The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1919-02-12

The bridge committee Of the South
Side improvement association taxes
exception to the statements OF County
Treasurer E. ]. Weidner in an article
from his pen opposing the erection OF
the South Side bridge.
The committee claims that Weidner
is INDUCING in surmises and personal
prophecies rather than in facts. and
makes the following statement:
when Mr.. Weidner claims that a
saving of $4,000 could be effected by
postponing the erection Of the South
Side bridge for year or two, he Is
merely expressing a personal opinion
without any actual facts to substan-
tate his position, which is not upheld,
in turn, by the facts presented by
County Engineer Mueller at the dis
cussion in the court house on Mon
day.
Now 10 the Logical Time.
"Mr. Mueller showed by irrefutable
facts at that time that the present
was the most logical time for the erec-
ton of the Souh Side bridge because
of the declining market and the TACT
that a saving could be effected by u.s.
ing the paraphernalia and machinery
now being used in the construction OF
the Main street bridge. Mr.. Mueller
further demonstrated tina the law OF
supply and demand would force the
prices of material and labor up within
the next year or two.
broke and that he had to loan 1t
''In the statement that the city is
Where Did It Come From?
$4,000, Mr.. Weidner raises the ques-
ton as to where the $4,000 came
from and it is the presumption that
it is the balance of the bridge fund
that was loaned to the Main street
bridge.
Everybody is in favor Of good roads
but the suggestion Of Mr.. Weidner that
the 100000 be spent on good roads
instead Of the bridge does not seem to
us to be we'll taken since the building
of the bridge will put property on
the tax duplicate and make returns
that the roads could not make.
His argument that the Doran
bridge is in need of repairs is an old
cry and was raised at the time the
South Side bridge was first talked OF
seriously years ago. His further point
that the people on the West Side
whose avenue to the east side OF the
river is the Do-an bridge must be CIV
en- consideration rather than the COM
mons and cornfields of the Southwest
side,' is lamentably weak when the
fact is considered that the commons
and cornfields' we're all that was on
the West Side when the Doran bridge
was built.
Not s. S. !. A. Project
"Mr. Weidners statement that the
Morton Lake and Park company was
a dream of few of the same men who
are pushing the South Side bridge is
absolutely false rs everybody knows
that the South Side improvement as
sociation has been working for the
South Side bridge for years and that
the Morton Lake project was private
one in which a different set of men
were interested.
"Mr Weidner admits that the Nor
ton Lake company has not paid its
taxes and says that the city treasurer
cannot pay the bonds in consequence
and then goes on to point to the fact
that he has been collecting delinquent
taxes and has thus saved the county
and city from ruin.
"If Mr.. Weidner is so keen about
collecting delinquent taxes why
doesn't he threaten to sell the Morton
Lake property at public auction, or
threaten suit against those behind the
scheme like he threatens the laboring
man with the confiscation and sale of
his household goods? This talk looks
very much like a grand stand play.
I'VE do not defend the delinquent
tax payer but we do believe that if de-
are to be dealt with harshly,
the wage Garner should not be the
first one to be jumped on because he
is helpless and not able to cope with
the bulldozing tactics which Mr.. Weld
ner would be afraid to apply to those