The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-09
MIR. HARDING,s SPEECH.

Mr.. Harding's opening speech of the cam
paign must have convinced all who heard
or who have read it that in nominating
him for Mayor the Republicans made no
mistake. 1t may be remarked in passing
that Mr.. Taggart does not make speeches.
1t was claimed for the Irishman's owl,
which looked wise and said nothing, that
he keeps up a terrible thinking Mr.. Tag
CART does not make speeches, but he smiles.
Mr.. Harding's speech shows that he has
found time in his legal practice to keep
abreast with the best thought of the day
on municipal government in general and
make a close study of the city of Indian
apolis and this administration in particular.
In devoting his attention exclusively to the
problems of municipal government and the
needs of the city. he afforded marked con-
trast to Mr.. Taggart's spokesman at the
convention which nominated him-for while
Mr.. Taggart does not make speeches him
self, he has those who speak for him. In
performing this duty, Hon. John W. Kern
discussed the issues of the last presidential
campaign at length, eulogized Bryan as "a
matchless young leader" told how McKin-
ley was elected by coercion and bribery, di-
lated upon the enormities of the Dingley
tariff and especially of the duty on opium,
and gave both gold and silver Democrats
to understand that on the money question
Mr. Taggart was "all right" He forgot to
state how Mr.. Taggart stood on municipal
questions, but others who do his talking
say he is "all right" on these also, and he
emphasizes the statement with a smile.
After showing that the question of better
municipal government involves fundamental
principles of local government in which all
the people are virtually interested, Mr..
Harding proceeded to show how these
principles had been violated and the rights
of the people trifled with and bartered
away by the present administration He
showed how by a systematic course of IA
voritism to corporations the people were
actually taxed for the use of streets for
whose improvement they had paid at excess
sive rates. Speaking as a lawyer who
knows something of the rights of the peo-
pie as against those of corporations, Mr..
Harding said: 1--WE demand and shall insist
that these tax-levying companies shall act
in quasi-public affairs with strict accounta-
bility, not only to their stockholders alone,
but also to the people, to whom they owe
their right of existence, because the use Of
the public streets is granted to them, with
out which they could not exist" This is the
first time that any candidate for mayor has
shown that he understands the underlying
principle of this question. and that in the
many-sided struggle now going on he stands
with the people. In treating of the city
finances, Mr.. Harding showed how the
city treasury was being prostituted for the
promotion of personal and political schemes
and debt being piled up which will handl-
cap the city for a long time to come. In
this connection he brought out the startling
fact that at the present rate of expenditure
the city is likely to be without funds dur
ing the last quarter of the present year. He
said:
There has been expended thus far in the
present fiscal year commencing Jan. ! for
current city expenses the sum of $54S 11a10,
an average of 66,03S per month The
amount now in the city treasury is not
sufficient to conduct the current business
of the city for one month at the same rate
of expenditure, and the city's business from
early in the month of October must be con-
Quoted with borrowed money or anticipated
taxes.
AS the revenues of the city in 1896 were
$S29,054, and will be considerably larger this
year, and as $35O,OOO Of park bonds and $780,
0OO of station-house bonds have been issued,
taxpayers had right to expect full treas
ury instead of an empty one in the closing
months of the year. These are some of the
points in Mr.. Harding's speech for the peo-
pie to think about.