The times dispatch. [volume], November 15, 1911, Image 1

About The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
STRONG ADDRESS
BT BONAPARTE
ON BIG PROBLEM
Says Cities Should Use
Common Sense ' in
Picking Officers.
QUALITY IS POINT
TO CONSIDER NOW
Important Papers Presented at
Municipal League Convention
by .Experts?Commission
Plan Discussed at Round
Table Talk?Foulke
Again President.
"Civil service reform means simply
the application of morality and com?
mon senoj to the choice of public ser?
vants," declared Charles J." Bonaparte,
former Attorney-General of tho United
States, yesterday afternoon, speaking
on the subject. "Municipal Civil .Ser?
vice Reform." and summing up In ono
pertinent sentence his exposition of
the merit system as applied to the se?
lection of municipal ofllcers. it was
the central thought In what was easily
the most brilliant and opportune ad?
dress on the opening day of the sev?
enteenth annual convention of the Na?
tional Municipal lycaguo.
"A public office belongs to the peo?
ple," said tho ex-Attorney-General; "its
duties arc fixed by tho people's Iuwb;
lls salaries uro paid by the people's
money. it follows logically that If a
President, or Governor, or Mayor uses
the patronage which he holds In Irutt
for the Union, or his State, or his elty,
to strengthen himself in his faction, or
Itle faction In his party, or his party at
the polls, his conduct Is Indistinguish?
able in morals from a guardian's who
should use his ward's money In his
own burlnors or in the business of
some firm or corporation of which he,
is a member."
Quality of Administration.
The particular form of government,
-while Important, is by no means the
vital thing In the munlclpul scheme. In
the opinion of Mr. Bonaparte. The ex?
tent to which a city is governed 1? no
Indication of how well It in governed.
The quality of the city administration
1* the point to be considered.
"its Held of action." he said, "may
he wide or narrow, but, in either cast,
if It acts thoroughly, promptly, cheap
ly and wisely. It gives the commun?
ity it serves good government, and If
Itu action he weak, tardy, overcostly
or foolish, It does not."
"A government, like every other
contrivance of man or production of
nature, must be Judged by Its fruits;
however we may talk about It, the
?worth of American democracy will be
Kauged, In the Irreversible Judgment
of history, by a true answer to one
question, namely. To what manner of
men does It Intrust political power?
The ono essential thing to good gov?
ernment Is good men to govern. The
one thing without which good govern?
ment of any kind or degree Is Impos?
sible, and which, under reasonable lim?
itations, takes the place and supplies
the want of all others, 1? good men."
Need Good Men at Helm.
Pressing the point that good men at
the helm of authority 1b the sine qua
noo of good government, the speaker
then addressed himscif to the problem
of Inducing erood men to enter public
life, and this he proposed to do by a
cleansing of politics with a thorough?
going, practical application of the
principles of civil service reform In
municipal government. There is/oinc
thing more to civil service reform, he
warned his hearers, than the popular
conception that It Ib merely a system re?
quiring the selection of all public offi?
cers by competitive examination and
insuring their retention In office dur?
ing good behavior. Civil service re?
form needs a broader statement.
"It means." said Mr. Bonaparte, "that
.every public office exists for the sole
benelit of the people, and cannot be
maintained, consistently with the fun?
damental theory of our government
In any measure, or under any circum?
stances, for the benelit of the Individ?
ual holding such offices for the time
bei ig, or of any other Individual or
organization, nnd, therefore, every of?
fice ought to be filled with a sole re
K.-ird to the. tltne.ss of the incumbent
to so discharge its duties us to fulfil
those ends which the people sought
when they created It and seek when
they pay for Its maintenance."
To "act a thief to catch n thief" may
sometimes be good policy, but It fulls
when it is a question of electing a
chief of police or mayor. "In the rat?
ing of these would-be public servants.''
?aid the speaker, "a very largo per?
centage should bo given for the appli?
cant's record in making himself ob?
noxious to evildoers and protecting
tho people's Interest while holding
Other positions of public trust."
Ilusy Bay for Convention.
Right formal addresses and numer?
ous short talks und discussions con?
tributed to make the opening day of
the convention an extremely busy ono
The morning session, which began at
? o'clock, was devoted largely to tho
rending of reports from the executive
committee, from 'the treasurer and
from tho nominating committee, and
to tho nnntial election of ofllcers. In
addition to these reports one wus
heard also from the committee on
amendments to tho constitution and
by-laws,
Following the four addresses of to9
morning, the convention adjourned for
a round-table luncheon at 1 P. M., pro
elded over by Dr. A. B. Hart, of Har?
vard University, Commission plnns of
city government formed the topic for
discussion, which was opened by Ad?
miral R K. Chadwick, of Newport, R.
I? a vigorous opponent of commission
government as it is popularly ex?
pounded, and an advocate of the so
called Newport plan. Speeches at tho
.(Continued on Eighth Page.)
V. P. I. CHARGES
NOT SUSTAINED
Visitors Find Troubles
Were Due to Lack
of Harmony.
COMMEND SCHOOL
TO PEOPLE OF STATE
Conditions Arising From Differ?
ences Over Rules No Longer
Exist?Complaints of Coun?
tenancing Immorality De?
clared to Be Unfounded.
All-Day Session Held.
[Special to The Times-Dispatch. J
Bluckeburg. Va., November H.?Reso?
lutions tantamount to a dismissal of
j the charges recently made against Dr.
Paul B. Barringer, president of tho
j Virginia Polytechnic Institute, and
against the corps of cadets, were
I adopted ut midnight to-night by the I
board of visitors, nil of the eight
I members present signing them. The
charges, which were presented by a
I committee composed of Hector L. W.
Johnson und Leslie D. Kline, were n jt
mudc public.
It is stated by the board that after
hearing the complaints and Dr. Bar
ringer's answer, it Is of the opinion
that the. trouble at the college dur?
ing the last session was largely due
to a luck of harmony between the
civil und military authorities and a
difference, which no longer exists, of
Interpretation of the rules. The board
commends the institution to the people
of the State, and nhds that the charges
of countenancing Immorality arc with?
out foundation.
No Further Kxplanntlon.
No blame whatever is placed on Mr.
Johnson and Mr. Kline, who were
merely appointed a committee at the
lust meeting of the visitors to for
mulutc. the complaints and to gather
Information concerning them. If the
board visited any criticism on Dr. Bar
rlnger, or if It was of opinion that
any of the complaints were sustained,
It does not mention them.
The session began at 10 o'clock this
morning, with all members present,
save J. D. Kggleaton, Jr., Superin?
tendent of Public Instruction, and
Colonel A. M. Bowman, of Salem. The
entire session wus rtxecittlvc, no hint
of the proceedings reaching those on
the outside. Fourteen hours wns con?
sumed, save the time taken for meals,
and It was evident that whatever was
going on inside was the subject of a
great amount of discussion.
Text of nesolutions.
The resolutions finally adopted wcro
as follows:
"Whereas, at a meeting of the board
held on the eighteentlt day of August,
1911, a committee. consisting cf
L E. Johnson and Leslie D. inline, was
appointed to formulate certain com?
plaints made ngainst the management
of Virginia Agricultural and Mechani?
cal College and Polytechnic Institute,
and, whereas, the board has heard
i these complaints so formulated, and
tho answer submitted thereto b>' Pres?
ident P. B. Barrlnger. and are of the
opinion that much of the trouble dur?
ing the last session complained of
was due to a want of harmony be?
tween the civil and military author?
ities, und a difference of interpre?
tation of the rules of the institution,
which no longer exists, the board now
desires to put Itself on rocord as be?
lieving that the institute is doing ex?
cellent work, and commends it to tho
people of the State as a school where
the teaching is thorough and the life
wholesome, and the youth of the State
j have the chance of tho best educa?
tion at the least cost.
"The board records the faot that
the sensational charges of counte?
nancing immorality in the institution
contained in certain newspaper pub?
lications ngainst the president of tho
institution, arc without foundation.
"The board further finds that the
committee appointed have formulated
I the complaint in good faith, without
prejudice against the president or
corps of cadets.
"Resolved, That these resolutions
be given . to the press, with tho re?
quest that they he given tho same
publicity as the charges already ptib
| Halted."
WILL REVIEW THE CASE
Ohio Supreme Court to Go Over Evi?
dence Against n. J. Dlegle.
Col um bus. O.. November 11.?Rodney
J Dlegle. former Sergeant-at-Arms of
the Stnte. Senate, convicted in the Com?
mon Pleas and Circuit Courts of hav?
ing aided and abetted in the bribery
of Stnte Senator 1 - R. Andrews, and
sentenced to serve three years in the
State Penitentinry. was to-day granted
lenve by the Supreme Court to Mo
h bill of exceptions to the ruling of
the Circuit Court. The Suprl>mc Court
will review all evidence.
VOTE FOR STATE-WIDE
Itrpubllcnu "Drya" Win Contest In West
Virginia.
Phrkershurg, W. Va., November 14.?
After being in session all day, the Re?
publican State legislative executive
committee to-night decided In favor
of a State-wide primary, with the Stnte
as a unit, for West Virginia in 1812.
The vote wns ,10 to 1. Tho decision
was reached only after a prolonged
fight made by prominent Republican
lenders, who favored the so-called dis?
trict unit plan.
THIEF RETURNS SERMON
nftac<anrae Contnlnlnir Admonition Stolen
by riokpuckot.
Wllkesbnrre. Pa.. November 14.?A
sermon entitled "Prepare to Meet Thy
God." which was . taken from the
pocket of tho Rev. M. V. Williams, a
Methodist minister of Athens, Pa.,
when he was in this city, by pick?
pockets, who extracted u largo wallet,
has been returned to him. The Rov.
Mr. WilllamB's pocket was picked
whllo ho was In this city for the pur
pose of officiating at a fuiieralj *
Meat Packers Make Fur?
ther Elf ort to Avoid
trial.
DELIVER ATTACK
ON SHERMAN LAW
Surrendering to United States
Marshal, Packers Appeal for
Writ of Habeas Corpus,
Hoping to Get Case Di?
rectly Before Su?
preme Court. ^
Chicago, November 14.?A further
effort of the Indicted Chicago meat
packers to avoid trial and to have de?
clared unconstitutional, void and ot
no force the Sherman antitrust law,
was made to-day. The latest move
was a surprlac to the government, and
consisted In the surrender to the
United States marshal of tho packers
and an Immediate appeal to United
.States Circuit .ludge C. C. Kohlsaat
for a writ of habeas corpus. The argu?
ments will bo heard on Thursday.
The request for a decision on the
constitutionality of the Sherman antl- i
trust law before undergoing; trial was'
said to have been taken as a neces?
sary step to carry the case before the
United States Supreme Court without
the cost or delay of a trial.
Violations of tho fifth, sixth and
eighth amendments to the United
Mates Constitution, ambiguity and al?
leged failure of the act either to cre?
ate an. offense against the government
or so to define what it sot up as an
offense In a manner that would enable
the citizen to know when he erred
and when not, were charged against
the Sherman law as the law was re?
cently interpreted by the United States
Supreme Court In the Standard Oil
und Tobacco cases.
Criticises Sherman Law.
Attorney John S. Miller, who, as
chief counsel for the packers, conduct?
ed to-day's court action, criticized the
Sherman law as a "net large enough
to catch all possible offendere and
leaven it to tho courts to step In and
say who rightfully can be detained
and .who set at-largo."
Of the ten packers Indicted, all but
J. Ogden Armour were temporarily In
custody while the petition was heard.
The nine were:
Louis P. Swift, president of Swift &
Company.
Edward F. Swift, vice-president
Swift & Company.
Charles R. Swift, director of Swift &
Company.
Edward Tilden, president National
PacKing Company.
Arthur Meeker, general manager Ar.
mour & Company.
Edward Morris, president Morrla &
Company.
Francis Fowler, director Swift &
Company.
Thomas J. Connors, director Armour
& Company. i
Louis H. Herman, manager Morris &
Company.
Depends on Jury's Whim.
The petition for a writ of habeas
corpus goes into the allegation of In?
sufficiency of tho Stato to set up a
crime, and It lays more stress on what
the attorneys for the packers char?
acterize as the citizen's inability to
know whether he Is a law-broaker or
not (before a Jury trial. Along this
tatter line, the petition said:
"Tho alleged criminality of the al?
leged transactions complained of In
the Indictment will depend entirely
upon a particular Jury's view of tho
reasonableness or unreasonableness
of the particular o&se; it will depend
not on any standard erected by the I
law which may be known in advance,
but on one that may be created by the
whim, prejudice or~arbltrary views of
a Jury.
"There Is no set standard fixed, or
attempted to be fixed, to guide the
citizen to a knowledge of his guilt or
Innocence of an offense charged before
It has been adjudicated.
"The act violates the sixth amend?
ment to the Constitution of tho United
States, whloh requires that the peti?
tioners severally shall be Informed of
the nature and cause of the accusa?
tion."
It Is charged further that the act
attempts to establish as a crime acts
not criminal, but civil in their nature.
The large number of witnesses neces?
sary to trace the multitudinous trans?
actions of a national business Is point?
ed out as nn Indication of the great
cost a trial would impose, both to tho
defendants and to the prosecution;
hence the request that the constitu?
tionality of the act be determined.
WILL RESIGN TO-DAY
Hokc Smith About to Relinquish Seal
as Governor.
Atlanta, Ga? November 14.?Governoi
and United States Senator-elect Hokc
Smith will formally tender his resig?
nation as Chief Executive of Georgia
to-morrow afternoon. On Thursday
morning .lohn M. Slaton, president o|
the State Senate, will take the oath
of office as Governor pro tern., to servo
until Governor Smith's successor Is
elected, which must be within sixty
days.
There will be no formal ceremonies
connected either with Governor Smith's
departure or Governor Slaton's acces?
sion.
SOUTH WANTS ITS SHARE
Wants Fropcr Division Madr of Coun?
try's Immigration.
New Orleans, La., November 14.?At
the conference of immigration officials
called by Secretary Nagle, of the De?
partment of Commorco and Labor, to
meet In .Washington Thursday of this
week, representatives of Stato Immi?
gration departments in tho Smith will
make ft determined effort to hiive such
a . division made of immigration that
the South will got a greater share of
newcomers In the United Slates. This
waa learned hero to-day from officers
of tho Louisiana State Board ot Im?
migration,
Paul Beatties Letter to Prisoner's Fath
er
?"CHIC?? M.rro
GEO. F SCHUTT, Poopbicto
. J O KVNASTON, MiueiD
COBITT KOUSE Siol }t?u?t r,7,
Washington D
c5 ywsf /QsSp/yiA.
SYVL yd
A^tf ' '
(3^^^^SoOJ^r^ Sotnry'* IndorJl
Indoritemrul on Puul'i? photograph.
Paul's rteal signature.
Signatureon Washington Affidavit.
YUAN HESITATES
TO ACCEPT OFFICE
On His Compliance With
Throne's Command May Rest
Fate of China.
Peking, November 14.?While the im?
perial government Is endeavoring to
force the premiership on Yuan-sjhl
Kal, China's "strong man," In his va?
rious conferences to-day with the
prlnco regent, the acting premier,
Prince Chlng. and other members ot
tho nominal cabinet look occasion to
point out the Insecurity of. that oftlee,
the retention of which depends upon
the caprice of tho national assembly.
Yuan-Shl-Kal, If ho accepts the pre?
miership at all. desires a fixed term
of office., and he so stated to the regent.
But ha must obtain this through the
national assembly, as an edict would
be likely to arouso suspicion.
It Is - not considered probable that
Yuan-Shl-Kal will undertake the gi?
gantic task set for him until ho con?
siders tho chances of carrying It to
successful Issue. There is still an?
other possibility?he may bo consider?
ing the - alternative of a republic and
may himself recommend tho abdication
of tho Emperor. Ho reports that tho
rebel leador has said ho would obey
his orders If Yuan would consent to
become president, but would not rccog
nl/.o him as a Mnnchu premier.
In his opinion It would not bo dlftl
(Continued, on, Ninth PagoTx
COMPANY OUSTED
FROM MISSOURI
International Harvester Concern
Is Also Fined $50,000 for Vio?
lating Antitrust Law.
Jefferson City, Mo., November 14.?
Tho International Harvester Company
of America was ousted from Missouri j
and fined $50,000 by. the Supreme'Court
to-day. Tho court's decision sustained
tho findings of Special Commissioner
Theodore Brace, who reported to tha
court that the company violated the
common and antitrust laws of Missouri.
The court ruled that the lino must
bo paid on or bofore January 1, 191'.:.
and thut If tho International Harvester|
Company proves to the court by March i
1, 1012, that it has ceased all connec- j
tlon with the International Harvester!
Company of New Jersey, which the!
court held" to bo unlawful, that the.
ouster of the International Hurvestor
Company of America will be suspended.
The Hurvestor Company must flic
proofs of Its willingness to comply
with the judgment of tho court. The
proofs must he approved by the Attor?
ney-General.
Haa Business Monopoly.
The opinion handed down by Justice
Graves and concurred In by Judges
Lamm, Brown, Kerrls and Woodson,
found that competition was lessened,
and thut practically all of tho har?
vester business wuh done by the re?
spondent company in the Stale. It
held that It was contrary to trio laws
of tho State of Missouri for one coin
! XCoutinuod, oa Ninth Fttgc.)
GOT AFFIDAVIT
.Mr. Smith Approached by De?
tectives Who Had Talked
With Paul Beattie.
In explaining the Paul lleattie affi?
davit yesterday, II. M. Smith, Jr., coun?
sel for Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., said
that lato In October two men, claim?
ing to bo detectives, called nt his office
and Informed him that Paul Beattie
had mado certain statements to them,
in which ho suld he hadn't told the
truth in his evidence as Riven at the
trial It) Chesterfield county.
"Thoy asked me If thlH evidence or
information would be of any value to
my client," said Mr. Smith, "and I told
them that It certainly would In a new
trial or In nn effort to securo a com?
mutation. But I also told them that
tho statement would havo to come In
the shape of an affidavit, that I did not
and would not delegate them to go out
and dig up affidavits, but that If they
brought any sworn statements to me I
would consider tho matter for what it
was worth. Later, thoy brought In
tho documents which I showed Gov?
ernor Mann to-duy.
Voluntary on Their Part.
"This entire proceeding was volun?
tary on their par!, and tho point I
wish to emphasize Is that it was not
of my own Initiation. So many letters
and messages had been received dur?
ing the trial and before that I was
like the proverbial man from Missouri.
When 1 trot tho affidavit I sent a man
to Washington to see Balderston, and
.(Continued ou Second Page.)
Will Issue Final State?
ment To-Day on Beat
tie Case.
PAUL'S AFFIDAVIT
WITHOUT AVAIL
Remarkable Action of Condemned
Man's Cousin Hardly Consid?
ered?Executive Seen by At?
torneys, but No Papers
Filed?Taken to Indicate
Defense Is Hopeless.
In all human probability, the fato
of Henry Clay Beattie, Jr., will bo
tlnully determined this morning
through the refusal of Governor Wil?
liam Hodges Mann to Interfere with
the judgments of tho courts of Vir?
ginia. The most that can be hope.il
by the prisoner, it would seem, is a
respite, but a careful review of tho
events of yesterday would seem to
indie .o that licattlo will expiate his
crime In the electric chair on Friday
morning, November 24.
At all events, there Is no room to
doubt that tho Governor will allow
the law to take Its course.
PTnbnblc Speedy Execution. .
In so doing, hn would bo following
the conviction that so long na tho
horror of an execution Is hanging over
tho community. Just so long will bo
tho conttnuanco of unrest and de?
pression: Just so long will tho family
and friends iUffer; Just so lone; will
..sensational statements be purveyed
to the public without foundation, In
fact, and Just so long will tho con?
demned man's own mind be tilled with
useless hope. 1
I To the argument that Bcattlo should
have time to prepare for death, It Is
suggested that respite would mean
continued efforts to Interest (ho^Gov
ernor In various additional statements,
thus fostering hope in tho prisoner
and obviating the very reason for do
luy.
IinnjTn See Governor.
An appeal for Beattlo was tvtndo
to tho oxocutlve about noon yester?
day by If. M. Smith, Jr., and Hill Car?
ter, the attorneys for tho defense. The
lawyers remained with tho Governor
hut a fow minutes, briefly,, stating
their nrguments.
It la not truo that any papers of
any sort were filed with the Governor,
either petitions or affidavits or con?
fessions. Whatever papers wore in
the possession of the attorneys wero
carried away by them. It seemed to
be the universal Impression that they
were without effect on tho Governor's
mind.
Ho has many letters from various
sources. It Is worthy of remark, us
Indicating tho calibre of the writers,
that they do not suggest pardon, but
only commutation. They evidently
full to remember that when such a
crime is Involved, without a possible
mitigating "Jrcumstanco, there could
he no alternative botwe.en death if
guilty and liberty if innocent.
Paul He.iUic> Affidavit.
Among the happenings of yesterday
was tho production of an affidavit
signed In Washington by Paul Douglas
Beattie, cousin of the condemned man,
I In which ho Is supposed to have re?
pudiated tha testimony given by him
on tho stnnd at the trial of the case.
He Is made to say that he did not give,
tho shotgun to Henry Beattlo on the
Saturday night preceding the mur?
der, but that ho had it on Mayo's
Bridge on tho following day: and
that Henry Beattie made no confes?
sion to him on the porch of his home.
Whllo the apparent attempt on the
part of Paul Beattie to placo himself
in the penitentiary for perjury was
startling, it secnted to have no effect
on the minds of those following tho
j case with reference to the fate of
Henry Beattie. It was recalled that
the Jury agreed that It was not In?
fluenced by Paul's story of the con?
fession, and that the proof was atnplo
had the Commonwealth not Introduced
the young man.
Would Convict llliusetf.
In addition, thero Is something un?
told In the Paul Beattlu matter. Ho
left Richmond Just after the State
Fair, and signed something In Wash?
ington. In this ho is said to have
sworn that he perjured himself on tho
stand at the trial. When a statement
regarding his affidavit was published
In Richmond last Saturday. Lieuttio
went to police headquarters at tho
City Hall and there made affidavit that
ho hud made no such statement under
oath as had been attributed to him,
i Tho signatures of tho Washington pa
' per and of various papers signed by
him in Richmond do not agree.
Further, it Is argued, Paul Beattie
must be a mental Irresponsible If ha
really signed the various papers at?
tributed to him, which would convict
him of perjury on at least four counts.
! There is also to bo recalled Paul
Beattlo's original statement made last
Saturday to the police, that ho was de?
coyed In Washington and given opium
and perhaps other "dopo" which took
away his senses, and that he probably
signed something whllo In this condi?
tion. Ho evidently believed that ho
1 was tricked Into going to Washing?
ton under promloe of work, by people
who Intended to extort a confession
for the. purpose of selling It to II. C.
Beattie, Sr.
Thero Is no suggestion, however,
that the father of tho prisoner hod any
any part In the plan^Ort'the contrary,
there Is evidence to show that he and
his attorneys absolutely refused to
pay for the evidence gathered by this
means In \\ Ashlnirton.
Prisoner t? Well.
The prisoner maintains a cheerful
bearing, which has not changed sine*
[he wan notiilcd ou Monday morning