Indiana daily times., 1921-09-06


year or more, should the county court
in which q mandate is sought overrula
the remonstrance and an appeal to the
higher tribunal be taken.
BELIEVE ELECTION
LEAST Expensive.
The remoustrants declared they be-
lieve submitting the question directly TO
the voters in q special election wOul
have been the shorter, least expensive
way.
Corporation Counsel Samuel Ashby and
Dr. T. Victor Keene of the American
Legion intimated that the pro-plaza
forces do not fear a fight in the courts.
In addition to taxing Unexpectedly
swift action on 'he plaza remOnstrance
the council passed the annual civil city
tax levy and appropriation ordinances,
received on Introduction two ordinances
PASSED under suspension Of the rules,
one ordinance for transfer of funds,
passed the city meat inspection measure
and took action or received on intro
duction q number of minor bills.
The elections committee submitted q
written report recommending that the
plaza remonstranCe be rejected. This re-
port, If is understood. was prepared be
fore the meeting and brought to the
council chamber for consideration in 4
private conference before the regular
session opened. 1t bore the signatures
OF Or. Summer A. Fun Aiss. J. P. Brown
and J. E. Miller. Dr. o. 3. Pettijohn
ard William B. Peake. the other mem
bers Of the committee, were not present
SIGN STATEMENT
GIVING REASONS.
While the committee and other coun-
cilmen were in the conference in the
ion
Counsel Ashby and the councils secre-
tary went to Mr.. Ashby's Office on the
second floor Of the city hall They re-
turned a few minutes later and news
paper men were supplied with copies Of
a statement which seven members Of
the council had signed in which reasons
for rejecting the remonstrance were set
forth 1t was understood the statement
had been prepared by Mr. Ashby. The
councilmen who signed it were DIR. Fur
Mss, Louis ". Carnefx. Mr.. Miller, Mr..
Brown. Gustav g. Schmidt President
Russell Wilson and Lee J. KirSch.
This statement said that the council
in reaching its decision had taken 10517
as the number OF signatures Of qualified
voters eQualing the per cent required
by the memorial law to constitute a
sufficient remonstrance. The remon-
STRANGE bore more than 1900 signatures.
demonstrators have contended that
about $500 names would constitute )
per cent of tie qualified voters" This
was based upon the number of voters
registered for the last election. The
councils statement says that In view of
a United States Supreme Court decision
In an Indiana case the number of voters
shown by the last Federal census should
be the basis on which the per cent
should be figured. In this manner the
council set the figure at 1O,517 Evidence
submitted by the pro plaza forces OF In
valid signatures cut the number of valid
slgners Of the remOnstrance far below
1O511, the statement said.
FIND SIGNATURES
BELOW 5 PER CENT.
I'VE, the undersigned members Of the
common council, have given the most
careful and painstaking consideration ia
the rem onStrances that were filed against
declaratory resolution No. T. 1921 and the
evidence that has been submitted to the
council IN public hearings relating
thereto.
I'VE started into the Investigation
with the conviction and a desire to sus-
tain the remOnstrances and call an cleo
ton thereon. However, we were forced
BY the evidence and the facts to the con-
clusion that said renonstrances did not
contain the required per cent Of the
qualified voters of the city of Indianap-
oils, required by law.
ain reaching this conclusion. we were
bound by the law as determined by
Judge A B. Anderson OF the United
States District Court for the District OF
Indiana in the case of AczeI VS.. L. s
which was affirmed by the United State:
Circuit Court Of Appeals, in which It was
hal hot q
voter did not mean registered voter, bu
every person over the age of twenty one
years, who was qualified to register.
1.-The council in determining the mum
Der of qualified voters, took as its BASH
OF computation the United States cen
sus as of Jan !, 1920, which would re
quire 10517 valid signatures to the
remOnstrances to make the required five
per cent. From this We deducted al
average of ten from each precinct, tC
cover aliens and incompetents, although
we are convinced that the natural in
crease of qualified voters in each pre-
cinct since Jan. LIST, 1920 would more
than balance the disqualified voters il
such precincts.
Cur unanimous conclusion on the
evidence was that the remOnstrances a,
filed, were far short Of having the re
quired number Of valid signatures We
have therefore, felt in duty bound t.
reject the remonstrances, as insufficient
to authorize the council to submit the
resolution to an election"
YORK OBJECTS
TO COURSE TAKEN.
Mr.. York declared that he does not be.
heve the council adopted the proper
course in rejecting the remOnstrance be-
cause its decision that enough sigma
lures to inyalidate the document were
shown by the pro-plaza forces was based
solely upon "a mere statement of a couple
OF so-called hand writing experts who
said some of the names on the petition
were signed in the same hand writing
He said the only way to legally determine
whether or not any of the signatures
were invalid was to subpoenae each and
every one of the $4,000 persons whose
names appear upon the paper and Iet
them testify.
DR.. Taylor said that he has bees IN
formed that the council, although il -
Jected the remOnstTance, had decided ncl
to consider as Illegal the five or six hun
dred signatures questioned by the pro-
plaza forces on replies to q postcard
and letter sent out by the American
Legion The postcard asked persons
whose names appeared on the remon-
STRANGE IL thay had signed the remon-
STRANGE against the war memorial" In