The Indianapolis times., 1928-11-09
COUNCIL DIGS
ITSELF IN FOR
LONG BATTLE
Session Just Another Siege
of WatChfuI Waiting by
Rival Factions.
ALL WEAR POKER FACES
Each Side Is Too Wary to
Act in Case of Indicted
Members.

oiLOlIB lnCO SeaCS at the 0ctagOnal
table about which county officials
and reporters once whiled away
hours between indictments and
elections with indulgence in poker,
Che national indoor pastime, seven
crafty gentlemen of the genus
courthouse politico today dug them
selves in for what promises to be-
come the great, unparalleled mara
thon Marion county governmental
poker game.
The seven men who apparently
nave set out to play a game which
may take from three months to a
! couple of years are county council
men. Sitting with them, ready to
send out for sandwiches or a new
deck now and then, is County Audi
tor Harry Dunn. The stakes is con-
trolled by the county council, which
tells the county commissioners how
much they can spend, if any.
The rules are combination of
Marquis Of Queensbury, the hi
jackers' code and catch-as-catch
can. If it's possible to Slip an ace
under the table and avoid a bullet,
slip, brother, slip.
Two COuncilmen Indicted
Yesterday the grand jury indicted
Councilmen Paul Dunn and Grant
Moore. Dunn, the grand Jurors
averred, wasn't quite truthful when
he swore he owned a piece of prop
erty in 1925 which he hadn't ac-
quired until 1928.
Moore, the grand jury objected,
got a 20 per cent cut in a county
gravel contract, we'll knowing that
it wasn't condoned by best legal
minds.
Which, of course, wasn't nice of
the grand jury, on the eve of an
important council session.
The atmosphere was tense, if not
intense, when councilmen gathered
this morning. AS the council stands,
the George v. Coffin Republican
faction controls four and the G.
Otis Dodson faction three members
of the council. Members Dunn, John
Shearer, DR.. Soils Runnels and
President George M. Montgomery
line up with Coffin. Members Moore,
James Edwards and Frank Cones
are with Dodson.
Two-Thirds Vote Gusts
Under the law, the council by
two-thirdS vote can oust any men,
ber for grave misconduct. Expecta-
ton that one side or the other
would start something along this
line gave rise to the belief that to-
days session would be historic.
But nothing but the big game of
waiting for the other side to make
the first move happened.
All except Moore and Dunn were
seated about the table (Which was
the field of many hot poker battle
twenty years or so ago when a GER
tain room on the fourth floor was
known as "McGregor'S den'D when
Moore arrived.
With forced jocularity the mem
bers greeted him all around He
sat down and started figuring with
pencil and pad.
Fifteen minutes after roll call,
Dunn arrived and started to lay
aside his coat and hat. In the midst
of the struggle he stopped and re-
marked:
mo, I won't leave them here.
Someone might steal them" He
took them to the sheriff's Office
across the hall.
Dunn Helps Himself
When he came back there was no
vacant chair. A reporter remarked
aloud: Looks like Mr.. Dunn has
been unseated."
"Oh, they'd steal anything around
here" rejoined Dunn and seized
himself a chair while the council
politely guffawed.
For the next seventeen minutes
the seven gentlemen devoted them
selves assiduously to governmental
poker, reading ordinances for bond
issues, including the $620,000 issue
for the county's share of flood pre-
vention, and restraining feelings
with such effect that not one word
was said about Thursdays indict-
mentS.
After the shortest session on re-
cord-just thirty-two minutes-the
council adjourned.
It's Grand MiXup
The session will be resumed to-
morrow.
Doppesters started laying side bets
on the outcome of this situation:
If Dunn resigns, the Coffin fac
ton loses its edge of one vote. 1t
will lost it anyway Jan, l, when
Shearer becomes a county commits
sioner.
If Moore resigns, the Dodson fac
tion loses what hold it has.
Neither is expected to resign. 1t
takes five votes to unseat coun-
Gilman. Try to find five members
who will agree.
No one was predicting the out
come.
nRESC RETTEP IN CREOTTl