South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-10-30
LIEUT.. GOV. O'NEILL AND HIS
STATE HOUSE OFFICE.

u@dn press. anQ as Wei LudL OF the 2
state. with mirstatements and ribald .
criticisms concerning Lieut. Gov /
O'NeilPs office in the state house. a (
little reflection OF the light of truth |
on the subject may not be out Of
place. even though it be but 10 dis /
color the hues Of a political soap |
bubble
Assuredly we hold no brief for
Lieut. Gov O'Neill. but neither do we
hold one for the Indiana Centennial |
commission. except to say that as near I
as we can learn. it is not the commits /
sion, but rather the republican press |
that is finding fault with the lieuten- /
ant governors retention of the rooms. |
open 10 Gov Ralston to use for COM
mission or committee meetings as
10 be misappropriated again. as they
were during Lieut. Gov. Halls admin
istration. for purposes Of destruction
and unwarranted detention by some
railroad commissioner, or other sucG
office holder.
The facts happen 10 be that instead
of rooms 50 and S3 being a special
blessing conferred upon Lieut. Gov
O'NeiH they have been the offices of
the lieutenant governor since the
state house was built, and one lieu
tenant governor. Rev. Ira J. Chase, a
republican. was so afraid that some
one else might peen into it, that ne
even slept in room 50 during the leg
islative sessions Indeed the reso-
lutiOns adopted by the legislature ac-
cepting the building from the con-
tractors designated those rooms as
the offices of the lieutenant governor,
and they always have been occupied
by the lieutenant governor, until their
unauthorized appropriation by a
member OF the railroad commission,
as before mentioned.
When the legislature Of 1913 con-
vened. the rooms which had been fur
nished at a cost to the state of more
than six thousand dollars. had been
desPoiled of their furniture, the floors
were practically bare, and room SO,
one OF the few rooms suitable, and
one that always heretofore had been
used when the legislature was in ses-
sion for committee meetings and sem
atOrial caucuses. was not available for
use, because of the unauthorized ap-
preparation by the attache o. the rail-
road commission, and the fact that it
was loaded up with the musty files
OF disposed of cases-a dust covered
accumulation-that could be more
sanitarily cared for in the basement.
Various resoIutCrs were offered by
the leaders of both political parties in
the senate directing the custodian of
the state house TO proceed forthwith
to restore the rooms to their former
condition. and TO prevent their further
unauthorized use These resolutions
were withdrawn at the suggestion Of
Lieut.. Gov. O'Neul. who directed at
tention TO the complaint that the state
house was overcrowded. and suggest
ed that a proper committee investi-
gate the requirements of the different
departments for office space. and see
how best their needs could be sup
piled. The statement that a special
statute was passed appropriating
rooms 50 and IS to the personal use
OF the lieutenant governor, and that
-as the Indianapolis News and our
evening contemporary puts it-this
was done in a burst of generosity. is
mere falsehOOd.
The question Of auotting the office
space IN the state house was the sub
Ject OF earnest consideration FOR weeks
by thoughtful mem bers of both houses
and finally a law was enacted creating
a state house commission. which COM
mission was charged with the duty of
re-arranging the offices of the state
house. but in that law was placed an
inhibition against any officer or en-
ploye interfering i'm any way with
rooms 4, ., and 2, which were re-
served for the use of the governor.
and rooms So and SO, reserved for the
use OF the lieutenant governor. The
rooms were re-furnished. not elabo-
rately. but decently. at "a ccst TO the
state of less than one-sixth the
the amount that was expended for the
furnishings that were destroyed or re-
moved from the rooms prior TO the
/ converting of the legislature OF 1913.
No sooner were these rooms fur
nished than the News GndianapoIs).
| began carrying first page stories under
faring heads in an endeaNor 10 create
the impression that the lieutenant
governor was using office space that
should be devoted 10 other purposes.
The matter was thoroughly discussed
and II the legislature had not felt
that the right action was taken IN the
session OF 1913. il had ample opportu-
nifty 10 take different action AZ the
session OF 1915. but not even the In
oianapOlis News had the temerity 10