Jasper County Democrat, Volume 13, Number 52, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 October 1910 — NO BOND PUT UP BY PURTELLE [ARTICLE]

NO BOND PUT UP BY PURTELLE

And Matter of Railroad Election 1$ Continued. PROMOTOR NOT MADE 6000 At Hammond and He Has No Franchise There, as Stated by the Republican, Says Hammond Paper.—No Election Should Be Ordered Here, and Probably Will Not Be, Until the “Dough” is Put Up.

The petition for a railroad election in Marion township and Rensselaer, to vote a 1y 2 per cent subsidy for Eugene Purtelle's Indiana Northwestern Traction Co., which was filed with the county commissioners Monday, was continued to the November term. It was understood that Purtelle was to fix up an idemnifying bond, that his company would begin work here in thirty days after the election, should the subsidy carry, arid that it would pay the expense of the election in the event it should not carry. Action on the petition was continued from Monday to Tuesdav in order to give Purtelle an opportunity, to file his bond, we understand, but the bond failed to to show up Tuesday and action was then deferred until the November term. Concerning some of Mr. Purtrelle’s statements here-on Friday of last week, a Hammond paper says: Purtelle'a attorney, J. K. Stinson, has been asked repeatedly to make a statement for publication, and although one was prepared by Stinson and sent to Purtelle for approval that personage has never returned it so that it might be published, Purtelle points to the fact that the right of way between Hammond and Lowell has nearly all been secured and that the right of way from Dyer to Chicago Heights has been secured with the exception of one-fifth of a mile. This statement is intended to show that thy Northwestern Indiana Traction company has made progress. However, Purtelle omits to say that most of this right of way was donated and that outside of the cost of promoting the scheme a few thousand dollars would cover the actual expenditure of money on the road.

He points to the fact that the contract for the building of the branch between Hammond and Lowell has been let. That may be true, but it has been let to a company, which a special financial report to the Times declares was plainly organized for the purpose of building this line, which has the record of having never actually built a railroad since it was organized. Purtelle tells a deliberate untruth when he says that franchises have been secured in all of .the towns along the proposed route of the road for an investigation of the facts will show that the company has not the semblance of a franchise in Hammond and will not get one until Purtelle is able to convince Mayor eßcker and the hoard of phblic works that his company is more than a wildcat scheme. v * *. Purtelle makes the allegation that his company has given a , $9,900 bond to the city of Hammond',- to guarantee that ,it will carry out the terms of its franchise. The facts are that Purtelle never has given a bond to the city of Hammond, and after he had been awarded a franchise on condition that he post SI,OOO to guarantee the building of the line, his company was in such, financial condition that it did not even post the SI,OOO, but allowed a valuable franchise to lapse. ■ 1 * And after -allowing his Valuable franchise to lapse because the road could not'raise SI,OOO its promoters tell prospective stockholders that it has ample funds with which t 6 cfcrry on the work of construction. The busines men of Hammond who have gone into Purtelle’ record and who refused to invest in an enterprise that has no visible finanr cial backing regard him as an adventurer. ■ -. ' ’■ An inquiry! at any of the banks--4n Hammond. tfaat is a personal inquiry, will reveal the fact that not one of them will take the responsibility of recommending Purtelle’s project to a prospective investor. Conservative business men regard Purtelle’s scheme as a wildcat enterprise a|t the present time and unless he is able to secure responsible backing in the future it is altogether unjikely that he will be given much consideration in financial circles here.

CRUMPACKER CAME NOT. ■■ ■■■ Free Picture Show Arranged to Draw Crowd, But “Crump” Didn’t Show Up. It is really too bad that after 211 the efforts of the local Crumpacker republicans that the Judge failed to show up Wednesday night as advertised, and n 6 speaking was held. His meetings have been rather chilly at other places, it is said, and in order to create a little enthusiasm—as old Alt McCoy used to say when he got out his sheepskin band — and draw a crowd, the local patriots thought they would rent the Princess theatre for the occasion and give a free moving picture show and vaudeville, with the Judge's speech sandwiched in between.

W henever the crowd became uneasy or someone asked an embarrassing question of the Judge, the music could be started up and the picture of Jack Johnson, the greatest republican of his time, barring Roosevelt, could be thrown on the screens and the pictures of Joe Cannon, Nelse Aldrich, et al, could be used to quell any other outbreaks of unrest.

The scheme was a good one and the house was bound to be packed to the doors, but some of the wicked democrats couldn't keep their faces straight when talking to the republicans about what a fine idea it was, and at last some of them tumbled to the fact that it might not be just the thing and a whole lot of sport at the Judge’s expense might be indulged in, so the free show was called off and the opera house substituted for the nickle theatre for the speaking—the advertising lor the latter had been done and j respectable crowd would turn out anyway. But the Judge had evidently heard of the vaudeville arrangements and his pride wouldn’t stand for anything of the sort, the jibes of his old friend Cannon, et al. would be too much for him to stand, anS although the committee got out the Boys’ Band and kept it blowing until the boys were about worn out, to hold the crowd until the congressman from the Tenth appeared, no Crumpacker materialized, and the speaking was “off.” And now the committee is sore, while the people who turned out to see a free picture show are still sorer, and we are reminded of that old quotation about the plans of mice and men oft going awry.