The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-24
GAS COMPANY'S CHOICE
EXPLANATION or ITS FAvORTTISM
TOWARDS TAGGART.
Four Men Put to Work on "A One-Man
Job in Order to Get All HeeIers
Employed.

The people have watched with some in
terest to see where the Indianapolis Gas
Company would land in this campaign. as
= would give a pretty fair indication of
which side was the more apt to push the
fight of the people for cheaper gas. 1t
landed in the Taggart camp shortly after
the campaign opened, and during the last
week it's responsible representatives here
have made no secret of their choice. In
fact it has been proclaimed by them pub
licly more than once.
Chairman Spencer smiled a sickly smile
last night when asked how much the gas
company had contributed to the Taggart
campaign fund. Pearson is just making
a bluff at being on our side,' he replied.
Il believe he is for you folks"
An unthinking man might wonder what
interest the gas company can have in the
election of Mr.. Taggart. The ordinance for
cheaper gas has been passed and signed.
and no Council would dare to repeal it,
nor would any mayor dare to sign a re-
pealing ordinance. But it is not enforced.
The fight for cheaper gas was only begun
when the ordinance was passed. All the
litigation is yet to come. The company has
obtained an injunction from the Federal
Court preventing the enforcement of the
ordinance and is not bothering itself fur
theT. 1.-The city can do the worrying, if any
is to be done" remarked an officer of the
company after the injunction had been OBJ
tanned. The application for an injunction
caught the city's corps of legal
talent all unprepared. Mr.. Kern, special
counsel whenever there is any litigation
was out of the city, and so was City At
torney Curtis The latter just returned in
time to hustle to Goshen for the hearing
and make an argument that had no eff
feet.
The injunction was obtained and since
then the city's lawyers apparently have
made not single move in the direction of
having it dissolved or in any way hasten
ing the matter to an ISSUE The gas COM
pany can afford to wait forever, and it
seems in fair way to do so, so long as
the Democrats control the legal department
of the city government Messrs. Kern and
Curtis have given a striking lesson on "how
not to do it, in the street-car litigation. 1t
has advanced slowly enough since the bur-
den of the thing was transferred from the
shoulders of the corporation to those of the
people, and such steps as have been taken
have been taken primarily by the attorney
general of the State.
But in the gas litigation Mr.. Taggart's
attorneys will not have the attorney gen.
eral to l-eep them moving, and they can
loaf along with it at their own sweet will.
Whether the administration has any under
standing with the company that, in case
Taggart is reelected, the litigation will not
be pushed with unseemly haste is not very
material. The company probably knows
that Messrs. Kern and Curtis would still
conduct the legal department and would
naturally permit that injunction to linger
for the next two years without making any
really earnest effort to lift it.
That is the prospect it has, if Taggart is
elected. If Harding is elected it is prom
Used not only that this litigation will be
pushed by good lawyers who will attend to
business but also that every effort will be
made to bring in competition, which is the
surest and quickest reducer of rates. 1t is
not surprising that the gas corporation
should be throwing all its immense power
to the Taggart side.