The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1926-12-08
TELLS
OF $4,000
GE|ST OFFER
Water Company Head
Offered Sum for Governor
ship Race, Says Shank.
WORD BY LIEUTENANT
But He's Satisfied in Ware
house Office.


Shank, celebrating upon a speech he
made Tuesday before the Universal
Club at the Chamber Of Commerce,
today told of an offer of a utility
magnate to spend $4,000 to make
him Governor of Indiana two years
ago.
When was mayor I appointed
Taylor Groninger, corporation coun-
sci, with the understanding that he.
was to fight for the people," said
Shank.
"One day Clarence Geist Of Phila-
delphia, owner Of the Indianapolis
Water Company. came to my Office
for a friendly chat. He-was with
me for more than half an hour and
was a social delight. Just my kind
Of fellow, 1 thought then. Told me
what a beautiful place he had down
in Philadelphia and asked me to
come down and see him. q 1 didn't
fall for it the way Ed Blessing for
mer member Of the public service
commission) did.
Lieutenant Tells Him
After Geist had been in to see me
oh, a few weeks later-one of my
friends, and a trusted lieutenant
who never lied to me. regardless of
what other may say about him, told
me that l had made an awful hit
with Geist said that Gels.
never met any one whom he liked
any better at first meeting and that
Geist had said, We must make the
mayor Governor OF Indiana
And this trusted friend and lieuten-
ant told me that Geist had author.
lied him to say to me-'Tell Shank
that l want him TO run for Gov
ernor. I don't want him to take a
cent from any one else and I'll
finance his campaign for Governor
up to $4,000, and more If neces.
sary.'
"A little later Geist gave a DINNER
at the Claypool. Had lots OF flowers
placed before my seat, but he
wouldn't let me speak. Afraid /
might spoil the party By telling OF
his offer. He sure did make q
speech-I can still hear him telling
that bunch how he was going to buy
allNthe property on both sides of the
canal and the river all the way to
Nohlesville. Nearly made me cry
when he told how he LOVED Indian.
apolis and its people and how he
wanted to plant all the acreage he
would buy with trees and make 1t
beautiful and leave that stretch Of
beauty to his children as a heritage.
|. He made a grand speech.
didn't believe him then and
l don't now.
ITO me all these mergers and the
promises of the merger-makers are
all bunk.
Remembers Gas Merger
I'm not so old but what I can
remember how, in my first term,
they started to merge the two gas
companies. l held the ordinance up
for "a long time and finally yielded
to advice when they promised us
55-cent gas. We put-it through and
we got 55-cent gas-but for how long
and now 1 still regret having
signed that document. Later
learned that the fellows who told me
loudest and longest what a good
thing it would be for the town were
the very men who had gas COM
pany stock.
"They are now using the same
argument that they used then-'why
have two sets of mains and two sets
of this and two sets of that when
one will do a ne cheaper and l
fell. ...
ut wouldsb sbe cheaper If the public
was treated honestly and fairly and
this merger, If consummated should
show in writing and they should
furnish a bond to make them amor
tie out of the capital stock all
property when it ceases to be used
and useful And don't let them pull
the old bunk that the stations will
have to be maintained because of a
few customers who are supplied
heat.
"Yes, 1 am against the public
service commission and want to see
it, abolished UNLESS they do some
thing for the people.
"If 1 had taken that $4,000 or
more and played with the gentleman
from Atlanta Dr. Hiram w. Evans,
Imperial Wizard of the Ku-Klux
Klan), might be governor, but this
old warehouse office gives me, at