Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-05-10
MARION IN HOT
FIGHT OVER CITY
MANAGER PLAN
tcontinuea FROM Page one.l

County In the election last fall, was
made chairman; Mrs. Hugh Smaltz. wife
of a local Manufacturer, secretary; Gus
S. Condo, widely known Republican and
lawyer. vice chairman, and Robert j.
Spencer, Jr.. banker, treasurer.
Practical politicians, Democrats, Repub-
licans and Socialists sat up aghast at such
a maneuver and with the help Of several
prominent citizens who sincerely oppose
government by commission and mana ger
quickly organized the Representative
Government League, of which Robert NJ
Van Alta, former judge of the Grant
Delaware Superior Court, was made the
chairman Able leaders Of all three
parties got into the fight Among
active Democrats in the anti camp are
Meade s. Hays and B. Bobbs Shively.
ATTORNEYS. and c. D. Pinkerton, drug
gist Eli Coats. Republican city chair
man. Samuel Stricler. attorney and one
time Republican candidate for Congress
from the Eleventh district; Harley
Hardin. attorney, and others represent
the Republicans. while the Socialists have
two of their regular war horses, Ernest
Malott and Harry Oats, in the harness.
HAMMERS CITY
ADMINISTRATION.
From the outset the Citizens League
began to hammer the present Republican
city administration. headed by Mayor
Elkonah Hulley, as being inefficient The
lack of proper development Of the mu-
nicipal water system, inefficency in the
police department, failure to provide
parks and Fairgrounds, impossible
pavements and other civic ills were
pointed out and the declaration made
orf0 ma
ager these defects would be remedied.
The "antis" smiled in derision and
asked where the Citizens Lea que thought
the city manager was going to get the
money to pay for all these improvements
as well as his own fabulous salary?
Why, out of the pockets OF the people, of
course, they said.
The Citizens League has gone ahead
in a dignified manner to present facts
and figures to show that Marion can not
get efficient city government under the
present plan, that other cities have pros
pered under the commission manager
form and that therefore it is at least
worth a trial here.
But oil this appears to have been but
as chaff before the wind of opposition
which the keen political minds in the
Representative Government League have
stirred up.
DAYTON DIRECTOR
COMES TO TOWN.
c. B. Greene, director of the bureau Of
research for the city commission of Day
ton, came to town. Mr.. Greene, from all
surface indications, seems to be about as
popular In Marion with about four-ffths
Of the people as the kaiser would have
been had he dropped In during war
times and told the folks that their
method Of governing themselves is all
wrong.
Mr.. Greene looked over Marion and be-
gan to find things that he thought a good
city manager would not tolerate for fif
teen minutes They happened to be things
that Marion has been tolerating for fif-
teen years or SO and it was natural that
the civic pride should be hurt by such
discoveries by an outsider, especially an
outsider who had come from another
State.
The leaders Of the Representative Gov
eminent League are making the most Of
Mr.. Greene's presence, playing with
might and main upon the idea that he is
an interlOper. They are not neglecting
at the same time to keep the voters from
forgetting that the city manager, whom
they paint as having as much power as
the car Of Russia once enjoyed, in all
probability viii be imported from Iowa,
Maine, Oregon or some other distant
commonwealth.
A. OF @. DENIES
PARTICIPATION.
Although the membership Of the Mar
ion Association of Commerce, which now
numbers 6S5, is widely representative
Of citizens Of all walks of life, the op-
ponents of the new plan are claiming
that the special election was worked up
Ly the associations leaders Cor tbs pur-
pose of permitting the big business in
terests of the city 90 gain completed con-
t-ol ~ th~ Tsrs,iita the