The Evansville journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ind.) 1866-1870, 1870-06-21

preparation and sale or the Water
Works Bonds, and contracting for
the construction of the works. We
criticised the action Of the Council as
altogether improper in that it placed
too much power in the hands of
the Committee, when it assigned
100000 in bonds to the committee
without security and without limit as
to price. We charged that such pro-
ceeding was without precedent in mu-
nicipal or State legislation. The
Courier evidently saw the mistake
that had been made by the Council,
and sought to divert attention from
it By resorting to contemplate quib-
bIes. pitiful petifogging, and down
right falsehood. 1t did its best to
divert attention from the action
of the Couneil by attempting
to make the criticism Of the
JOURNAL personal to the members
composing the Water Works Commit
tee. In reply, the JOURNAL SUBJ
Stimulated its statements by facts that
could not be answered or lodged, and
exposing the trickery by which the
Courier hoped to deceive its readers.
The JOURNAL broadside on Saturday
was too much for the Democratic
craft, and il now attempts to escape
in fog of personal defamation. We
do not care to pursue it much farther.
The game is not worth the candle.
Our only object was to expose the
operations of what we regard as a
Ring" formed for the purpose of
operating in city bonds, and further
than that we do not propose to be
led.
We will make a brief summary Of
the whole matter as it stands at date :
The JOURNAL asserted that the
City Council committed wrong with
out precedent when it agreed to
place $500, 600 of the city bonds in
the hands of the Water Works Com
mittee, to be by said Committee sold,
without limit as to price or condition.
The Courier replies: 1.-THE jour
NAL attempts to make it appear that
Matthew Muhlhausen, Thos. Kerth,
Charles w. Doughty and Eccles G..
Van Ripper are set of liars and de-
signing thieves"
The JOURNAL charged that the city
wharf bonds had been sold to private
parties in this city at seventy five
cents on the dollar. after it was well
known that the same bonds had
lately been sold in New York al
eighty-five cents.
The Courier replies: We defy
that mendacious sheet to say that DR.
Matt. Muhlhausen, Eccles G. Van
Ripper or Thomas Kerth are thieves
The JOURNAL showed that the
Water Works Committee, in asking
unlimited power to contract for Tho
construction of Water Works, and
the payment of the same, was likely
to arouse suspicion as to its integrity
and that the Council took the same
view of the subject by refusing to con
fer upon the Committee the au.horit,
asked for.
The Courier replies: rs TIL oma
Kcrth thief? Is DR.. Muhlhausen
scoundrel? Is Charles w. bought.
a dishonest man2 Is Eccles g. Van
Ripper a plunderer and scoundrel ant
leech?"
Indeed, the above interrogatories il
all the defense that paper can MAKE
to our expose of the fnancieriDs
operations of its partisan Council
We thought it only fair to call the
attention of the Chairman of tn,
Water Works and Finance Commit
tees to the fact that he had beer
prominent in denounciDg what he wa;
pleased to term rings" and hence
there was upon him a great necessity
of preventing, on his part, even tn,
appearances of evil in that direction
We are grati6ed to know that oul
admonition is likely to have its effect
We propose to criticise the oficia
action of City Councilmen freely anC
candidly. IF we make charges which
are not substantiated by the officia
documents, it will be an easy matte
for our readers to detect the false
hood. But when we prove the cor
rectness of our assertions by fact
and figures, we respectfully submit TO,
the consideration of our contempora
~, that it had better dispose of then
before it attempts to raise persona
issues. The action of the Council il
granting the request of the Waite
Works Committee and placing tn
bonds in their hands, was wise or un
wise. If wise. the Courier ought t.
have the skill to show wherein i
was so. IF unwise. it ought to hav'
the candor to acknowledge the mis-
take, and seek to have it rectifed
| It's application of hard names to tn
gentlemen composing the Council, i
a style Of argument that we do not ad
mire and will not initiate.