The Bismarck Tribune Newspaper, January 25, 1923, Page 1

“The levy by the board of equaliza. WEATHER FORECAST. For Bismarck and vicinity: Fair: tonight and Friday. \ ESTABLISHED 1873 BISMARCK, NORTH:DAKOTA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 25, 1923 CHARGE KLA WOULD BOND STATETOPAY DEPOSITORS Senator Baker, Renville Coun- ; ty, Places Measure Before State Senate i STATE THE GUARANTOR If Bank Assessments were! Insufficient Taxes Would | Meet Bonds i | Further information regard- ing the condition of the depos- itors guaranty fund is asked of the guaranty fund commission in a resolution passed by the committee on banks and bank- ing of the senate and house. The information asked for ‘A detailed report of all as- nts due December 31, A statement of deposits of the fund showing the amount each bank December 31, A statement of all payments of the fund up to December 31, 1922. A statement of the balance of the fund and where it was | December 31, 1922, The resolution was intro- | duced by the league members of the committee, and is re- garded by many of the Inde- pendents as forecasting a fur- ther attack on the methods of | the state guaranty fund com- { mission and the state banking | board. Introduation by Senator B. F. Baker, of two bills setting forth his| as of a solution for the difficul-| sig fund ‘is involved war the| COAL OPERATORS : TO MEET HERE W. T. Kraft. department. guar chief feature of a short session of! the state senate this afternoon. | The two bills which are Senate| eretary of the North Dakota’ Loenite Coal Operators as- sociation, has sent out notices an- nouncing a mecting of the coal oper- ators of North Dakota, whether mem- bers of the. nssociation or not, to ve held in the Grand Pacific hotel, Bi marck, on Tuesday night, Jan. 30. Major Stanley Washburn of Lake wood, N. J., president of the associa tion, will-be present at the meeting. 117 and 118 provide for thei anee of bonds to be known as| guaranty fund series, up to; The proceeds of | be used to pay} in the defunct! Bills the limit of $10,000,000, these bonds would off the depositors banks of the state. Hi For the payment of interest and! principle of ‘the bonds the guaranty fund commission is empowered to{ levy assessments against the state| banks of North Dakota amounting! to one-eighth of one percent of; their average daily deposits for the! preceding year. This assessment may | be made not oftener than four times | in one year, The proceeds of these; assessments would be deposited in! the Bank of North Dakota. ! In addition to this Mssessment the| state board of equalization would: MEMBER DRIVE President Urges Creation of sary to meet the interest and prin-| f Them in State cipal of the bonds which would ma-| More of an ture at various times up to 30 years. | = Des Lacs, N. D., Jan, 25.—Urgen: demand for the creation GRANGE PLANS tion would be made five years be: of new | HAIR PUFFS LEGALLY BANNED This young woman with ears neatly covered is anathema to Atty Gen. John R. Saunders, Richmond, Va. (inset), who has banned by legal order the use of ear puffs by stenographers, typists and clerks “They can’t hear dictation through ’em,” he says. fore the maturity of each group. The two bills were referred to the committee on banks and bank- ing. i Bank of North Dakota Bill Another bill of some _ interest which was introduced during th> afternoon session was Senate Bill 116 introduced by Senator Mart leaguer of Morton county which is intended .to legislate the present management of the farm loan de- partment of the Bank of North Da- , kota out of office. It provides that no person may be appointed manager or assistant manager of the department who within two years has been interest- ed in any bank, trust company, or farm loan company having anything to do with the making of farm loans or farm mortgages. The bill is made retroactive in order to have it ap- ply to the present management. Other measures brought in includ- ed one by Senator Atkins of Towner county designed to curb the I. W. W. by making more stringent the vagrancy law and several budget and measures to make up d iencies of several state institu- tions ‘and departments. On motion of Senator Carey of Richland county, the measure clos- ing the election polls at 7 o'clock was referred to the committee on elections. A majority report of the elqctions committee recommending , the measure for passage had been accepted by the senate Wednesday after strong opposition on the part of the Nonpartisan League members. What,a Little Want Advertisement Did In Daily Tribune Pulling power of the Tribune ad- vertising combineq with honesty se- cured results for a man who insert- ed a want advertisement in the Tri- bune Tuesday evening. Here is thé advertisement. 4 LOST—On Sixth street a five dollar bill, finder please return to The Tribune. Wednesday mornin. the five. dol- lar bill was returned to The Tribune and is here for the owner to claim less the reward paid. © . Charlie Morris who is specia] de- livery man at the lo Postofiice Picked the bill up and in'the evening read of the losy'in The Tribun This is only one of many incidents where Tribune classified advertise- ments are getting results, : \granges in the state will result in {an intensive membership campaign !as soon as weather conditions will | permit, acording to a statement made | public here today by T. N. Williams, | State Master of the North Dakotu | State Grange. Co-operation by tae (existing granges of the. state is ex- { pected to enhance the chances of the i success of the coming membership ‘drive, Mr. Williams said. Commenting on grange endeavors in the nation, Mr. Williams said: The grange, after fifty years of serv- ice that has put it to the severest test that it is possible to put a farm organization, has emerged stronger, more influencial, and with a large: following of loyal men and women than at any time in the history of the organiastion The states that have been organized the longest are the states in which the grange is the strongest. This speaks volumes for the organization. In those states, there have been scores of farmers’ organizations—of one kind or j other, organized during those fifi years, promising great relief for ali the ills the farmes is heir to and a great many imaginary itis that never ited. . i e: { Grand Forks, N. D., Jan, 25.—Steps to organize a county branch of the North Dakota State Taxpayers’ as- sociation were taken here yestefday. afternoon at a puble megtng ‘aeld in the city hall. A resolution was pass- ed authorizing M. F. Murphy, state director for Grand Forks county, to appoint a committee for the purpose of handling the matter of organiza- tion. No date was set for ‘the next meeting. . Taxes from almost every stand- point were’ discussed by many gpeak- ers, were those wno talked’being M. F. Murphy, A. A. Hood, John Scott, E. J. Lander, J. A)Dinnie, G. L. Ire+ land, Wm ‘Churchill, K. 0. Boulden, M. Stanchfield, J. McPhail, P. A, Mc- Clernon and Nick Nelson Two gen- eral concluéions fseemed to. form themselves out of tae general dis- cussions. ~~ , It seemed to be the opinion of the majority that there was no immedi- ate hope of a reduction in state tax- es and that about the only taing that could’ be done was to watch lo- % Bere THE BISMARCK TRIBUNE [ven] PRICE FIVE CENTS ‘URGES FORT AS' ~ LOCATION FOR ‘MANDAN SCHOOL | Representative Miller Pro: | poses to Move State Train- i | | | in his TAX EXEMPTION CUT PROPOSED Bill to be Studied Removing * Present Exempitons Draft of a tax exemption biil, made at the request gf some merc- bers of the legislative tax committee, has been completed by state officials it was said today. The proposed ing School to Lincoln j FIVE BILLS PASSED House Extends Recall on City Officers; Conciliation Law to Remain Proposal that the state training | School now located near Mandan be moved to Fort Lincoln, seven mile from Bismarck, if the War Depart- ment will relinquish the unused buildings, was made in the hou | tais afternoon by Rep. J. C. Miller, The resolution recited sfactory conditions in the titution, which led by the budget Bottneau. the unsati present i recommendations | board for large building appropria- there tions. Because is a joint { committee considering the training ‘aouse sent the | school question the resolution to that committee with instructions to “ascertain from Wash- ington officials if the Fort could be obtained, this being done over ‘Rep. Miller's protest, he desiring imme- diate action. resolution of the senate, providing that efforts be {made to secure tae Fort sLincoln buildings for tuberculosis hospital | to be managed by the North. Dakota | Tuberculosis Association, was _re- | ceived later in the house, and refer- red to the committee on appropria- | tions. The house killed Rep. Carr's bill | proposing repeal of the conciliation | law passed in 1921, on committee re~ | port without debate but wita scat- tering dissent from members. Five Bills: Passed Five bills were passed by the house, including the Heaton-Burk- hart bill No, 23, providing method of investigation of suspected law vio- lations before arrests are made, by permitting inquiries to be conducted | before justices of the peace, police ‘magistrates or county courts with linereased jurisdiction. The vote | was 79 to 26, with eigat absent. Rep. Jackson, in explaining his “nu vote, said that “in passing this Taw | North Dakota will be taking a step 500 years backward in the progress | of individual liberty.” | Other bills passed included H. B. 43, to extend the recall of city offi- jcials to include those under tae councilmaniec form of government. A concurrent | | | measure, tacgther with other tax ex-| House bill No. 55, by Lackey, was emption bills, probably will go be-! passed. The penalty for violation of fore the house and senate commi tees and one bill may emerge from any suggestions. The proposed measure would ds away with the present $500 exemp- tions on farm machinery and on homes, the $300 exemption on house- hold goods, wearing aparel and tools of mechanics, and would substitute for all present exemptions a $200 ex- emption on personal property. Another bill to be considered, in- troduced by Rep. Ehr of Ward-coun- ty, repeals all present exemptions and provides all property shall be assessed on a fifty per cent basis, instead of true cash value. The house tax committee, discus- sing two bills proposing a decrease in interest. rates on tax. delinquen- cies, agreed ta recommend indefinite postponement of hotse bill No. 5, providing interest. atey gn tax sale certifiates shall nof ‘be more than eight per cent, and recommending house bill No. 13 for passage, wita amendments designed to reduce the first penalties allied for delinquency dairy laws is cut from 90 to 30 days in this bill, the object being to give justices of the peace jurisdiction in | such cases. Senate bill No. 4, vali | dating mortgages filed with reg | ters of deed between July 1, 1917 and 1923, was passed. The purpose, as explained in the bill, is to validate | mortgages where information re- quired by anotaer law had not been supplied. to; | ASKS LEAGUE TO TAKE UP MOSUL ISSUE Lausanne, Jan. 25. i the British head of the delegation in the Near East conference, wrote to- day to the Secretary of the League of Nations usk’ng the ceuncil 97 the | League at its next meeting to take | up the question of the Mosul cil ter- {ritory possession waieh is m dist | pute between the British and Turhs, | The Mosul question, tae letter de- clared, is a manace to oa RUAR ZONE "PARALYZED BY RAIL STRIKE ' Main‘ Lines Tied Up By Pas- Lord Curzon, | sive Resistance to French Occupation i {FOOD STUFFS MOVING France Seeks to Recruit Men For Service In Poland to Man Industries i { H \ \ | (By the Associated Press.) | Duesseldorf, Jap. 25.—Virtually | tory immediately adjoining was par- alyzed today by a strike of the rail- way men, ties which has been slowly spreading throughout the Ruhr since the be- ginning of the Franco-Belgian occu- The main rail lines on both the right and left banks of the Rhine are | tied up along a stretch of nearly 50 miles between Wessel to the north | | of Duesseldorg and Cologne south of | this city. The Paris-Berlin ‘and War- | j saw-Paris expresses are stalled in the Duesseldorf statons. Two trains of foodstuffs from Holland rep: to the interior of the Ruhr during the morning. In addition the telegraph and tele- phone employes of the postal serv- | ice informed General Denvings to day that the operators would strike | at midnight. The French commander | Teplied with a threat that the lead- ers would be sent to jail. The mo- bile crew of telegraphers which cus- | tomarily follows President Millerand on his official tours has arrived in| Duesseldorf and is ready to take over the service in the event of a strike. TO APPLY STERNER TACTICS (By the Associated: Press) Duesseldorf, Jan. 25.— General! Weygard, Marshal Foch’s chief of | the entire railway system of the; Ruhr valley and the occupied terri- staff, arrived here from Paris today and immediately went into confer- ence with General Degoutte to con- sider the application of sterner mil- itary measures against the Germans, ‘France is here to stay until she gets complete satisfaction from Ger- many,” said M. Le Trocquer, minis- ter of public works, who accompa- nied General Weygand. Among the bills introduced wa: one by Rep. Lynch, providing that the publicity pamphlet shall not be issued except when there are initiat- ed or referred laws to be submitted to a vote, the constitution requir- ing the pampalet be printed in such instances, Advertising of individual candidates: would be prohibited. A similar bill had been killed, but in| part because it sought to change the constitutional provision. p Would Cut Exemptions Rep. Eh¥ introduced a bill repeal- ing all exemptions of property from RECRUIT IN POLAND| (By the Associated Press) London, Jan. 25—A semi-official news agency is in receipt of infor- i ot mation from Warsaw that the Pol-‘ taxation, and providing all assess- | ish war ministry has ordered men of ments, both real and personal pro-|t¢he Polish’ and former German perty, should be-at 50° percent of! armies whose service time has ex- true cash value: pired and who are familiar with the After two hours debate and sever-| operation of railways, mines, melt- . PASSED IN NEBRASKA Lincoln, Neb., Jan, 25.—In the face of strong opposition, the lower house of the Nebraska legislature yester- day passed an anti-Ku Klux Klan bill by a vote of 65 to 34, The bill prohibits non-law enforcing per- sons, singly or collectively, from imposing or administering penalties for alleged infractions and places ¢ barrier on secret meetings for the purpose of carrying out threats cr making invé ions. GRAND FORKS TAXPAYERS WILL | ORGANIZE T0 HELP IN STATE FIGHT cal expenditures with the idea of giving the public value received without cutting down any of the present activites. It also seemed to be’ the general opinion taat it was not so much that taxes ‘were high as that they were enerenly distributed. ‘The need for equalization seemed apparent with a cutting down. of some of the exemp- tions. The state: taxpayers’ association was. organized in Fargo Decem: ber 20, for the purpose of seeking relief from the increasing tax bur- den, for the purpose ‘of finding on! }!' what the money“was being used for and for the purpose. of fighting against the ncreasng of. bonded in- debtedness.. J. A., Gunderson of | house bill No. 1 exempting one-third Aneta, was elected president, ‘and it} of the crop; saying that a $500 ex- is the purpose of the organization to | emption would mean ‘little or noth; secure a paid secretary. Headquar- ters are in Fargé. - The membership-fee for the organ- | the man who has suffered most. ization is one dollar and membersaip cards can‘bé>secured at the: office of club, * ‘ 2 the secretary of’ the Commercial‘ more fal al votes, the net result of the houses } ing works and postal services to hold action on house bill No. 1, the antir/ themselves at the disposal of tae crop mortgage bill, and house bill| French government, says a Reuter lo. 42, requiring crop mortgages be | dispatch. The men will be shipped separate instruments from other| from Danzig to the Ruhr, the dis- chattel mortgages, was that house | patch reports. The men must be bill No. 1 remained alive and ‘nouse | familiar with the French langauge bill No. 42 w: recommended for! and are guaranteed high wages. passage. The house reversed itself on No. j@—————______» 1, killing the bill in the committee of the whple and the, by a vote of |! The Weather | 54 to 64, failing to adopt the report of the committee of the waole. The{ For twenty-four hours ending at flop of several members, who favor-| noon today: ed\amendments to houge bill 42,| Temperature at 7 a. m. which were defeated, caused the fin-} Temperature at noon al result, . Highest yesterday .. House bill No. 1 was ampnded to} Lowest yesterday exempt one-third of the crop from | Lowest last night in a divided committee report whica | Pregipitation tenes also included @ report to kill the} Highest wind velocity . WEATHER FORECAST bill, Rep. Stark of Starke county oppos-| For Bismarck and vicinity: Fair ed the amendments, saying that it| tonight and Friday, didn't protect the man with a small For North Dakota: Fair tonight farm, since if one-third of the crop| and Fyiday. Somewhat colder to- of a man with a smal] farm was ex-| night northeast portion. empted, it would not leave enough Weather Conditions for aim to live on. He favored Snow has fallen over the Plateau amended house bill No. 42, exempt-| States, in northern Wyoming and in ing $500 from a crop mortgage. Rep., the Great Lakes region but else- 3tark declared the bankers as a] where the weather is ge erally fai: whole had done just what it was| Temperatures have risen over tl proposed to require them to do; thi Plains States and over the eastern :t was the skill percent they were} Rocky Mountain region and have after. A dropped in the Mississippi Valley and Great Lakes region, due to the easterp movement of the High to the Great Lakes region, ORRIS W. ROBERTS, Meteorologist. . ETIQUET KILLS HIM ing to a big in farmer of the.| Reading, England, Jan. 24,—Jai western part of the state, who is| Maurice Quinton, schoolmaster, shot’ himself. “It was because he worried over a point of etiquet—he hag registered as a town member in- stead of a country member at a slub,” Quititon’s brother explained. SSowcame _ Vogel Opposes Rep. Vogel opposed the prop in ‘house bill No. 42 to exempt $00, and pported the amendment to Rep. Twichell declared that he be- lieved the pi Ils would drive out meré than if would help (Continued on Page Three) NAME GODDARD ~ TOSUCCEED F. §, TALCOTT Local Banker Named by Gov. Nestos to Post on Ad- ministration Board |PROMINENT _ | rook Active Part in I. V. A i Campaigns and War | Drive Work { —_—_ | H. P. Goddard of Bismarck was jtoday appointed member of the |State Board of Admini: ion to succeed the late Frank Talcott Goddard also was one of those € ified for the position of post- master of Bismarck ich appoint- ment is being held up. Mr. Goddard has been president of the Bismarck Commercial club and has for years taken an active part in the commercial upbuilding of this city. Few men probably in the city have given more freely of their time to public welfare. M | Before coming to Bismarck Mr. | |Geddard had for years been en- |gaged in Y. M. C. A. work in ‘Minneapolis. He ame several |years ago to McKenzie where he! jengaged in the banking and mer- ;cantile business. | Mr. Goddard is a director in the | First National Bank and is active- Iv engaged in several banks ‘throughout Burleigh county. Hi ‘business ability has been splendid- |ly demonstrated upon a number of ‘ occasiohs, During the war he headed the Red Cross chapter drives and Li- berty Loan campaigns putting this section over the top by his enthusiasm, His appointment was The disorganization of public util- | generally approved in business and | political circles. i Mr. Goddard was prominent in ithe I. V. A. organization and has pation thus received great impetus. |been active in the various cam-| .Paigns against league domination. He has been doing special work in| connection with the state examiner's department for the past few months, | ANTI-MASK | STATE N WITH FEUD OUTRAGES GEN. WEYGAND ? CRIMES DONE UNDER COVER OF REFORM Attorney General Arraigns Activity of Ku Klux Klan In Statement i |BLOT ON CIVILIZATION | i} | Hearings on Mer Rouge Out- rages Continue at Bastrop —Floggings Frequent | (By the Associated Press) | The state's open hearing here into | the sd-called “Morehouse hooded atrocities” investigating floggings, deportations, kidnapings and the death of two men was concluded to- day after having been in progress } since January 5, ; Leon Jones of Mozelle, Mi the ; only witness today, told of having | seen two cars with masked men near | Lake La Fourche the night Watt Daniel and T. F. Richard were kid B naped near Bastrop. . Two bodies | identified as those of Daniel and | Richard were found on Dec. 22 | floating in the lake, |, Before adjournment of the hear- | ing Attorney-General Coco made a statement to the court regarding outrages in the parish, charging the Ku Klux Klan with responsibility. The attorney general addressed the court immediately before adjourn- ment. tches state that Gen- eygand (above), for- mer chief of staff under Foch, has supplanted General Degoutte as commander of the Fernch forces in! Germany. eral Maxine Text of Statement. rn AAS) Te Mba EE BER NG lata mEn ETO in part: _ “It is my very painful and humil- jitating duty to refer to deplorable | conditions in this parish as revealed in the evidence. The proof is con- vineing that since the advent of tt | Ku Klux Klan in this parish then jhas gradually arisen a condition of Fargo Man Named at Grand. “iserder and lawlessness which bas j ripened into a super-session of con- Forks Meeting j stituted authorities by the Ku Klux Klan and the establishment of a gov- ert ment. of its own from which a . Fargo, N. D., Jan. 25.—W. L | reign of terror and chaos have re- Stockwell of Fargo was named sulted and the parish was declared grand high priest of the grand; on the brink of riot and bloodshed pter, Royal Arch Masons of when the governor sent the milits North Dakota in session at Grand | jere and the Forks at the 34th annual conven-! g¢uq, tion. Ralph Miller of Fargo will proceedings were initi “While it may be conceded th ee ee puctond at: Stockwell a3 grand! many Klansmen did not actually pa fenate Committee May De-| Mr. siockwell has been a mem-) (q?ue {vlasimen Peace x : ber of the grand chapter for 25) fey o nw cesness | i cide Tonight or Tomorrow | years and etn maoretany, since | "Ally culminated in the murder + 1911. He will succeed Walter H.| Watt Daniel and T. F. Richarc a, : Buds aie will eucces a high | theY may nevertheless be deemed re Action on the anti-mask bill of dns OC MATEO! a8) jerand sniehi| or onsiblaythereforsbyixcaannit Ciel Senators Sperry and MeCoy which| priest. | aiteties ant insehag was opposed on behalf of the Ku Exemplification of degrees, feat-| be Klux Klan by Rev. F. Halsey Am- brose of Grand Forks will be taken by the senate conimittee on stato affairs either tonight or Fri morning, Frank Ployhar, chairman said today. The belief is that the committee ured at Tuesday's session, was fol-| 4p)..." Name of Order, lowed by a banquet at which the! These crimes were committed ir Corinthian wag host. Dr. William/the name of order under the pro Kuhn of Kansas City, general | tection of its regalia and in the use grand high priest of the Royal | its recognized uses and practices Arch Masons of the United States, |9"4 under the leadership of its ofi- honor guest at the banquet, was, cers, the principle of which hes for will recommend the measure for] chief speaker. jthe last six months at last browh¢ passage in substantially the form in| Mr. Murfin presided Tuesday| 8bout a condition in this par which it originally drawn in-| and Judge A. M. Christianson of) Which is a blot on our civilizat; / stead of amending it to permit the| Bismarck, today. Twenty-three|#nd brings into question the proud Klan to hold its masked burial ser-| out of 27 chapters were represent-| title on American citizenship. vice as was urged by Mr. Ambrose.| ed. | “The ‘fogging of citizens, their de Report of the committee on taxes The complete list of officers, portation and banishment and oth. and tax laws on Senate Bill 21, Senator Thorson’s income tax bill will be delayed for a day or two it was learned after the committee meeting this morning, and when the report is presented it will be a di- vided one, HARDING AT DESK FOLLOWING. RECENT ILLNESS Washington, Jan. 25.—President Harding returned to his desk today for the first time since he was taken ill with grippe more than a week ago. The White House physician, Brig. Gen. Sawyer, said he would not be restricted in the amount of Walter L. Stock- | kindred offenses were but riera pas grand high priest;| times and of such frequent occur- m of Bismarck, | rence as they were accepted as com- m T. Johnson of, monplace things the protest which ribe; Harry Lord! was itself sufficient ground for the named includes: well of Fargo, John A. G grand king; ill Fargo, grand s of Cando, grand treasurer and, protection. Ralph L. Miller of Fargo, grand! “Without going into detail we beg secreta | to say that the conclusion we heye | reached of these many acts of vio- jlence and crime is clear and it is | the purpose of the state to present PROBE EMBASSY Swit’ ct tn LIQUOR DEALS: its consideration and action as soon as we can get a transcript of it.' The Ku Klux Klan was charged (By the Associated Press) with responsibility for numerous Washington, Jan. 25.—The machin-| outrages in Morehouse parish to- ery of the federal government has; day n a_ statement by Attorney to ascertain} General A. B. Coco, of the whether any foreign embassies or | state of Louisiana, at the conclusiot legations have brougat into the | of the open hearing into activitie: country excessive shipments of li-!of masked bands which culminate quor which later was diverted into| August 24 in the kidnapping nea the bootleg trade in the national here of Watt Daniel and T. F. Rich been set in motion work he did. capitol. | ard whose, bodies were found in : | lake 25 miles from the scene oi Dec. 22, - Lawrence Leon Jones of Mozelle “DAY BY DAY BUSINESS IS GETTING = ctrvszss te, Sere.ct Yous BEIT (By the Associated Press) ‘Fargo, N. D,, Jan. 25.—The tenets of a modern school of healing; “Day by day, in every way, we are getting better and better,” migat well be ap- | plied to the trade of the dealer in farm implements, according to H. J Hodge of Abilene, Kansas, secretary of the National Federation of Retail Implement Dealers’ associations, in an address delivered here today he- fore the annual meeting of the North Dakota Implement Dealers assovia- tion. This condition, Mr. Hodge] ¢| said, might be taken as the indirect good claimed to have geen obtained by business in general in recent months of firmer stability, by econ- omists, bankérs, industrial magnates and railroad residents, * # “Even the farmer,” Mr. Hodge said, “many as have been the digpiriting factors in his experience, has ao gleam of encouragement. According to the statistics of the research. de- partment of the American Farm Bu- reau Federation, he is twenty-five ” DECLARES IMPLEMENT MAN ben the last person known to hav seen Daniel and T. F. Richard after _ they were kidnapped by masked men on August 24 and whose bodies were ; found in a lake near here on Dec. | 22 took the stand today at the open ‘hearing into operations of hooded bands in Morehouse parish. ie Statement nett, counsel for Dr. B, M. McKoin, T. Jeff Burnett and Newt Gray, identified by numerous witnesses as having been members of various masked part also is- sued a statement attacking the !c- gality of the hearing and testimony j given by those summoned to the stand. Attorney Burnett’s statement, the first formal comment for the defense, follows in part: “This hearing has been held un- der section 1918 of revised sta- tutes of this state. ° “The statute does mot provide that witnesses: be wn before a ceurt and grill nd ci j~exam- ined but in ordey that their deposi- nation’s history with a high level for products; Europe’s advance toward rehabilitation; stimulation of Euro- pean buying through an increase in 1922 of sixty-four per cent in the! flow eastward of American credit, compared with 1921. I addition, the gogernment’s report shows that the spread betwen the prices of farm products and prices of other com- modities has been gradually dimin- ishing until it is now. about half closed. Mr. Hodge claimed that in the past year there has beeh a marked lesser.- nig in resentment. of customers in all lines of business against the prices chargkd by the retailer. These resentful, often. bitter, customers, he stated, formerly were of the opinion that the retail merchant—the dealer was to blame for the high price of commodities, This idea now has/ tions may be taken.* * *- | practically vanished, according to) “None of this has been done ir Mr. Hodge, who said the customer is| this case. Therefore this whole pr: taking a philosophical view—seeing | ceedings, : things as they are, not through a} lity and th per cent better/off than one year ago. Three factors are named as responsi- ble for his progress—a bountiful crop season, the third largest in the declared. must have confidence in ability to sell honest goods solely on} would. their merits, atimony: glass darkly. Dealers, in turn, he i aie “eee ed in their customers, and in their own| used legally before