Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-02-26
BY IRWIN l. GORDON

partlsanship, of political expediency Of pat
ronage and contract control.
Crawford Fairbanks, a man more than 20
years old, is the real political leader Of Terre
Haute. He is Tom Taggart's business part
ner. These men built the French Lick Hotel,
for which a New York concern recently
offered s3,O0O,OOO. The place Is known as
"The American Monte Carlo" Taggart now
owns the Pluto water resort, and the two
men continue to have wide business interests.
Politics and Money Make Good Mud
Fairbanks made his money through the
Terre Haute Brewing Company. The brew
cry has real estate department known as
the Terre Haute Realty Company, which
floats saloon mortgages. Fairbanks heads
this. Thus, with the financial backer of the
Democratic party in Indiana so deeply in
terested in conditions at Terre Haute, 1t be-
came necessary always to elect the liquor
candidates.
Terre Haute for decades was Republican
city. Vigo County, in which It is situated,
was the same. AS Fairbanks grew in power
and his beer became popular in Indiana n
change was noticed in the political complex
ion of the region. The people gradually no.
tced that 1t made little difference who was
elected-Republican or Democrat-Fairbanks
always was master That is to say, John F.
Lamb was master.
The Quay of Terre Haute
For nearly 25 years this was the Tag
gart- Fairbanks lieutenant at Terre Haute.
He was the man named by President Wilson
as Minister to Mexico at the outbreak of the
troubles in that country death preventing
him taking his post Lamb might be called
the Quay of Terre Haute, for it was he who
laid the foundations for the present machine
1t was he who represented the railroads and
traction lines and dealt with the franchise
grabbers. Lamb, however, without the Fair
banks money, could not hold power. After
20 years a break came, when Lamb could not
induce Taggart and Fairbanks to back him
in a fight to become United States Senator
A new political figure rose on the horizon
Dom M. Roberts. Here appears the first or
the contractors Roberts, an engineer-con-
tractor chafed at the refusal of political pre-
ferment by the Lamb Fairbanks outfit
Slowly he built political machine, the main
spokes OF which were John f. Nugent a BIZ
partisan politician, who has since pleaded
guilty to conspiracy charges Dennis Shea,
ex-saloonkeeper, who afterward became Sher-
if, and is now under indictment and Richard
A. Wernicke, the prosecutor in the present
debauchery cases. Through Nugent he got
hold Of the City Council. He began organiz-
first he was unsuccessful His race for posi-
ton was strilSingly similar to that made by
William S. Ware against Penrose and Nc
Nichol in the primary of 1912. Defeated, how
ever, this man did not lie down, but fought
to an ultimate victory, which came when
Fairbanks threw over Lamb and financially
backed Roberts The latter appointed him
self city engineer
BY long series of political moves, Roberts
became county chairman. Lamb endeavored
to "come back" by forcing Mayor Gerhardt
to discharge Roberts as city engineer. For
a year a legal battle waged. 1t Is said
that the politician spent $4,000 in this con-
test for $4,000 job, Thousands of the citizens
sided with Roberts, believing him to be per-
secuted by Lamb and the former Mayor. At
any rate, they chose between lesser evils,
preferring Roberts to Lamb. About this time
the older leader died. Roberts became
preme-that is to say, under Fairbanks.
The Piggeries by the Wabash
Dom NJ Roberts, whom virtually all of the
81 men who have pleaded guilty implicate
is a master politician. In fact, this man
combines the attributes and accomplishments
of the leading Philadelphia politicians to
marked degree. He is a type well known in
this community.
work for the city of Terre Haute stands as
a faulty monument to him. Much of his
strength has been acquired through the for
eign vote. The Little Italy of the city be-
longs to him; the Negro vote is his, while the
tenement sections of the city, the cheap
boarding hov9es and the saloons form the
nucleus of IN power. Roberts is responsible
for the pigs which grunt along the Wabash
River. as do the pigs in South Philadelphia
Indiana is famous for hogs, and no amount
of public sentiment against the animals has
been sufficient TO induce the politician to re-
move them from the city boundaries.
DIR. w. H. Roberts moved TO Terre Haute
from Illinois when his son Donn was a child
and eventually placed him in the Rose Poly
technic School. Following his graduation
the young man became an engineer and con-
tractor. Starting in an humble way. he man
aged to obtain a few municipal contracts
With no political backing however. he Jared
poorly at the municipal table, and carried his
business TO Washington. d. c.. Where he laid
several miles of sewers for the Government
Roberts next became a promoter He
cured the right OF way for the Terre Haute
and Merom Traction Company line which
was TO extend some 80 miles down the Wa
bash River. He formed the United States
Construction Company and also the Fair
hanks Trust Company. which was to finance
the proposition He attempted TO stave of
failure By issuing scrip to his workmen. This
was discounted at 10 per cent, BY saloon
keepers and grocers. These men found that
the paper was worthless. The whole CON
Germ went to the wall In 1907. and is stlll in
the hands Of a receiver Conrad Hernig, one
or the men who discounted some $1,000 OF the
Roberts scrip committed suicide
Father Against Son