The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-29
TAGGARTW ARNEDKEACH
REASON THE GOLD BUG FAILED TO
FALL INTO A DEMOCRATIC TRAP.
II. j. Van Vorhis shows Up Some More
of TaGgart's Record During
the Last Campaign.

The large crowd that attended the meet
ing in the interests Of the Citizens ticket
held at Fountain squares last night con-
WINGED some who had been doubt
full of the disaffection with the
Taggart regime in the Fourteenth
ward that there is good deal
of serious truth in reports that have been
in circulation for a long time. For an hour
and half a large crowd listened to the
serious arraignment of the Taggart admin
istration. At one time, while f. ]. Van
Vorhis was speaking, an unruIy and intoxi-
Gated member of the boo gang" bare
headed and with an idiotic expression on
his face, tried to create disturbance.
"Evr body who's FIR Taggart hurrah FIR
Taggart." He did not complete his OBJ
servations. A man much smaller than he in
stature grabbed him by the coat collar and
gave him a shove that sent him stagger-
ing.
Throw him out" shouted a dozen angry
voices.
The intoxicated heller found himself on
his back in a twinkling, bringing the man
who had taken him to task to the sidewalk
beside him. The latter was up in a min
ute, yanked the disturber to his feet and
started him up Dillon street at lively
pace, followed by crowd of yelling, hilar-
ious youngsters.
Mr. Van Vorhis scarcely paid any atten-
ton to the interruption.
I'VE are accustomed to that" said he. II
do not know whether such men are sent
to our meetings or not, but when we re-
member that man who had been to
Mayor Taggart's Office within a half hour
came into our convention when Mr.. White
was nominated for mayor ana tried to Gre
ate a disturbance, we are justified in think
ing that men who try to disturb us in our
meetings are inspired by the same man."
TAGGART WARNED KEACH
In the course of his speech Mr.. Van Vor-
his made a very serious charge against
Mayor Taggart of treachery in his dealings
with the regular Democratic county COM
mittee last year Mr.. Van Vorhis spoke of
the gold Democratic county committee of
which j. L. Reach was the moving spirit.
with headquarters in the Lerncke building.
There" said he, "Keach and his associ-
ates persuaded Democrats to help out the
Mckinley campaign. And persuading was
not the only thing that they did in the
Lemcke building There came to our silver
headquarters, to the committee presided
over by Mr.. Rockford, many rumors,
backed by specific charges, that Reach and
his associates were corrupting our precinct
committeeman trap was set to catch
him, and Chairman Rockford sent man TO
Reach with a proposition calculated to lead
the arch-conspiritor against silver into a
trap that would land him in the peniten-
tiary. When that man left Mr.. Rockford S
committee rooms Thomas Taggart was in
the room. When he arrived at Reach S
committee room, half an hour later, Reach
was ready for him. He had been warned
and he afterwards told one of his friends
that he had been warned by Taggart. Tag
cart a silver m1nY WhV he lost n
opportunity during the last campaign to
carry aid and comfort TO our enemies, and
| then he would come and pat US silver
fellows on the back and tell us how proud
| he was of u.s."
Mr. Van Vorhis was intimately associated
with Rochford's committee last year, and
! knows whereof he speaks. His charge
! against Taggart produced something of a
| sensation among Fourteenth-ward Demo-
! Gratis who have doubted his sincerity on
| the silver issue.
REFERS TO COLBERT.
Mr.. Van Vorhis referred briefly to the
! Colbert yellow bridge episode. Whether
| or not Colbert was drunk on that occasion,
Mr.. Van Vorhis said that he did not know,
bat he declared that there were five hun
| dred men in Indianapolis who had seen
him drunk on many occasions within the
last six months The only difference was
that on the last occasion it had been in a
| public place where it could be proved on
him, and they made a scapegoat of him.
/ He referred sarcastically to the fact that
Mr.. Colbert had been taken out of Lie
| bers brewery by he administration to care
| for Lii ber's saloon interests" In this con-
| nection he referred 10 open charges that
| hGNe been made OF favoritsm toward sa-
| looms patronlzing the Lieber breweries as
| against saloons patronizing other breweries
on he part of the police force.
The speaker cha ged, as he has on other
| occasions, that one great central issue
| around which the campaign is revolving is
the City Street-railway Company He went
| into the history of the franchise granted
| that company lat the dead hour of mid
night, when thieves do their work" He
| said that +. J Ryan, WHO was the chair
| man of the committee that was consider
| II g the ordinance, went home, saying that
| he Wou not appear at the midnight meet
| ing. he took the ordinance with him. Then
| tie speaker sad, Mayor Taggart John T.
| Frenzel, Sterling r. Holt and John r. Will
5ou foi,na him ui teol, Oyer ,e
in the carriage with them and made
such representations to him that he decid-
ed to go back to the Council, report IA
| yorably on the ordinance and vote for it,
| Subs e9uently he charged the men named
| tried to exploit the new company by
| sand agg ng the old company for $500 600
| Whether Taggart is at present interes ted
| in that company. he said that he did not
| inducements We're offered to Ryan the night
Taf gart ard the others rode with him in
| that carris ge.
| Mr. Van Vorhis referred at length to the
scandals that have obtained in street i'm
provements. referring 10 the Michigan
| street creosote scandal, the asphalt scan
| ais and CT ment- walk scandals The plat
| 'orm of the Citizens party favors the abo-
| iiton Of all private contract work on pub
| il i'm ROY ms hts and favors the doing oil
UGH We by the city. 1t is claimed that
nm nse sums Of money would be saved
| o taxpayers annually if this method We're
| Z flowed.
Messrs White. Wier and Krause, the
md dates for mayor, pc ice judge ard city
| Jerk on the Citizens ticket, spoke briefly
J. Ii. Sprnger~ Nesided over the meeting