City Beautiful Urged By Woman Appointee

From The Indianapolis News, Wednesday, February 4, 1925:  Mayor Lew Shank yesterday appointed Lelia Kern Taylor, the wife of Dr. James H. Taylor, the first woman member of the Indianapolis plan commission.  Long active in civic affairs, Mrs. Taylor said of her appointment, “I do not know what problems the board has to meet, but I certainly am for the beautifying of the city, and I do not favor the destruction of these flower plots [esplanades] in the center of our streets.  Rather, I favor taking from properties or sidewalks if the streets must be widened.  It is a great help to have a flower plot and some grass in the center of the street.  Beauty is a thing we must encourage.”  She expressed regret that the board of works is contemplating the removal of the esplanades from Delaware Street.

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“City Beautiful Urged By Woman Appointee,” The Indianapolis News, 4 February 1925, p. 30:7

Carolers Face Biting Winds to Close Christmas Season

From The Indianapolis Star, Thursday, December 25, 1924:  Hundreds of carolers traveled throughout Indianapolis – from home to home, hospital to hospital, and club to club – last night raising their voices in singing Christmas songs and spreading the yuletide spirit by this age-old custom.  Caroling began at 7 p.m. as a massed chorus, braving a cold wind, sang from the steps of the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Monument before boarding a bus to travel about the city stopping at homes where candles had been placed in the windows indicating that someone within was ill.  Among groups taking part in the municipal caroling program were the Indianapolis Gospel Chorus, which sang at the jail, the Phyllis Wheatley Y.W.C.A., which sang at the City Hospital, and the recreational training class, which sang at Union Station.  Twenty-two automobiles with carolers circulated through the outlying suburbs.

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“Carolers Face Biting Winds to Close Christmas Season,” The Indianapolis Star, 25 December 1924, p. 1:2

Women to Be Left Out of Enumeration

From The Indianapolis News, Wednesday, December 17, 1924:  Only male voters, both white and colored, will be counted to determine the apportionment of the Indiana General Assembly it was announced today following a conference with Gov. Emmett Branch, secretary of state Frederick Schortemeier, attorney general Ulysses Lesh, and state auditor Lewis Bowman.  Considerable question had arisen whether women voters were to be included in the enumeration that must be made next year to serve as the basis for the apportionment of state legislators and auditor Bowman, who will have jurisdiction over the enumeration conducted by the township trustees, sought the counsel of other state officials.  The Indiana Constitution and laws provide male voters shall be counted for apportionment, and while the federal Constitution permits women to vote no action has been taken to include women voters in the Indiana enumeration.

“Women to Be Left Out of Enumeration,” The Indianapolis News, 17 December 1924, p. 1:6