The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1912-02-28
.BLAMES GRAF TER
FOR CIVIC ILLS

While Lorimers sit in the councils of
the great. McCarthys hold mayoralty
sway and dive-keepers control politics.
there will never be a model city in the
United States of America.
So declared II. S. Norton, resident
manager of the Gary Land company,
formerly connected with the Illinois
steel company at Joliet in an address
on The Growing Pains of a Young
city yesterday noon at the Central
presbyterian church.
BIames Grafters For Reputation.
Sterniy denouncing grafters and cor
rupt politicians as the cause of all
municipal evils Mr.. Norton related the
history of Gary, the made to order
city" which he declared has been
greatly maligned and misrepresented
to the world during the past seven
years.
Fighting The Smallpox.
The first grading was done in April
1905. and in June of the same year. a
band of thirty-four patriots got to-
gether, elected council. named a
mayor and organized a police depart
nent in approved Tammany style. In
March. 1907 was called from Joliet to
Gary to improve the town site. ]
found 1900 men living in camps and
many who lived in Chicago and came
to Gary to work Some of the camps
were in such bad condition that I ask
ed for doctor on my staff, fearing
that an epidemic might break forth
This was denied me. There was only
one doctor in town and one day he
came running over TO tell me fifty men
were down with smallpox in a camp
We Immediately wired the company
moved the camp to the outskirts
auarantined the city and started to va
mate the citizens. Eight doctors wers
rushed out on a special train. Some
of the foreign element took to the
woods when thesdoctors attempted II
! yaccinate them, but in short time we
had eliminated all danger and betteret
conditions.
Ref~r~ TO Rev. Trimble.
IF a man is murdered in Gary yol
will read about it in all the mornins
papers. but you will not read tina
| twenty churches and missions. ar,
making good citizens of the people
You no doubt today read an article il
! which Rev. y. HI. Trimble is said t,
have declared Gary is the Sodom o
the new world. Gary is the promise,
land and when the movements now oil
foot eliminate, IL will be a city an,
man can be proud OF.
Fault Traced Back Further.
| 1.-TWO thousand years ago Chris
gave that commandment. Love tn.
neighbor.' The trouble with Joliet an.
Gary is that this commandment 1!
nearly as new with them now as /
/ was 1000 years ago. The Lord didn'
put pain and suffering here. Becaus
| that young city has growing pains /
| not the city's fault. 1t is the fault o
others back many years."
Telling of Garys growth MATERIAL
and religiously, Mr.. Norton said
Next year l expect Gary to have
population of something under a hun
dred thousand. The last school censu
building churches, hotels, homes. fac
tories and business houses so fast it /
dicult for US to keep track of Their
all.
Vigilance Committee Scores Gary
Before we had one church, we ha
twenty saloons. The result was tina
gamblers. thugs, and corrupt politi
| clans followed. The history of Chey
| enne and Deadwood were repeated o.
the shore of the lake thirty miles fror
Chicago. Men carried guns and flash
lights when they went out at nigh
and women seldom left their home
after dark. They could not walk Il
safety without an escort and some
times with one. We organized
vigilance committee with full powe
to try, sentence and pay funeral ex
penses. The result is that Gary is no,
on the road to salvation"