The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-09-13
Mr.. KEALING'S CHARGES
POINTS OUT TAGGART's POSITION ON
THREE-CENT-FARE BILL.
During the Crisis in Legislature None
of Democratic City officials
Were on the Scene.

The question of whether or not Mayor
Taggart worked for the 3-cent-fare bill in
the last Legislature has been the subject of
much comment since J. B. Healing made
his charge at the First ward meeting.
When the mayors letter of Saturday morn
ing was called to his attention yesterday
Mr. Healing made the following statement:
In public speech 1 charged Mr. Tag
CART with working against the Scent car
fare bill, and further charged that nearly
two-thirds of the Democrats in the House
of Representatives voted against it. and
that eight out of nine members of the
House who boarded at the Grand Hotel
voted against it,
THE Journal kindly offered the use of it's
columns to Mr.. Taggart TO deny the charge
In the issue of the Journal of Saturday,
sept IL, appeared the following letter:
10 the Editor Of the Indianapolis Journal:
AS you kindly extend the use of your col
dmns to me to answer a charge reported to
nave been made by Mr.. Keallng to the ef-
iect that l worked against the 3-cent-fare
plll avail myself OF the opportunity. At
the time the charge was first made the gen
tlemen with whom had been associated in
working for the passage of the 3-cent-fare
Dill were so generous TO answer it for me,
Notwithstanding our connection with differ
ent political parties. In evidence of this [
peg 10 call your attention to the following
The Journal. which is in as favorable
position TO know about the matter as any
one, IeeIS called upon to say that gossip or
reports to the effect that Mayor Taggart
was IN any way dislOyal to the 3-cent-fare
Dill are false. Mayor Taggart was not only
a stanch friend of both street-railway bills
put he was very effective one Causes
beyond the mayors control led many of the
Democrats to vote against the 3-cent-fare
Dill yesterday who We're for it when it was
brought into the House.
The above can be found on the editorial
page, at the bottom of the first column and
completed at the top of the second column.
Trusting that this will be sufficient TO re-
move any doubt created by any statement
OF Mr. Healing, who, SO far as l am IN
formed, never knew anything about the j.
cent-fare bill, l am yours truly,
Indianapolis. Sept. 10. It. TAGGART.
You will notice by a careful reading Of
this letter that nowhere in it does he deny
the charge made He simply says that
other persons have denied it for him, and
quotes from the Journal of March 4, 1897,
as above do not know upon what infor
nation the editorial above published.
1t is possible that the Journal may have
been misinformed. repeat however, that
in no place in his letter of Sept. IL in the
Journal under his own signature does he
squarely deny the charge.
In the above letter he says: Trusting
that this will be sufficient to remove any
doubt created by any statement of Mr..
Healing, who, so far as | am informed,
never knew anything about the Scent car
fare BILL etc 1 take great pleasure in in
forming Mr.. Taggart that the 3-cent car
fare bill was introduced and pushed
through the Senate by Senator Hugg my
law partner and Republican ! desire to
further inform him that had he been pres
ent on the floor of the House on the night
the bill came up and failed to pass for
want of a constitutional majority. working
for the bill as / was, the bill might have
passed that night and had Mr.. Taggart
been present he might have seen me there
and thus not have made the mistake OF
saying that / knew nothing about 1t.
THE fact is that when the original New
bill terminating the franchise of the C1ti-
zenS' Company in 1901 was up Mr.. Tag
CART, the Board of Public Works and all
the Democratic members of the City Coun-
Gil were present working like beavers for
its passage.
You will remember that the fight on the
Scent car-fare bill came up in the House
of Representatives; that practically. no
fight was made on it in the Senate, which
was largely Republican. On the night when
the Scent car-fare bill came up for final
passage and on the night when it finally
passed by small majority when the most
powerful lobby ever organized was on the
floor of the House trying to defeat it, when
the fate of the bill hung in the balance,
ana when our representatives from Marion
county, Messrs Spooner, Littleton, Elliott,
Hubbard Hicks and Jones, were bending
every energy for the passage OF the bill no
Mr.. Taggart was there lending them
helping hand.
with no interest in either the City or
Citizens Company, but only having the
eHGa nf tR Mas et there lending @tf hepg
hand and l charge that neither Mr.. Tag
CART nor any other of the officers of the
present city administration and who
worked so faithfully in the interest of the
original New bill, were there assisting in
the passage of the Scent car-fare bill
Il reiterate and reaffirm the charges 1
have made, and say as yet there has been
no denial from Mr.. Taggart."