The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-03
THE SUIT AGAINST TUCKER.
There Was No Politics in 1.-THE Suit
Brought on Verbal Order.
To the editor OF the Inaianapolls 1ournal:

To the Editor of the Indianapolis Journal:
The article of DR.. A. r. Tucker in the
Journal of this morning is such a rehec-
ton upon the honor and integrity of the
Indianapolis correspondents in this city,
upon the county attorneys, Kane & Kane,
and upon the Board of County Commits
sioners that an answer is surely in order
Ever since the suit was filed against the
eX-auditor by the county he has made
strenuous efforts to make it appear that
the matter was nothing but political per-
secution and a thrust at his congressional
aspirations. He accuses few leading Re-
pubhcans of instigating and urging the suit
in order to block the way on his con-
gressional race track. AS the overdraws Of
Tucker and Martz had been rumored for
months, many prominent Republicans did
urge the commissioners to take some
action, not in DR.. fuckers case alone, but
in regard to some other cases as we'll in
order that the Republican party would
have clear sailing during the next cam
palgn This was done year ago before
II was known that Dr. Tucker was a candi-
GATE Tor Congress. 1t was done in the in
terest of honest government and to estab-
hsh and maintain the honor and integrity
or the republican party in Hamilton coun-
W. ana without any motive or intent to
InJure any one personally or politically
Lul, dSlue from all this, 5Or. Tucker has
mlsrepreSented the. facts relative to the
pending lawsuit. There is no politics in it
out IL is an unfortunate litigation growing
out OF the fee and salary law of 1891 with
the supreme Court decision thereon The
suit was filed by the county attorneys on
NOV. 3 on the verbal order of the County
commissioners. tucker got certificate of
the auditor that no such suit had been or
qered of record and tried to show that
Kane q Kane We're acting without author
lty In this mornings article in the Jour-
Two days after the auditors certificate
was furnished me | called upon two mem
t pers OF the Board of Commissioners. and
they informed me that they knew nothing
o. such suit being brought, and if it had
been brought that it had been without their
order"
Commissioner Carey was in the civ To-
day and says the above, so far as he is
concerned, IS not correct; Commissioner
hcrcheVal informed the county attorney that
IucKer had asked him to sign such a state
ment but that he refused to do so and stood
by the verbal order to bring the suit : Conn
missioner Smith voted against the allow
ance to Tucker in the first place and has
been IN favor of the suit ever since. Kane
& Kane. in an interview, say:
we deny that any such interview was
heId, and from our best information the
statement of Tucker that two of the COM
misslonerS had told him that they had rot
authorized the suit is absolutely false. We
are trying law suits and not the merits of
Dr. Tucker for Congress-
THE first information that we had in
reference 10 the drawing or illegal fees by
Auditor Tucker was when we were APP
pointed county attorneys in the spring of
1897; shortly after our appointment the
Board of Commissioners instructed us to
examine the matter, with a view to bring
ing suit to recover the amount which had
been paid Tucker in excess of the salary
to which he was entitled under the law
THE matter was under discussion for con-
siderable length of time and frequent in
terViews were had with Tucker for the pur-
pose Of inducing him to settle without litiga-
ton, which he invariably refused to do, and
at last fatty refused to make any kind of
u settlement until compelled to do So
After he had refused to make settlement
the Board of Commissioners ordered us to
bring the suit and. acting on that instruc-
ton, we did file suit against him to recover
the amount of money which he had obtained
under the pretense that it was salary but
which, in fact, was an unlawful payment
to him. After the case was commenced We
learned that Tucker was claiming that the
order of the board had not been placed on
record, and as we did not desire to be try
ing unnecessary questions, which could be
collateral to the main issue, we had the
Board of Commissioners called in session
and they made an order instructing US TO
record in the auditors office of this county;
we then dismissed the first complaint and
relied the same complaint, which Is the ac-
tiOn now pending.
The intent of DR.. fuckers article this
morning was to oiscredit the reports sent out
from this city when the suit was instituted
against him. To readers not knowing the
real facts in the case this article. by I'M
plication at least, would say that the
NoblesviIIe correspondents of Indianapolis
papers are liars that the county attorneys,
Kane & Kane, are incompetents. and that
the commissioners of this county are cow
ards and fools. WILL IL. CRAlG.
Noblesville Ind, Dec /.