The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-09
RECORDS FALSIFIED.


him TO meet YOU at 1880 o'clock.
The reporter reminded the mayor that he
was TO make an appointment by telephone
at o'clock.
Didn't he wait for you,?. told him to
wait. When can you meet him now?
MR.. ENGLISH ASSISTS.
The reporter agreed to be at the park
Office at o'clock. Fearing that Mr.. Spen-
Ger would not arrive the reporter appealed
to Mr.. English. Thursday evening after
seeing the mayor the reporter called on Mr..
English and explained the difficulties he had
experienced in getting at the records. Mr..
English expressed surprise. He said that so
far as he was concerned there was absolute
ly nothing in the records that he wished
concealed, and he expressed the hope that
the reporter might see them the next after
noon yesterday Thursday night he urged
the mayor to have Spencer on hand the
next afternoon. When the reporter called
on Mr.. English yesterday Mr.. English prom
iSed to telephone the mayor, urging that he
send Mr.. Spencer to the park office. The
reporter returned TO the park office, where
Mr.. Spencer appeared shortly after o'clock.
Afterward Mr.. English said that he had
been unable to reach the mayor by tele
phone, but had talked to Leon Bailey, ask
ing him 10 deliver the message to the mayor
if he him.
When Mr.. Spencer arrived he very cour-
teously showed the minutes of the Park
Board and gave such information as was
Very briefly stated. the record of April 16,
1897. as set forth in Page 143 of the perma-
nent minute book of the Park Board is this;
THE board met in regular session on Fri
day, April IT, 1897, at o clock p. IN. Present,
Messrs. English, Holt and Perry; absent,
Messrs. Claypool and Holt. On motion Mr..
Lieber presided in the absence Of the chair
man..
1t will be observed that this shows Mr..
Holt as both absent and present. MIR. Spen-
Ger explained that this was clerical clerical error;
Mr.. Holt was absent. Mr.. Lieber's name
should appear as present instead or Mr.
Holt. Mr.. Spencer's statement is proved, as
the record shows MIR. Lieber presided, and
further down the page he is shown as vot-
ing motion. His presence is further
shown by the Journals account of the regu-
lar meeting published the next day, April IL
Continuing the minutes show The min
uteS of the two previous meetings were read
and approved" That means that they were
read and that the chairman said, You nave
heard the minutes read. If there is no OBJ
lection they will stand approved" That was
the usual form. 1t was then customary for
the commissioner who had presided to sign
the minutes of the previous meeting.
After the minutes were read on April 16 of
the two previous meetings the board pro-
ceeded with the usual routine business. Re-
monstranceS against leaving land below In
diana avenue down to Washington street out
of the park system were read and ordered
filed The clerk was directed to apply for
police powers for four men whose names
were set out.
ION motion of Mr. English bills as evil
denced by vouchers numbered 456 and 457
were allowed. Ayes-Messrs. EngHsh'
Lieber and Perry
1t will be observed that on such an I'M
important thing as allowing two bills a
formal motion was made and vote was
taken That formality was dispensed sew with n
if the record proves anything-When II
came to taking in the mayors land, as VIII
be shown further down.
After the vote to allow the bills was taken
reports were submitted by the engineer
with reference to reducing the cost of the
bridge in Garfield Park over Bean creek
to So 0O0 He also asked that the guaranty
be stricken from the contract for the
bridge. ION motion of Mr. Perry, the
record reads, ut was so ordered" Further
the bog land included, but there is no
record of motion of Mr.. Perry or either
of the other two commissioners who were
Bids for repairing Garfield dam were re-
ceived. They are set out at length and the
paragraph concerning them concludes: "On
motion of Mr.. English, the matter of
awarding the contract was postponed"
Then the, bids for the, Garfield Park
privileges were received and the con-
tract awarded to John G. Panther ION mo-
ton"
It will be noted that there were formal
motions made with regard to four rather
trivial subjects, and that vote was taken
on them.
THE TELL-TALE ENTRY.
Then comes the important entry where
the mayors land crawIed back in. This
time there is no reference to motion being
made by any one. although a very i'm
4
record simply reads:
THE board ordered that the following
property be included in the park SYSTEM"
Then follows the description of the
mayors bog land and other tracts, which
was published In full in the Journal last
Saturday, together with the resolution for
the condemnation of the lands and asking
for the appointment of three disinterested
property owners to appraiSe them, mas
much as the board was not liable to agree
M col md 70 fof,
cash value for the same"
Following the resolution is the following:
'Whereupon the board adjourned" No
place does 1t appear that a vote was taken
TO include the mayors land in the park
system. The minutes are attest by G. Fl.
Spencer, clerk and blank line with the
words Acting Chairman" neatly type
written below it is still waiting for the sig
nature Of Mr.. Lieber, who acted as chair
man at that meeting
That is all the record shows 1t is inter-
esting more in what it does not show than
what appears in cold typewriter sentences.
The next meeting was held on April a. 1897.
The record of this appears on the next page.
1t was at this meeting that Sections and
We're taken in instead of at a special"
meeting held on April 16, as Mr.. Spencer's
certificate on file in the Circuit Court shows.
Mr.. Spencer was shown the court record of
the alleged April 16 special meeting and
explained that it must have been a clerical
error as to the date. In other respects the
court record corresponds with the park
record as to Sections and 6. The minutes
of the meeting of April u, 1897. show that
Commissioners Claypool, English, Holt Lie
Der and Perry were present, the chairman,
Commissioners Claypool, presiding.
The reading of the minutes of the
previous meeting was dispensed with,' the
record shows. It does not show on whose
motion. Right here is where the fact that
the Taggart land to be included would
have been known to MeSsrS English and
Perry if the minutes had been read, but
they were not, and Mr.. English never saw
them subsequently.
On that day a number of important things
were done. Reference to but one will show
the usual procedure when lands were in
Guided in the park system and steps taken
10 have them condemned.
ION motion of Mr.. English the following
That the boundary lines of Sections and
of the river front and Fall creek park sys-
tenn shall be as follows to Wit (Here fol-
lows the boundaries of these two sections)
Following the description by metes and
bounds of the fifth and sixth sections the
vote that was taken appears as follows:
ayes, Messrs. Claypool, English Holt Lie
Der and Perry; noes, none 1t was this
circumstance in the court records that first
aroused suspicion. Here was a clear tranSac-
ton open and above board, of which the
commissioners must be presumed TO know,
as they voted on it. In the Taggart transac-
ton there was no motion made nor vote
taken.
MR.. SPENCER'S EVASION.
Mr.. Spencer was present when these dis
coveries were made By the reporter. He
explained that Mr.. Lieber did not sign the
record of April 16 for some reason or other
Mr.. Spencer did not know why.
"Why was the reading of the minutes of
the meeting OF April 16 dispensed with on