But the very publicity, ascending' sometimes to outright ballyhoo in the enthusiasms of the more vigorous press, which attends their comings and goings, unfortunately overshadow's another type of public enemy, who works quietly and in most cases inconspicuously, but whose evil deeds are often of more serious consequence than those of his more spectacular brother In crime. The citizen who lives In rural areas or on the farms often entertains this Rural Public Enemy No. 1 In his own back yard without knowing it For this Is the common chicken thief. He and the others of his kind who steal horses, cattle, and farm produce and machinery are, collectively, far more Important to the farmer than all of the bank robbers In creation. Importance Is Unrealized. Chicken stealing is usually regarded as a low type of crime, perpetrated only by the small fry, the crime In other states. Inspector Saunders, working under Walter L. McLaughlin, state director of agriculture, and In close with press and radio, has served as the focal head for the campaign. Already It Is bearing fruit, for while the decrease In crime throughout the nation generally last year was 13 per cent, the decrease In Illinois was 40 per cent Especially In the last six months has the fight against rural crime proved to be a victorious one for justice. It began in Joliet, Will county, with a mast meeting in uhich more than gathered following the murder of youthful John Blwernicht, who went to investigate a suspicious car in the neighborhood of his employer's farm and was shot in cold blood. Eugene Shilcut, the negro uho hilled him, escaped, but was found later in Tennessee, shot to death by a bullet from a 22. Because Will county was the first openly to declare war on rural 1,000 farmers Illitransporting the cattle through nois to his farm near South Bend, Ind. Two women saw his truck at an oil station and the furtive manner of Its occupants aroused susname picion. The women copied the and address from the side of the ISNT often that heroes get the medals they deserve' ITbrave deeds, but heres one that did. lie is J0hn sentence? The monetary loss to farmers lust year in one state alone Illinois from chicken stealing and kindred rural crimes uas more than the loss of the entire nation from bank robberies and kidnapings, according to Ross C. Saunders, rural crime pretention inspector for the stale agriculture department. From the 231,000 farms of the stale, says Saunders, there were stolen 1200.000 chickens, 20,000 head of cattle and uncounted tools and implements. Other states have been subjected to enormous losses from what seems on the surface to be petty thievery. A survey conducted In Indiana by a farm magazine revealed that in a single year there were 5S0.1S5 head of poultry stolen, 2,122 hogs. 3.212 head of other livestock, 7,121 gallons of gasoline, 27,122 bushels of grain. There were 819 thefts of tools Stiff sM A, Ross C. Saunders, leader in Illinois model rural crime prevention campaign. and implements, IIS thefts of clothing, 997 thefts of goods and 2.253 miscellaneous thefts from farms. In Illinois chicken thefts, for ten years during which some sor of check has been maintained, have averaged about a million head of chickens annually ami 12,000 head of livestock. The situation, which reached a climax when a young man of Will county was brutally murdered while trjing to protect his employer against loss at the hands of thieves, called for action. Mass Meeting Start! It. Action that was taken In this state has proved so successful that now Illinois methods are serving as a model for the combat against rural the results of its meeting and organization were watched with Interest by the entire Middle West. The farmers of the county themselves were In a fever heat of Indignation against the three or four complaints of theft which had been made to authorities every night From evidence uncovered at this meeting and at meetings In other parts of the state it became apparent that rural thievery was not the work of Individuals, but of gangs. Often these gangs wrere led by seasoned criminals who had been driven from the cities by the efficient campaign against crime there. These leaders hired men to make systematic small thefts; the combined total of all of them was enough to stamp the new racket as important Cattle Rustling Returns. Even cattle rustling became big business to the gangs, although It was not, to be sure, the cattle rustling of tiie old West. In these days of smooth, concrete highways and trucks it is possible to steal a few head of cattle, load them onto a truck and move them across a state In a single night. Often the gangs worked in relays, one truck spiriting away the stolen animals and another waiting for tiie load to be transferred to it at the state line. Sometimes the gangs hideout was 300 or 400 miles away from the area where most of their thievery was perpetrated. Farmers, slow to awaken to the seriousness of the disappearance of their livestock and chickens a few head at a time, were often entirely unaware that their neighbors were experiencing similar losses. Small losses were seldom reported; farmers In some cases undoubtedly thought themselves fully capable of coping with a common chicken thief. Where It was actually discovered that the thefts were the work of gangs or of the more desperate type of criminal, farm families hesitated to report thefts for fear the burglars would return and sot their houses or farm buildcrime, dese - I tv. X, . Eyes Opened, Ears Peeled Definite instructions are given all farmers In the area. Farmers and their families are trained to he on the lookout for suspicious automobiles and suspicious-lookinstrangers and situations. When a theft is reported, tiie farmers Immediately report nny actions or persons of a suspicions nature that they nmy have observed at or near tiie time of tiie theft. More often than not tiie Information obtained leads to a solution of tiie crime. How tills works may be shown by a few examples; Recently a man was convicted of g cattle-stealin- In Iowa. He had been by tfwhlngti luck-- to Ilambnrg-Amerlca- Eugene Shilcut, chicken thief who slew Joliet (III.) youth and was later slain himself in Tennessee. truck. The result was an arrest, followed by conviction and the recovery of the cattle by tbe owner. A farmer near Chicago saw a car parked along the open highway for no apparent reason. He became suspicious, took down the license number and reported it. The result uvss the arrest of 28 chicken thieves who had operated as a gang and had stolen thousands of head of poultry in northern Illinois. Other Methods Help. Cases just like these can be rattled off by the hundreds. by all the farmers, a really simple thing to accomplish In areas where losses have been heavy, Is about all that Is needed. It has been shown that the gangs pull up stakes when the farmers unite against them. There are other methods which can be of great help. A large number of hen houses are now being equipped with burglar alarms which But even have proved effective. more Important is the Institution In each state of uniform registration of poultry and livestock. If It were required that some kind of Identification mark be put on the web of the wing of poultry and on the ear or some part of the body of animals that would be a protection. It is all too frequent an occurence that suspected criminals, uhen their cases come to trial, are of necessity acquitted because the complaining farmer has no way of positively identifying his poultry or his live stock. This branding can make such identification possible. A method has been developed In Illinois which seems to fill the bill and which will probably be adopted soon by the farmers of other states. The mark la quickly applied with a simple tool and the application Is fast-movin- g ings on fire. The ansuer seems now to be that in uriion there is strength. Thirty days after the If ill county farmers met and organized. Sheriff Breen was able to report that tluetery had stopped. How did these farmers efleet this efficient clean-uso swiftly? ( Brooklyn, N. Y., and if the reward is any criterion of the John must have done the most heroic act of the century He got, not just one medal, but two. And in presented with a gold watch and two life savin? cert it Now Ive got you wondering what a man could do to all that stuff for one act of heroism. Well, John just threw his life, thats all. He Just tossed it out on the waters-c- hj. It into the laps of the Fates. And it was nothing but dumb maybe an act of Providence that it came floating back It was September 9, 1922. The Lamport and Holt line steam. clid picked up an S 0 S call from the liner was 6 a. m. and a storm was raging In the Bay of Biscay, throng! e ) g hungry hobo or the wayward, minstrel-joke darkey. Often when the thief Is caught he Is sent on his way with a kick in the pants or is simply given a good scare. It Is not unusual to find the farmer he has attempted to burglarize protecting him from prosecution which might net him six months on a state penal farm, a sentence that might be regarded as a little stiff for just stealing a chicken or two. ' By FLOYD GIBBONS Famous Headline Hunter. In another case a suspicious-appearinman went to an oil station to buy gasoline at two oclock on a cold winter morning. His actions and general conversation didnt quite ring true. They were reported and Sheriff Clarence Roth of Champaign county caught several cattle and hog thieves as a result. This new method of identification is applied to the ear of livestock or under the web of the wing of poultry. It facilitates identification of stolen property and thus improves chances of convicting criminals. Six Men in a Boat' Nl'ADA tot M or ' hi Mexlc Vers n t to luk tb the Euclid was plowing Its way, but tbe S O S was urgent-t- he sinking rapidly and the Euclid was only a few hours run ordered the ship about and set the men who wereojj lowering all available Jacob's ladders over the side and making fc- - niiillo; jit with Mex of These y i stead! Stricken Ship Wallows in the Heavy Seas. John Garnish wa? a fireman on the Euclid. He was one of ti V.rS. jfctribu off duty and working on the Jacob's ladders. He saw the wlu trie pov from start to finish, and wound up by getting right Into the thick The Euclid reached the Harmonia at 9:30 a. m. after hav riant ra Sens indi fought its way through a sea that had seriously injured one the sailors. What a sight she was, says John. I have fee 'mug an ( tracker through the World war in the merchant marine have sne i for tl oil watched have sunk burst and tankers into torpedoed to the of bottom. But the Harmonia the convoy and go out one ship Ill never forget. As we approached her, she was lying on her starboard side In the water. The lifeboats on her port side were uselns count of the list Of the starboard boats, only a few had been able away because of the heavy sea. We saw dozens of corpses floats: water. But the storm made It impossible for us to lower our own We could only stand by and wait Craven Crew Seeks Refuge in Life Boats. "A lifeboat from the Harmonia came toward us, and our slip? that It was filled with members of the crew. He ordered them to g t dr e tha s ie jjara city, troi K jbieck I Pa'r st an for italic thl 4 a ns L of tin; ingoi Six Men in a Little Boat Reached the Sinking Liner. he Mat If dc at a and rescue women and children. Instead, they scrambled and fra: the ladders until our skipper brought the ship around to the their boat was swamped by the heavy sea. It was one of those disgraceful things that happen evert, " often in sea disasters. The captain of the Euclid gave tot turned fish the sailors out of the water, and chief officer. I wont order my men to take a boat out In he said, but if any of them want to volunteer, they can ahead. John Garnish heard him say that. So did another fireman. J them volunteered on the spot. John wasnt the only hero on that Iw day, nor the only man to earn and deserve watches, lifesaet. tiUeates and a flock of medals. Three more sailors and the chief Joined with them, and they lowered a boat Into the raging sea. weats-an- panic-stricke- news i, (f th n a or e thin, s to h orna C"C0l, the Mer tee the Heroic Volunteers Risk Lives in Desperate Rescue The wind and waves buffeted the little boat about like i coi six men in her were tossed high In the air on the crest of every wa? It seemed little short of miraculous that their cockleshell boat w55 Ven"-- 1 sized and swamped. They fought like fiends against the pow Atlantic, and at length they reached the stricken liner. We came close under her stern, says John, "and soon that this was a mistake, for the sea was washing up her well deck. We pulled out again, and came back in amidsf a I caught one of her port holes with a boat hook, and side the over one of the blocks that was dangling grabbed davits. Passengers now started Jumping from the saloon to Many of them missed the boat and landed In the water, with down got them. We started back for our ship loaded pie, and I never thought wed be able to make it Half way between the two ships we saw an upturned boat It women and a little girl clinging desperately to the bottom. able sight, but we could do nothing until we had unloaded our IT However, we reached the ship safely, got all our people aboard, car is, orde-- s men I I if the Etir Bdti ft an i b pv pods k and 14 a here, & ' is .ally tv Ann P lade; Bure po 3. sou set out to aid the upturned boat." !! John Blivernicht, whose murder of a rural thief stirred Illinois farmers to action. far more humane than the branding with a hot iron and Is In effect somewhat similar to tattooing. Branding, of course, would also Old-tim- e remove the packing companies which buy the farmers product from embarrassing positions In which they sometimes find themselves. They occasionally and quite Innocently buy stolen poultry or livestock from thieves without knowing It, and thus help foster rural crime. The law makes It mandatory for the buyers of stolen goods to reimburse the losers upon proof that the property was stolen. Western Newspaper Union. Street Scenes in Siam Street scenes In Slam present a ndxtuie of Chinese and Malayan costumes and background that coma pose continuous panoramic series of Intriguing pictures. The women have a clever way of wrapping their sarongs so ns to form trousers Instead of skirts. The Siamese nre a courteous aud gracious Porti Ptrso John Rated a Flock of Medals for This Feat TW at the hands bi tiie That was the most terrible part of the whole adventure, the oars were already exhausted by their grueling trip to the n lifeboat but they rowed on until they reached the upturned After a bitter fight they got there pulled the castawa their boat and brought them safely back to the ship. brave crew of that little boat dragged themselves clid with the cheers of the people they had rescued ri , their ears. Other ships began appearing on the scene now, an(1 he.,ns rescue work. The Harmonia sank, and the captain, the , was rescued by the crew of tiie Ixingsford Castle. But n hundod aboard been lost In the excitement and panic that reigned vessel before tbe Euclid hud readied the scene. "irrj st eet (Ll 1ST Of ,8 s mol - J yo ab. WNU a t All iiexh X dp, t eir toror Service. cai i s V cl, other, mtlR chest, and yet his is he that conscious the perfect specimen of , him to bcl Those health exBnilnatlons . demonstrated dullysee It because theyU-for taught to look through children mother love whhh blind. Train your child hen ob bis bath rcallf vote a seeing fJeplof . uses both sides well, and see metrically formed plilne II. Kenyon , - mad- ia tl other, Watch Childs Posture higher than the U different a on to Avoid Later Illness blade a hollow When the child Is old enough to sit, stand, or walk alone, we must continue to be on our guard against the formation of faulty habits In the use of his body. Ioor posture and weak muscles will follow If lie does not bear his weight evenly on his feet; If he does not hold his feet In a parallel position, rather than toeing out; If his ankles sag Inward; or If he walks on tiie Inside of his foot. A child will not have a straight spine If he sits crookedly, or sits habitually on one foot; If his clothing pulls lienvily or unevenly on the shoulders; or If he is made to use adult furniture which does not lit Ids body. A child may have one shoulder s &"e as sit hi 1- - 5 bv 1 in am hi TiS J mil 8a r to a; Levc ' tin 1 s hll - t1 on t" tl to- tl II |