The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1901-10-11
KETCHAM CALLED TO COURT
UPON HIS REQUEST A CONTINUANCE
is GRANTED.
The Matter VIII BE Heard by Judge
Morrow Morning.

of the late Democratic administration, the
Hoosier Construction Company ana the
Western Creosote Company TO prevent me
letting of a contract for improving lenpic
avenue with block pavement, yesterday
appeared in court before Judge Learners
and asked TO have the restraining order
dissolved on the ground that the suit was
filed for political purposes and that no
summonses had been issued TO the defend
ants. Judge Leathers refused TO dissolve the
the restraining order until he had heard
William A. Ketcham, who filed the suit
Mr.. Ketcham was engaged in a suit IN
the Circuit Court at the time and could not
appear. AT 2 o'clock in the afternoon ketch-
am came before Judge feathers and
asked to have the hearing continued until
he had finished his case in the Circuit
Court. The hearing was set for 10 o'clock
tomorrow morning. The hearing to-mor-
row morning will be to determine the juris-
diction of the court.
The attorneys for the defendants con-
tend that the court has no jurisdiction in
the matter, since no summonses were is
sued. Mr.. Ketcham contends that in this
| case, which he considers an emergency, it
was not necessary to issue summonses at
the time and that the case is an exception
to the rule. The hearing tomorrow morn
ing will be to determine the jurisdiction Of
the court.
MIR. REILEY'S STATEMENT.
With reference to the case Mr.. p. C..
Reilly, the manager of the Western Greco
sote Company, yesterday said:
The charge that the Western Creosote
Company has a monopoly of the paving
oil and the business of treating blocks for
paving is not true, as can be ascertained
by an investigation at the office of the city
! engineer. The Board of Public Works and
the city engineer have always received bids
from any one who would make them, the
only requirements being that they shall
furnish samples of oil which shall be of a
quality equal to the oil manufactured by
the Western Creosote Company. -Four
samples of oil were submitted by different
bidders at the time bids were received on
the Meridian-street pavement recently. The
same is true as to the pavement now oelns
laid on Illinois street, as well as on all
other pavements that have been ordered
this year, and the city engineering depart
ment had all these oils analysed and
tested, and found all except ours of such
inferior quality as TO be unfit for use for
paving purposes.
These analyses were made by the best
chemists in the city, who are not in any
the Western Creosote Company. The re-
suits of these analyses can be seen at the
office of the city engineer The charge that
there is any monopoly of the wooden block
paving business in favor of any one Is not
true, as is shown by the pavements that
have already been laid. The business OF
my company is to creOsote blocks for any
responsible contractor that applies to have
such work done. The Western Creosote
Company creosoted the blocks for paving
Park avenue, for the Indianapolis Creosote
Company, which 1 believe was composed
OF John w. Cooper, Allen w. Condit and
Harry c. Adams. 1t also creosoted the
blocks for the pavement of Delaware street
for the same parties, and the east end of
Market street for the same parties. Ii is
now creosoting blocks for the indianapolis
Street-railway Company for the paving of
illinois street between the tracks. The same
work has been done for Daniel Foley, w.
w. Winslow, Browder & Shower and the
Meridian Construction Company for the
various streets which they have paved with
block, and no discrimination has ever been
made or ever will be made between contrac-
tors as to prices. For the past two years
a leading firm of contractors has at
tempted in various ways, and by various
threats, to obtain prices lower than other
contractors, so as to give them a monoplv
of the business. and upon our refusal 10
dc so they instigated a suit enjoining the
pavement in Highland place, and as / am
reliably informed, hired the lawyers and
paid them their fee, although the suit was
prosecuted in the name of a resident prop
erty owner, and 1t is my belief that this
SUIT Is lnstlgated by them pursuant to the
llGut-
PECULIAR FACTS.
There are certain peculiar facts con-
nected with this suit that make me believe
so. In the first place, the restraining order
was issued on Monday, and no summons
has ever been issued or served on me or
anybody else up to this time. and the re-
straining order itself has not been served
on me or anybody else, as l am informed.
1 Thaca foa4- -1g--.-
brought in good faith, and that there has
never been any intention to prosecute it.
but that it was brought for the purpose OF
casting od1um upon my business. Another
peculiar thing about the suit is that nv
company is named as the first defendant
in the title of the cause. while the restrainl
Ing order itself does not eniOin me from
doing anything. but is directed solely
against the members of the city admins
tration. l regard the suit as a Islander and
libel pure and simple. and the false state
nentS were put In the form of a suit in or
der that the newspapers might be induced
To take il up. / have steadfastly refused
to give this firm of contractors any ad-
vantage over any other contractors, al
though | have a written proposition now in
my possession, signed by one of the men,
bers of the firm, which ne attempted b,
threats to compel me TO sign"
Mr.. Reilly further said that ne is in no
way related TO any member of the Board of
Works.
WHAT c. A. KENYON SAYS.
In conversation with a Journal reporter
Mr.. Kenyon, president of the Hoosier Con-
struction Company. Indignantly denied that
he or his company are or ever have been
in collision with the city officials, and that
the charges made in the papers filed are
absolutely false and Iibelous. He intimated
that his company had been dragged into
court before at the pretended suit of prop
erty owners, but when the truth became
known it was found that the property own
er was only a pretense and the real party
bringing the suit or instigating the suit
was an opposing contractor. and there are
evidences that led him to believe that this
is another case of that kind; taat such
suits are OF frequent occurrence and are
usually brought by attorneys who have
been in the habit Of representing these con-
tractors. Such suits often last long after
any rights which the property owner de-
sired TO have corrected have been deter
mined. TO show how absurd" said he.
some of these charges are it is alleged
that no one but my company can buy this
oil, and yet as a matter OF fact the HOOsier
Construction Company never owned or
bought one gallon Of kreodone creosote oil
from the Western CreosOting Company or
any one else. We either buy the blocks
and have the creosoting company furnish
the material and treat them or We buy
"