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The ruling group held a series of meetings: Harry Chandler of the “Times”; “Eddie” Dickson of the “Express,” evening newspaper of the Black Hand; Captain Fredericks, congressman-elect of the Black Hand; Harry Haldeman, president of the Better America Federation; E. P. Clark, proprietor of one of our biggest hotels, and principal financial backer of the Better America Federation—these and half a dozen others constituted themselves “the Committee of One Thousand” for the purpose of electing a “citizens’ ticket” of seven members for the school board. A little later they decided to expand into “the Committee of Ten Thousand”—this in spite of the fact that at no one of their meetings were they able to collect more than thirty-seven people!

Their ticket comprised an assortment of hard-boiled reactionaries. At the top of the list stood Jerry Muma, their most active representative on the previous board. Mr. Muma runs a big insurance business; and just as the campaign was getting under way there was made public the affidavit of a prominent architect in the city, to the effect that Mr. F. O. Bristol, agent for Muma and likewise a candidate for the school board, had come to the architect soliciting insurance, and pointing out that Jerry Muma, as head of the building committee of the school board, controlled much valuable business of an architectural nature. “Mr. Muma believes in reciprocity,” said Mr. Bristol, significantly. This affidavit caused the Black Hand to take Jerry Muma from the head of its ticket; but they left Mr. Bristol!