Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 213, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 September 1915 — LAFAYETTE PLANS TO ADOPT PURDUE [ARTICLE]

LAFAYETTE PLANS TO ADOPT PURDUE

Mayor Lining Up Councilmen to Vote For Annexation of University Town Across Wabash.

Mayor Thomas Bauer, of Lafayette, is at the head of a movement for the city of Lafayette to annex West Lafayette. The 27,000 residents of the city are greatly agitated over the suggestion to have an ordinance passed to have the city annex the town and make a greater Lafayette. Lafayette now has a population of 23,000 people and West Lafayette has about 4,000. Attorneys favoring the annexation assert that under a law passed by the legislature in 1913 it would not be necessary for the voters of the two cities to vote on the merging of the two places. They say the annexation could be accomplished by majorities of the council of Lafayette and the town board of West Lafayette voting for the merger. West Lafayette is across the Wabash river and is the home of Purdue University. A majority of the democratic politicians are against the proposition because Lafayette under normal conditions is democratic, while West Lafayette is heavily republican. They also assert that West Lafayette would place a heavy burden upon the taxpayers of Lafayette, as the west side has no water works or fire department The wet element in Lafayette is also greatly concerned, as it might result in “Greater Lafayette” voting dry.