The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-29
POCUE'S RUN FARCE
OVER ESQ MEN LOAFING ALONG THE
BANKS OF THE CREEK.
~
Shameful scheme of TagGart Ring to
Permit HeeIers to Bleed the
City Treasury.
BOO GANG ON THE PAY ROLL
OF ALL THE ARMY ONLY FOUR EN-
PLOYEs ARE COLORED MEN.
Dirt Dug Up and Thrown Back Into
the Creek Again - The
"SweII" Bosses.

greatest degree of perfection by the Boo
gang that is "holdin' down Pogue's run
for the Taggart administration. Just now
the $4,000 campaign fund is being thrown
into the run just this side of the arsenal
Yesterday there were 20S shovelers, thirty
seven teamsters, five ''swell bosses" and
no end of gang foremen' making a des-
perate bluff at work. OF all this crowd
only four are colored men. The teamsters
are hired by the day and get SO, the show
elers are paid $1.4O, the gang foremen 81
and de swell bosses" SIS week. Until the
present time Pogue's run has been i'm
proved" from Washington street to High
land avenue (old Archer street, and the
gang is putting in the time from that
point on up to the food gates at the west
side of the arsenal grounds, a block and
a half away.
Any one with an appreciation of the lu-
dicrous. who does not object to the price
the city is paying for the SHOW" $l5,OOO
can find no more amusing way to pass an
afternoon than to take an East Michigan
street car to Highland avenue, then walk
a block or so to where the gang" is put
ting in the time and observe the many
unique tricks that are practiced to avoid
work A reporter for the Journal who had
gone over the south end of the run last
week to see what was being done to in
crease the outlet spent the afternoon yes
terday observing the 'sojerin' and loaf
ing that is being done. over the run at
Highland, a block or so north of the Mich
igan-street car line is a bridge resting on
stone piers Entering the run from the east
and a little north of this bridge is a little
branch" Gerisively called Calico creek
by the men who were lettering around it
yesterday afternoon. The banks of Cali
co creek" have been very neatly trimmed
down. They slope gradually up. AT this
point "a gang of sixteen men was at work
One wagon was being loaded -Four or five
of the gang were engaged at work. Each
man carefully inserted his shovel in the
loose earth, spit on his hands, stopped
down, elevated the shovel and then dumped
it into the wagon. While the wagon was
being loaded the driver sat on the stone
pier under the bridge twenty feet away
talking to two old dodgers whose shovels
were lying against the bank. While they
conversed, a half dozen other old men
were carrying dirt by the shoveful from
near the wagon to the vicinity of the piers
where it was carefully spread on the
ground and gently pressed out beneath the
shovels the men, one of them chewing the
end of long pipe, stood and conversed.
A group was thus engaged when another
man came along with a shovel of dirt
'.Whur shall 1 put ut?" he asked of an
old man with a blue shirt, SLOUGH hat and
one suspender strap holding up his blue
overalls.
20 fling ut down onywheres Ut don't
make no difference where"
The man loading the wagon continued in
a perfunctory sort of a way. Some fifty
feet further up Calico creek" another
driver sat on the seat of his wagon waiting
for his turn to come to load up While the
score of men puttered around loading the
wagon, one of the swell BOSSES" Jim Nc
Bride by name came up from the direction
OF a saloon near the street-car tracks on
Michigan street He heard the reporter
talking TO a stranger about the "loafin"
that was going on.
ONE OF THE SWELL BOSSES"
Mcbride is a wonder. He has a loud
voice, manners rather uncouth and is the
best driver" that has a hand in the Pogue's
run Improvement. AS they saw him coming
that was still like quickstep in comparison
ground.
why don't yes hustle over there and load
that wagon?" demanded Mcbride in a stri-
dent tone as he stood on the bridge looking
down at the haif-empty wagon.
What the ell you got all these hoboes
here fur?" asked the gang foreman" an
old man with a limp. There is two SHOW
els lynn idel Whot the ellis this Boo gang
good fur?"
Where's the shovels?" asked Mcbride,
pulling out his watch.
There they are said the foreman, point
ing them out.
How long've they been gone?" asked Nc
Bride with a show of Indignation.
Bout five minutes, | guess said the
foreman, laughing.
Five minutes? How the ell do you ex-
pect a man TO go to- and get back in five
minutes?" With a snorting laugh Mcbride
went on up the run toward the arsenal TO
stir up the rest of the boo gang"
Most of the working calico
creek were too old to move around with
any speed, although there was one young
fellow that wore a blue jumper, who lay
back against the bank of the creek while the
old terriers, as he called them, made a
show CT earning their daily stipend of Sl.40.
1t is very well understood by the gang
that the work is to be made to last as long
as possible. If a private contractor were
doing the job things would move along
much more lively. The old men working on
Calico creek" moved around with as little
life and spirit as lotus eaters.
Up the run from Calico creek toward the
Arsenal there were long strings of men on
either side of it. Some of them stood in
the bed of the run throwing dirt back over
a line that marks the western bank of the
new bed that is being made. At this point
Pogue's run is as crooked as a dogs hind
leg. Stakes have been set by the city en-
gneer and lines run TO straighten it out
At some places immense fills have been
made in the old bed and in others very
deep cuts are being made. Just west OF
the fioodgate at the Arsenal grounds there
was a half-moon curve in the channel. This
Is being filed UP and the course of the
stream will be southeast after the work is
completed.
MERELY SHIFTING THE DIRT.
What do you do with the dirt out of the
run?'' one of the teamsters was asked.
Haul it back into the run again." he
answered. laconically.
On the west bank yesterday afternoon hall
a hundred men were throwing the dirt over
a line behind them to make one of the fills
Opposite them another large force was al
stood by. After few shovels of earth were
thrown into each the one in front moved OF
farther up stream and the one behind hin
took his place. BY the time the last man
reached the head of the procession his
wagon was about full. Meantime he hac
started forward many times. the shovelers
mad rested a few minutes he had stopped
again and few threw a few more shovel
u earth upon his load. While the proce r
sion slowly wound II way past the shoVeler
many other wagons were standing idly b5
waiting 10 get place in the procession