Evening Republican, Volume 20, Number 89, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 13 April 1916 — MURPHY RESIGNATION SOLICITED IS REPORT [ARTICLE]

MURPHY RESIGNATION SOLICITED IS REPORT

Ralston Declared to Have Acted On Statement that Commissioner Suggested Change In Attorneys.

Indianapolis Star. Reports that became current Tuesday indicated that Charles J. Murphy did not resign voluhtarily from the public service commission. Governor Ralston remained silent on the subject, however, and Mr. Murphy declined to discuss the matter further than to repeat that business reasons prompted his resignation and that he did not quit the commission by request. Complaint was made to the governor about five weeks ago, it developed Tuesday, by representatives of the Merchants Heat and Light Company, which hps had several propositions up for consideration by the commission, that Commissioner Murphy had suggested to A. W. Higgins, general manager of the utility, that the company ought to displace its attorney, J. W. Fesler, with the law firm of Ryan & Ruckelshaus. Mr. Murphy, according to reports, suggested that the company’s present attorney could not make progress with his cases pending. It is reported that Governor Ralston, at a conference held at his home about three weeks ago, suggested to Mr. Murphy that he ought to resign. While Mr. Murphy stands pat on his first statement that he is resigning because of a demand on his time by his private business interests, in-' eluding a new venture, the nature of which is not disclosed ait this time, his friends, while not admitting that his resignation was forced, say that the Fesler matter probably had an influence on Mr. Murphy in deciding to leave the commission at this time. The story goes that the governor had an interview with Mr. Murphy soon after he had received a verbal complain/ from the representatives cf the Merchants company and that this was followed by friends of Mr. Murphy, including the heads of several public utilities, making an appeal to the Merchants company to withdraw its charges and drop the matter entirely. It is known that Mr. Fesler has had repeated conferences with the governor within the last four or five weeks, but Mr. Fesler declined Tuesday evening to discuss any phase of the Murphy resignation.