The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1907-09-04
lPronounces the Statements
Made by the Evening Item
As Both False and of a Ma
IiCiouS Nature.
SAYS ROGERS ATTACK is
MISERABLE SLANDER.
Board Does Not Claim PerfeC-
ton But Says 1t Is Giving
The City a Service That Will
Bear Comparison.

For two days past the Evening Item
has been conducting campaign
against the Municipal Lighting anc
Power plant The plant has been de
scribed in articles appearing in the
Item, as bunch of junk and Super
intendent Rogers has been charged
with incompetency and holding his po
sition by intimidation of the board o1
public works. In a signed statement BY
members of the board of public works
published below, the statements pub
lished by the Item are designated by
the board members as unqualified
falsehoods. The statement issued by
the board is as follows:
To the Citizens and Taxpayers of Rich
mond:
The undersigned, members of the
board of public works of this city, de-
sire to make short statement in reIa.
tion to the Municipal lighting and pow
er plant. practically the only property
that is a source of net revenue to the
city.
We do not make this statement in
the expectation, or hope, of satisfying
prejudiced or INSCRIPTIONS minds,
whether inside or outside of a newspa-
per office-these are alike impervious
to reason and shame. But we make it
first, for the information of those
whose servants we are and whose in
terests we represent. and second, as an
act of common justice toward an hon.
est, capable and faithful city employe,
CharIcu ri Mt nf
the city light plant
When this board came into office,
one year ago. it's members were in per-
feet accc.d with Mayor Schillinger's s
announced policy of conducting the
city's business on business principles.
looking solely to the good of 1he pub
lie service. and paying little or no re-
gard to the claims" of politics or poll
ticians. as such. 1t was a matter of
common knowledge that the new re-
g;me was not the result of party vic
tory, but was rather the fruit of a
healthy and worthy Independent spirit,
permeating the men and women of all
parties, who were sick and tired of ma
chine rule, and whose one cry was for
a clean and capable management of our
city affairs. This was not only the
platform we got in on. but it was the
platform we stood on after we got in ::
and in this position we had the support
and approval of the Evening Item
which preached loud and long in sea-
son and out of season for non-partisan-
ship in local affairs
This board, with a democratic ma
r;f
at the head of the fire department, and
we kept him there. We found an eff
ficient republican at the head of the
city light plant. and We kept him there.
We reorganized the fire department.
making it bipartisan, as required by
law. We had no friends to reward nor
enemies to punish-and we respectfully
but firmly declined to reward the
friends or to punish the enemies of
anybody else at the expense of the pub
lie service. whether the demand came
from a democratic boss or republican
newspaper. IL we have made any
mistakes. they can not be charged to
partisanship, which has had no place
in our councils.
Whatever censure we may consist
emily receive for this course from ex-
treme partisans, it certainly is in bad
taste for the Item as an apostle of To-
cal independence. to condemn the ma
jority of this board for not surrender
ing that principle to the detriment of
the service. even on the demand of
members of their own party. Because
the Item, as a radical opponent Of
icfpaI iy
thing good in anybody connected with
such ownership. does that justify this
board in making a partisan football
of the municipal light plant, just TO
vindicate the Items predictions of dis
aster-so that paper can have the SUI
preme pleasure of saying Il told you
so?" But even if we had followed
that plan. and made a wreck of the
plant. would that justify the censure
and slander heaped upon us by that pa
per in the past few days? Has it not
been a cardinal doctrine of the Item
that municipal plant cannot be made
to pay-that they are one and all fore
doomed failures from the foundation of
the world? And could three ordinary
mortals fairly be blamed for not ac-
complishing the impossible-for not
working a miracle? If the Item editor
were member of this board, would ne
abuse and lie about himself for not
making success of an inevitable fail
ureY
The Item of Tuesday prints an article
on it's first page with seven scare
of over a column in length
lConfin,aeA on Paxo Cix