The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-03-15
ARTICLES NOW FILED
ANOTHER CHAPTER IN MICHIGAN
CITY. BICYCLE SCANDAL.
Company Incorporates, but Principals
Kept In Background-Expose by
Legislative Committee.

The Democratic statesmen, including one
of the State officers, who secured such a fat
convict-labor contract at the Michigan City
penitentiary, kept as low as Brer Rabbit
during the legislative days, but as soon as
that body adjourned the crowd made haste
to come forward under cover and get their
company Incorporated. the articles being
filed with the Secretary of State yesterday.
During the campaign a strong effort was
made by the State officers to hide this BIZ
cycle contract, as it was wisely seen that
public information concerning the men hold
ing the contract, and the manner in which
the scheme went through, would cast much
odium on the Democratic party.
Even in the articles of Incorporation filed
yesterday efforts have been taken to con-
ceal the identity of the men who are really
the company, as it would appear from a
peculiar clause in the document. The COM
pany files new articles, and there is no sug-
gestion that the document is amendatory
to any articles that may have been filed
heretofore. it being remembered that there
was some claim last year that the company
had been regularly incorporated. The cap
ital stock is placed at $4,000, divided into
120 shares of s1eo each, and 1t is provided
that the ALLEN Manufacturing Company"
may manufacture bicycles, buggies or any
part thereof. wheels, toys, patented and
other articles. The company also claims for
itself the right of contracting for all the
labor that is needed in it's business.
The three directors named are Charles E.
Arnt and William B. Hutchinson, of Mich
igan City, and David A. Coulter, of Frank
fort, ''who shall manage the affairs of said
company until the adoption of bylaws and
until their successors duly elected"
1t will be possible for the company to pub
iicly use the names of these three men as
its directors, and within thirty days pro-
coed to elect men who are back of the
company to the managing positions. This
The principal office of the company is to be
at Michigan City, and the company will
have the right to remove either the office
or the plant
The report of the legislative committee
appointed to investigate this prison scandal
at Michigan City handled the contract with
out gloves. 1t was shown that Warden
French first advertised for bids, and after
they were received, in the early part of 1894,
they were all rejected. In August of the
missioner; ID. A. Coulter of Frankfort;
James Murdoch, a prominent Democratic
politician of Lafayette; W. b. Hutchinson,
of Michigan City, and a man named Chris
tie, of Chicago, gathered at the prison, and
a memoranda was made concerning the let
ting Of d contract for $50 men for ten years.
In the advertisement printed a half year
before only five years was specified. This
memorandum was not even signed, nor
was any shape of contract drawn up, yet
the prison directors one of whom is w. D.
Yontz, of Indianapolis and the man who
led the Democratic forces in the statehouse
fight, ordered the erection of bicycle
plant at an expense to the State of $1,000
The contractors began to put machinery in
the building in September, although no con-
tract was signed till October, the time when
the facts concerning the scandal began to
leak out. The rest of the story is best told
by the report of the investigating commit
tee. which continues follows.
ION or before the 9th of September one
William G. Smith, the present manager of
the bicycle company, came into the prison
with a number of free men and began the
manufacture Of tools and setting up the
machinery for the said bicycle company;
that no contract was executed with anybody
until the LIST day of October, 1894, when, by
some mysterious sort OF legerdema1n, and
a further shuttle of the pack, turned up one
Walter j. Ball, of Lafayette, who dropped
into this contract, and all the gentlemen
known therein prior to that time dropped
out, although 1t Is now admitted that they
are interested in the contract: that on the
said 4th day of October two contracts We're
hundred men and one for fifty men, colidi-
toned exactly alike being for the same
time, the same purpose, and between the
same parties and both secured under one
bond; that the two contracts were execu-
ted as a subterfuee to evade the statute
which prevents the letting of more than one
hundred men under one contract; that the
bond accepted and approved by the d1rec-
tors for the faithful performance OF said
cient for such a bond; that the names of
the real parties in interest, being the gen.
tlemen who met at the prison in August,
were up to this time kept a strict secret
from the world; that under the contract ex-
ecuted on the 1st day of October as afore-
said, the prison management agreed TO FUR
nish the steam for heating this large bicy-
Gle factory for the price of 800, while in
fact such service Is worth several times
that sum; that the capacity OF the boilers
of the prison for producing steam is not
sufficient to furnish the steam for heating
this building and at the same time to heat
the other buildings within the prison; ana
from the cold on account of this draught
of steam from the other departments; that
the price at which the convictS are let for
the first time in five years Is 40 cents per
day. being the same as the bid received in
FEBRUARY before, and that during the. Pc
riod from February until the present these
men have been idle, except, as IL IS canned,
contract are now employed in the factory,
although very little evidence OF such en-
ployment was found upon inspection or the
works and the hands therein.
I've conclude that the foregoing facts
are evidence of gross incompetency and
misrnan d cement or intentional fraud, on the
part of the directors, as the whole trans
action bears the ear marks of a contract not
let in good faith, with the Intention OF
working the men, but being contract to
barter away to outside factories VINO might
fear the results of such competition and
were willing to pay blackmai prices as
might be demanded. Whatever the motive,
or lack of motive. on the part Oh lne war
den and the directors in making this con-
tract. and for other mismanagement and
as herein shown, we recon-
mend that they be promptly removed.