The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-12
MAYORS PARK MEETING
SOME FACTS ABOUT TUESDAY
NIGHTS PARK CONFERENCE.
How the Mayor So Happily Explained
the Situation and What Angered
the Democratic COunciImen.

and others who were responsible for calling
a caucus of the Democratic members of the
Council Tuesday night to keep the entire
proceedings secret, and but for the misrep-
reservations under which 1t was held and
the lack of tact displayed, it is likely moth
ing would ever have reached the public con-
corning the nice little farce the mayor had
arranged. Now that some of the facts have
leaked, it is easier to get some information,
although all who were in attendance are
pretty close mouthed. AS stated in the
Journal yesterday, there was a serious
bolt" and it begins to look like the mayor
would have even more trouble than has
been predicted in getting his hands on the
park money for the purpose of building the
groundwork of his gubernatorial campaign,
yet two years off. In the first place, sew
eral of the councilmen attended the caucus
under misrepresentation of what was to be
| discussed and who was to be there. Word
went out that subjects of general inter-
est" were to be considered. When council
men arrived at the Office of the Board of
Works, in the courthouse, they were
| amazed to find Mayor Taggart, Controller
Johnson, City Attorney Kern, Messrs.
Downing and Montgomery, of the Board of
Works, and City Engineer Jeup on hand.
They had understood it was to be a Demo-
cratic Council caucus, not a caucus of city
officials.
Sculptor Mahoney, who is president of the
Council, started the row when he said the
councilmen were to consider themselves
pledged to secrecy and were to be bound
by whatever action might be taken to the
extent Of voting in Council as the caucus
might decide. A member wanted to know
before committing himself to any such
pledges, what was to be discussed. The
park question" he was informed. Three
or four members who have been known to
be opposed to transferring the $35O,OOO to
the use of the Board of Works without
knowing just how it was to be spent, ex
changed resentful and suspicious glances.
Finding that pledges to be bound by the
action taken that night could not be Sc
cured in advance, the mayor explained in
his own peculiar and rather unsatisfactory
way what it was proposed to do. This he
did after few Taggartisms of a facetious
character. He had hoped to have barrel
Of West Baden water on tap at the Grand
Hotel the night before after the Council
meeting (Monday), but when he found ev-
erybody anxious to go to the prize fight at
Tomlinson Hall he decided to postpone it
until there could be a nice, friendly little
Idlh nc went Oh 10 eApldlU ludL u ING
$3.50, 900 appropriated to the Board of Park
Commissioners a year ago, part was to be
spent for purchasing lands. What lands?
Why the White river and Fall creek lands,
with $4,000 for the Pogue's run tract. This
| would take just about 100000. Then he was
| pressed for details of what it would cost to
make the Improvements. He blushed, FUN
| bled through a pack of paper he carried,
| found a few figures which indicated that
part of the work would cost about
| $45O,O00. Pressed for more minute details, he
papers he carried but could not find the
| figures he wanted. To leading question,
| however, he admitted it would cost Sl,OOO,OOO
or more to make the improvements. Where
vas the money coming. from? Why, the
Council could appropriate it-not all at one
time, he hastily added, but in the course Of
| a few years. Asked if it would not be bet
| ter to spend the money for smaller parks
| that could be improved for far less money,
| the mayor had nothing to say.
DODGED THIS QUESTION.
| Another pertinent question, whether the
people would want the Council to go clear
up to the limit of Indebtedness and issue
more bonds this year, the mayor lodged
saying it would not be necessary to appro-
pirate all at one time. The main thing was
| to get the work started. After spending
$500 900 for land there would still be avail
able in the present fund about $6O,O0O in
GLIDING the premium. If the Council did
not care to issue all the bonds 1t has the
power to and plunge the city in debt clear
UP to the limit-that would take bond
| issue of 1924, 000-the Council might apPro-
pirate say $4,000 or $lOOOOO more TINS ~, yea ar
| or 100000 to spend for labor. This made
some of the councilmen who are candidates
for county offices open their eyes with as
! constituent. The mayors skill as a polit-
| ical financier began to dawn on them with
| so much money at command for employing
| ''heelers' in the height of a state and
| county campaign the Organization strength
ened with such SinewS of war would be IN a
| most advantageous position. 80 1t nap
| Gus into a sort of experience meeting" and
began calling for testimonies" from the
| brethren from the different wards, men who
| had before declared themselves opposed TO
| extravagant and foolish OUTLAWS stood up
| under the cool, commanding gaze or the
mayor and weakly Endorsed, the propoSs VI
| them were to be coerced, and as several
| hunted their overcoats and were about to
| walk out of the caucus a motion TO al
| iourn prevailed in some confusion
DEMOCRATS WE'RE INDIGNANT
There were several mad Democrats that
night who declared that if they ever at
| tended a caucus again it would be with a
| clear understanding of who was to be on
| hands to run it and what was to be dis
cussed. What made them especially angry
| was that they had not been given to under
| stand that it was to be sort Of family
| conference To be called to a party Coun-
ell caucus and find the mayor with the
whip in hand angered them beyond meas
| ure Mr. Mahoney is by rights the caucus
chairman. Then to be told that what they
did was to be binding on them and an earn
est of how they would vote in Council was,
| if anything, more calling still. They say 1t
would have been the proper and fair course
for the city officials to have expressed their
ideas and then left the Council to decide its
own course when 1T came to considering
the transfer in committee, reporting and
voting on it. All this has set the council
men to thinking. When an ordinance was in
troduced transferring the park fund to the
Board of Works 1t was said that this was
formality. But since the officials have ex-
pressed so much anxiety to have the money
transferred forthwith, weeks before any of
the money can be used, the councilmen,
that some covert scheme was behind 1t all,
have studied the situation pretty closely
and have arrived at a conclusion that they
believe Is the true solution of the situation.
The ordinance specifically provides that no
ground worth more than $2.000 shall be pur-
val of the Council. That was supposed TO
mean that the Council would pass on all
land to be bought. 1t means nothing of the
kind. 1t is claimed there is very little of
the land in tracts worth more than $1,000.
Most OF it has been plated into lots worth
from $50 to $500 each, so that the council
men figure that the board once the
money is transferred to it, could purchase
nine-tenths or more of the ground without
appealing to the Council again. In other
words they say it was plainly the purpose
to hoodwink the Council into appropriating
the money and virtually tying its own