PAGE POUR
MEDFOTID MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFOK1), OREGON, MONDAY, MARCH 20, 1933.
Medford Mail Tribune
"Ertryom ta Souttitra Ortfoa
rat Uw Hill Mbam"
Dtiiy faeapl Sutorttoy j
IUDF0UD PBLSTLWC oa
tB-iT-ll N. fit t Ptwm 6
KOBKH1 A HUHL, Wit
ft, U KNAPP Mannar
40 iDdttHMXteot Ntwtptpar
Entarad u Mcood jIm tutur it ktattfon)
Orecoo, under Act of Man . 18T9.
.. 8UBSCH11T101 KATBB
B UilLIn AnnnM
DtJlj. rur . 96.00
nail month.
Bi Curler, In idaMa Medford, AJbtiod,
liefcuoTUik, Centra) Point PboenU. Talaot UoU)
Bill tOO M HlCDVafl.
Kail, ntnnih . .1 .16
Dim' om rear ? '
All una, cub b adraoee.
Offleiu ptptt of uu City of Mttforo.
Officii otpei of Juunr Oouoty.
uemhih or rur assocum run
ttMelrtraj ruU LMMd Wirt Btnlct
fbt tjtoelticd PrtM It txelutlftly toUUttf tt
Uw oh for Duniieatioa til am dUptUbt
erediw) U U or otixnriM ertdlitd to tbli otptr
tod tUo tc tbt local am oubiUhtd twrcia.
All rtfbtt for putiltettloo oT ipaelai dlfottcM
tjcrtlu trt tUo rtMfwd .
UEMUEH OP OMTBD PUE88
UXMBEB OP AUU11 BUBEAV
OP C1KTIILATI0N8
AdwlUlm HeprtMDltUm
H C. MOUICNBBN ft COM PAN!
0ffl to Nit Yor., Chlet0, Detroit, Bu
Prtnriieo, U Angtlti, gtttUt Portland.
Ke Smudge Pot
By Arthur Perry.
The harvest of Hat haa been
reaped. There are still om who
would ape the tormentor or tho woe,
and sow again the seeds of Misery.
Scant tolerance should be accorded
auoh, If they persist In their heUraia
lng, and no sympathy wasted, when
low-moving Justice catches up with
them. There are Jails for those who
use the flag and the Bible -to shield
their foul purposes, and "blow hot
words upon the embers of agitation.
If their hysteria placed them under
the cold eye of a hardbolled warden
It Is their own fault. The communi
ty has been proven guilty of trying
to kill its destroyers with kindly pa
tience. Once upon time there was a little
boy, or a little girl, who went past
the Univ. Clubskl with his mama
and did not walk upon the stone
curblnb of the lawn, no matter how
the fond parent felt about It One
of these days that stone eurblng will
produce a world famous tight rope
walker, or a famed queen of the
trapeze.
" V' 'v
After the party everyone left, Mrs.
Hoover feeling younger than ever
(Bardman, Ore., Item.) The fountain
of Youth that Ponce De Leon tried
to find In Florida.
The hog-callers are spraying their
throat for the contest next Satur
day, and It Is hoped it will not be
necessary to call out the militia to
prevent Impromptu speeches.' It was
rumored yesterday that a male voice
was getting ready to disguise himself
as a hired man and perpetrate a bass
solo. Be should be sat down upon,
at the first false move. It la also pro
posed to have a roller-pin throwing
contest, with live targets. This la
not so good. A woman la a poor shot
If die knows what she Is trying to
hit.
Beer will be on top April 4, which
Is also the ninth anniversary of ditto
Snlmoda's appearance upon the
globe. The home brewers will not
be deterred by legalised suds. Some
maintain they can make better beer
In the bath tub than a St. Louis or
St. Paul brewery, full of German
brewmelaters.
.' AND WHO HASN'T
- (Hepnner, Ore., News)
Harold Dean, while tuning in
on a Long Beach, Oallf., radio
program, Saturday morning was
astonished to hear the announces,
state that another temblor was
on. The rumble of the quake
could be distinctly heard over
the radio.
r
A number of devotees of the O.
Chaplin mustache report they are
tired of your corr's slurs upon their
misplaced eyebrows. Then they
should put the eyebrows back where
they belong,
Sunday morn a cltleen wearing a
brand new hat, was noted going to
church. He went to church when his
other hat was old. Look out for a
want ad reading: Will brother who
took new hat by mistake from vesti
bule of church, phone 1111, and get
his.
"The young lady Is employed as an
understudy to Mrs. Whipple In oook
house of the logging company"
(Paisley Item) The dishwasher get
a puff In the paper.
"COMMISSION HOUSES NEED
EGOS BAD" (Portland Journal.)
Nothing to get fresh about.
(National Hardware Journal)
PIIOXY EDITOR)
"Wo begin the publication or the
Roocay Mountain Cyclone with some
phew dlphphlcultlea In the way. The
type phounder phrom whom we
bought our outphlt for this printing
ophphlee phalled to aupply us with
an ephs. or cays, and It will be phour
or phlve week bephore we can get
any. The mlstaque was not phound
out till a day or two ago.
"We have ordered the missing let
ten, and will have to get along with
out tnem till they come. We dont
llque the loox or tnla variety of
spelling better than our reader,
but. mtatax will happen In the best
regulated phamllles, and Iph the ph's
and e'a and la and q's hold out we
hall oeep (sound the o hard) the
Cyclone whirling aphter a phaslon till
the aorta arrive. It Is njo Joque to us
It's a serious apphalr,
New getabouta continue to (roll
around' the countryside. Very few are
parked in town, where they austaln
a dented fender, or be sat upon by
weary street corner
economist
Fehl Better Keep Still!
UE advice to Judge Fehl is to keep still.
The place to try his case is in the courts not in the news
papers. .
Just as long as he persists in making statements to the press,
calculated to gain publio sympathy and prejudice prospective
jurors in his favor, just so long will he be answered and the
answers, we fear, will do him no good.
JIS first public statement following his arrest, charged with
A A complicity in the theft and destruction of ballots, reads
in part as follows :
"I deplore the wanton killing of one of the best and most
honorable peace offlcera that .Jackson county ever had Qeorge
Prescott. ... I have always stood for Justice and law enforce
ment through the orderly process of a democratic form of
government."
Could a more brazen contradiction of sentiments and actions
be imagined I
Judge Fehl "deplores" the wanton killing of one of the
"best and most honorable peace officers that Jackson county
ever had," he characterizes the cold blooded murder, as
"wanton" that is needless, malioioug and criminal.
Yet what did he do when he saw more clearly than any
other person in Jackson county, that the murder he so deplores
was "in the cards"!
What did he do when his closest political crony, his intimate
friend, the man he consulted with day and night, called George
Prescott a "bandit"!
What did he do when that same man threatened to kill
George Prescott or any other peace officer who tried to arrest
himl What did he do where WAS he when the "best and
most honorable peace officer Jackson county ever had" fell
with a bullet through his heart, while in the performance of his
legal dutyf
JUDGE FEHL deplores that "wanton murder" NOW.
But he never deplored the criminal activities of the man
who committed that murder; he never deplored the campaign
of falsehood, blackmail and slander that resulted in that mur
der. He never deplored the statements in that same man's
newspaper, that the "show down" had come, that "blood would
flow."
NOT ONCE, in the sequence of those tragio events did he
ever interpose an objection, ever raise a hand of warning, nor
when that same man cried out for "revolution," did he sitting
on the same platform, a member of the same organiation which
by its silence sanctioned that seditious statement, ever UTTER
A WORD IN PROTEST.
Judge Fehl not only did nothing to prevent that wanton
sacrifice of an innocent, and at the time a DEFENSELESS
man's life, but for months before the tragedy he contributed
night and day to the campaign of discord and dissension, of
villification and hate, which caused it. He not only did nothing
to oppose the spreading of poison by. the slayer's newspaper, but
he contributed to it, in his own newspaper, and when L. A.
Banks' paper ceased publication, he ALONE was responsible
for its continuance.
But now he deplores the killing of George Prescott, he
deserts the man who .made him county judge, and brands his
former co-worker a wanton murderer I
"They have sown the wind and they shall reap the whirl
windl" ,
But not Judge Fehl. His hands, he claims, are olean. His
conscience clear. Others may have outraged justice and defied
the law. But he ... ' :
"has always stood for Justice and law enforcement through the
orderly proceas of a democratic form of government."
Always is quite a long time. When only a month ago Judge
Fehl stood on the platform of the Armory and before an .enthu
siastic meeting of the Good Government oongress, declared :
"I am a member of this organisation I Joined it the day
after I waa here before and talked to you.
"And why? Because I thought It waa an organization In the
Interest and the upbuilding of better government here . . . and
I hope this organisation wlU go on and on until It sweeps every
eounty in this state and every state In the union."
Was that standing for justice and law enforcement through
the orderly prooess of democratio government!
. That organization 'had already advocated "ropes and
nooses" at that meeting at which Fehl made this statement it
defied the law regarding the recall j only a week later, the oourt
house was broken into and ballot boxes burned, and before
another month had passed, that organization's president had
taken the law into her own hands with a horse whip and its
provisional president and official spokesman had wantonly shot
down in cold blood "one of the best and most honorable peace
officers Jackson county had ever had."
But Judge Fehl by his own declaration a member of that
organization has always stood for justioe and law enforce
ment, through the orderly processes of democratio government 1
Such a statement would be ludioroug were it not so brazen and
tragio.
A ND now indicted for complicity in one of the most lawless
" acts ever committed in the history of Southern Oregon
an act outraging every principle of "democratio government
and its orderly prooesses," Judge Fehl in this official state
ment broadcasted to a waiting world says i
"As to the charge against me, theft and destruction of the
ballots, I state that this charge Is a glgantlo political frameup
to rob me of my position as judge of Jackson county,"
"A gigantic political frame-up!" How ramiliar that sounds.
Another conspiracy, another miscarriage of justice, another
robbery on the part of the gang I
In one sentence he deplores the killing of George Prescott,
and condemns the slayer. In the next ha resorta to PRE
CISELY THE SAME PHRASES, appeals to the same prejudices
and passions, employs the same psychology, that more than any
other one thing, CAUSED that tragedy I
I A BANKS shot and killed George Prescott because HE
claimed he was the victim of a gigantie political frame-up
to rob him of his rightful property. Now Judge Fehl would
make the people of this community believe there is no justifica
tion for this indictment against him, no truth in tie charges
filed, that he is merely the victim of a giganto politioal frame
up to deprive him of his judgeship. There is just a much
truth to one olaim as to the other. Both are absolutely false,
and everyone who knows anything about this deplorable aitua
tion in Jackson eounty knows both are false.
e
for the courts, and only for the courts to decide.
But this much is CERTAIN.' There is no political frame-up
involved one way or the other gigantie or not gigantic. Politics
has nothing to do with it. Judge Fehl's position as county
judge nas nothing to do with it.
JIRECTLY after a meeting of the Good Government congress
T in the court house, which Member Fehl attended, the court
nouse room vault was broken into, ballot boxes were stolen, and
destroyed, as a result Sheriff Schermerhorn who opposed the
recount was allowed to retain his office, ex-Sheriff Jennings
who demanded the recount, was forced to relinquish the office.
WHO STOLE THOSE BALLOTS, WHO ARE THE MEN
RESPONSIBLE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY FOR OVER
TURNING THE ORDERLY PROCESSES OF A DEMO
CRATIC FORM OF GOVERNMENT BY FORCE!
That is the question and that is the only question!
It is a matter of evidence, a matter of proof, a matter of
what is true and what isn't. It has nothing to do with politics,
nothing to do with who is or who isn't county judge, it has
solely to do with who framed this plot to overthrow popular
rule in Jackson county and who carried it out.
If Judge Fehl is innocent of any connection with that crime,
he can prove it at the proper time, before a judge and jury, in
the regular way. j
Until then like any other accused man, he is entitled to the
benefit of the doubt. , ,
But when he tries to evade his moral responsibility for the
seditious and inflammatory campaign which resulted in a crime
that shook Jackson county to its foundations"
When he tries to make the people of this community believe
that his arrest as a suspect in the theft and destruction of the
ballots, is merely a political frame-up to rob him of his position
as county judge,
HE TRIES TO DO SOMETHING THAT CAN'T BE DONE!
He prejudices his case from the outset, as far as the in
formed, right thinking and law abiding people of this com
munity are concerned.
We repeat, our advice to Judge Fehl is to keep still, until
the cases in which he is a defendant are cleared up, in the
proper way.
The fower publio statements he makes like this one, the less
he attempts to try his case in his, or any other newspaper, the
better for himself and the better for all concerned.
fault of which he himself was guilty,
must bear a certain responsibility
for the killing of George Prescott.
Those who gave Banks their unllmlt
ed support are the men and women
who gave him the sense of power
which enabled him to deliberately
take a human life.
Unfortunately Banks controlled the
policies of a newspaper and so could
presd throughout the county the
disturbing policies which brought In'
ternsl atrlfe. He had an Idea he waa
being persecuted. Day after day his
paper was filled with distorted state
ments. News waa forgotten and only
the building up of a Banks' following
waa seemingly considered. News items
were editorialized until it was dtia
cult to get an unbiased report. Head-
Unes on outside press items were
written seemingly with a view toward
directing publio opinion rather than
recording facts.
The damage haa been done. George
Prescott la dead. L. A. Banks Is a
killer. His 12-yearold daughter sobs
as her father and mother are placed
In JaU. There Is no halo of glory
around the klUer. He becomes a tear
ful creature who valued human light
ly. And yet men and women support
ed him and gave him the sense of
backing and security which at least
helped make him a killer and brought
grim tragedy. Ashland Tidings.
Personal Health Service
By William Brady. 01, D.
Signed lettert pertaining, to panonaJ beaitb end nyrlene. not to dtteaae
dlagnuatt or treatment, will be answered by Ur. Brady If a tamped, eeU
addreued enfelnpe ie encloaed. Letter ahould be brief and written In Ink,
Owing to the lame Dumber of letter received only a ren cap be answered
here. No reply can be made to quart ea not conforming to Instructions
Address Dr. William Brady in care o t The Hall Tribune.
MORE ABOUT ANHEDONIA AMERICANA
Anhedonta is a name a French psy
chologist gives for Incapacity to en
Joy life or to be happy. .
I add the near-adjective because I
. believe anhedonla
Is typically Amer
ican and we shall
see why presently,
Although It was
a psychologist
who Invented the
name, I beg to
point out that
anhedonla la
question princi
pally of physiol
ogy, health, hy
giene and not
merely tho trend
ol mind.
The noisiest and benoe nest known
If not leading psychologist, of the
day are blatant quacks who know
the art of marketing manuscripts to
women's magazines and delivering
lectures to women's clubs. Their
stock In trade Is language. They are
always busy telling everybody how
to do everything, but they never do
anything themselves
X mippose no one doubts that the
depression and discouragement of the
vlot!m of some Incurable organic dis
ease la physical, physiological, not,
Just mental. Only a make-believe
happiness or good cheer can go with
grave Illness. No sane sick person
can or should pretend to be happy,
Victims of organic disease constitute
a large share of the anhedontacs. and
your cheap canned psychology isn't
worth a tinker's dam for these Joy
less ones. A physician Is what they
need, a plain everyday doctor who
knows that psychology Is Just a minor
part of physiology, that the function
i of the mind la but one of the many
functions of tho body on which the
well being of the body depends.
While aJ most everyone concedes
that orgAfnc disease accounts for the
Invalid's low spirits, a great many
laymen, what I call wiseacres, that
Is, persons of good enough education
but deplorably Ignorant of human
physiology and hygiene and generally
misinformed about disease, do not
comprehend that less plainly manifest
disturbances of health, functional
dlseves (as we call them until we
can decide which particular organ
Is damaged), explain most of the
anhedonla that prevails in America.
As a familiar example we may
mention that everyday observation of
languor, llstlessness and melancholy
in youngtere In their teens, particu
larly girls, who suffer from Insuf
ficient thyroid gland function, and
the way a suitable lodln ration re
atorea the natural cheerfulness and
vivacity of youth. Or take the In
stance of the adult who begins to go
stale In the Tory prime of life, to age
prematurely and feel constantly tired
without cause and to be conscious
of an unusual mental torpor and
loss of former good nature It is
remarkable how a wee drop of lodln
brightens these older boys and girls
up and helps them to thrust back
the premature age which had almost
fastened on them. .;
When or If this country grows up
we shall require that anyone who
holds himself out tie a psychologist
shall first be a qualified physician
That will dispose ol the horde of
quack psychologists now teaching
people how to train children, how to
prevent crime, how to buy and sell,
how to be successful In business,
love, how to have a dominating
personality. .
In the succeeding talk we shall
analyse anhedonla and see Just what
It la composed of.
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Quite a Handicap.
I am getting so short of breath
when going up stairs or walking.
m 34 years old, ft feet ft Inches tall
and weigh 174 pounds . . .Mrs. L. R.
Anrwer It would make almost any
body puff some to tote a 30 per cent
handicap around all the time. Send
a stamped envelope bearing your ad
dress, give your age, height, weight,
and ask for Instructions for reduc
ing. No reduction advice unless I be
lieve the correspondent should
duce.
Rope of Any Other Color Would Serve
As Well.
I have heard through doctors and
others that a black stocking around
the neck is good for sore throat and
colds and that a black thread around
the neck will prevent sore throat.
W. H. R.
Answer -Go along with you,
real physician ever told you any such
thing. At that a hempen rope around
the neck, drawn quite tight and kept
so, will cure almost anything. .
Complicated Arithmetic
Please note carefully the error
made In the inclosed editorial which
quotes you in reference to the effect
of alcoholic beverages on persons who
drtvt etaoahrdlue ahrdluetaolnshrdl
drive automobiles. Somebody's arith
metic was wabbly . . W. h
Answer I hope you re telling me.
An automobile traveling at the rate
of SO miles an hour goes 44 feet In
second. A glass or two of wine,
beer or what have you slows the re
action time from the normal one-
flfth second to nearly four-fifths
second. That would let the machine
go another 30 to SO feet before the
intoxicated driver (intoxicated In the
scientific sense, if not In the vulgar
sense) could apply the brake or
swarve out of the pcth of danger. I
cant guarantee the arithmetic .but I
do guarantee the physiology.
f Copyright, John T. Dille Co.)
DEED OF BANKS SHOCKS
NEIGHBOR NEWSPAPERS
A newspsper, wltn policies dedicat
ed by a man of unscrupulous or un
principled character, or perhaps with
a mental quirk which gives him a
distorted view point, can be an ex
ceedingly dangerous man.
L. A. Banks without a "mouthpiece"
to reach Into the homes of Jackson
county, could not have wrought the
damage which has been done In Jack
son county. Without a medium of
.rinlom ar2 IUDGE FEHL ma' may not be gUllly Of complicity in this hing into the homes to carry his
er aipioma wfJ , f Heam5n a K k.n- rru ... doctrine of hatred and distrust, L.
. - .. . .. . inelt jtna aestrucUoa of tbt ballots. That u something a. sanu wouw ban been unable to
gather around him misguided men
and women who have become "Banks
devotees. -
Without the strength and confidence
which he likely believed existed
among his followers, L. A Banks
would probably have thought a bit
longer before he took aim and shot
an officer through the breast and
became a killer.
Every man and woman who was In
misdirected sympathy with Banks,
who was constantly appealing for
Banks would bay been unable to sympathy, charging others with every
Banks Makes Good His Threat
L. A. Banks of Medford killed his
man.
Banks made good his threat of
bloodshed, his declaration that he
would not submit to arrest. The feud
In Jackson county came to a bloody
climax yesterday when Banks killed
an arresting officer, Constable George
Prescott. His antipathy to Prescott
dated from the time several weeks
ago when Prescott served attachments
on the paper stock in the plant of
the Medford News, then operated by
Banks. The latter poured editorial
vitriol on Prescott for his seizure of
the paper stock, attributing his action
to the attempt of the "gang" to put
him out of business.
The Jackson county discord had
simmered recently since Banks lost
the News to former owners, and since
some 15 of his followers were arrest
ed on charges of ballot thefts. It was
when the grand Jury returned the
Indictments and service was attempt
ed that Banks defended himself in
his home by shooting the process-
server. While state police swung Into
the city to preserve order, the situ
ation there is still volcanic, with pos.
slblllty of further violence.
To a considerable degree the civil
strife there Is a product of hard times.
Bank was a man of means, a fruit
operator on a big scale. He was heav
ily Involved and could not realize
enough on his assets to meet his ob
ligations. From the time he entered
the publishing business he manifest
ed symptoms of delusion. He ran, for
the United States senate against
Charles L. McNary, denouncing the
federal government particularly for
what It did to pear-growers In Its
hortlcural control. He built up the
Journalistic bogey of the "Medford
gang," including In it alt who cross
ed his purpose. He rallied to his
cause hundreds of people who cher
ished similar bitterness against con
ditions or against Individuals. His
frequent phrase was a "breakdown of
law and order"; another "rocking
Jackson county to its foundations."
Clever in his use of Words and with
scant regard for news accuracy he
fomented the discord through the
columns of his paper, creating and
fostering a division which has cul
minated In civil strife and bloodshed.
Banks wes long the butt of gener
al ridicule over the state. His paro
dies on reality .were so preposterous
to be wholly unconvincing to those
at a distance accustomed to appraise
the printed word. But the Jest turn
ed to earnest as the situation grew
more tense; and for weeks there hss
been fear that open strife might ensue.
" The condition Illustrates however
the social Instabilities which prevail
in these unsettled times, even In a
community so fine and intelligent
and usually so prosperous as Jack-
son county Salem Statesman. I
ing feeling of climax than looking
through one's windows and seeing
body there In a widening pool
the front porch floor. Grants Pass
Courier,
Violent Words Lead to Vlolnt Deeds.
Medford'a troubles had to end that
way, didn't they, in murder?
If, Indeed, Medford'a troubles have
come to the end, which is problemat
ical in the extreme.
It's a witches' brew they have been
distilling these many months In the
Bear creek city. And it's a stroke ot
fate that the hatred of that broth
spilled over in the gunfire of the man
who had stirred It, Instead of some
moron whom be hed Inflamed.
But It Is the greatest pity that the
warmly-loved Officer Prescott had to
be the one to fall. And if ever a man
had a moral right to return death for
death. Officer O'Brien had It when
the shock of the high-powered bullet
sprayed him with the blood of his
friend.
Every story haa Its climax. The
story of life has many. The climax
Is the solution to the troubles and
the strife and the triangles of fiction,
and then follows quickly those words
The End." But m life a climax Is
not many an ending. It is Just tne
preparation tot another climax a lit
tle later on.
Words of violence In Medford and
broadcast over the countryside have
led to their climax In violence Itself.
What will the climax of violence be?
We can only wait. But while we
are waiting we can reflect that the
Medford editor had all his aspira
tions within his grasp a dozen times
If he had stuck to legal means to
wrest the power he wanted, but he
could nt wait for laws and elections
and orderly procedure, and he defied
the courts, which now will have the
Job of giving him a trial before a
Jury of his peers.
What must be the chagrin of the
better of his followers who now can
realize the sort of leadership they
allowed to guide them?
If only all were cured, the sacri
fice would perhaps be the easier to
bear. But all are not cured, for there
are those In the lower strata of the
"Oood Oovernment" group to whom
the rashest act does not go far
enough.
6o it may not be the climax for
the Medford situation. Nobody knows.
But It very likely is the climax for
Mr. Banks.
Oregon has capital punishment.
and If it comes to that. Banks still
has a climax In store for him. But we
Too Bitter Medicine
Another dose of bitter medicine
has been applied to the disorder from
which Jackson county has been suf
fering. Again It appears that the med
icine might do the patient a great
deal of good, but this time the taste
was too bitter. To apply tne mem
cine Qeorge Prescott, for years one
of Medford's favorite law enforce
ment officers, had to give his life.
The tragedy should have been shock
enough to cure any community,
matter how badly feud-ridden. '
The slayer was Llewellyn A. Banks,
rabble-rousing leader of the so-caiiea
Oood Oovernment congress, the man
who set himself above all the soutn
ern Oregon courts, the apostle of sus
picion, hatred and discontent.
According to reports received here
yesterday by the state police, George
Prescott was shot down, without
warning,, on the front porch of the
Banks home. In company with
state officer, Prescott had called to
serve a warrant for Banks arrest.
Mrs. Banks answered the door and, as
she stood, wittingly or unwittingly.
as a shield, Banks fired from behind
her. The bullet killed Prescott. Both
Mr. and Mrs. Banks were taken to
JaU, the former to face what almost
turned out to be a lynching. Offi
cers got him away to Grants Pass
where he ought now to be thanking
his God or his Good Fortune that
there are other officers besides the
one he killed.
The pity of the story Is that Banks
wss not put away some months ago.
Prescott was too good a man to waste
that way. Another pity is that Mrs.
Banks has been caught In the whirl
of circumstance set in motion by her
husband. A third person so caught
is the Banks' little daughter. All this
could have been avoided. But It takes
tragic climax to clear up such
situation.
Besides forcing authorities into be
lated action toward removing the
leading trouble-maker from the Jack
son county disturbance, the tragedy
ought to sober the larger share of
Banks' followers. If enough of them
come to their senses, the lesser lead
ers will be powerless and the county
will presently settle down to Its for
mer peace. If so, George Prescott's
death will have served some purpose.
even though It seems a cruelly un
necessary sacrifice. Eugene News.
An officer of the law pays the
supreme price for the neglect of the
better element In Jackson county to
assert Itself In support of consti
tuted authority. For many months
a mad man, a comparative new-com
er to sthe state, has been permitted
to employ the columns of a newspa
per to turn a peaceful community
Into a veritable factional hell.
Every newspaper editor to whose
desk came the Medford Dally News
realized the mental condition of its
editor, L. A. Banks. Such ravings as
came from his pen could come only
from a mind apparently laboring un
der a dangerous hallucination.
Every community has its malcon
tents, ever ready to follow where
trouble leads, and why this apparent
ly maniacal editor was permitted to
go on day after day and month after
month in his deliberate effort to in
cite trouble to sic faction upon fac
tion, to rekindle old feuds and make
new ones, until he utterly destroyed
the peace and happiness of an en
lightened community, finally termin
ating in murder of an officer In the
performance of his duty Is more
than one at this distance can under
stand.
Banks and his followers seemed to
have the same and substantial ele
ment In Jackson county buffaloed
Into Impotence. He screamed In every
issue of his dally sheet that law and
order had broken down In Jackson
county. And It had with Banks him
self the prime Instigator. He defied
arrest, openly issued threats, advo
cated revolution, branded the bar as
sociation as an Illegal legal trust:
the grand Jury as corrupt. No Judge
could satisfy his ideas of Justioe. He
sought to -set up his own kingdom
through terriorlsm. Only that was
Just which favored, the side of Mr.
Banks.
That the thing led to murder Is
but the expected sequence. It was
bound to happen.
If some one waa to be killed as
the result of the activities of Banks,
It was fortunate the prime disturber
was the one to commit the deed. His
set Is the supreme and final evidence
that he, himself, waa the arch-conspirator
against law and order thru
out the months of turmoil. Had one
of his misguided followers been kill
ed. Banks would have had new In
flammatory fuel. Had he been the
one shot his followers would have
made a hero of him. Now he Is elim
inated as a cold-blooded murderer
of a peace officer In the performance
of duty.
The tragedy may tend to have a
remedial effect upon the deplorable
situation In Jackson county. But hu
man life Is a heavy price to pay for
the failure of law-abiding citizens to
rise up in time against the menace.
A nut, with a newspaper, Is a dan
gerous combination, especially when
discontent is rife and easily aroused.
This man Banks has left to Medford
and Jackson county a legacy of hat
reds at home and a reputation abroad
from which It will not recover In
long years. Oregon City Enterprise.
ful in his business ar in politics, they
are all the more ready and anxious to
behove anything that may be said
about him. Envy loves a shining
mark and the brighter tt shines the
greater the envy. And so. Banks and
his deluded followers hated everybody
who was successful or who held pub
lic office. Banks oifered to correct
the Ills of the world by offering him
self upon the altar of politics. He
wanted to replace Senator McNary.
He got quite het up because th's
colm laughed at his Idiotic platform.
Wei;, the voters dtun't take advan
tage of their opportunity to save
themselves, and Banks was defeated.
That convinced him of the further
fact that the "gang" ran things all
over the state and In Jackson county
in particular. So, he organized the
dlscortented in Jackson county and
eleosed his own county Judge. He
wxd Indignant when the rest of the
oounty officials would not resign. He
wanted the district Judge to resign..
He insisted that the district attorney
should resign. There was no "Jus
tice" in Jackson county and would
not be until Bank and his dupes
had placed their own and themselves
In the public offices. We have seen
that sort of delusion before.
Well, It looks as though the Justioe
Mr. Banks has been demanding was
about to arrive in Jackson county.
It may require a cnange of venue
to gat it, but It womd seem an open
and shut case against Mr. Banks,
with the open end of the noose star
ing him right In the face. Too bad
peop'e have to be so loollsh. It took
the life of an Innocent man. a worthy
citizen performing his , duty to put
Banks where he will no longer be a
mentce to the community. It was
too much to pay, but sometimes there
Is no other price. Banks had prophe
sied that there would be bloodshed
In Medford. Perhaps he thought he
had to make good on his prohpesy.
Except for the fact that the affair
was so tragic, It would have been a
good Gilbert and Sullivan comedy, for
all the fuss made by Banks and his
credulous, fantastic fanatics, was a
tempest In a small teacup for there Is
notlvng the matter with Medford.
Jacxson county, nor the public of
ficials down there, outside of Banks'
fervid imaginat!on. Corvallls Gazette-Times.
Much un needed sympathy will be
given L. A. Banks. Medford editor,
who shot and killed George Prescott,
Medford constable, Thursday. The
lunatic fringe which always support
anyone who howls loudly about "Jus
tice, freedom and personal rights" are
apt to make a martyr out of Banks
after the fashion of Mooney's semi
deification and the elevation of the
late Ben Boloff to heroism. The
truth Is Banks shot an officer dis
charging hla duty am- thereby flaunt
ed law. If such actions are to be
countenanced all freedom and all
government by law is endangered.
Having known Mr. Banks person
ally and having been entertained In
his home, makes It, possible for us to
explain why Banks acted as he did.
It does not make It possible to con
done his action or to wish that the
law would be other than swift and
unrelenting. Banks Is a rather bright
man, beloved by the small coterie
whl-h are from time to time his
friends. He is unfair In his pudg
ment, and governed by prejudice,
hatreds and Inconsistencies. His ac
tion has not only taken the life of
Innocent man performing hii
duty; it has done Irreparable harm to
himself and to his wife and to the
community in which he lived. (Shel
don p. Sackett, In Coos Bay Times.)
Flight 'o Time
(Medford and Jackson Count;
History from the Files or The
Mall Tribune of 20 and 10 fears
Ao.)
TEN YEARS AGO TODAY
March 20, 1023
(It Was Tuesday)
Five families who have been stop
ping at the free auto camp for three
weeks told to move on.
F. Roy Davis Is named fish com
missioner by Gov. Pierce, causing
great political consternation among
the fishermen.
Road to Jacksonville Is plowed up.
preparatory to paving, and traffic 1
routed by the southern route.
G. of O. civic dinner la huge suc
cess.
The End of Banks.
The reformers In Medford finally
wound up by committing murder.
The rule la that the professional re
former feathers hla own nest by fair
meana or foul, but they do not often
become so lost In the exuberance of
their own delusion to commit mur
der.
Editor Banks of Medford waa the
spark that kept the fires of animos
ity burning In Jackson county. H.
acciued sverybody In authority who
wouldn't knuckle to his fantasies of
every sort of crookedness and had so
worked upon the Jackson eountv
yokel ry that he had an amazing fol
lowing. We take no slam at Jack
son county. The same thing would.
""HK"" anj ouier county wun the
asms kind of leadership. There is
aiwaya a bunch of morons and dis
gruntled. Intolerant and envious who
are ready to believe any kind of a
disparaging story that may be told
New regulations for use of city wat
er for Irrigation are announced, and
described as "Injustice."
Clare (Tulle) Williams named All
State basketball guard, and la his
Paw proud.
C. of C. membership passes the 400
mark.
TWENTY YEARS AGO TODAY
March 20, 1013
A. C. Allen, who owned the first auto
ever brought Into valley. Is fined II
for speeding on Main street.
Court Hall writes a two-column ar.
tide on the Bud Anderson- K. O.
Brown fight and thinks Bud Is be
ing re-matched with Brown too soon.
Local suffragettes start campaign
of education.
Young hoodlum falls off high side
walk during fight, and breaks leg.
"Oil and water." a blograph a
the Star: "Alone With the Prince"
at the It. and "Slapped by Destiny,"
at the bis.
Phone M2.
refuse, city
Well haul away your
Sanitary Serrloa.
Broken windows glazed
rrowbrldge Catsaet Works.
9
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cannot Imagine a more deadly, sink-stories am told about la fairly success-!
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