The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-08-18
HARDING ON THE ISSUES
HE Is GIVEN A ROUSING RECEPTION
BY THE MORTON CLUB.
Much Enthusiasm Displayed by This
Sterling SOuth-Side Repub-
Iican Organization.

Republican convention last Saturday. The
clubrooms were crowded and the speeches
of the candidates were received with
enough enthusiasm to demonstrate that the
southern wards are aroused and intend to
throw off the Taggart shackles when the
city election is held, Oct. Y. j. A. Dynes,
who presided over the meeting, made
pledge for the club, declaring that the
Fourteenth ward would give a Republican
majority that would surprise "Goodfellow
Taggart'' so bad that he would not know
where he was at" The cheers and APP
plt use with which this pledge was record
ed proved that the club backed Mr.. Dynes's
assertion. Besides talks from the candidates
there was music by the Al Womack Gee
Club and the George II. Anderson Drum
and Fife Corps Refreshments were served
by the ladies. The evening passed most
pleasantly There was some surprise eX-
pressed at the amount of enthusiasm being
displayed on the South Side so early in the
campaign.
w. N. Harding introduced by Mr..
Dynes as the next mayor of Indianapolis.
Mr.. Dynes did me great honor" began
Mr. Harding, when he introduced me as
the next mayor Nevertheless he told you
the absolute truth. When L entered this
campaign for the nomination L told my
family that if L could accomplish two things
L would be satisfied, even if L failed. L tod
them that if L could compel Thomas Taggart
to give us cheaper gas-that was before
he signed the gas ordinance-and if L could
compel him to give US cheaper telephones
l would be satisfied that two good things
had been accomplished for the citizens of
Indianapolis. He will open the doors of
&I.s-.
er telephone company come in. 1t was hint
ed in an afternoon paper that the city was
getting $4,000 u year from the telephone
company and that this question OF lower
rates amounted to practically nothing.
There are III this city 2, 100 subscribers They
pay 50 month each, $l0,50O Il month, $685.,
UUU IL year. AT the time this contract was
made another company, composed of citi-
zens of our own city, stood demanding adj
mission, willing to furnish telephone service
IL they had let them in. They gave this old
company contract for So, 00O a year, taking
from your pockets and mine over $4,000
a year. And yet the Sentinel tells me that
Thomas Taggarts administration is a
business administration The News says
that 1t is q business administrations Can
any one say to his family that it is business,
good business, to give away 81 d month?
The only thing L want to impress on the
people OF Indianapolis is that Tommy Tag
CART administration is not q business adj
mlnistration, from any standpoint. No
city in Indiana Is paying over 81 a month
Tor telephones, | have been informed on re-
liable authority Yesterday morning Mr..
Carson, an attorney of this city, stood at
his telephone and told me that the rate in
FetoSkey Is only 81 Il month. They get tel
ephone service there for one-ffth what we
pay. If we had that kind of service every
body that needs a telephone could have it,
l say when contract like that is made
with the sanction of the mayor and the
sanction of the Board of Public Works
without a protest when our own citizens
a Gx to hea oil,
to come in and give cheaper rates-if the
Indianapolis News calls that good business
sense do not know what good business
sense is am making this campaign on
the peoples issues"
Mr. Harding then went into the history of
the lamentable failure of the administration
IN trying to establish a park system. With
considerable sarcasm he declared 1.-The
Park Board sued itself! Had itself sued!
Tommy had it sue itself! Thomas Taggart
started out to build parks on the plan in
dorsed by the public press believing that
again."
lie told how the administration bought or
proposed to buy river bottom lands and
Fall creek bottom lands the actual ap-
praisement Of which, if it were made public.
would appear nearer d million dollars than
pow OOO The mayor set aside 900 to buy
lana worth $oO000O or $4,000, if its real value
were known, expecting to assess the people
to pay the difference.
In this city of homes, this beautiful city,
Where every mans dooryard is his own
park he undertook to buy all the wild
land, lay it out for parks and then assess
you and me TO beautify them" Mr. Hard
ings manner electrified the audience and
he was interrupted by deafening applause
Then he told the facts that made it nee
eSSary Tor the board to sue itself in order
to hang up the assessments so that the
public would not know what they were on
me me eve OF the campaign. Mr.. Harding
park assessor and the other a member
of the park board, manipulated things
tIack sued the city to enjoin Mayor Tag
of
nexing the suburbs to insure his reelection
Flack was given what ne wanted, the suit
was withdrawn and then began the work
or assessing the benefits and damages. Mr..
Harding showed how the boundary lines
were drawn so as to leave out Mr.. Flack's
farm lands, worth perhaps 100000, how an
other plot of land he owns in the city
worth $4,000 more was not assessed and
how the line was drawn north on Illinois
street to dodge the Grand Hotel and a bus
mess block opposite it owned by Mr.. Holt,
while other property was taken in.
Iommy saw that line was crooked the
most crooked thing in the world, and he
was scared He went to the city attorney
and the. men, with whom he consults in
times of trouble and said: My God, what
shall we do to be saved% Bring a lawsuit
Stop everything they told him. And they
brought the lawsuit. They hung up the
the poor could not see them and know
how much they would have to pay. The
rich did not have them"
They're hung up until after the cleo
ton" cried man in the audience.
. y eS, they're tied up until after the cleo
tion, said Mr. Harding when there was
Iull in the applause that the timely sug-
gestion called up
Mr.. Harding said that if elected mavor
he would not be the mayor of the South
Side or the North Side alone, but of all the
city of Indianapolis and would give the
South Side all it should have regardless
OF the east, the north or the west
'One paper has said that if / could ex-
tricate myself from the machine it would
have more confidence in me. L don't belong
to any machine. | don't own q machine
and don't want one. Let every Republican
join the Republican committee and then we
Will thresh Thomas Taggart so fine hrs
best friends will not know him after the
election. That is the only machine / ever
knew in politics, the machine of all the
voters. No man, no clique of men, no cor
poration can own me or can have the
slightest hold upon me. 1 am absolutely
untrammeled. free as the air, and when L
go in John r. Pearson, president of the
Gas Company, will not have his arms
around my neck as he has for the past
twenty-five months about Tom Taggart's
Why he declared publicly in the Board of
Trade two months ago that Tom Taggart
was the only man that could be elected. Is
he the man you would select to fight your
battles for cheaper gas and cheaper tele-
phoneS?'
Mr.. Harding closed his speech with the
declaration that he was going away for
week to rest. And then" he said. II
am coming back to give Mr.. Taggart hot
shot until the day of the election
Geo. w. Stubs followed Mr. Harding
lie spoke briefly, referring TO the proud
standing Indianapolis has as one of the
moral cities of the country. comparatively
free from lawbreakers Such a city was
81 he hos .1VN,s, ,f-f,. -. 81