The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-02
DEMOCRATS TRY TO HIDE 1T
THEY CLAIM ALL ACTION WAS RE-
SCINDED TWO MONTHS AGO.
Expose of Difference in Dates Con-
victs the Taggart Clique of Attempt
to Hold Up the City.


and spring was the purchase of swamp land
belonging to Mayor Taggart below the Belt
Railroad and just east of White river This
is true. Mayor Taggart said in his speech
last Monday night
Charges have been made that land be-
longing to me has been included and pur-
chased for park purposes. This is absolute
ly false, as the charges have been dis
proven by the president of the Park Board
and it's members, by the assessors APP
pointed by the court, by the boards en-
gineer and by the records of the park COM
mission"
He said nothing about the records of the
Circuit Court which show beyond question
that Mayor Taggart's land was Included
in the park system" Mayor Taggart, with
the assistance of Charles Herbert Spencer,
keeper of the secret archives of the Park
Board. has been able to suppress the real
facts and give out only such information
concerning what they disclose as was
deemed safe and advisable, but neither
Mayor Taggart nor Mr.. Spencer, nor any
one else that has reason to distort the facts
can suppress nor conceal what is shown
by the records of the Circuit Court They
are open to all men at all times, and prove
beyond cavil that Mr. Bookwalter's charges
are true, and that there was an intention
to take Mr.. Taggarts bog lands for park
purposes. Steps in this direction were taken
April 16 Saturday morning, Sept. Is, the
Indianapolis Sentinel published what pur-
ported to be d complete epitOme of the park
record which was furnished to the paper
by the mayor. Although the record pub
lished by the Sentinel is very full and COM
plete covering many months, the one i'm
portant date on which Taggart's land was
taken into the park system-April l6-was
left out. The facts of the Taggart deal are
not given in the Sentinels record, but they
are supplied by the Circuit Court records.
THE SENTINEL OMITTED 1T.
The Sentinel, in it's review of the Park
Boards work, first sets out list of all the
tracts that were first considered, including
the mayors bog lands between the Bluff
road and White river. Then follows let
ter from E. F. Claypool, chairman of the
board to Frank Wolcott, chairman of the
Council finance committee under date of
Feb. s. 1897. Mr.. Claypool referred to the
fact that the original tracts. including the
mayors, had been appraised at $451,O0O. In
view Of the fact that the controller had cut
the estimated appropriation from $500,OO0 TO
S3500CO Mr. Claypool informed Mr.. Wolcott
that a number of tracts had been dispensed
with by the board including the mayors
bog lands. The property dispensed with,
he said amounted to SOB, $50. which would
bring the total appraised price of the re-
manning land down to the appropriation
recommended by the controller.
The Sentinel then refers to the passage of
the appropriation ordinance March l, 1897.
and says that since the passage Of the ordl-
nance other proceedings which are set out
at length under various dates were had.
March 81 the board decided to purchase
Sections /, 2, and in the Fall creek sys-
tenn. Then on April 14-mark the date,
April N-various tracts were assigned to
Messrs. English, Holt, Perry and Lieber to
look after They were to confer with the
owners and ascertain what prices would be
asked for the Davidson, Dean, Bobbs, Ball
veg and Sanders-street properties. The
next entry in the Sentinel's record is under
date of April q, eleven days after the acton
had been taken to include Mayor Taggart's
lands, as shown by the records of the Cir
cult Court If the extracts published by
the Sentinel had been a true ana complete
epitome of the Park Boards records the
action that was taken on April 10 would
have appeared. Either the Sentinel was
imposed upon or the facts were willfully
misrepresented. The Sentinel said, at the
conclusion of it's alleged review of the
boards action with reference to the yari-
Gus tracts that were to be included in the
park system:
The land between the Belt road and
White river mayor Taggarus land has
never been considered for purchase except
prior to the time of the board eommunca-
ton to MIR. Wolcott Feb. ), 1897
RECORDS SHOW IT'S FALSITY.
This is absolutely false as is shown by
the records of the Circuit Court, published
in full below. Further action for consider
ing Mr.. Taggart's land was taken April 16.
Whether or not the minute books of the
Park Board show what was done on that
date could not be learned by Journal re-
porter yesterday afternoon, as Charles Her
bert Spencer was not at his office and other
employees Of the board said that the records
were locked in the safe. The records of the
Circuit Court are open to inspection at any
time. They back up in an unanswerable
way what Mr.. Bookwalter charged, that the
board had intended to buy the mayors land.
Steps for this purpose were taken at
meeting held Friday, April 16, 1887, in Room
6l9, Indiana Trust building, Messrs. Perry,
Lieber and English, of the board, being
present, as shown by a report of the meeting
published in the Journal the next day.
After remaining in session behind closed
doors for some time reporters were admitted
and they observed what followed, but not
a word was said to them as to what had
transpired while they were excluded from
the room. Such things happened repeatedly.
Long, secret sessions were held When the
board adjourned members hurried away
from reporters who tried to find out what
had heen going on and Lney were directed
to get information from the clerk Inc
meeting of April Is was no exception he
porters were not informed that several
tracts had that day been Included IN the
park system" among them Mayor Tag
CARTS In fact his ownership was carefully
concealed from reporters and his land was
referred to vaguely when ii was mentioned
denis addition" In the court records Tag
CART name was not mentioned, but his land
was described by meets and bounds so that
a casual inspection of the entries did not
disclose the deal that was on.
That the Taggart deal was on the after
noon of April Is appears from papers now
on file in the Circuit Court. They have been
appear as other park papers have-notuhy
the original petition for the appointment
of the park assessors. The papers bearing
on Taggart's bog-land transaction are neat
Nv tvpewritten and folded in yellow cover
that bears the Endorsement on the outsde:
I'm the Marion Circuit Court-Request of
the Board of Park Commissioners for the
appointment of appraisers Filed April 20.
1897 James W. FeSler, clerk.
An Endorsement shows that the subject
matter was entered in order Book 129, Pages
IN 3 and in Order Book 1888 "a new book