Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-18
SCHOOLPATRONS
TO MAKE STAND
FOR BOND ISSUE
Oppose Taxpayers League in
Hearing to Defeat Vital
Improvements.
URGE NEW BUILDINGS

When the State board of tax com
missioners holds its public hearing
on the remonstrance of ten mem.
bers of the Taxpayers League of In.
dianapolis against the proposed
issuance of $S47,OO of bonds for the
erection Of new school buildings at
Schools Nos. 16, sc, SO and 62, it
probably will face hundreds of
parents who have children attending
these schools.
These parents, whose children at-
tend school in obsolete buildings,
some of which admittedly are fire
traps and have been condemned re-
peatedly by the State fire marshal,
undoubtedly will demand that the
bond issue be approved and the
lives of several hundred school chill
dren be given preference over the
pocket books Of the demonstrators.
If ever there was an emergency it
exists at these four schools, according
to school officials. They point out that
last November the school board met and
after going over the situation carefully
picked out twelve schools where new
buildings were needed especially. Out Of
these twelve the four schools that have
caused all the controversy were selected
as being the ones where the emergency
was the most pressing; No. IS at Bloom
ington and Market streets; No. 36 at
Capitol avenue and Twenty Eighth
street; No. So at Winter and BIoyd ave-
nues, and No. GO at Wallace and Tenth
streets
CHILDREN'S LIVES
ARE ENDANGERED.
1t was true that at that time prices
both Of labor and material were high. the
highest in the history of the building
business in Indianapolis, but high prices
or no high prices schools must go on,
the members decided. and a single catas-
trOphe that might blot out the lives Of
scores Of school children never could
be justified on the grounds that the price
Of building was so high that the board
felt it advisable to permit the continued
existence of fire trap buildings until costs
fell to a level approved by a group Of
taxpayers, many Of whom have no chill
dren in any of the public schools of the
city
BUT meantime building Costs Qld DreaE
and the bond issue was approved at the
meeting Of May 81. 1t is true that the
issue was approved by the Tetes of only
three members, Mrs Julia Belle Tuts-
wiler, president Of the board, Clarence Il.
Crippin and Bert S. Gadd, and that
Charles L. Barry and ". D. Allison re-
fused to cast any vote whatever. How
ever, this action of the minority members
was not dictated by hostility to the
erection of the new buildings at these
particular four schools, but by the fact
that the board the week previous had
gone over the head of the finance COM
mittee and had ordered the preparation
Of advertisement for bonds for school
No. CO without first having the matter
approved by the finance committee OF
which Mr.. Barry and Mr. Allison are
members. In fact at that meeting Mr.
Barry told the delegation of residents
from the neighborhood Of School No. 81
that he thought they should be given
new building.
For this reason school officials were al
the more surprised when the remon-
STRANGE was filed with County Auditor
Fesler Thursday.
CLAIMS OPPOSITION
NOT JUSTIFIED.
IF the Taxpayers League really
wanted to object to the expenditure OF
money for school purposes" one official
said yesterday, 1T certainly seems pc.
culiar that it would pick out four builds
Continued on Page TwO)