Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 41, Number 102, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 September 1909 — SOUTH BEND MAYOR VISITS RENSSELAER. [ARTICLE]

SOUTH BEND MAYOR VISITS RENSSELAER.

Mayor Fogarty, Who Says He Gives the People YVhat They Want, Puts Ward In St.« Joseph’s. ' WEddie Fogarty, mayor of South Bend, spent several hours in Rensselaer today, Wednesday. He came over to place his ward, Willie Butler, in St. Joseph’s college. Mayor Fogarty is one of the best known city chief executives in Indiana and during the years of his mayorality he has received cohsider- ■ C- ■■ ■ * tig p ■ newspapers. ,>He is a democrat and a get-there politician. Wm, H. Blodgett, staff correspeondent of the Indianapolis News, writes Mayor Fogarty and his town up in the following language in the Tuesday issue of that paper: Whatever else may be said about Eddie Fogarty, the Democratic mayor of South Bend, he is not a four flushes He calmly and deliberately sets aside the statutes prohibiting gambling and regulating the liquor business but he does not pretend that he does not know what is going on. He says he was elected mayor of South Bend on a wide open policy; the people of this city, he says, believe in a wide open policy, and hence he gives them a wide open policy. A little thing like the law does not count as between friends. While there has in times past been some _ talk of the peculiar business methods, at least, of some of the members of Mr. Fogarty’s administration, there has never been any charge of graft lodged against him. When the St. Joseph county grand jury was digging about, Mr. Fogarty demanded that his administration receive a thoroagtL overhauling, and if any member of it was doing wrong—was grafting—let him be sent to the, penitentiary. Mr. Fogarty at that time said what he now repeats: "I have lived as mayor so that I can look any man in the face and tell him to go to.” To be sure, some of the men connected with the administration have got rich, but they made their money in land speculations, and in doing a legitimate business on pointers that reached them as members of the city government. Two grand juries have failed to find a rake-off in the city administration, so it is taken for granted that there is no graft here. Mr. Fogarty will not be a candidate for mayor again because the law will not let him. At the last session of the leyislature an effort was made to put South Bend in the class the mayors of which could run again, but the hill failed and Mr. Fogarty, in addition to looking after his insurance business his land speculations, will become, as soon as he lays down the cares of office, the business manager of the South Bend News, a paper with a Republican editor who is the mouthpiece of the Democratic city administration. Mr. Fogarty is a good business man and will no doubt jjroye a valuable addition to the News staff. Every once in a while the saloons and gambling houses are closed according to law, but that is done only when the saloon men and the gamblers get frightened at talk of a county option election and ask Mayor Fogarty to put on the lid. Just as soon as they get over the fright, then everything goes again. A few weeks ago everything was as tight as a drum. Now you can get a drink at any old time, and if you desire to tumble the painted cards or roll the wheel, Tony Barrett, Joe Sullivan, Bert Tunis, Joe Logan or any of the dead game sports can accommodate you with a game. There are no side doors or back entrances. One place in Main street had a Sunday door built right to the side-*, walk, so the patrons of the place would not have to dodge around alleys to get in after hours.