The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-10-28
TRULY NOkEN
DEFENDED BY
BOARD FRIEND
Lucius B. Swift Backs Him
and Calvert in Fights to
Hold Jobs.


president of the Indianapolis sani-
tary board, and instrumental in set
ting up the present board, today
defended Truly Nolen, ousted garb-
age collection superintendent, and
G. K. Calvert, ousted sewage de-
partment head.
swift, commenting upon the
abolition of the two positions by the
sanitary board Tuesday, said:
BIames Coordination"
with regard to the recent sudden
dismissais of heads OF three divi-
sions of the sanitation plants, I have
elsewhere spoken of the fine service
of Floyd Baber at the head of
garbage reduction.
"Since then G. K. Calvert and
Truly Nolen have been removed. All
this was accomplished by the CO.
operative votes of Russell McFall
and Duvalrs engineer upon the
recommendation Of E. w. McCul-
Tough who was to finish the new
garbage plant in one year and re-
ceive $4,000, but took five years and
drew $4,000. !
"I becam@a member of the board
in March, 1919 and served four years
and nine months. Calvert and Nolen
were in the employ of the board
and look back with unbounded sat-
isfaction to my association with
themA Both are men of high char
acter. Both look upon public bust
ness as nothing but business and
hate any kind of politics or favor
itism in its transaction. Each was
admirably fitted for the place he
filed.
r. Built Economical Screens
"Mr. Calvert was the head of
the chemical laboratory and had
charge of the model sewage dis
posal plant at the foot of West
street where among other things
were developed the screens designed
by Charles H Hurd which take out
of the sewage 40 per cent of solid
matter The best other screen takes
out only 10 percent.
THE cost of installment was only
$4,000 while the best other screen
would have cost over 100000. Since
the completion of the plant Calvert
has been in charge OF operation.
Day and night and Sundays, taking
no vacation for four years he has
been on the work watching every
operation, whether chemical, bac-
THEOLOGICAL or what not, noting the
first sign of anything wrong. With
him the plant has responded per-
fectly. There are some unfinished
matters which he was anxious and
able to complete, such as drying the
sludge and producing q marketable
fertilizer as Chicago and Milwau-
kee do. Their plants were built
after consultation with this plants
heads He has been prevented from
doing this by the cooperative COM
bination above mentioned.
Charges Kept Secret
"Nolen began at the garbage
plant; but in May, 1921, the legis-
lature turned over to us the col
lection of garbage and ashes he was
put at the head of that. He took
a system that was a disgrace and
made it the best in the country. 1t
has already been fully described in
the press. Taking into account mis-
fine work for the city and the fact
that he has wife and six children
and no property except home he
is buying On payments, the act, sud-
denly dischargingt him, will receive
its proper designation in the minds
of all honest men and women.
when they add to that, that his
discharge was based upon secret
charges and that Nolen was denied
copy and chance to answer.
They will be properly defined in
the minds of those men and women.
Russell T. McFall, sanitary board
president and City Engineer Paul r.
Brown today said the Nolen charges
would not be turned over to the
grand jury unless Nolen insisted on
his allegation that the board had
knowledge of his alleged violation
of the law by padding the pay ROLL
"They said they believed nothing
could be gained by giving Nolen
public hearing"