The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-04


park system, that they were unable to
agree with the owners as to the price to
be paid. that the board therefore desired
10 condemn the lands and adopted reSO-
luton asking for the appointment of as
SCISSORS. The language was almost the same
In the various other petitions, including
rhat for the appointment OF assessors or
the mayors land. They were evidently dc
tated by the city attorney. The next certih
cate shows that the board amended the
boundaries OF Section at special
meeting held on May 3, 1887. The new boun-
daries are set out.
Another certificate from Mr.. Spencer shows
that at special meeting held April 10,
on motion of Mr.. English, the bounda-
ries Of Sections and were fixed. This
was the same day that action was taken
on Mayor Taggart's land. In the certificate
accompanying the petition for assessors on
the mayors land an interlineation has
been made showing that the action to 'in-
clude in the park system the mayors land
had been taken at the regular meeting
held Friday afternoon. There was evidently
some JuSsIery mere.
THE JUGGLERY EXPOSED.
Spencer's certificates on Sections and 6,
the bounds of which were fixed at the "spe-
cial" meeting, shows that every one of the
five commissioners were present and voted
to continue the river-bottom parks down to
Washington street on the east side of the
river. No account of this meeting was pub
lished AT the regular afternoon meeting
but three commissioners were present =
Messrs. Parry, Lieber and English-accord-
ing to the account of the meeting published
in the Journal the next day. Nothing was
said to reporters, who were excluded from
the early part of the meeting, about the
fact that Mayor Taggart's land had been
under discussion Whether Mr.. Spencer
made mistake about Sections and hav-
Ing been considered at a special" meeting
and the mayors land at a regular meet
ing could not be aScertained Yesterday.
There was another peculiar thing about the
meeting of April 16 - or, rather the two
meetings. In four days the petition Tor the
appointment of assessors to fix the value
of the mayors land was filed in the Circuit
Court, as the docket there shows it to have
been filed April 20. 1t was not until May 4,
however, that the certificate and petition as
to Sections and were fled There APP
pears to have been some urgent and press
ing necessity for Immediately getting the
mayors land into the court records. The
last certificate, filed May A. 1887, covered
Section OF the river parks-the lands west
of White river that were included in order
to induce Joseph f. Flack to withdraw his
suit enjoining the annexation of Haugh-
Vile 1t was similar in wording to the
other certificates, and showed that the
board had decided to include the lands de-
Scribed and wanted the assessors to assess
them. Ali the certificates above referred to
are entered in Order Book 129, Page 4,
ct seq.
The next entry is dated May 10, entered
in Order Book 129, Page g. and shows that
at the meeting of May the board decided
to include the land between wilkins and
Morris streets and Chadwick street and
Pogue's run in the park system, and con-
tains the usual petition for the appoint
ment of assessors. Then, on May 10, the
last certificate was filed. 1t is entered in
Order Book 129, Page 26. 1t covers the
northeast quarter of Section 49, Township
l6, and is known as the Pogue'S run land.
The board condemned this land and asked
for assessors, after strong pressure had
been brought to bear by citizens of the
northeast part of town. The citizens We're
exaSperated because they had been ignored.
Their evaporation would doubtless have
been greater had they known that Taggart
had some land to dispose of. In the light
of recent developments it IS plain now why
the board would not make definite prom
iseS about expanding additional money that
might be appropriated by the Council ex-
clusively in the northeast part of town.
The board urged citizens to ask the Coun-
ell to make additional appropriation.
They wanted assurance that it would be ex-
pended in their behalf The board would
give no definite promise, as citizens who at
tended that meeting will remember. The
board doubtless knew that Mayor Taggart
would have word or two to say as to
how any additional money should he spent.
His land was on the market at $500 an acre.
Propagating grounds were necessity
NOT MERELY ONE PETITION.
Beside the mayors land, Spencer's GER
Hficate of what the board included in the
park system April Is covers the Bobb's
",
property and Ballweg's land 1t was filed
in court April 20, over two months after
the Sentinel says the last action was taken,
and month and a half after the money
was appropriated Instead of being a pro-
ceeding to correct the records, Mr.. Spen-
GERS certificate shows that on April 16 1897,
1.-The board ordered that the following prop
erty be included" Ga description of the tracts
mentioned in the paragraph above follows)
and, the following resolution was then
adopted (the resolution shows that where
as the board has determined to include the
several tracts in the park system and has
been unable to agree with the owners of
the land to the fair cash value of the
same" the board therefore resolves to have
it condemned and asks for three appraisers
to be appointed by the court.) The descrip-
ton of the mayors land and the full text
of the boards resolution to have it con-
demned and appraised was published Sat
urday.
While the baseball park and the Mansur
property and the Kirkland property dropped
out Of the park system, along with the
mayors the latter was designated as the
Bluff road property always. The baseball
property and the Mansur property have
not appeared in the court records nor has
bobbed up serenely at the first favorable
time after the money was in sight. IF the
records were incomplete and irregular be-
cause it was not specifically described in the
original application for the assessors the
records are still incomplete, as the baseball
peAlh, property anu MdIlSHT prop
erty are not in the court records-unless the
Mansur property has been tackled on to
one of the. Fall creek sections again. The
truth is that the mayors bog WAS not
dragged into the court record to make all
proceedings regular 1t was dragged in be-
cause he wanted to turn it over to the city
at an advance of $225 an acre after three
years ownership.
The extracts given above cover every doc
ument that is ON file in the Circuit Court
and the deputy clerk says that no others
have ever been filed. 1t will be seen that
there is not "one'' petition-as the News
and Sentinel say-the latter declaring that
over fifty. pieces of property were set out
in the petition but reversed" The Sentinel
also said in its painful attempt at humor
yesterday morning: In this petition every
piece of property that had at any time
in the past been considered by the board
was set out upon the advice of the city
attorney to comply with the law" The
Kirkland property is not set out" Neither
is the old baseball park nor the Mansur
property.
WUC uTNIMH I'M TUE n TTTN